Citrus Chicken Fajitas

I was at a loss on what to make (happens to most of us, right? Right?) with chicken. We eat a lot of chicken. It's a staple here. I go to Sam's and buy the chicken breasts in the huge bag. Multiple bags, actually. ;)

Anyway, here's the recipe for an easy, fast, Mexican dinner. It's not a perfect recipe as I just threw it together one night.

Chicken Breasts, sliced into thin strips
Orange Juice
Lemon Juice
Minced Garlic
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Red and Green pepper sliced into thin strips

Put the chicken breasts in a container covered with orange juice, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigate. Overnight is best, but you can also do it for a few hours, at least 3.

Heat a large skillet pan over medium to high heat. Spray with nonstick whatever you use. Stir fry garlic, then add chicken. Cook chicken, then add peppers. Add the rest of the marinade, until it's almost gone.

It goes great with rice, beans, and fresh pico de gallo.

delicioso!

Patty

Taco Pizza: Shocking Toddler Favorite

The grown ups liked it too :)



I used a pillsbury pizza crust...just rolled it out.
Cooked the dough at 400* partially (like 8 minutes) before layering it with:

1st layer: Refried Beans
2nd layer: Diced tomatoes
3rd layer: Taco Meat (ground beef and a taco seasoning packet)
4th layer: Shredded Cheese
5th layer: Diced Olives

(I added a 5th layer of pizza sauce but honestly I did not like it, I would rather have left it off...do what you want...if you do add it then put more cheese on top!)

Cooked it for 10 minutes until the cheese was melted

While it was still warm I dropped dollops of sour cream on top, once they sort of melted with the warmth of the pizza I spread it around lightly (so as to not mess up how pretty it all was)
Then I added a layer of shredded lettuce.

Options: add salsa, a dollop on each slice. add broken up frito's to the top.

Here's a picture of my 14mo old son devouring it. I expected him to turn up his nose but he ate two slices!




Enjoy!

Jamie (and Judah)

Baking with Blueberries

I've been baking a lot. With blueberries.
Without further ado...the recipes:

Blueberry Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks

1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Glaze:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 lemon, zest finely grated

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.

Blueberry Pie

3/4 cup white sugar - or less depending on the sweetness of your berries

4-5 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a dash of lemon juice

5 cups fresh blueberries

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over blueberries.

Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2 - 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges.
Put tin foil around edges of crust.Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

SadlyTheBlueberriesDontCancelOutTheButter,

Mrs. B.

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

I'm almost ashamed to post this for my first post on this blog because it's so easy, but it's really that good. When I was telling Katie about this, I told her that it's so easy that Audrey could pretty much make it - aside from the can opener... I really don't know what this is called, but I got it from a friend and it's amazing! We'll call it Crockpot Mexican Chicken for now...

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (4-6)
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Can of Corn
1 Jar of Salsa (I used Pace Picante in Medium, but for kids you may want to use Mild)
(see, it's that easy!)

Directions
Throw all the ingredients in the Crockpot.
Turn on High for 3 hours.
When done, chicken is easy to shred or cut with a fork.

I usually serve it as a soft taco, so I get cheese, tortillas, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

We also had Spanish Rice on the side and chips and guacamole.

Indulge!

Chicken with Green Bean Casserole

A yummy, cheesy, and simple comfort-food casserole.

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breast Halves (Boneless/Skinless) or a few tenderloins
1 (10.5 oz) can of condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup of mayo- I always use the Olive Oil kind (could substitute sour cream)
1 tsp. garlic powder or fresh garlic if it's available
Bag of grated Parmesan Cheese (I don't use exact measurements)
2 cans of French-style Green Beans (drained)

~ Preheat oven to 350
~ Heat oil (I use olive oil) in a skillet and brown the chicken on each side. You do not need to cook them through.
~ In a small bowl mix together the soup, mayo, garlic, and some of the cheese (I use about 1/4 the bag).
~ Pour green beans into casserole dish or 13 x 9 glass pan. Line chicken on top. Pour mixture all over dish- covering chicken and green beans. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. (I use the whole bag of cheese, but you can use less to make the dish a bit healthier.)
~ Bake uncovered around 35-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through. The cheese will be brown and bubbly.

I normally serve over brown rice, but mashed potatoes would be good as well.

Enjoy, Sarah

Cheese Tortellini Salad

Cheese Tortellini Salad

Cheese Tortellini (I used the double pack from Costco)

Bernsteins Italian dressing

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Julienne sliced Sun Dried Tomatoes

Fresh Basil

Crushed Red Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Cook the Tortellini per instructions on the package. Strain it. Once the Tortellini is room temperature add Bernsteins Italian dressing (I used the whole bottle for my double pack of Tortellini), a little Olive Oil (helps keep the pasta from sticking to each other), Salt & Pepper, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, a little crushed Red Pepper, and some Parmesan Cheese. Refrigerate until ready to be served.

* I do not have exact measurements. Just put in how much you want and what looks good. It is really simple and great for summer BBQs!

Enjoy!!!

~Amy

Simple Pork Chops

10 pork chops
salt and pepper
honey barbecue sauce
one large onion finely chopped,
water,
large pan for baking.

Put about one inch of water in bottom of pan, add a layer of chopped onion in water, then salt and pepper pork chops on both sides. Place pork chops on top of onion, then add a few onions on top of pork chops. Add water to cover.
Bake at 450°F about 1 hour. When nearly done, remove from oven (I poured the water out at this point...) and pour honey barbecue sauce over meat evenly. Return to oven for about 3-5 minutes on broil or long enough to brown barbecue sauce.
Serves 8-10 people.

I used this recipe and only cooked 2 pork chops, they were VERY thick...and they were Grass Fed CSA Pork Chops...which means there is no preservatives/salt in the meat which means you don't need to cook it nearly as long as store bought meat. I cooked them for about 40 minutes and they were plenty well cooked. I think cooking them in the water was a good way to go since they were so thick. I used a meat thermometer and made sure they got to about 160degrees...I didn't want to over cook them since it was my first time cooking grass fed meat.

This was a simple recipe and super delicious. The meat was tender and moist and the flavor was great cause I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce and that stuff is divine!

Jamie