Mexican Street Corn Salad with Black Beans and Avocado

Yield: about 4 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 ears fresh corn or 1 medium-sized bag of frozen sweet corn
• 1/2 cup choppped red onion
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon Mexican chili powder
• 1 teaspoons Mccormick Southwest Sweet N' Smoky Seasoning
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, choppped
• 1 can black beans (15 oz), drained
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
• 3 oz Cotija or feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 fresh lime, sliced into quarters
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice, divided
• 2 medium avocados, peeled and chopped small

Instructions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet until shimmering.
2. Add corn. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Then let corn cook, tossing only occasionally, about every two minutes. This allows the corn to brown evenly.  Fresh corn will take about 7-10 minutes to cook, while frozen corn will take about `12 minutes. Remove corn from heat once it is well-charred all over.
3. Add corn to a medium bowl along with drained black beans, cilantro, chopped bell pepper, diced jalapeno peppers, garlic, onions, chili powder, sweet n' smoky seasoning, 1 tablespoon lime juice, mayonnaise and 3/4th of the Cortija. 
4. In a small mixing bowl, pour other 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice over diced avocados. Add bowl to corn mixture and toss. 
5. Top with remaining Cortija, additional chili powder, and sliced lime quarters. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Makes about 8 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 3-4 hours on high setting, 4-6 hours on low setting

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Three bell peppers (red, orange and green), julienned 
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 small (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup Taco-blend cheese
• 3 teaspoons Mexican chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon Mccormick Southwest Sweet N' Smoky Seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• One package of flour tortillas
• Optional ingredients for serving: sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cilantro

Instructions:

1. Pour one can of the diced tomatoes into the slow cooker. Spread evenly across the bottom. 
   
2. Add half of the bell peppers and half of the onions on top. Sprinkle garlic in.
   
3. In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, Southwest Seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well. 
   
4. Rub seasoning onto both sides of the chicken breasts. Then place chicken in the slow cooker on top of the peppers and onions. 
   
5. Add the other can of diced tomatoes on top of the chicken breasts. Spread evenly. 
6. Sprinkle Taco-blend cheese over the tomatoes.
7. Top with remaining onions and peppers. Sprinkle extra seasoning on top if desired.
   
8. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours (If you want shredded chicken, cook more towards the longer suggested cooking time. If you want to slice the chicken into strips, keep towards the shorter time)
9. Remove chicken from slow-cooker. Cut into strips or shred.
10. Ladle out approximately 1 1/2 cups of watery broth from the slow-cooker(mostly tomato liquid) and discard.
11. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice and honey. Add this mixture to the slow-cooker along with the shredded/sliced chicken breasts. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
12. Gently toss. Serve in warmed tortillas with optional sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, additional cheese and salsa. Enjoy!

I served the fajitas with spicy Mexican rice and a sweet corn and black beans salad. The recipe for the salad will be up on the blog shortly. There are a quite a few shared ingredients between this chicken fajita recipe and the salad, so it is an easy meal to plan. If you try out this recipe or have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below! 

Taco Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 4 medium bell peppers
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups hot salsa
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or taco-blend cheese
• 1 tablespoon Mexican chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, cook beef and onions until beef is no longer pink and onions are translucent. Stir in Mexican chili powder, cayenne pepper and paprika. Add the black beans and salsa. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove stems and seeds.
4. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add peppers to boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
5. Place bell peppers hollowed-out side up on an ungreased 13'x9' baking dish. Fill peppers with 1/2 cup meat mixture.
6. Cover dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
7. Top with diced tomatoes and cheese. Put back into oven for another 5 minutes.
8. Serve with sour cream. Enjoy!