Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas


photo courtesy of www.realmomkitchen.com
Thank you Karen K. for sharing this recipe – not only easy peasy but yummy!
And since it was already kinda sorta Cinco de Mayo and we kinda sorta missed it, you could still make this recipe and celebrate twice!

This recipe comes from www.realmomkitchen.com and it is VERY flexible.  Whenever I get a recipe from a website, I always take the time to read the comments and see how it worked for everyone and what other great ideas they might pop up with.

And you could put the fajitas on lettuce wraps (Stage 1) or tortillas (Stages 2/3) OR you could dump this on a bed of greens and call it Fajita Salad.

Remember – everyone’s tastes are different so feel free to spice up or down, use more veggies, etc.  This is just a jumping off point for you.  I have altered the recipe slightly for P10.


Makes 12 servings

1 pound thawed boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies - DRAINED
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large bell pepper, seeded and sliced (I use half a green and half a red)
12 lettuce leaf wraps (Stage 1) OR 12 flour tortillas (Stages 2 and 3)
Toppings such as cheese, sour cream, guacamole and fresh lime

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.   Use some extra oil to coat a 13×9 baking dish

Place chicken strips in the baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt.

Combine the spice mixture with the chicken and toss to coat.

Next, add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.  

Serve on tortillas/lettuce wraps or greens with desired toppings.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Nori Wraps


Now remember - Don't knock it until you've tried it...so if you haven't tried nori or you just look at it and go 'eeeeuuuuuwwww' just hear me out...SIT!  Thank you so much.
2 full sheets of nori

Nori, a paper-thin sheet of a roasted and dehydrated seaweed, is used primarily in Japanese cuisine. It commonly serves as a wrapper for sushi rolls. It may also be crumbled for use as a topping or garnish, imparting a sweet but salty taste to dishes. 

However, there's no law that you have to use nori for only Japanese food and certainly no law that it can only be wrapped around rice and raw fish so let's talk nori...

First of all, nori is not a grab and go sort of item.  Once it is wrapped and starts to get moist, it will get a little chewy so wrap and eat one at a time.  Same goes for the cut rolls, try not to let them sit.  Be sure to store nori in a dry place or it will lose its crisp texture.  

Now I wrap EVERYTHING in nori.  And it's darn good.  It's got a nice salty 'snap' to it that I really enjoy.  I will sometimes just eat a sheet of it for funsies.  I keep a package of it on my kitchen table for when the need a fix (of NORI, thank you very much).
  • For breakfast I like eggs and avocado wrapped in nori.
  • At lunch I might mix up tuna or salmon and cream cheese and cucumbers, or avocado and greens and wrap that in nori.
  • For a quick light dinner I have been known to wrap cooked chicken or lunchmeat, cooked veggies and hummus in nori.
  • A light lovely dessert is sliced strawberries and cream cheese wrapped in nori.

To review - some things you could wrap in nori and snack on:

Avocado
Carrots, cut into strips
Cucumber, cut into strips
Fresh salad greens
Beans
Eggs, scrambled or hard baked
Cooked sliced chicken, steak or nitrate free lunchmeat or sausages

Shrimp, Tuna or Salmon
Veggies, roasted or grilled
Fruits - sliced strawberries or apples, raspberries, banana
Cream cheese
Hummus
Greek yogurt or sour cream
Almond butter
Rawtella

Here's the 'official' instructions on how to wrap these up, but hey, sometimes I just give it the good ole college try, it looks funny but tastes good anyway.  So don't stress about getting it perfect unless your Japanese mother-in-law is coming over.  (Don't laugh - I actually have one of those!)

Hand Rolls
makes 1 serving
1/2 sheet nori and ingredients to fill it
 
Place nori horizontally in front of you (landscape), smooth shiny side down.  Place other ingredients on the left half of the nori, diagonally (bottom in lower left corner, top in middle top of nori). Take a dab of filling and place it in the upper right corner.
To roll – pick up nori and hold heavy end in left hand, empty end towards you.  Grab bottom left corner and pull it up and to the right WHILE curling the fingers of your left hand towards that corner.  Squeeze gently to firm up roll and use dab of water to seal.

Cut Rolls
makes 1 serving
1 sheet nori and ingredients to fill it
Place nori horizontally in front of you (landscape), smooth shiny side down.  Place other ingredients across the bottom of the sheet. 
Roll tightly, moisten the empty edge and press to seal.  Use a sharp moist knife to cut into pieces.