Salsa Chicken and Orange Chipolte Ribs

SALSA CHICKEN

We really enjoyed this dish today after church. It was pretty quick and very tasty! Try it, you'll like it!

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium zucchini, quartered
1 medium summer squash, quartered
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 pack taco seasoning mix
1 small can fire roasted green chilis
1/2 cup salsa
2/3 cup low fat mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Spray 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add all veggies and garlic, saute for about 4 minutes. Pour mixture into baking dish. Mix taco seasoning mix with uncooked, bite size chicken pieces. Return pan to heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil, add chicken mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes or until almost cooked through. Add chicken to veggie mixture and stir. Top with green chilies, salsa and cheese. Bake in oven 10-15 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy. Makes 4 large servings. For those counting WW points this is 6 pts before any additional toppings. (I only had summer squash from my garden, so I didn't use zucchini. I also substituted green pepper for red, because I had some from my garden. Any heat came from the taco seasoning mix, so you can adjust amount you use. I liked the amount of flavor the seasoning mix added, so I will continue to use this ingredient. I used a little bigger baking dish and felt is was a perfect fit. I chopped up some cilantro and sprinkled on top after I removed the dish from oven and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. I also mixed one large avacodo with a little chopped cilantro, juice from 1/2 lime, salt and garlic to taste. I added a spoonful on top and thought it was a wonderful addition.)

ORANGE CHIPOLTE RIBS

I made this for David for Father's Day. We enjoyed fresh cucumbers from our garden and corn ont the cob.

--3 pounds beef or pork ribs
--1/2 cup ketchup
--1/4 cup orange marmalade
--1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
--2 T soy sauce
--2 T brown sugar
--2 t chipotle chili powder
--1/4 t cumin
--1/4 t ground ginger
--4 cloves smashed and chopped garlic

I used 6 qt crockpot, the ribs fit well inside.

I didn't brown or pre-cook my meat at all. It was thawed, however. If you are using frozen meat, it will take longer to cook, but will be just fine.

In a mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the sauce---which is everything listed up there, minus the ribs.

Put the ribs into your crock--you may need to cut the racks up with poultry shears to get them in there nicely.

Pour your sauce over the top.

Close and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or on high for 5-6. The meat is done when it has reached the desired tenderness and is no longer pink. I prefer the meat to fall off the bone, and eat with a knife and fork. If you'd rather gnaw on the bones, pull them out after 4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.


We enjoyed these very much. The orange marmalade really added a unique flavor. I think a little more brown sugar and ketchup wouldn't hurt. I will add finely chopped onion to the sauce next time. I cooked these for 4-5 hours on high and thought they could have cooked longer to achieve the fall off the bone doneness I prefer. You may be wondering about the green pepper in the picture but not in the actual recipe. It came from our garden and I intended to finely chop it and include it but then didn't.

Let me know if you give these recipes a try. This week, I plan to make Asian Chicken and Noodle Toss and Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Orange and Red Onion Salsa, both recipes are diet friendly!