Ancho Chipotle Chicken Fajitas

Fajitas are a go-to meal for us. Low in carbs, great flavor and so easy. I found some pre-marinated Ancho chicken at Vons over the weekend and thought it would make perfect fajitas. I was right- so delicious. They came out a little watery with the marinade, but just drain before adding to your corn tortilla and it will be fine. I had a corn tortilla for one, but then just put the mix over fresh baby spinach. It was perfect!

1 package of Ancho Chipotle Chicken *

2 pasilla peppers

1 red pepper 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion

salt and pepper

Directions:

• In a dutch oven or normal pan, add olive oil and onions cut into thin long pieces and saute for about 4 minutes. 
• Add peppers and mix all together. Then add salt and pepper to your preference.
• Add chicken thighs and get them all mixed in with the veggies. 
• Cover the dutch oven and let cook about 15-20 minutes. 
• Remove the chicken and cut into strips, then add back to the veggies and stir. 
• Serve it up on your favorite warmed corn tortilla or over a bed of spinach!

* I am not sure if the chicken is only available and Vons and Safeway. If you don't have or can't find the pre-marinated chicken, from eating the chicken, I think the following would be a good substitute for the marinade. Mix 1 tablespoons ancho chili powder, 1/2 cup chili sauce, 5 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons coffee and the zest of 1 orange.

Taco Soup

Stephen requested this meal after he had it at one of the coaches houses after a game last week. Super easy, kind of like my Pantry Chili but a little more like a soup and less like a chili- if that makes sense? Stephen actually found all the ingredients for the Taco Soup and was going to make it for me... but I kind of took over. Sorry Stephen! It was really good - I give him all the credit :)

1 lb of ground turkey

2 cans of corn

1 can of black beans

1 can of white beans

1 medium size can of hominy

1 large yellow onion

1 can of green chilies

2 cans vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 cup jar jalapenos (we didn't have this but thought it would be a good addition)

Optional ingredients to add when you serve: 

cilantro

Green onion

more yellow onion

cheese 

Seasoning mix (or you can use store bought taco seasoning):

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

Directions: 

• In a large pot, cook turkey and add seasoning mix.
• Add onion and saute until it starts to get tender. 
• Add the vegetable broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to get all of the little bits off- that is all flavor! 
• Dump in all the other ingredients and let it cook about 20 minutes for all of the flavors to join together.
• Serve up and top with your favorite toppings!

Chicken & Sweet Potato Hash

Had some chicken in the fridge I needed to use and some sweet potatoes that were definitely in need of preparing since they had been sitting on the counter forever. This was a great dish that was super filling and satisfying... not to mention SUPER easy! This is a perfect dish for dinner, but could also be served up for breakfast too. This dish could easily serve 4 people, or 2 with some leftovers.

2 chicken breasts

2 sweet potatoes

1 yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 tablespoon olive oil 

4 eggs (2 eggs per person)

salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder

garlic powder

oregano

Isn't the prettiest dish, but sure tastes amazing!

Directions: 

• Dice up the chicken into small cubes. 
• Dice up the sweet potatoes into cubes, about the same size as the chicken (1/2 inch pieces roughly)
• Dice up the onion and garlic. 
• Start by sauteing the onion in oil for about 2-3 minutes. 
• Then add garlic and sweet potatoes and cook about 5-8 minutes. The sweet potatoes will just start to get tender. Season with a little salt and pepper and garlic powder. 
• Season the chicken with some salt and pepper, oregano and garlic powder. Then add to the pans!
• Add the curry powder to the hash and cook until the chicken is browned and cooked all the way through and the sweet potatoes are tender but still have some firmness (you can also substitute whatever you favorite seasonings are here, but the curry surprisingly added something great)
• In a separate pan, fry up an egg (however you like it - I recommend over-easy)
• Place your cooked hash on a plate and serve the egg over the top! 

Stuffed Acorn Squash Bowls

Went to Avila Barn today with my friend and her 3 &4 year old and my mom. Had a great time on the tractor ride and seeing all the goodies Avila always has to offer. I decided the acorn squash looked so cute, couldn't resist making something with them. This is what I came up with! This dish could also be made into a vegetarian/vegan dish by omitting the chicken and just do all water or veggie stock!

2 Acorn squash *

3 medium shallots

5 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon cilantro

2 green onions

1/2 cup craisins

1 rotisserie chicken **

juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon

1 cup quinoa

3/2 cup water

1 can chicken broth

1/4 cup roasted and chopped almonds

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Cut acorn squash in half and remove seeds
• Place in a baking dish and brush olive oil all over the inside and outside, season with salt and pepper. 
• Roast for approximately 30 minutes until you can easily pierce the squash with a fork.
• Chop 
• While squash is cooking, in a pan on the stove add 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute shallots and garlic. 
• Add rotisserie chicken (chopped) and cook for 3 min just to get warm. Add quinoa and let cook for about 2 minutes just to toast the grain. 
• Add 1 can chicken broth and 3/4 cups water. 
• Cover and let cook, stir occasionally with a fork. 
• When quinoa is cooked remove pan from the heat, add 3 cups fresh spinach, cilantro, craisins and green onions. 
• Juice the lemon and mix everything together. 
• Put the quinoa mix in the acorn squash bowls and put the squash bowls back into the oven and cook about 10 more minutes. 
• Remove and sprinkle with almonds.
• Serve!

* This could serve 4 people. Stephen and I each ate 1/2 of an acorn squash.
** You can substitute the chicken for sausage if you want too!

Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash

I love this meal for its simplicity. It is so easy and always tastes delicious. This is a perfect weeknight meal (don't mind my extremely messy picture below)! This meal served Steve and I, as well as left us with tons of left overs!

1 large spaghetti squash

6 cups favorite spaghetti sauce

1 - 2 pounds ground turkey (or your favorite ground meat)

You are all thinking it.... booooobs

Directions: 

• Cut spaghetti squash in half (hamburger style)
• For the spaghetti sauce, I always make tons of extra meat sauce when I make spaghetti so I can freeze it and use it at times like this. If you don't have a pre-made sauce, put 3 -4 jars of your favorite store bought marinara sauce in the crock pot and then add 1 - 2 pounds (depending on how meaty you like it) to the crock pot. Break up the meat a little in the crock pot and stir it into the sauce. Don't worry about cooking it first. You want the sauce to go up the spaghetti squash an inch or 2 in the crock pot. 
• Then add your halved spaghetti squash, cut side down, to the crock pot. 
• Cover and cook on low for 7 hours 
• Shred the squash right into the spaghetti sauce and stir. 
• Serve it up!

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

I wanted to bake today and Stephen requested I make something "healthy" (apparently my Snickerdoodle Bread last week wasn't his version of healthy :))  - something we could take easily for breakfasts. So after scouring the internet, I ended up making my own version of an oatmeal breakfast bar. It turned out pretty good. Not super sweet, great texture, and cut easily into perfect breakfast portions. They are also packed with fiber and protein and have NO added sugar. Since there is no sugar, like I mentioned they are not very sweet (which I really like), but you could add some agave to the wet ingredients to add some sweetness. I also think that next time I make these I will add some unsweetened shredded coconut too.  I will definitely be making this again!

3 cups Coaches Oats (can get this at Costco)*

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup chopped apricots

1 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons flax seeds

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cups pistachios, chopped

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups skim milk (can also use almond, rice, or coconut milk)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix dry ingredients together
• Mix wet ingredients together
• Combine both together and mix well. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish that has been lined with parchment paper. 
• Bake for 40 minutes. The top will be browned and the bars will be set, yet still have some bounce when you touch them. 
• let them sit at least 15 minutes before cutting (30-45 min is best)
• Cut into bars. 
• I think these would actually do well in the freezer too if you are able to make a bunch in advance!

* note- a quick cook steel cut oats or oatmeal would work too :)