Chicken Fajita Salad

Ahhh, Saturday! I felt like it was a productive day today. I was able to sleep in a bit and enjoyed a nice breakfast. I made gluten free, dairy free, egg free blueberry pancakes. Not the almond ones from a previous post and I also had bacon. I prepared my weekly shopping list while watching Anne Burrell on her Food Network show, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef. I also decided to clean out my closet a little and was able to get $40 from a consignment shop. Not bad for clothes I wasn't wearing anyway! Oh and I went for a nice bike ride after breakfast. Perfect weather today!
Dinner tonight was a Chicken Fajita Salad. Very simple, yet tasty ingredients.

1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup salsa (I used Trader Joe’s mild)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup olive oil (divided)
2 limes, juiced (divided)
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 each red, yellow, & orange pepper, cut into strips

 

Directions


In a large bowl, stir together salsa, chicken broth, chili powder, salt, paprika, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup olive oil, and juice from 1 lime. Reserve 1/4 cup of this mixture. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and stir around to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (and up to 24 hours).

Start your grill or you can use an indoor grill pan. Once ready, cook on each side about 4-5 minutes per side.

 Saute peppers for 5 minutes, until softened but still slightly crisp.

Whisk the reserved 1/4 cup of marinade with 1/4 cup olive oil and juice from 1 lime in a small bowl. In a large serving bowl, layer romaine lettuce, sauteed vegetables, and sliced chicken. Top with dressing and serve.

Super Simple Steak & Salad

Well, I finally made it back to the box tonight...I mean the gym. For all you non Crossfitters, that's what we call the gym. My legs are going to feel this one! 150 squats, lots of running, amongst other fun things! Anyway, coming home to make this simple dinner was just what I needed.

Ingredients

• 4 sirloin steaks, 1-inch thick, about 10 to 12-ounces each
• 2 cloves garlic, cracked from skin and halved
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 sprigs rosemary very finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper or grill seasoning, if desired
• 4 cups arugula leaves
• 2 heirloom tomato or 2 medium vine-ripe tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 lemon

Directions

Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high to high.

Rub room temperature meat with cut garlic. Drizzle the meat with olive oil, rub with rosemary and season liberally with salt and pepper or grill seasoning. Cook steaks 4 minutes on each side for medium, let rest 5 minutes then slice.
Dress greens and halved or chopped tomatoes with the juice of 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper. Pile salad on top of sliced steak

Simple, yet tasty dinner!

I found this recipe on Cosmopolitan Primal Girl's site and thought, hmmm, turkey and blueberries? Interesting! I'll try it. After reading the comments on Cosmo Girl's site, I was even more convinced to try it. If you can use egg, go for it instead of the flax seed that I used.
I paired this with a bag of pre-cut sweet potato fries from the produce section of Trader Joe's...love those things!

Here's how to whip these suckers up!
1 LB ground turkey
3/4 cup blueberries
Sage
Thyme (I didn't measure my spices- use to your liking)
1/2 shallot, small dice
1 clove minced garlic
1 T flax seed, whisked w/ 3 T of water (this is your egg- use 1 yolk if your tummy allows it)
Mix w/ your hands to make 8 smallish patties
Preheat your coconut oil or butter in your pan...get your pan hot!
Cook for about 4 min/side on med heat

I also ate 3 macadamia nuts as my healthy fat for a complete meal!

Pasta-less Lasagna

Should be pasta-more because less indicates that something is missing. This was delicious and I highly recommend you give this recipe a shot! Damn, that's good is all I could say after eating this!
Going gluten free, dairy free, egg free, I haven't missed pasta! Prior to eating "this way," I ate my fair share of pasta, bread, cereal. Living with a single dad, yes I enjoyed boxes of cereal!! Miss ya Dad!!

This recipes if adapted from Everyday Paleo cookbook but here is how I made it
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 LB grass-fed ground beef
3 mild Italian sausage taken from their casings
oregano
fresh basil, chopped (you have to use fresh)
crushed red pep
S&P
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, juices drained
1 6 oz can tomato paste
5-6 zucchinis, using a mandolin (I need a mandolin so I used my food processor) To Do: Buy mandolin

Preheat oven to 350
In a soup pot or large fry pan add your meat
Let that break down a bit and then add your garlic
Add in your seasonings to your liking
Once the meat is browned, add the drained diced tomatoes & tomato paste
In a 9x11 glass baking dish place a layer of your sliced zucchini and add a layer of the meat mixture
Top the meat with another layer of zucchini and top with the final layer of remaining meat mixture
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes
Allow your lasagna to sit for 5-10 minutes before digging in!

Try it!! You WON'T miss the cheese or heavy pasta!! This pic does it no justice.

How do the Moms do it??

It's the perfect time for this discussion. With SJP's movie 'I Don't Know How She Does It' opening Friday and after having lunch with 2 friends yesterday that are also full time working moms. While having lunch, since I had NOTHING in common with this topic, I found myself listening to their struggles. It seems like it comes down to time management. They were talking about running around, making lunches whether at night or in the a.m., time for breakfast and dinner! Well, their dinners consist of something thrown together or eating out. Since I am an advocate of planning your meals weekly, I wonder how the moms do it. Whether you are a full time mom, a stay at home mom, or a mom with grown kids, how do you do it? What is your weekly meal plan? Is there a plan or lack thereof? If you're interested in my weekly meal plan, let me know. I would be happy to share.
This was dinner 2 nights ago. Blueberry maple BBQ chicken with sweet potato fries. Yummy!

Sunday Breakfast

There's something about a homemade breakfast on the weekends, especially Sunday. This is something I have always enjoyed. Waking up, no where to rush off to and coffee! I would much rather prepare a healthy, homemade breakfast vs. eating out since I can't eat typical "breakfast" food in restaurants. Today, I opted for almond-meal blueberry pancakes. This recipe is adapted from my Everyday Paleo cookbook (buy it here for 2% cash back).
Heat up your cast iron griddle while you prepare the following:
2 c. almond meal
1/2 c. finely shredded unsweetened coconut
3 tbsp. flax seed mixed into 3 tbsp. water (mix this up prior to adding to your batter)
1 c. coconut milk or other non-dairy milk of your choice (rice or almond would be good)
1 apple grated
1 c. frozen organic blueberries or chocolate chips for the kids
3 tbsp. cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together. I used a 1/4 c measuring cup and on to my hot griddle (use coconut oil or evoo cooking spray for your griddle prior)

Cook for 4-5 minutes per side over medium heat. They tend to be pretty moist due to the coconut and apple so give them time to brown and crisp.
Enjoy with your cup of coffee with coconut milk as I did!