Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Posted by Parties and Patterns on 7:42 PM in ana's corner, dips/dressings,

Ana's Corner

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

1 packet Ranch mix

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup milk

2  tomatillos (remove husk and cut in 1/2)

1 bunch of fresh cilantro (cut off most of 

stems)

1 tsp of fresh minced garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno--remove most seeds

All you have to do is put all of the ingredients 

in a blender (my Ninja worked just fine...) and 

blend! Refrigerate--will get spicier with time!

This recipe goes with Cafe Rio Sweet Pork 

but 

it also tastes great on top of our Lime Chicken 

Tacos

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Cafe Rio creamy

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Creamy White Lasagna

Creamy White Lasagna

Posted by Parties and Patterns on 9:02 PM in ana's corner, chicken, main meal,

Lasagna is a favorite in our family but I was kind of getting sick of plain old meat and tomato sauce lasagna so I thought I'd spice things up a bit... This creamy white lasagna hit the spot! It's super rich, cheesy and delicious, and it's a great way to sneak in some extra veggies!

Creamy White Lasagna

9 Lasagna Noodles

1/2 cup butter

1/2 onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 1/2 cups milk

4 cups Mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon Basil

1 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup Ricotta Cheese

2 cups cooked, cubed chicken

large handful of baby spinach (chopped)

1 1/2 cups broccoli (broken into smaller florlets and steamed covered in microwave for two minutes)

Sundried Tomatoes (optional)

1 handful of chopped fresh parsley

I used oven-ready lasagna noodles but I still set them to soak in water as I prepared everything else (if you don't let them soak they will absorb more of your sauce). 

In a large sauce pan melt the butter while you chop your onions/garlic.  Brown the onions and garlic in the butter, and then add the flour to form a roux. Stir until mixed well (will be thick).  Add a teaspoon of salt.  While continuing to stir over medium high heat, slowly add in your chicken broth and milk.  Pour slowly so that the mixture does not get lumpy, and continue to stir until the mixture thickens again.  Add in about half of the Mozzarella cheese (I just eyeball things like cheese...I put in a couple handfuls) and half a cup of the grated Parmesan (save the rest for later).  Once the cheese has melted and the mixture is consistent, season with basil, oregano, and pepper.

Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with a thin layer of the sauce, and then layer three lasagna noodles. Mix the chicken and the Ricotta cheese together.  I prepared my chicken following my Chicken Tacos recipe to give it some flavor, but you could probably just use chunk chicken from a can if you wanted to make it super easy.  Spread ALL of the chicken/Ricotta mixture over the noodles and then spread a big spoonful of the sauce over it.  Sprinkle with some cheese.  My husband isn't a huge fan of cheese and found this recipe to be too cheesy (he mainly didn't care for the Ricotta--which could have been omitted if you just slathered a little extra of the cheese sauce over the chicken)-follow your own cheese instincts here. Top with three lasagna noodles.  Spread your spinach and broccoli. I wish I would have had Sun-dried Tomatoes because it would have been super yummy to throw some of those in there too.  Cover with half of the remaining sauce.  Add final three noodles, cover with the rest of the sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella/Parmesan as you please.

Bake covered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Soooo yummy! Even my baby loved this lasagna :-)

Creamy White Lasagna

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Lime Chicken Tacos

Lime Chicken Tacos

Posted by Elaine on 8:12 PM in ana's corner, chicken, main meal,

Ana's Corner

Last night I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner.  I don't know if it's just me...but it seems that the hardest part of making dinner is deciding what to make! I'll make anything in the world, but please, don't make me choose what it is! For perhaps the first time ever, instead of giving me some sort of lame "whatever you want" response, he replied "chicken tacos!" Hooray! Chicken tacos it was!  I've never really made chicken tacos so I started to look for recipes online and I found this one that turned out super yummy...though I've changed it up a bit.

Chicken Tacos

2 chicken breasts--cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon agave

1.5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pepper cut into, chopped (I use whatever I have--red/green/orange, sometimes I'll just chop up mini sweet peppers)

1 onion chopped

tortillas

lettuce

salsa

sour cream

cheese

Chop the onion into thin wedges.  Pour olive oil into a large pan, sautee onion for a couple minutes until softened, then toss in the green peppers.  Leave on medium low while you continue on to the chicken.  (I covered it to help soften the peppers faster and to hold in the moisture). 

In another large pan add olive oil on medium high heat.  Toss in chicken pieces and stir, then add in lemon juice, lime juice, agave, Worcestershire sauce, sprinkle with the onion powder, garlic salt, and pepper--stir all together.  I covered the chicken at this point and let it boil on high for a couple minutes until the outside of the chicken was completely white.  Then I uncovered it and let the juices boil dry (it just took a minute or two).  The chicken is PACKED with flavor but feel free to experiment by adding more or less of the powders/salts (you could just as easily use onion salt and garlic powder...or use both as powders and then add actual salt.   The possibilities are endless :-P) By now your vegetables should be nice and carmelized (I like my vegetables to be soft and sweet...if you prefer a little crunch then hopefully you turned your vegetables off like ten minutes ago...).  Spread salsa and sour cream in center of tortilla, add chicken and veggies, add lettuce, top with cheese! My husband was such a big fan we repeated the recipe tonight :-) 

Enjoy! 

These lime chicken tacos are REALLY yummy when topped with our Cafe Rio Creamy Cilantro Dressing

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