Tonight's Dinner: Chicken Tacos, Rice & Beans, Cuatro Leches Cake

[thesoupfairy]

This is my husband's celebration dinner - he attended his first day back in school yesterday!

Chicken Tacos

This cooks up in the crockpot all day for perfectly tender, delicious chicken taco filling with almost no effort.

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5-6 hours
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts


• 1 white or yellow onion, diced


• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used a red bell because the green ones hurt my husband's stomach, but use any color)


• 1-2 Anaheim peppers, diced


• 1-2 Jalapeño peppers, diced


• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced


• 1/4 cup lime juice


• 1 tablespoon chili powder


• 1 tablespoon cumin


• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed


• 1 cup chunky salsa


• flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or crispy taco shells


• sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce

Directions

Place the chicken in a large slow cooker. Top with onion and peppers. Combine lime juice, chili powder, and cumin; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks and return to the pot. Stir in corn and salsa. Cover and cook on low another 30 minutes or until heated through.

Serve in warmed tortillas with sour cream, cheese and lettuce if desired.

---

Spanish Rice

This rice is a perfect accompaniment to Mexican entrees such as tacos or enchiladas. Browning the rice before cooking it in the stock is essential. This rice will be best if made with homemade chicken stock, but use canned stock or bouillon if you must.

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 1 onion, diced


• 3 garlic cloves, minced


• 2 cups long-grain white rice


• 3 cups chicken stock


• 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained, or 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes


• pinch of oregano


• small pinch of saffron threads


• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown rice in oil until it smells nutty. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened.

In a separate saucepan, bring stock to a simmer. Add tomatoes, oregano, saffron, and salt. Add rice and onion mixture to stock and return to a simmer. Cover and lower heat to a very low simmer. Cook 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

---

Cuatro Leches (Four Milks) Cake

This sumptuously rich moist cake must be planned ahead, because it needs to chill for at least 4 hours. But it is not difficult to make at all.

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Chill: 4 hours or more
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

• butter & flour for the pan


• 2 cups (sifted) unbleached/all-purpose flour


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt


• 6 eggs, at room temperature, separated


• 1-1/4 cups sugar


• 1/2 cup whole milk


• 3 teaspoons dark rum


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk


• 1 can evaporated milk


• 1-1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with butter and dust with flour.

In a small bowl mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). Set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, around 3 minutes. Add the sugar in a gradual stream, continuing to beat to soft peaks. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating each in before adding the next.

Add one-third of the flour mixture, then one-third of the milk, beating after each addition. Repeat twice. Add rum and vanilla and beat again until smooth.

Pour into baking pan and bake until golden, about 30-35 minutes. Place cake aside for 20-30 minutes to cool. (Avoid cool breezes, though, as the hot cake will fall if it cools too quickly!)

Whisk together one can of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream in a bowl. Using a knife, poke holes all over the top of the cake and slowly pour the milk mixture over it bit by bit until it is all used. Cover the cake in plastic wrap and set aside to let cool completely. Once cool, refrigerate at least 4 hours.

While the cake is chilling, remove the label from the final can of sweetened condensed milk. Put it into a large pot filled with water. Bring to a boil and continue boiling, covered, for 2 hours. Be sure the water level in the pot stays at least 1 inch above the can throughout the boiling time, to avoid risk of the can exploding. Remove the can with tongs and allow to stand and cool. Spread over cake before serving. (Two hours should produce a pourable caramel sauce. If it is too thick, cook for a shorter time in the future. If you want it thicker, cook a longer time. 3.5 hours gives a beautiful thick pudding-consistency caramel.)

Note: While you're cooking your caramel, you might as well add a few more cans to your pot. You can store the unopened cans on the shelf as long as you would the original product, then use them next time you decide to have ice cream night!