Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

This recipe is a great way to cut a few carbs out of your diet. Simply substitute riced cauliflower for regular white rice in your favorite dishes. I like to serve this cilantro lime cauliflower rice with black beans, chicken, shredded cheese, and salsa. Imagine a Chipotle burrito bowl but with riced cauliflower instead of white rice! 

To make this cilantro lime cauliflower rice you will need:

• 1 head of CAULIFLOWER
• 1-2 Tbs COCONUT OIL (you could substitute vegetable or canola oil)
• 1/2 ONION, diced
• 2 cloves of GARLIC, minced
• 1/2 cup CILANTRO, chopped
• 3 Tbs LIME JUICE
• SALT to taste
• PEPPER to taste

Grate the cauliflower using either a cheese grater or a food processor (if using a food process pulse the cauliflower in batches until the desired texture is reached). 

The grated cauliflower should look something like the picture below! The pieces should be about the same size as a grain of rice.

Heat the oil in a skillet over med-high heat and then add the onion and garlic.

When the onion starts to turn translucent add the riced cauliflower. Cook the cauliflower stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes.

Once the cauliflower is cooked through, stir in the chopped cilantro and lime juice!

Add salt and pepper to taste and then dig in!

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Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 head of CAULIFLOWER
• 1-2 Tbs COCONUT OIL (could substitute vegetable or canola oil)
• 1/2 ONION, diced
• 2 cloves of GARLIC, minced
• 1/2 cup CILANTRO, chopped
• 3 Tbs LIME JUICE
• SALT to taste
• PEPPER to taste

Directions:

1. Grate the cauliflower using either a cheese grater or a food processor (if using a food process pulse the cauliflower in batches until the desired texture is reached). 
• The pieces should be about the same size as a grain of rice.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over med-high heat and then add the onion and garlic.
3. When the onion starts to turn translucent add the riced cauliflower. Cook the cauliflower stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes.
4. Once the cauliflower is cooked through, stir in the chopped cilantro and lime juice! Add salt and pepper to taste and then dig in!

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I based this dish on the following recipe: http://popularpaleo.com/2013/01/07/cilantro-lime-cauliflower-rice/

Salsa

I love eating chips and salsa at restaurants but somehow the salsa you buy in stores never seems to taste as good, am I right? Maybe it's just me... Anyway, I have found a recipe for salsa that I think is just as good as the salsa you get from restaurants! It is also incredibly easy to adapt it to your tastes. If you like spicy food, add more jalapeno! If you don't like chunky salsa, chop the heck out of it with a food processor!

If you use the quantities of ingredients I have listed below, it should make about 2 cups of salsa that I would consider to have mild to medium heat. Remember, if you want it hotter (or less hot) just vary the amount of jalapenos!

To make this delicious, restaurant style salsa you will need:

• 1 (14 oz.) can of WHOLE PEELED TOMATOES, separate the juice from the tomatoes, but save the juice!
• 1 (10 oz.) can ROTEL 
• 1/4 cup RED ONION, chopped  
• 1/2 medium sized JALAPENO (de-seeded and de-veined), finely chopped 
• 1/4 cup FRESH CILANTRO
• 1-2 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp CUMIN

Start off by roughly chopping the onion and finely chopping the jalapeno. Then throw all of the ingredients (except for the juice from the whole tomatoes) into a food processor...

NOTE: If you don't have a food processor you can still make this salsa, you will just have to chop everything by hand!

...and pulse it until you like the size of the chunks! Then add some some of the juice from the whole tomatoes until you get a consistency you like. (I used about half of the juice.)

Now the best part, taste the salsa! Add more spices, jalapeno, or lime juice until you like it!

Once you are happy with the flavors, serve the salsa with chips and dig in!

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Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 oz.) can of WHOLE PEELED TOMATOES, separate the juice from the tomatoes, but save the juice!
• 1 (10 oz.) can ROTEL 
• 1/4 cup RED ONION, chopped  
• 1/2 medium sized JALAPENO (de-seeded and de-veined), finely chopped 
• 1/4 cup FRESH CILANTRO
• 1-2 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/4 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp CUMIN

Directions:

1. Roughly chop the onion and finely chop the jalapeno. 
2. Next, throw all of the ingredients (except for the juice from the whole tomatoes) into a food processor and pulse it until you like the size of the chunks.
• NOTE: If you don't have a food processor you can still make this salsa, you will just have to chop everything by hand!
3. Add some some of the juice from the whole tomatoes until you get a consistency you like. (I used about half of the juice.)
4. Now the best part, taste the salsa! Add more spices, jalapeno, or lime juice until you like it!
5. Once you are happy with the flavors, serve the salsa with chips and dig in!

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I based my recipe on the Pioneer Woman's salsa recipe: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/restaurant-style-salsa/

Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice Copycat

Last weekend we had some friends over for a burrito night and we decided to try to recreate Chipotle's cilantro lime rice. It turned out to be quite easy and delicious!

To make the rice you will need:

• 2 cups RICE (uncooked)
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped)

Start of by cooking the rice. I know, crazy right? Once the rice is cooked you will end up with about 6 cups of rice. You could easily cut this recipe down, but we were cooking for 5 hungry guys so we needed plenty of food!

I then chopped up about half a "bunch" of cilantro and mixed it in to the cooked rice.

Lastly, mix in the lime juice!

Then serve!

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Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice Copycat

Ingredients:

• 2 cups RICE (uncooked)
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped)

Directions:

1. Start of by cooking the rice. (You will end up with about 6 cups of cooked rice). 
2. Chop up about half a "bunch" of cilantro and mix it in to the cooked rice.
3. Lastly, mix in the lime juice!
4. Then serve!

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Chipotle's Corn Salsa Copycat

We made this corn salsa last weekend when we has some friends over for a burrito night! It is incredibly easy to make and tasted just like Chipotle's corn salsa!

To make this corn salsa you will need:

• 12-16 oz. FROZEN SWEET YELLOW CORN
• 2 medium JALAPENOS, seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 medium RED ONION, finely diced (We used a yellow onion because that is what we had on hand, but Chipotle uses red onion.)
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup), chopped
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE (juice of 2 limes)
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER

Put ALL of the ingredients into a large bowl. (No, you aren't crazy, the picture below is missing the parsley.)

Then mix them together.

Boom! Corn Salsa! It's that easy!

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Chipotle's Corn Salsa Copycat

Ingredients:

• 12-16 oz. FROZEN SWEET YELLOW CORN
• 2 medium JALAPENOS, seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 medium RED ONION, finely diced (We used a yellow onion because that is what we had on hand, but Chipotle uses red onion.)
• 1/2 bunch CILANTRO (1/2 to 3/4 cup), chopped
• 4 Tbs LIME JUICE (juice of 2 limes)
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER

Directions:

1. Put ALL of the ingredients into a large bowl. 
2. Then mix them together.
3. Boom! Corn Salsa! It's that easy!

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I found this recipe on the following website: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/04/just-like-chipotles-corn-salsa/

Jamba Juice Copycat: Strawberry Surf Rider (Strawberry Tsunami)

My favorite Jamba Juice smoothie is the Strawberry Surf Rider, formerly known as the Strawberry Tsunami. It is sweet and tart and creamy and wonderful! I had trouble getting my smoothie as tart as Jamba Juice's so after everything was blended together, I spiked it with a little bit of lime juice to kick it up a notch!

To make this delicious smooth you will need:

• 1/4 cup FROZEN PEACHES (about 3 slices)
• 1/2 cup FROZEN STRAWBERRIES (about 5-6 berries)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup LEMONADE
• 1/4 cup LIME SHERBET
• 1/2 cup ICE (about 6-8 cubes)
• LIME JUICE, to taste

Start off by measuring out your ingredients... or just eye ball it! It's kind of difficult to measure frozen fruit in a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Below you can see my attempt measure how much I was using....

Throw ALL of the ingredients into a blender. I started by only adding 1/2 cup of the lemonade, but then added an extra 1/4 cup to get it to the consistency I wanted. Just keep adding thing until it tastes good!

Blend until smooth! This is where I added some lime juice. I added about 2-3 tsp, but if you like it the way it is, then skip the lime juice!

Once you are happy with the consistency and flavor, serve it up in a glass with a straw! I ended up with about a glass and a half of smoothie. That was probably about 3 cups or 24 oz. of smoothie...

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Jamba Juice Copycat: Strawberry Surf Rider (Strawberry Tsunami)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup FROZEN PEACHES (about 3 slices)
• 1/2 cup FROZEN STRAWBERRIES (about 5-6 berries)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup LEMONADE
• 1/4 cup LIME SHERBET
• 1/2 cup ICE (about 6-8 cubes)
• LIME JUICE, to taste

Directions:

1. Start off by measuring out your ingredients... or just eye ball it! It's kind of difficult to measure frozen fruit in a 1/4 cup measuring cup. 
2. Throw ALL of the ingredients into a blender. Note: I started by only adding 1/2 cup of the lemonade, but then added an extra 1/4 cup to get it to the consistency I wanted. Just keep adding thing until it tastes good!
3. Blend until smooth! I then added about 2-3 tsp of lime juice, but if you like it the way it is, then skip the lime juice!
4. Once you are happy with the consistency and flavor, serve it up in a glass with a straw! 
5. I ended up with about a glass and a half of smoothie. (That was probably about 3 cups or 24 oz. of smoothie...)

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To find this recipe and other Jamba Juice copycats follow this link: http://www.makedrinks.org/jamba-juice-recipes/ 

Honey Lime Chicken Marinade

Here is a marinade that will give your chicken a fresh, bright, citrus flavor! After marinading, you can grill it, bake it, or stir-fry it! We chose do make a stir-fry this time. 

For the marinade you will need:

• 3 Tbs SOY SAUCE
• 2 Tbs HONEY
• 1 Tbs OLIVE OIL
• 2 cloves of GARLIC
• 2 tsp SRIRACHA hot sauce
• RED PEPPER FLAKES to taste (we used about 1 tsp)
• 2-3 Tbs fresh chopped CILANTRO
• 2 LIMES, cubed
• 1 lb SKINLESS BONELESS CHICKEN BREASTS

In a large baggie combine all of the above ingredients. Squeeze the lime cubes into the baggie to release some of the juice, but make sure to throw the rind in the bag as well. Allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. 

To make a stir-fry like we did you will also need:

• 1/2 a RED BELL PEPPER, sliced
• 1/2 a GREEN BELL PEPPER, sliced
• 1/2 a ONION, sliced
• 2 servings of RICE

In a skillet we sauteed the peppers and onion until they were tender. We then added the chicken to the skillet along with several tablespoons of the marinade and sauteed it until the chicken was cooked through and all of the flavors had melded together. Serve over rice and enjoy!