Chicken Fajitas

I've been meaning to try some of the Blog Chef's recipes and I'm glad I did. This was such a delicious and easy meal. I prepped my vegetables at the same time I did the chicken. When dinner time came around, all I had to do was saute the veggies and chicken and heat up some beans and dinner was served in under 20 minutes. The chicken was flavorful without being too spicy and overpowering everything else. You can also use skirt steak instead of chicken. This is a quick weeknight meal I know I will make again.

Chicken Fajitas

adapted slightly from Blog Chef

Ingredients:

8 small flour tortillas

1.5lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts - I used 3 (or skirt steak)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons seasoning salt

1 ½ teaspoons cumin

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons canola oil

1 medium onion (sliced)

1 /2 medium green pepper (sliced)

1/2 medium red pepper (sliced)

Optional condiments

Sour cream

Guacamole

Salsa

Tomato

Cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Slice chicken into small strips. In a large bowl mix garlic powder, seasoning salt, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and lemon juice. Add chicken strips and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.Step 2: In a skillet add 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté onions and red & green peppers for 3 minutes or until the vegetables have reached your desired tenderness. Remove from pan and set aside. Step 3: Add more oil to the pan if necessary. Add chicken strips and sauté until no longer pink inside (fully cooked). Add vegetables back to the pan and toss with the chicken. Spoon mixture onto flour tortillas; add optional condiments (if you want) and serve.(Makes 4 servings)

Chicken Salad and Havarti Cheese Wraps

I really love Havarti cheese. It's a soft, creamy tasting cheese from Denkmark. It's readily available and not too expensive. (I get mine at Costco). This is a healthy, easy lunch (or dinner). The cheese makes it super creamy tasting and it goes really well with the chicken and spinach . I didn't have the exact ingredients on hand so I changed mine up a little bit.

Chicken Salad and Havarti Cheese Wraps

adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 2

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half (6 to 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1/2 shallot, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
2 big tortillas (12-inch)
2 slices Havarti cheese (about 2 ounces total)
1 cup baby spinach, washed and dried

Directions
In a small skillet with a lid, bring 1 inch salted water to a boil. Add chicken. Cover, and cook over medium-low heat, 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let steam, still covered, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes; remove chicken. When cool enough to handle, thinly slice crosswise.
While chicken is cooking, stir together mayonnaise, shallot (if using), mustard, vinegar, and basil in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.
Lay tortillas on a work surface. Leaving a 1-inch border all around, layer with cheese, spinach, then chicken mixture. Fold in sides by about 1 inch, then roll up tightly from the bottom. Wrap each tightly in plastic or waxed paper. Refrigerate up to 1 day.

Posted By: Sallie

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is a classic recipe that I make often. It's so easy (my husband made it for Mother's Day) and everyone likes it. You can mix and match flavors of chocolate chips to your liking. You can make a bigger batch and put it in a cookie sheet if you're feeding a crowd. I never let it cool, we like to eat it hot right out of the oven. I don't own a oven proof skillet so I just make it in a 9 inch cake pan.




Skillet Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie
from Martha Stewart


Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (about 9 ounces) mixed milk- and semisweet chocolate chips (or whatever kind you like)
2 pints vanilla ice cream
Hot Fudge Sauce
Caramel Sauce
Ice Cream
Whipped Cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Don't overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm; top each wedge with a scoop of ice cream, hot fudge, caramel sauce and whipped cream.

Posted by:Sallie

Irresistible Lemon Cake

I have a cake recipe very similar to this one that my husband and I love, instead of frosting it has a glaze, so I wanted to see how this one compared. The cake was very similar , really moist and of course lemony, but the frosting, yummy! It was so light and lemony. And the whole thing was so easy to make. In fact, truth be told, this was supposed to be my Mother's Day Cake but I made it the day before and couldn't help but have a slice and it was all downhill from there. Once I had a slice how could I refuse any one else? Needless to say I will have to find something else for Mother's Day.

Irresistible Lemon Cake

Originally from You Got Served, found on My Kitchen Cafe

Cake Ingredients

1 package lemon cake mix
1 c sour cream (8 oz)
3/4 c water
3/4 c oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Cake Instructions

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium/high for about two minutes. Pour into a greased 9x11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

You can also make cupcakes and bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. The cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven, but this is normal. Just fill up the indentation with more frosting.

Frosting Ingredients

1 c (2 sticks) butter, very soft
8 c powdered sugar
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
1 t grated lemon zest

Frosting Instructions

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I add about 6 cups total). If desired, add a few drops of yellow food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store at room temperature. (Don't refrigerate and it will last in a Tupperware for about three days.)

*I greased the bottom of my pans and lined with parchment paper. This helps them come out of the pan super easy.*

Peanut Butter Bars

These are one of my favorite peanut butter/chocolate treats. They are so easy to make and they taste just like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They're made with ingredients that most people have around and there is no baking involved.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

from All Recipes

1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

(Really Good) Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, so I get kind of fixated on one theme citrus, chocolate, pasta. This week it's oatmeal cookies. I just want to share one, okay maybe two more. You can decide which one you like best. I've been making this recipe for over 12 years. It was actually one of those in the mail freebies , you know those little cards they send to entice you to get the whole collection, and of course the original title is Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies. So of course, I made them. I usually go for big, thick, soft cookies but these are more on the thin, crispy side but very buttery tasting with the chewiness from the oatmeal and the cinnamon, oh, it's what makes the cookie in my opinion. And although they might not be the prettiest cookie, once people taste them they won't care.

(Really Good )Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Great American Home Baking

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Mix together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.

2. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

3. At low speed, beat in flour mixture until blended. Fold in oats and chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap; chill for 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place cookies, 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly.

6. Bake cookies until lightly browned around edges, 10-12 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks to cool slightly. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

Perfect Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Melanie's Favorite Cookie)

I've been on a real coconut kick lately. Actually I think I always am. I really love it. I had some extra left from the Somoa bars and finally got around to trying Melanie from My Kitchen Cafe's Favorite Cookie. The fact that she not only posted it twice on her blog, but also proclaimed it her favorite cookie ever made it impossible not to try. They were a hit. I love chewy cookies and the big dose of brown sugar and coconut only added to their chewy goodness. Plus, they've got to be slightly healthy because they've got oatmeal in them, right? Tomorrow, possibly I'll share with you one of my all time favorite cookies.

Perfect Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

from My Kitchen Cafe

1 cup oatmeal (not quick)

2 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoons vanilla

1 cup coconut

12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the top 4 ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend about 30 seconds until coarse. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter for 30 seconds until light in color. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Next, add the dry ingredients then add the coconut and chocolate chips. Shape cookie dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly before removing them from the pan to a wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

*I used my cookie scoop and got about 5 dozen. If you do this you might need to reduce the baking time slightly*

P.S. If you didn't get your fill of mexican food on Cinco De Mayo check out the sour cream burrito recipe I just posted. I typed it up awhile ago so it is not showing up as new.