Chicken Fajitas

Mexican food and I have a loving relationship. It seems like no matter what Mexican dish I create lately turns out awesome - which is such a confidence booster for my cooking skills! So when I was craving fajitas the other day and came across this recipe, I pretty much knew I had to try it... that very night. Let me tell you - it did not disappoint. As I mentioned below, the recipe makes about 6 servings and with just me and the hubby - we still ate it all in about 2 days. (Makes awesome leftovers by the way!) Super delicious. Super quick and easy. And even after eating it all, I'm still craving more.

Chicken Fajitas
6 SERVINGS 
PREP: 1 hour 15 minutes           COOK: 20 minutes            READY IN: 1 hour 35 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

For the marinade:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or sweetener of choice)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin

For the fajitas:

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced (red, yellow, or white onion can be used)
• 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced 
• Tortillas (corn or flour)
• Avocado
• Sour cream

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Mix all the "marinade" ingredients together in a large Ziploc back (or Tupperware container), including the sliced chicken. 
2. Marinade for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the marinade and chicken and saute until chicken is cooked through. (About 10 minutes)
4. Add the onion, peppers, and tomato and cook for 2 -3 minutes, or until tender. 
5. Serve with corn/flour tortillas and your favorite toppings. We love to add avocado and sour cream but salsa, cheddar cheese, etc. would be good too!

NUTRITION FACTS

---

2 corn tortillas with ingredients   483 calories  23 g fat  45 g carbs   27 g protein   13 g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Meaningful Eats

Super Simple Crock Pot Thai Chicken and Coconut Rice

Ever since the holidays, we have been battling one sickness after another. Add to that the fact that my husband has been away for several days at a time on trips, and it means that I have been seriously struggling to get a decent dinner on the table at all. I. just. don't. feel. like. cooking.

This recipe, however, is helping me get out of my cooking funk. It was so easy. So delicious. And so full of nutritious yumminess … I'm feeling new inspiration. The prep for the chicken here seriously consists of throwing three (count them, 3!) ingredients into a crockpot, letting it sit for hours until you're ready to cook up the rice, mix in just a couple more things to liven up the flavor, and then serve. I kid you not, it's pure brilliance on a plate!

The original inspiration for this recipe called for the meat to be served in whole pieces over white rice. My kids do better when the meat is shredded down, plus that opened up the chance to add in some veggies by mixing in onion and red peppers. To further simplify, I opted for a super simple method with the coconut rice, and just cooked the rice as usual in the rice cooker, then mixed in coconut milk and beans with the cooked rice. It gave great flavor to the rice, without adding any complexity to cooking it.

Crock Pot Thai Chicken and Coconut Rice
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 3-6 hours in the crockpot            READY IN: 3 hours, 15 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 1 can lite coconut milk, divided
• 1/2 cup store-bought peanut sauce (Trader Joe's has a good spicy peanut vinaigrette or peanut satay sauce that both work well, but you should be able to find something similar in the Asian section of any market)
• 2-3 chicken breast pieces (about 3/4-1 pound total)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can red (kidney) beans
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
• salt and pepper to taste
• diced green onions, cilantro, and peanuts for garnish

DIRECTIONS

---

1. In a medium-sized crock pot, place the chicken topped with 1 cup coconut milk and 3/4 cup peanut sauce. Cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3 hours. 
2. When the chicken is cooked and tender, remove from the crock pot and shred with a fork. Add back into the crock pot, along with the diced onion and red pepper. Let simmer until the rice is ready.
3. About 45-60 minutes before eating, cook the brown rice with 2 cups water in a rice cooker or over the stove top. When the rice is cooked, add in the remaining coconut milk and beans, as well as the ginger, if desired. (Season with additional salt, if needed.)
4. Serve the chicken over rice, topped with diced green onion, cilantro, and peanuts. 

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    Serving size: approx. 1 cup rice with 3/4 cup chicken    550 calories   12.5 g fat   61.8 g carbs    47.9 g protein    6.2 g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats.

Healthy Breakfast Burritos

Keeping with the theme of this month's Healthy Habits Challenge, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite pre-workout meals. Since I work out in the mornings, I like to make sure that my breakfast is packed with carbohydrates as this will give me the energy to make it through my workout and make sure I'm burning fat rather than muscle.

Since I like to eat about 90 minutes before a workout and my mornings can be a tad crazy getting kiddos ready and all loaded in the car so we're on time for school drop off, I make these ahead of time and freeze them individually, wrapped in foil. All I have to do is heat them up (take off the foil first), wrapped in a wet paper towel, for about 45 seconds on a reduced power (I do 7). I drizzle salsa over it and within minutes, I've eaten a healthy and nutritious meal.

Even if you're not headed to the gym in the mornings, this is a great on-the-go breakfast for those busy mornings. Instead of drizzling the salsa on top, feel free to put it in the burrito to make it more transportable. :)

Healthy Breakfast Burritos
15 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 15 minutes            READY IN: 30 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 15 eggs
• 1 lb. ground chicken sausage
• 1 small green pepper
• 1 small red pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 15 whole wheat tortillas
• Salsa for topping

DIRECTIONS

---

1. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage. Stir occasionally until cooked all the way through.
3. Add whisked eggs to the skillet and mix with the sausage.
4. Once eggs are cooked, add the peppers and black pepper. Mix together.
5. Lay out one tortilla, and put the egg and sausage mixture in it. Roll up and drizzle salsa on the top, if desired.

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 serving    219 calories   7.5g fat   23.2g carbs    15g protein    .7g sugar   

Enjoy!

Holiday Pepper Jelly

I'm not a spicy person. Meaning - I don't ever eat spicy foods. I feel like too much spice masks the flavor of what I'm eating and just leaves my tongue and throat feeling a little bit sick for a few hours. BUT, this Holiday Pepper Jelly is the perfect amount of spice for these taste buds. A coworker made this pepper jelly for our staff a few days ago and it was gone before anyone could go back for seconds! Great to spread over some cream cheese and dip a few crackers in.

Holiday Pepper Jelly
6-8 HALF PINT JARS
PREP: 30 minutes           COOK: 15 minutes            READY IN: 45 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 3 cups red pepper, finely chopped (appx. 4 peppers)
•  1 cup green pepper, finely chopped (appx. 1 1/2 pepper)
• 1/2 cup jalapeno, finely chopped (appx. 2 peppers)
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 packages pectin 
• 5 cups sugar

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Combine chopped peppers, vinegar, and pectin in a large saucepan.
2. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.
3. Add sugar while still stirring. Return to a boil.
4. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Ladle into sterilized jars. Wipe off top lip of jars and put on boiled lids. Screw on rings.
6. Process in boiling canner for 5 minutes. Water needs to cover jars.

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    2 TBSP serving    84 calories   0 g fat   21.4 g carbs    0.1 g protein    21.1 g sugar   

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

What's the first meal that comes to mind on days when dinnertime sneaks up on you? If you said spaghetti then you read my mind. When you're trying to cut the carbs, though, that meal is a no-no! So what looks and tastes like spaghetti, but doesn't put you on a carb overload? SPAGHETTI Squash. The name says it all! I'll be honest, I'd never made, let alone ate, spaghetti squash in my life - so I was a little skeptical - but it's REALLY easy to cook and tastes great! I hope you enjoy this refresh, we sure did!

Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 40 minutes            READY IN: 55 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 1 small spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 lb 93% lean ground beef 
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cups traditional canned/bottled tomato sauce (such as Prego, Ragu, etc.)

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place squash in a baking pan, cut side down, with a few inches of water in the dish. Cook in oven for 40 minutes, or until squash is tender and can be pierced with a fork. 
3. While squash is in the oven start preparing the meat sauce by placing ground beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat until meat is crumbly and browned. Drain any grease and set meat aside.
4. In another skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook 1/2 zucchini, red pepper, green pepper, crushed tomatoes and prego sauce until vegetables are cooked through and soft. 
5. Combine veggies with meat and onions. Simmer on low/medium heat. Add crushed red peppers. 
6. Scrape inside of spaghetti squash with a fork and divide into 4 dishes. Drizzle squash with a little olive oil, about 1 tablespoon. Add 1 and 1/2 cups meat sauce and sprinkle with remaining zucchini. 

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 cup serving   360 calories  10g fat  28g carbs   38g protein   16g sugar   

Original Recipe	Refresh Recipe
200 calories for noodles	50 calories squash
41g carbs in 1 serving noodles	28g carbs 1 serving w/sauce

Enjoy!