Oven-Baked Steak and Chicken Fajitas

FAJITAS! Ah yes, what's better than being at a tex-mex restaurant and hearing that intriguing sizzle followed by the most incredible smell EVER? I'll tell you what's better, being able to make INCREDIBLE fajitas at home IN. YOUR. OVEN. Yes, delicious, flavorful, amazing, oven-baked chicken and steak fajitas. Let's do this.

Marinades:

First, you have to prepare your marinades, and I have 2 wonderful recipes for that right here! Oh and what makes it better, is that they're complimentary of each other...I heard them saying such nice things about each other when I stepped into the other room. Nah, just kidding...but in all seriousness, they share a lot of the same ingredients so it's not a feud of flavors if you mix the steak and chicken in one luxurious fajita. Here's what you need:

Fajita Supplies:

AT LEAST 1 pound of steak (I cheat and buy the kind that's already cut into strips)

AT LEAST 1 pound of chicken (I buy the pre-carved, thin chicken breast, it's easier to cut plus the fat is already trimmed off)

1 LARGE green bell pepper (or more if you like lots of pepper!)

1 LARGE red bell pepper (see above)

1 sweet white onion

Sour Cream

Hot Pepper Blend cheese OR Queso Quesadilla cheese

Chipotle Pepper tortillas

Steak Marinade:

1/3 cup Soy Sauce

1/3 cup Freshed Squeeze Lime Juice (you'll find all paper cuts here)

1/3 cup Canola or Vegetable Oil

3 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

Chicken Marinade:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/3 cup Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice (again...paper cuts. ow)

1 teaspoon Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Cumin

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 cup Vinegar

1 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 tablespoon Paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons Onion Powder

2 teaspoons Chili Powder

Here's Whatchya Do:

First, prepare both marinades the night before, cut up the meat and dump each marinade in it's own gallon Ziploc bag. Add the meat then marinade overnight.

The next day, when you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut yo' veggies. I like to cut the peppers length wise then cut those strips in half. As you can see from the above picture, my onions are quarantined in their own little dish due to my husbands onion allergy, but you can put them in with all the other veggies if you'd like!

I cook the two meats separate with their own share of veggies so they keep their individual, delicious flavors. I use (2) 9x13 dishes, greased down with Pam or other non-stick spray and spoon the meat out of the marinade bag (keep as much juice in the bag as you can) and mix in some veggies. Now I take a tiny bit of each marinade and pour it over my onions (if you're cooking yours separate, it gives it a nice flavor and some juices to cook in), then pour the remaining juices over their individual pans. Mix it nice and good so all veggies are coated with the marinade.

Pop your creations into the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked (165 degrees). Once they're done, dress up your fajitas however you'd like, then...

ENJOY THOROUGHLY!

Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups

Lasagna is amazing, yes, I agree, but spinach lasagna roll ups are EVEN BETTER! This recipe is tweaked to be as healthy as possible...yes there's cheese...and lots of it, but dang, it's delicious! My husband requests these allll the time and they're so good that even our 2 rarely home roommates make it back to sit at the dinner table like my two sons that are older than me. Like a big, awkward, yet happy family! Okay, here's the recipe...I'll stop talking now. Oh, PS, this is a "regular servings size" recipe, I usually double it to make 18 rolls.

Ingredients:

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles

15 oz container of Ricotta Cheese

1 large egg

2 cups shredded mozzarella 

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

1 can leaf spinach (I don't use the entire can, I use about 3/4)

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Here's Whatchya Do:

First, bring your water to a boil in a large pot, then add the lasagna noodles. Cook them until they're cooked, but not slimy...about 12 minutes or so! 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While the noodles are cooking, combine the cheeses, using just ONE CUP of mozzarella (the other cup is to put on top of the noodles at the end), the egg, Parmesan, and spinach. Mix it all together until all ingredients are well integrated.

Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by covering the bottom of the pan with half a jar of pasta sauce. Spread sauce with spoon or baking spatula, then give the dish a gentle shake to smooth out the lines left by the spoon (if you're weird like me and want it to be all smooth).

*Here's a great tip most recipe blogs and cook books don't tell you...when you're ready, drain the noodles in a colander then immediately transfer to a large bowl of COLD water, this will stop the cooking process on the noodles so they don't get too soft, and also keeps them from getting too dried out and sticking together, as they would if you were to just leave them in the colander! You're welcome.

Once noodles are ready, drain and toss into large bowl of cold water. Lay out your noodles on a large cutting board or workable surface and dab dry the side facing up with a paper towel. Add large enough globs of your mixture to each noodle, smoothing it out but leaving about an inch free at the top. Roll your noodles up, not too tight because it will ooze out of the sides, but tight enough for the mixture to shift up to the untouched top! Now lay them seam down in the baking dish.

Once all noodles are all snuggly in the dish, pour remaining pasta sauce over top and sprinkle remaining cup of Mozzarella on top. Now cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread and salad and eat by candle light to really set the mood. Enjoy!

Mock Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup

You know what's amazing? If you said Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup...you are MOSTLY correct. I was going to say my Mock Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup but, ya know, you may not have tried it yet...so you're just unaware of the awesomeness I'm about to teach you. You're welcome in advance.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or any type of olive oil you may have)

3/4 cup onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced...or more...since garlic is amazing

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cups half & half

4 cups (or one box) reduced sodium chicken broth (I buy 2 boxes and add more as it evaporates for a little more brothy rather than super thick)

2 cups (or 2 larger cans) of cooked chicken, shredded or chopped into bite-size pieces

1 pound potato gnocchi

3 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

freshly grated Parmesan for serving

Here's Whatchya Do:

In a large soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender, stirring often. While it's cooking, enjoy that amazing sizzle that makes me love cooking and that incredible smell of onion and garlic bubbling in butter...yummm.

Sorry, back on track here..

Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir into the onion/garlic combo and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time, stirring it into the mix. Yes, it will be thick, but the more broth you add in, the better it's going to get. Now add in the half & half.

Add in the chicken and bring your mix up to a simmer and maintain for about 20 minutes. Don't forget to stir and stir often!

Cook the gnocchi separately according to the package. Once they're done, use a slotted spoon to get them out of the water and add them to your soup. At this time, add in the fresh spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted. Now stir in your basil and let it cook for a minute or two. During this process, if the soup is looking too thick, I like to add a little more chicken broth, about 1/4 cup at a time, until the thickness is to my liking.

Serve this soup topped with fresh Parmesan and garlic bread sticks and you're winning! It's very good reheated, but I do suggest reheating with a little more chicken broth splashed in...it does settle and thicken quite a bit when it's refrigerated! ENJOY!

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

This was a first time quinoa experience for us. We were scared, I believe I even posted a status on facebook asking if it was one of those super-good-for-you foods that tasted like dirty feet after they've been walking around the Renaissance Festival all day. Most of the answers I received were of the "it tastes like whatever you cook it with" response so I figured, eh, why not, lets give it a go, shall we? My husband was certainly a little leery, looking at it like I just pooped in his pepper, but he soon got over it. This was relatively easy to make but the one suggestion I will add in here is this: tone down the pepper however you can...it took away from the great taste nestled inside of it. One thing you will notice with my recipes is I cook a lot of food...main reason...I'm usually feeding 3 men and myself, and goodness can these men EAT!

Ingredients:

1 box gluten free quinoa (yields about 2 cups uncooked but recipe calls for 3 cups cooked...better to have more than you need than not enough, right?!)
4 cups water
1 (4 oz) can green chiles
1 cup sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chiles, mild
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (pshh, I used way more but I am a cheese-aholic)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
6 bell peppers, tops cut, stemmed, seeded and rinsed.

**recipe does call for 3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro, but I didn't use it because my husband believes cilantro tastes like dirt...mmkay..It also calls for salt and pepper to taste but due to my kidney failure, I am on a low sodium diet and NEVER cook with salt.

Here's whatchya do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook quinoa according to package, usually the box I use says mix 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water, but hey, we're going all out so dump the whole dang thing in a saucepan and add 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 mins. The quinoa should be clear with the white germ ring visible.

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, green chiles, corn, beans, Ro-Tel tomatoes, cheeses, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Here you also add your cilantro if you're a fan of it (which I am so boo, no dirt cilantro for me)

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam or another non-stick alternative, then line those pretty peppers up, making sure the opening is facing up. Spoon your tasty mixture into each pepper, here I add more cheese, just at the top, and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is fully cooked, approximately 25-30 mins.

Serve immediately and enjoy thoroughly.