Thursday, April 3, 2008

Mojito Chicken


I miss living in California. Being able to drive just 30 minutes to the beach. All the beautiful sunshine and mild winters. And Trader Joe's. Yep, one of the things I really miss about living in CA is having access to Trader Joe's. They have such a great selection of food there, and at such reasonable prices. And after seeing on Peabody's blog that they have chocolate covered sunflower seeds, I am even more sad that I do not live near one. I know that they've expanded and you can now find them in several other states. In fact, after living in North Carolina for 6 years, they finally opened up a store close to where I lived... right before I moved! I was so upset that I only got to shop there once before we had to relocate, and now I am stuck again living nowhere near a Trader's Joes.


So, needless to say, whenever I am near one, I like to stock up :) I had heard some good things about their Mojito Simmer Sauce, and being that the mojito is one of my favorite drinks (a Cuban cocktail consisting of rum, sugar cane juice, lime, club soda, and mint), I knew I had to try it. I only bought two jars on my last trip, though, because I didn't want to stock up on something that I had never tried before.

Well, the sauce sat in my pantry for a short while before I figured out what I wanted to do with it. I was presented with the opportunity to use it when I came home from work late one night, with very little time on my hands and very little food in my fridge with which to cook. I had stumbled across and bookmarked this recipe from Envious Edibles, and it looked easy enough to throw together. I had some frozen corn in my freezer, some canned black beans in my pantry, and I always have onions and garlic laying around. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly this dinner came together, and how flavorful it was!


I'm wasn't sure what Caribbean seasoning was, but my mom had given me some Walkerswood Jamaican Jerk Seasoning that she picked up while in Jamaica and it seemed like it would be a good fit for this dish. I simply added a tablespoon of the seasoning to my chicken, tossed it, and then cooked it. Since the jerk seasoning is already spicy, I omitted the crushed red pepper from the recipe. In writing this blog post, I decided to do a little research to find out where you could get this jerk seasoning without buying an airline ticket to Jamaica :) Looks like you can get it not only from Walkerswood, but you can also get it on Amazon.com!



This was really good. I love that the ingredient list is simple, and that it all comes together in under 30 minutes. I will definitely be making this again (and plan to really stock up on some more Mojito Simmer Sauce the next time I'm at Trader Joe's). I went simple this time and served it with plain rice, but I think it would be great to serve this next time with some cilantro lime rice, rolled up in a burrito.

So tell me, what are your favorite items from Trader Joe's? I'd like to get a list together for the next time I'm there :)

Mojito Chicken
from Envious Edibles

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 jar of Trader Joe's Mojito Simmer Sauce
1 can of corn, drained (I used 8 oz frozen corn)
1 can of black beans, drained
1 tablespoon of Caribbean seasoning (I used 1 tbsp of Jamaican Jerk Seasoning)
1/3 cup of Bacardi 151 Rum (or any rum of your choice) (I used Jamaican Appleton Estate)
1 pinch of crush red red pepper (I omitted this)

Salt and pepper chicken, sprinkle with Caribbean seasoning, crush red red pepper and cook until brown in small amount of olive oil. Add Rum and cook until alcohol burns off, remove from pan and set aside.

Saute onions and garlic, add corn and black beans. Simmer for just a few minutes, then add simmer sauce and add chicken back into the sauce.

Serve over rice.

Yield: 3-4 Servings.

22 comments:

  1. I miss California Trader Joes a lot a lot a lot too! When will they come to Peru, that it the question! :)

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  2. Freaky. Deaky. This is on the menu for TONIGHT! :)

    Love this recipe - so easy and so so yum. Maybe Ill try your variation suggestions though since usually I just serve over jasmine rice...

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  3. Oh I forgot...
    Other good TJ items: frozen minced garlic (really truly tastes GARLICKY), Soyaki Sauce (I shake beef tips in it and cook for a quick dinner), and the Indian Simmer Sauces are fab too - throw some chicken in them and maybe peas and serve over rice. GOod stuff in the pantry for those nights when you need something really quick n easy.

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  4. I've made this recipe too and it's delicious. Yours looks great!

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  5. trader joe's this, trader joe's that. i really feel like i'm missing out, never having been to one!

    i love this recipe--corn and black beans are foods i eat almost every day, and then you go and make them even better with some jerk seasoning. oh, and the rum.

    nice. :)

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  6. Jamie that looks so good! I think it's time for lunch now, I just got really hungry :P

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  7. Doesn't that look totally delicious. Now I want a Trader Joe's and there isn't one anywhere near where we are.

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  8. I like mojito and I like chicken, what a shame we don't have TJ's here in the UK. It looks delicious.

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  9. wheree do i find mojito simmer sauce? eeeek! I wanna make this tonight!
    if possible could you email me!? it comes to my phone.
    no worries i'm not some crazy person! LOL I just love your recipes!
    thanks in advance!

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  10. That looks pretty tasty. The sweet corn with the spices would go well together.

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  11. I've no idea what mojito chicken tastes like but I love the sound of these ingredients. Looks delicious!

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  12. I live here a Trader Joe's and go all the time - if you would like anything - I'd be happy to get some things and ship them. (See some New Yorker's are friendly).

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  13. I love Trader Joes, but unfortunately, I'm sure they will never come to Utah. :(

    But this dish looks wonderful!

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  14. I love that jerk seasoning. We bought some when we were in Jamaica and were amazed to find it stocked in our local grocery store. I love cooking chicken with it and then making a light chicken salad with it. I don't use a lot of mayo and leave the chix in chunks. So yummy served in pita pockets.

    Beth, aka brideinOC

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  15. Yep, being 8 minutes from the beach and 5 minutes from Trader Joe's is quite convenient.

    I love mojitos- I'll have to pick up some of that simmering sauce!

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  16. This looks delicious!
    there isn't a Trader Joes near me, I have never been there, but after reading your post, I shall have to figure out where the closest one is!

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  17. I have been reading your blog for quite a while now and have made several of your dishes with great success. Although the real point of the post is to tell you what my favorite things at trader joes are....Dried Mango, Dark Chocolate Covered Raisins, Minced Frozen Garlic (sames me loads of time), Naan in the frozen food section is a good buy if your short on time, Bears Lair Chardonnay is a steal at $5, they have Baela in the refrigerated section that I toss with orzo for a good pasta salad for the work week, Whole wheat pizza dough can be frozen and is delicious, and their Guacomole kit is a steal at $2.69 even if you dont use it for making guac but use each of the ingredients in other dishes!

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  18. Aaah, good old Trader Joe's. I used to live near one, and now I (sadly) have to drive 2.5 hours to get to one. Glad to hear you're a fan!

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  19. anonymous - thank for leaving a comment! i'm glad you enjoy reading my blog and trying out some of the recipes i post about it :) i will have to find some of those things the next time i go to TJ's - which will be in a few weeks - yay! :)

    golden - not sure if you were serious, but your profile is blocked so i have no way of contacting you...

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  20. I'm suck a dimwit! LOL Ok... I found the Jamaican Jerk seasoning at none other than the Jamaican market next door to my job. It's not the same brand but hey it's from the Jamaican spot it's GOT to be similar.

    It seems that every time I'm going to make this dish I don't have everything! Sigh. I have Bacardi 151 - long story, black beans and corn! but alas no mojito. Oh and I was in the city this weekend (nyc) and didnt' think to stop by Trader Joes. Sigh.

    Ok, I'm at goldenbrown [AT] gmail [DOT] com. and it comes to my phone so feel free to email at anytime. I'm going to head out to the nearest "whole foods" market and PRAY they have it. Heck I may even trek down to TJs.

    I really want this tonight!

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  21. Trader Joe's has discontinued the Cuban Mojito simmer sauce. Apparently sales were too low to justify keeping it on the shelves. They did say sometimes products are brought back from obilion if enough customers express an interest. If you like Cuban Mojito simmer sauce, please go to the Trdaer Joe's website and let them now you want it to come back.

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