Chili Lime Chicken Burgers, A Trader Joe's Copycat

Happy long weekend, yo.  I know it is coming to an end but don't you want to go out with a bang?  These will do it.  A huge bang, a flavorful punch in in the mouth if you will.  With just a few ingredients you can whip up a batch of these bad boys an impress even the biggest chicken burger skeptics.  

Watch out Trader Joe's we might be putting you out of business.  Well, hopefully not, we still love you.  Xoxo.  

Musical Selection: Moth's Wings by: Passion Pit.  Note that I moved the Cooking Tunes to the right sidebar.  If you don't want to jam (or if you are reading at work--I won't tell) just click pause. 

 You will need one pound of ground chicken.

 A few green onions

 Some pretty cilantro

 Chop it up and pop it in the bowl

 Some season all salt

 Black pepper

 A few shakes of red pepper flakes--more or less depending on how spicy you want these bad boys

 Half the juice of a lime

 That's it--smash it all together

Form into patties

 Spray each side with cooking spray

 On to the grill they go a few minutes on each side

 Top with pepper jack cheese for a little more spice

 Melted.

Umm yeah, flavor town.  I was really surprised how juicy these stayed they really were fantastic.  A little mayo on the bun is all they needed although crisp lettuce would be a fantastic addition as well.  We added them to our grilling rotation.  

Chili Lime Chicken Burgers

Makes 4 burgers

1 lb ground chicken

2 green onions, diced

1/2 of a red pepper, diced small

1 tablespoon cilantro, minced

1/2 teaspoon season all salt

A few grinds of black pepper

Juice of 1/2 a lime 

Pepper Jack cheese

Buns for serving

Mayo (we used light Miracle Whip) for serving 

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, onion, red pepper, cilantro, season all salt, pepper and lime juice.   Form into 4 patties and spray each side with cooking spray so they don't stick. 

Preheat the grill to about 500 degrees.  Place the burgers on the hottest part of the grill.  Grill for 3 minutes.  Turn the grill down to medium high heat and flip the burgers to a cooler part of the grill.  Grill for an additional 5 minutes.  In the last minute of grilling, add the cheese to melt.  Before taking off the grill be sure to check the internal temperature or that they are no longer pink in the middle.  

Serve on buns with Mayo/Miracle Whip.  Enjoy!  

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz 

Grilled Breakfast Burritos

I'm a planner.  I plan everything from meals to weekly schedules far in advance.  It makes me feel less anxious knowing what is going to happen, even if that is a Taco Salad for lunch.  I also really enjoy thinking about what I'm going to have for a meal before I have it.  

Today I am doing you a little favor for planning if you are like me--this is your breakfast tomorrow.  It is absolute heavenly Saturday morning perfection.  You can thank me after you try it.  

Musical Selection: The Show by: Lenka

Let's get started shall we? Crack a few eggs into a bowl

Season with salt and pepper

Stir together with a fork

And pour into a skillet on medium heat

Scramble, scramble, scramble.

Dice up some ham and cheese

Lay your tortillas out on a large plate and line with some of those scrambled eggs

Add some ham

And cheese.  This one was for Mr. Schwartz, he has a thing for American cheese

Fold up the top and bottom like so

Then fold in the sides.  Not easy to do while taking a picture

It should look something like this.  I'm sure yours will be neater.

Pop it in a panini press

And grill away.  If you don't have a panini press, you can use a large skillet and place another large skillet on top of it.  You just want the pressed/grilledness that a panini press delivers.

That's what I'm talking about.

Serve with salsa for dipping. 

Happy weekend.


Grilled Breakfast Burritos
(makes four smaller burritos)

4 eggs
Salt and pepper
4 tortillas (we use whole wheat)
4 slices of ham, diced
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, diced
1/4 cup American cheese tore into pieces
Salsa for serving

Preheat your panini press (or skillet if you are using this instead) to medium high heat.

Preheat a different skillet on medium heat.  Crack eggs into a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Stir together with a fork.  Pour into the skillet on medium heat and scramble the eggs.

Place the tortillas on a large plate and line with eggs.  Top with ham and cheese and fold into a burrito (see above for step-by-step).

Place burritos on panini press and press until the cheese has melted and the outside is grilled/crunchy.  This takes about 2-3 minutes for me.  If you are using a skillet place burritos in skillet and top with another large heavy skillet to press them.

Serve with salsa and enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Let's make something super tasty and spicy together.  Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas will do the trick!  There seems to be a lot of recipes floating around the web and blog world for these but this is my variation.  It couldn't be easier and pretty quick as well!  

Musical Selection:  Rock and Roll by: Eric Hutchinson.  One of my all time favorite cooking tunes.

Poach a few chicken breasts.  I did 3 large ones and let them boil away for about 10 minutes or until they are no longer pink in the middle.

Combine some mild red enchilada sauce

And buffalo sauce...I used the Frank's Red Hot sauce--thick.  Wow, that stuff is...thick.  It worked great though.  Give it a stir to combine.

Chop up some celery

Shred some cheese

And pour a bit of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Spread it out evenly on the bottom of the pan.

Shred the chicken.

Add it to a large bowl with the celery

Cheese

And ranch dressing

Stir to combine

Add the mixture to the tortillas.  I used whole wheat tortillas and they were great.  Roll them up and

Place them in the baking dish

Pour the sauce over the top.  I like to leave the ends out a bit so they get kind of crispy

Top with cheddar cheese

I added a bit of mozzarella as well

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until hot a bubbly.

There they are...

Top with shredded lettuce for a bit of freshness

I want one...now.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small can enchilada sauce
1 cup buffalo wing sauce (I like Frank's Red Hot sauce)
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese
3/4 cup ranch dressing (fat free is okay--that's what I used)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
8 medium sized (8 inch) tortillas
Shredded lettuce, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Bring water in a large sauce pan to a boil.  Add the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.  Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it.  Set aside.

Combine the enchilada and buffalo wing sauce.  Pour a little (1/2 cup or so) into the bottom of a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the shredded chicken, chopped celery, 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and ranch dressing.  Use this mixture to fill the tortillas.  Roll them up and place them on top of the sauce in the baking dish.

Take the remanning sauce and pour it over the tortillas.  Top with the remanning cheeses.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Top with lettuce and serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz