South of the Border in 15 Minutes

Posted by Correen in 15 Minute Meals, Recipes | 0 comments

In our fast paced world there is something especially nice about a home cooked meal, even though many of us don’t get to actually all sit down together. With a bit of forethought, a few tips and planning you can pull together this meal in 15 minute…no problemo. You might even have some leftovers to pack a quick lunch too. Enjoy every ding dang bite…make sure to let me know how much you loved it

Shredded Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla

Ingredients
1 cup shredded chicken
1 ½ cups cheese of choice, shredded
1 cup white, brown or wild rice, cooked and cooled
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
8 medium to large flour tortillas

Preheat non-stick griddle. In a large bowl toss chicken, cheese, rice and taco seasoning until well mixed. Lay four tortillas flat on the counter, evenly divide chicken mixture over the tortillas, top each with the other four tortillas, press down slightly. Place two quesadillas on the griddle, cook until golden brown and cheese is melted. Remove from griddle and cut each into 4-8 wedges. Repeat with the remaining quesadillas. Serve with a small side salad and the Black Bean and Orange Relish.

Black Bean and Orange Relish

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups black beans, home cooked or canned
2 oranges, peeled, sectioned, cut into small chunks

In a bowl mix first 8 ingredients. Toss in the black beans and oranges, mix to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Plan ahead for this meal
- Parboil 4-6 chicken breasts for 15 minutes or until cooked through, cool, shred, measure into 1 cup servings, place in ziplock bag, seal, label and store in fridge or freezer. Yields 3-5 cups of shredded chicken.
- Block cheese is cheaper than pre-shredded so plan ahead to have the cheese shredded for this recipe.
- Cook rice the night before, cool and store in the fridge in an air-tight container.
- Prep salad ahead of time for the whole week. Put in large bowl, place 3-4 paper towels on top, seal and store upside down in fridge. Each time you open the bowl replace with 3-4 dry paper towels. This tip extends the life of your salad by at least 5 days.
- Make a huge batch of black beans, cool, put in ziplock bags, label and freeze until needed. Pull some out the night before for this recipe.

15 Minute Meal Tips
1) Apply the KISS method, keep it simple silly!
2) Prep your ingredients for the week when you come home from the grocery store or farmer’s market. Chop, mince, parboil, etc.and store in handy containers or ziplock bags.
3) Purchase quality food that will keep for the week, buying local whenever possible.
4) Keeping your kitchen organized will make prep to plate much easier.