Recipes Rebooted - Chicken Fajita Tacos

Have you ever experienced the phenomenon where you plan something to cook knowing feeling confident that you have all the ingredients?... Only to discover that you are missing a KEY ingredient as your food is on the stove cooking?

That is what happened to me the other day when I decided to use my pretty bell peppers to create fajitas.  Only... I had NO flour tortillas.  NONE.  Completely out...

My food was bubbling happily in the skillet and I had no flour shells.  So, I improvised.  I yelled "We are having Chicken Fajita TACOS for dinner!"  My family was intrigued about the change and eagerly waited while their taste buds were jumping in anticipation.  Okay, maybe that was a stretch.

Make no mistake, there is usually no taco that this family does not enjoy.  We are a taco loving bunch.  So, it seemed like a good idea.  And this was no exception.  It was really delicious!  

Take a look....

 Take your boneless/skinless chicken breasts and season them with THIS amazing seasoning. OR, if you must have Mexican food at least 4 - 5 times a week like me, you can buy it in BULK here.   It is SO yummy I highly recommend you getting the "big boy".  I had to actually purchased my current batch while visiting my Aunt in Texas.  Our stores had quit stocking it because us southerners apparently prefer grits and fried green tomatoes instead of Tex-Mex. 

 

Season it liberally.  No real science here.

While your chicken is "marinating", you can cut up your bell peppers and onions.  Again, there does not really need to be a recipe on this one.  Just cut up as much as your family likes to eat.  It's really simple... I promise....

And place them in a pan with a little butter to start the sauteing.  

Cook over medium heat until they are soft.

Remove the vegetables and set aside.  Now, cut your chicken into strips and place in the same pan.  All that delicious flavor will transfer onto the chicken along with the fajita seasoning.  Yummy!

You will want to cook the chicken about 4 minutes on each side.

When 8 minutes are up, place the vegetables back in the pan with the chicken and give it a stir.  

I make my corn shells from scratch instead of buying the hard, crunchy kind.  I just prefer them.   They are easy to cook.  You just need corn tortilla shells, a small pan, and a small amount of vegetable oil in the bottom of the pan.  You will need to heat the oil until it is hot.  

Do you know a quick way to determine if the grease is hot enough?  Once the oil is heated for a few minutes, take the handle of a wooden spool and place it in the oil.  If you see bubbles around the handle, the oil is ready for frying!

When cooking the shells, I usually lay them in flat and one at the time.  I cook one side for about 20 seconds and flip it over to the other side for another 20 seconds.  Once the shell begins to firm up, I fold the shell in half and let it fry for a few more seconds to set the "fold". 

Top your "TACOS" with whatever topping you prefer.  Here, I have tomatoes, cheese dip and cheese.   (Don't show this post to my doctor who is treating me for high cholesterol....)  Sometimes I add sliced black olives, or avocados, or salsa...  It really is up to you.

 

Have you cooked anything yummy lately?  Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

xoxo,

Tracy 

“The principal mark of genius is not perfection but originality, the opening of new frontiers.”
― Arthur Koestler

Recipes Rebooted - Swiss Chicken

Today's DELICIOUS recipe comes from my step-mom.  She made this dish for us many years ago and from that moment on, it was a family favorite with my kids.  And it is another EASY recipe.  So here is how you make it:

 You need these ingredients:

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

8 (oz) of stuffing mix

Swiss cheese slices

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 soup can of milk

Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and place in your casserole dish.

Top each piece with Swiss cheese slices. 

 Mix together your Cream of Chicken soup and 1/2 can of milk until creamy.  Pour over the chicken and cheese. 

 Mix together 8 oz of your choice of stuffing mix and 1 stick of melted butter until moistened. 

Pour over the top of your mixture and smooth out.

And that's it!  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until done.  

The chicken is moist and delicious and the cheese and soup bubble up over the stuffing and it is TRULY the best part of the meal!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Tracy

Recipes Rebooted - Italian Shrimp

I tried a new recipe last night and I had dinner cooked in 20 minutes!  Prep time did not take that long either and it was pretty tasty.  I wanted to share it with you today if you need a quick dinner from start to finish.

I got the recipe from HERE.  

Take a stick of butter and melt it on a cookie sheet.  (That's a well "loved" cookie sheet!) 

Take a lemon.  In fact, take three.  Or how ever many you need.

Slice the lemons.

And place them all over that well-loved cookie sheet.

 Take a bag of frozen shrimp, your choice in size.

  

And layer it on the sheet.

Take a packet of Good Season Italian dry seasoning mix.

And sprinkle it all over the mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

And then enjoy!

"The chief enemy of creativity is good sense."  Pablo Picasso

xoxo, 

Tracy

Recipes Rebooted - Salsa Soup

I love those recipes that are so easy, yet delicious, that you can go to them from memory.  And what is hard to remember when a recipe has only 4 ingredients!  If you are a soup "connoisseur", you will LOVE Salsa Soup.  It makes in the crock pot which adds to its ease.  Give it a try!  I think you will love it.

Recipe

Salsa Soup:

*  4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (can still be frozen or use fresh)
*  2 jars (16 oz) Pace Picante Sauce (I am a wimp when it comes to spicy, but if you are not, go ahead and pick your poison... Not real poison, of course... that would be dangerous!)  
*  2 cans of Mexican Corn (I usually use Green Giant, but I do not think the brand matters.)
*  1 (32 oz) carton of chicken broth (I usually use what is on sale, so it really does not matter which brand you use... SEE, I told you this was easy!)

Throw all ingredients into your crock pot, even if the chicken is still frozen.  Set your crockpot on high and leave it for 4 hours.  DONE!

If you want to, you can add some cheese to your soup and your favorite "crunchy" chip, like tortillas.  I usually do not add anything and I love this soup.

Enjoy and happy creating!

Tracy

Alterations and Lemon Curd

So last night, my oldest daughter, who is also my middle child, and I went and had her wedding dress altered for the first time.  I wish I could show you some pictures, but we cannot risk her fiance' seeing the photos before the wedding.  I will post pictures after the wedding.  So, you are just going to have to trust me on this one and I promise you will not be disappointed. 

 She looks BEAUTIFUL in her dress.  

I know, I know.. I'm probably biased.  But I really do not believe I am!  She has chestnut hair that was cascading down her back with her alabaster skin and blue eyes... Okay, maybe a "little" biased.  More importantly than any of that is how my daughter feels.  You can tell that she feels beautiful in her dress and that is all that matters.  

Anywho, I hope to show you pics soon and as of today, we have officially two months!

Do you remember the lemon meringue pie that your grandmother used to make?  The one with the lemon filling and the meringue piled on top, so high?  And she would toast it in the oven until the peaks were lightly browned?  Boy, I wish I had a photo of that pie!  Heck!  I wish I had that PIE!  It was creamy, lemony goodness...   It is what I thought of when my niece brought me home FREE lemons from a lemon tree on the farm that she tends.  Those lemons were the size of oranges!  Look at the size of those whoppers!  She picked them while they were still green so they could ripen over several days at my house. 

In the photo below, you can tell that several days have passed and the lemons are becoming more yellow.   They were so pretty. 

My niece brought me so many lemons!  Too many to make just ONE pie.  (Don't let me fool you...I was making all kinds of lemon recipes!)  Because I wanted to have them around for awhile, I needed to make something that would allow me to "can" the fruit.  That's when I remembered that once, a previous neighbor brought me a jar of her homemade lemon curd.  It was sweet lemon creaminess in a jar.  I HAD to find a recipe.  I went to my trusty website, FoodNetwork and found Ina Garten's lemon curd recipe.  

Let me tell you friends... this is supremely delicious!  I ladeled the curd into hot jars and sealed the contents.  It was so good that I reluctantly  joyfully gave them away as Christmas presents.

This photo shows the lemon after I've zested it.  You do not want to get the white part of the pith when zesting your fruit.  It does not taste very well. 

 

Look at all of that yellow gold....  

It absolutely tastes so delicious at this point....  But be very careful because it's very hot!

Get you some canning jars and make sure you boil them and keep the jars, lids and rings hot.

I cannot stress enough how delicious...

On top of toasted sourdough bread...

This is so easy to make!  Get creative!

 

Recipes Rebooted - Chicken Stew

One of my very favorite things to do is eat... I mean cook!  Yeah, that's what I meant!  One of my very favorite things to do is COOK.   My creative side just loves taking ingredients and throwing them together and having my family enjoy the fruits of my labor.  Unlike other creative venues, the efforts put into cooking are immediately felt with instant gratification.  Now, I have to be honest here...  I am a recipe-kinda girl.  I do not venture much with experimentation.  I know what you are thinking... Well, how is that creative?  Just the act of perusing new recipes and even old favorites gets my creative juices flowing.  And with an "I cooked, you clean" mentality in our household, cooking is really not a bad gig for me!

In my quest to continue being creative on a daily basis, tonight I made Chicken Stew with Biscuits. 

 It is an Ian Garten recipe and can be found HERE.   I modify the recipe a bit.  I do not use pearl onions because I feel there are enough onions sauteed already.  I usually use carrots and peas as my vegetables.  And lastly, I use frozen biscuits.  I'm just not going to go to all of that trouble when Mary B's biscuits (butter flavored!) are just as good.  The biscuits in this picture are flipped on the underneath side.  My hubby likes to have the top and bottom cooked so he flips the biscuits over and lets the bottom cook as well.   

When my youngest daughter's best friend comes over for the night, Chicken Stew MUST be on the menu.  Give it a try.   I KNOW you will love it.

Happy 2013!

Happy 2013 everyone! I hope that your new year will be a blessed and happy year. 

Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch (one of my very favorite blogs!) posted a recipe of a champagne punch that has been a successful addition to her New Year's celebration.  In the spirit of trying to be creative each day of 2013, my youngest child and I were celebrating New Year's Eve last night together and we decided to give it a try.  After all, trying new recipes is just another way to be creative!  Susan is right!  This punch is delicious!  The cinnamon and cloves give this champagne punch such a warm, deep flavor!  You must give this punch a try.  Click HERE for Susan's recipe!

Happy New Year!  

Lemon Poppy Seed Loafs!

I LOVE to cook.  Especially when I have people to cook for...  It's therapeutic.  It's fun.  And when you are finished, you have something delicious for your tummy!  My family says I cook well.  That's so gratifying.  I love the joy that food brings to the people that I love.  


Pinterest makes it so easy for me to find recipes.  The picture does the talking and draws me in!  Once I click on the picture, in most cases I can find the blog that showcases the recipe.  So it's so simple!  I decided that while I was pinning recipes, I was going to make sure that I actually tried some recipes, and often.   Today, I made Ina Garten's Lemon Blueberry/Poppy Seed Loafs!  

Oh. My. Goodness!

While I watch Ina all the time and I love her food, I did not make these until I saw the loaves on Pinterest.  Again, a picture is worth a 1000 words!  I got the recipe from Fresh From The Oven.

I had to make both blueberry and poppy seeds for my loaves.  My husband works in an industry where he cannot eat poppy seeds due to random drug testing, so we have to be careful.  

I'm including the recipe here because I will certainly be making these again.  Please give it a try.  

Lemon Yogurt Cake
adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa At Home

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 containers of 5.3oz organic Greek yogurt
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons of poppy seed
1/4 cup of frozen blueberries (more if you are making a big loaf cake)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan or the mini loaf pans.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Add in your preferred add on ingredients (poppy seed or blueberries) and bake for about 50 minutes, (if you are using the big loaf pan) about 25-30 minutes (if you are using smaller pans),or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/4 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

Recipe Swap!

I participated in a recipe card swap with the Magnolia-licious Yahoo group. It was a lot of fun trying to figure out my "look" and also which recipe I was going to use. When I received my swaps in the mail, I was so excited! Thank you to the ladies that participated. I loved all of my cards and am participating in the next swap.

Here is a picture of what my recipe card looked like. My daughter liked that Tilda was leaning because she said it makes her look "sassy"... I hope you like it.