Cilantro Lime Chicken: Freezer Friendly

Another great recipe... make one, take one!  We had this one night this past week and I just dropped off the frozen one to sweet family #2 this morning :)  I hope they like it as much as we did!  I'm telling you what - I'm totally into these meals I've been doing lately where I pull out all the ingredients one time and have two meals when I'm done.  Let's talk about that math!  Does 1 = 2?  For sure this time around.  Hope you enjoy this spin on annnooootther chicken dish!

Cilantro Lime Chicken - from this website - here's her great printable recipes!

(Makes 2 meals)

6 chicken breasts

3 tbls olive oil

2 limes, juiced

2 cups cilantro 

1 large bag of frozen corn or two smaller bags (I used half the corn in this gigantic bag I found)

4 minced garlic cloves

1 finely chopped red onion

2 cans black beans, rinsed

2 tsp cumin (this is what I used) or chipotle powder

salt / pepper to taste

freezer safe gallon bags

Split everything into two containers.  Shake up, seal, label and put in the freezer.  Directions for use: The night before you want to use, place in the refrigerator to thaw.  Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours.  Serve with tortillas.  Top with sour cream, guacamole, cheese, salsa, etc.

This is the first time I'd tried mincing my own garlic from a head of garlic since I usually buy the pre-minced jarred kind.  I will continue to buy my original kind ;)  It's not worth all that effort!

It was so great making double because I chopped & rinsed once, but put half in the crockpot and half in the freezer safe gallon bag.

For the crockpot: I stirred the onion, beans, and corn together.  In a separate bowl I mixed the garlic, olive oil, lime juice cumin, and cilantro.
For the 'take' bag: I just put the onion, beans, corn, garlic, olive oil, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in directly.

For the crockpot: Since I was putting half of this recipe directly into the crockpot, I decided to mix the chicken around in the oil, garlic, cilantro, cumin mixture.  This worked out great because it coated the chicken and I was able to pour the rest directly in with the vegetables.

For the crockpot: I mixed my chicken into the corn, beans, and onion.
Aaaaannnd for the 'take' bag: Place in 3 chicken breasts. Seal.  Shake around.  Freeze.  Amazing how simple this is.  Note: It's easier to write the directions on the bag before you fill it ;)

After 4 hours on high, it was done.  Yum!  This recipe is very fragrant cooking throughout the day.  I could hardly wait to try it when DH got home!

I shredded the chicken, mixed it back in the sauce, and served it simple... with cheese and sour cream.  Chips on the side!

 P.s.  Leftovers, with the addition of a little shredded cheese, work DEVINE in quesadillas for lunch the next day ;)

The Verdict
I loooved these as is.  DH thought it was too much cilantro.  Cilantro seems to be one of those love / hate spices.  I've never cooked with it before. Next time I make these, I will use less cilantro.  The grocery store didn't have fresh cilantro the day I went, so I got some in a tube.  I put a big dollap in.  Make sure to use the amount you like.  This recipe totally kicked up the flavor of plain 'ole chicken... and for living into a non-Mexican food area (double Boo!) this recipe totally fit the bill for me and my taste buds.  Try this new twist on chicken today :)