Fresh Strawberry Margarita + Mexican Chicken Bowl
Happy Monday Morning! And Happy National Margarita Day! This wasn’t our intended post to kick off the week, but since we decided to celebrate the big day early, well, it just made sense to share this delicious margarita and Mexican chicken bowl with you! This day is in fact so special in our family that Cody’s step-dad has it marked on his calendar with alerts set up to remind him his favorite Holiday is on the way. Craig is a Tequila connoisseur if you will, and I’m pretty sure he had a margarita in his hand the very first time I met him!
There are so many different versions of the margarita – your classic margarita on the rocks with simple, fresh ingredients (my personal favorite), your fruity, frozen drink perfect for a hot, summer day on the deck (or anytime of year, really), and even a beer margarita which is really, really delicious! We went with a spin on the classic with Cody whipping up a Strawberry-infused simple syrup that added just the slightest hint of sweetness to the tart drink. 
On most Sundays in our home, you’ll find something cooking up in the crock-pot. It’s an easy way to put together a meal for the week to alleviate what always becomes the evening rush to throw together dinner. If you’re in need of a few go-to crock-pot recipes, I keep a running recipe list on Pinterest here. And yes guys in the audience, it’s perfectly acceptable for you to have a Pinterest account! I haven’t been able to talk Cody into one, but I’ve been asked a time or two to “sign-in” to my account so he could view a particular recipe. Dudes, just get your own!
This Mexican chicken recipe couldn’t be easier. There’s a little bit of prep up front in chopping the onion, cilantro and jalapeños (which are totally optional, by the way), but then you can set it and forget it! If I haven’t mentioned it before, the crock-pot is definitely a time and marriage saver when it comes to making dinner! The chicken marinates in the crock-pot in this spicy sauce of tomato paste, cilantro, lemon juice and zest and various spices like Ancho Chile powder and cumin. When finished (the chicken cooks in about 6 hours set on Low), the juicy chicken shreds apart effortlessly, giving you multiple options for dinner time. Layer the pulled chicken over a bed of black beans and quinoa (like we did in this dish) or make yourself some pulled chicken tacos, adding all the goodies like sour cream, avocado and red onions to top them off. This is also a great recipe to have on hand if you’re watching your calories or carb count. Wait, who am I kidding? We’re beer drinkers! We don’t watch our stinking carbs!
I really grew to love the margarita in college. We had a little restaurant called Mad Mex in State College that served margaritas as big as your head! No seriously, they’re huge at 22oz. And strong. Super, super strong. I can’t say I was drinking them at that point in my life to enjoy the way the flavors all meld together into this salty, tart, refreshing beverage. Mad Mex was typically our last stop of the evening in order to hit up their happy hour, and there may have been a time or two where a few of us thought having margarita drinking races was a super smart thing to do. Guess what, it’s not. I would not recommend it. However it is pretty funny to watch one of your friends eat the hottest wings of her life while under the Mad Mex margarita spell. Drunk college kids and their shenanigans, am I right?
These days if I’m going to drink a cocktail or mixed drink, I want the freshest ingredients possible mixed with the highest quality spirits around. Sound too high brow or snobby? Maybe. But we drink craft beers with locally sourced, organic ingredients so why not want the same quality in our craft cocktails? This recipe is just that – fresh ingredients with a premium tequila that will make you remissness about those college town margaritas but have you thanking the gods you’re now much wiser when it comes to your choice of beverage.
So in the words of one of my good college gal pals whom I miss very much, enjoy National Mmmmmmmmmmmargarita Day! And if you find you can’t help yourself now and must conduct your own margarita drinking races, make sure you’ve got plenty of aspirin and water by your bedside (in addition to a LINED trash can) and Saltines and Ginger Ale waiting for you in the morning. And probably the work number for your boss because you’re going to wake up with a mariachi band playing in your head. Bottoms up!
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, minced (optional)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ancho chile powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves (and some for garnish)
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest (or you can use lime juice too)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1.5 to 2 lbs chicken breasts (more gives you leftovers)
- 1 can black beans
- 1 cup quinoa + 2 cups chicken stock
- sour cream, avocado, red onion, cilantro, salsa, lime juice, etc. for topping
- In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add in the chopped onions, cooking and stirring until softened and translucent (about 3-5 minutes).
- Add in the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add in the minced jalapeño peppers and cook another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, salt and pepper, chile powder, paprika, cumin and cilantro. Stir to combine, about 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer contents to a food processor or blender and add in the lemon zest, lemon juice and chicken stock. Process until well combined.
- Place raw chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock-pot and cover with the prepared sauce. Cover and cook chicken on Low for about 6 hours or on high for about 3 hours.
- When ready to eat, prepare the quinoa and black beans (we like to use chicken stock to cook our quinoa instead of water as it gives it more flavor.)
- Remove chicken from crock-pot and using two forks, pull apart and shred chicken.
- Serve chicken over a bed of black beans and quinoa and top with your favorite toppings!
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1.5 cups strawberries, sliced
- 3 oz Tequila
- 2 oz lime juice
- 1 oz strawberry simple syrup
- ½ oz Triple Sec
- Lime wedge for garnish
- In a sauce pan over low heat, add sugar, water and strawberries.
- Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove mixture and strain to remove strawberry pulp. Place to the side and cool.
- Combine margarita ingredients into a shaker and shake to combine.
- Pour margarita mixture over ice and garnish with lime.
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