SOM Cookin’ With Friends

FORT WORTH — TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine staff members provided food and cocktail recipes for employees on June 23, 2020. Hosted by Amy Estes, assistant director for community relations and special events, with special guests Nicholas Medina, assistant director records and registrations, and Chris Gilbody, director for financial education and scholarship, Cookin’ with Friends featured recipes for slow cooker chicken tacos, Spanish rice and frozen watermelon margarita.

Here are the recipes:

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 16 ounce jar salsa
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 8 flour tortillas

Optional:

• 1 cup pico de gallo homemade or store bought
• 1 cup guacamole
• 1/2 cup sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker and sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken. Pour the jar of salsa on top.
2. Cover the slow cooker. Cook at HIGH heat for 3-4 hours or LOW heat for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks and stir in the cilantro.
3. Divide the chicken between the tortillas and top with pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream. Serve immediately.

Spanish Rice

INGREDIENTS

• 1 c raw regular long grain white rice
• 1/2 can(s) small 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp ground oregano
• 2 c water
• 1/8 c chopped fine onion
• 1/8 c cooking oil doesn’t matter what kind

INSTRUCTIONS

1. You want to make rice in a heavy bottomed pan and have a tight fitting glass lid. Place cooking oil in pan with raw rice, use a medium heat to brown the rice, then add the onion making sure all rice/onion is coated with oil. When rice has turned white you add the 1/2 can of tomato sauce, it should be sizzling by this time.
2. When the rice and tomato sauce are sizzling, you add the 2 cups of water and all the spices, stirring until well mixed. When rice mixture is bubbling you lower the heat to simmer, covering with glass lid. cook on low heat for 15 minutes. DO NOT LIFT LID!!!
3. When the 15 minutes are completed, turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove lid and use spatula to turn rice from bottom to top. Rice is done and ready to eat!

As you can see the rice should be dry…not sticky(too much water) or gummy(someone lifted the lid) bright red(too much tomato sauce)or almost white(too little tomato sauce)there is also no brown onions or brown rice(browned too long)

Frozen Watermelon Margarita

3 cups of frozen watermelon

2/3’s cup of tequila

1/3 cup of orange liqueur

1 – 2 full squeezed limes

Blend it all together!

Traditional is the same minus the watermelon

Shaken is a shaker full of ice – 3 cups of blended watermelon same alcohol and lime content/strain into glass (3.99 at WalMart J).