Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Cuban Dinner

What to make for dinner....a dilemma that we all face. I get bored with the same old stuff and love to try out new recipes. Since I knew that I would be busy and it was chilly outside, I thought it would be a perfect day for a crockpot dinner. Now to find the right one. I wanted one that didn't have cans of cream of ___________ (fill in the blank) soup. I'm trying to eat a little healthier so that was a consideration as well. After flipping through different web sites I found it! Eureka...it seemed to fit my criteria. It is a Cuban chicken crockpot dish called Mojito Chicken. Looking over the ingredients I saw that it took a half cup of rum....hmmm, I don't drink much, was this going to be too strong or just the right punch. I decided to give it a try.

MOJITO CHICKEN
Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon paprika
3 Tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 limes (used for zest and juice)
1/2 cup light rum
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tablespoons fresh mint, chiffonade
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
3 cups cooked rice
Garnish:
Fresh lime wedges and fresh sprigs of mint and the thyme.
Method
Season chicken breasts with cumin, cayenne, salt, and paprika. Place chicken breasts in 3-4 quart crock pot, add butter, garlic, shallots, 2 tablespoons lime zest, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, and rum. Cover and cook on medium for 4-6 hours. Stir in cubed bell peppers, mint, thyme, and tomatoes. Cover and continue to cook for an additional 1-2 hours. Remove Mojito Pepper Chicken to serving platter with rice and garnish with fresh lime wedges and sprigs of mint and thyme.
Notes: If preparing this dish prior to work or a full day of activities, you may prepare the bell peppers, tomatoes, and herbs in advance. Then upon returning home, just stir these in to complete the preparation of this entree.
Number of Servings: 6

It was absolutely delicious and so easy. Of course, I had to make some Mojitos to drink to go along with this recipe. As far as the taste of the rum, there wasn't any and from what I understand the alcohol is cooked off. Let me know if you liked it.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds yummy, this is the perfect time of the year for crock pot cooking!!

    ReplyDelete