Mexican!!!

I LOVE Mexican food. I've also been really bad at posting recipes lately, sorry, but I've been out of town. So, I decided to post two of my favorites. Anyone who is from or has been to Utah, knows about Cafe Rio, right? Well, I love it, so I like to make Cafe Rio salad all the time, here's a recipe for their rice and their creamy tomatillo salad dressing. We even use the dressing as chip dip, we like it so much! I'm also posting a recipe for my favorite chicken marinade. The recipe says to marinade it then grill it, but I don't have a grill, so I just put the marinade and the chicken in my crockpot, cook it all together, then shred it for tostadas. Most of the time, I double the chicken so I can freeze a bag... this is by far my most favorite way to eat chicken and mexican food!!!!!

Chicken Tostadas

MARINADE:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 to 4 limes)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil (plus more for brushing the tortillas)
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
TOSTADAS
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 ounces each)
8 small corn tortillas (5 to 6 inches in diameter)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack, or more if desired
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
Optional toppings: salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, green onions

CAFE RIO DRESSING
2 cups mayonaisse
2 cups sour cream
10 sprigs of cilantro
3 tomatillos (green tomatoes looking things. They have a husk on them, you just peel it off, half the tomato and throw it in the blender)
2 green onions (washed and chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper (seeds and all - if you like it spicy. Sometimes I leave this out completely, or I add a can of green chilis)
juice of 1 lime
1 or 2 tsp. of salt (depends on how much salt you like)

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Dressing lasts for 2 weeks in refrigerator.

Cafe Rio Rice:
4 tbls butter
2 1/2 cups rice
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
juice of 4 small limes or 4 tbls lime juice
4 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin

Put in a pot, bring to a boil, and simmer until rice is done. I had to add a little more water, and at the very end, I take it off the burner and I put the lid on to let it steam a little, that seems to make it just right. We eat this with any mexican food, put it on salad, and eat it with our tostadas.

Buen Provecho!