Crockpot Mexican Chicken, Homemade Applesauce, Bobs Red Mill Organic Brown & Wild Rice and Lemon Coconut bars, OH MY!

So, Mondays are a bit problematic regarding dinner. Number 6 has dance from 5:45 until 6:30 which means our usual dinnertime is interrupted. We are not home until 6:50 or later which means dinner really needs to be ready when we get there.

Yesterday I looked up Slowcooker Mexican Chicken, found a recipe that looked decent and made my own thing. I have an over abundance of jalapeno peppers from my garden. Seriously. Those little buggers are like RABBITS they are multiplying so fast. Oh and a word to the wise: Don't even think of scratching that itch at the corner of your eye near your nose while slicing jalapenos. Dude - I burned my eyelid! hahaha

Along with the crocked meal I made some applesauce from the abundance of apples we have and decided to cook the rest of the Bob's Red Mill rice that I bought for Number 2's birthday dinner. It all went super awesome together. The applesauce was the perfect foil to the Mexican's spice. The Bob's Red Mill brown & wild rice is freakin' awesome. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! It takes a bit longer to cook than regular rice, but I cook it the same - Adding in dried onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Oh and a splash of EVOO, if I remember.

The lemon bars are one of my favorites. They are super easy and super yummy. I just have to stop myself from eating them. That's the difficult part.

Slowcooker Mexican Chicken

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or chunks
1 recipe homemade taco mix. (You can find that HERE. The ingredients are listed within the taco recipe)
3-4 fresh jalapenos, sliced (I take the membrane & seeds out to cut down on the spice)
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained (I would have preferred fresh, but I only had two ripe from the garden)
green pepper, sliced
onion, diced

Cook on low 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. I did a combo of both since my chicken was still partially frozen.


Applesauce

6-8 fresh cooking apples (my blend included Golden Delicious, Empire & Cortland), cored, peeled & sliced
a pinch or two of salt
1/2 c. water

Cook over med. to med. high heat until apples are tender. Fork mash or use food processor if you don't like chunks.

No need to add sugar, but sometimes I do add cinnamon.

Lemon Coconut Bars

BASE:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar

Mix above ingredients in a small bowl. Press into a slightly greased 13x9 and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

FILLING:
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. brown sugar (I've reduced this to 1 c. before and it's fine)
1/2 c. chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 c. coconut
The zest & juice from two medium sized lemons

Mix all ingredients in same small bowl (less mess) and pour into base, making sure filling is evenly spread. Bake another 25-30 minutes on 350.

Cool completely before cutting.

Orzo Salad

Made this up yesterday for my FIL's birthday. Tastes even better the 2nd day!


Cold Orzo Salad

1lb orzo, cooked according to package
1 package grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if very large
1 block mozzarella cheese, cubed
2 small jars of marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 red & green bell pepper, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
EVOO
red wine and/or apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
oregano
basil
flat leaf parsley
Salt & pepper


Drain cooked orzo and cool by rinsing with cold water.

Cube cheese and place in bowl. Drain artichoke brine into cheese. Dice artichoke and place in with cheese. Cut tomatoes, add to bowl along with peppers and celery. Mix together oil, vinegar & honey.

Place orzo into a large bowl and add bowl of cheese & veggies. Add in herbs, salt, pepper, oil & vinegar mix.

Chill for at least a few hours - even better overnight.

Cook's Notes:

I used both fresh & dried oregano & basil. I also used white pepper along with the freshly cracked black pepper. I think I added a bit of dried thyme too. Basically, I played with it until I thought it tasted good (although because it was being chilled, I over-salted just a little bit). I also used the Good Season's cruet I have to mix the oil & vinegar. The ratio seems to work well. I filled the vinegar to the water line and then added oil.

I really think black olives would be an awesome accompaniment to this salad or even some pepperoni. Great summer time dish and when it is really hot, a great evening meal.