Delicioso! Mexican Food

One of my favorite things on the planet....Chicken Verde!  There is a restaurant in my home town in Saint Cloud, Minnesota that makes the best burritos...no really...THE BEST burritos.  The name of this place is Bravo Burritos...and Oh. My. Sweet. God.  The chicken verde there is just awesome.  I make my own version at home, and believe me, if you like Mexican, you'll love this recipe.  I like to serve the burritos loaded with refried beans, mexican (sort of) steamed rice, cheese, sour cream (I usually sub greek yogurt though), guacamole, onions and of course, HOT sauce.  Chips and salsa on the side, more guacamole, more hot sauce....you get the idea.  One burrito is enough for a whole meal.  Seriously.

Chicken Verde

Chicken Verde Burrito

The Recipe for Chicken Verde(makes enough for at least 12 large burritos):

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

1 whole chicken, washed

1 onion

2-3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

water to cover

For the sauce:

2 (8 ounce) cans tomatillo sauce

a large bunch of cilantro (enough to have about a cup after chopping)

a generous amount of cumin seeds (at least 2 tablespoons)

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

a sprinkling of oregano

salt and pepper to taste

For the burritos:

soft flour tortillas

refried beans (thinned with a little water and seasoned with salt, pepper, chili powder and a little garlic powder)

Mexican (sort of) steamed rice (recipe to follow)

cheese (your choice, cheddar, monterey jack, a mix)

sour cream

guacamole (recipe to follow)

chopped onions

HOT sauce

Preparation:

First you'll need to cook the chicken in water with the onion, garlic, salt and pepper.  It's best to use a large stockpot with a lid.

Bring the chicken to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for an hour to an hour and a half, until the chicken falls from the bone.

Remove chicken from broth to a plate and allow to cool enough to handle.

Strain broth and reserve.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred with a fork or your fingers, discarding all skin, bones and other waste.

Put chicken in a medium sized stock pot and add enough broth to cover. 

Refrigerate or freeze any remaining broth.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer at least 45 minutes to an hour.

Adjust seasoning.

Now it's time to make the burritos!

Place a warmed tortilla on a plate.

Using a spoon, spread the entire tortilla with refried beans.

Now spread with rice.

Add a bit of chicken verde down the center of the tortilla.

Top with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, onions and hot sauce.

Roll up the burritos.

Serve fold side down---you'll need to eat these with a knife and fork, unless you wrap them very well in foil.  They are big!

Serve with more rice on the side, chips, salsa and more guacamole.

Mexican Rice

Recipe for the rice:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green pepper

1 small onion

2-3 cloves garlic

2 cups rice

4 cups broth (use remaining broth from the chicken if you have it)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large deep skillet over fairly high heat.

Sautee vegetables in oil until just tender, then add rice and stir around.

Add broth and chili powder and bring to a boil.

From the moment the rice comes to a rolling boil, count 5 minutes.

Cover and reduce heat to low.

Allow to cook 10 minutes, then remove from heat.

Let rest 5 minutes before lifting lid, then fluff with a fork.

Guacamole

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Recipe for Guacamole:

Ingredients:

3 very ripe avocadoes

1/2 small red onion, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

juice of 1-2 lemons

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

(you can also add chopped tomatoes)

Preparation:

Mash avocadoes with a fork.

Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined.

Try to make the guacamole right before serving, but if that's not possible, be sure to put the avocado pits in the guacamole and cover tightly with plastic wrap (actually touching the guacamole-removing all air bubbles).   Contact with air causes the avocadoes to blacken, and this will help prevent that from happening.