So, I cracked up a little when I read this post today and saw how Erin titled it. It made me laugh because I’ve had images of food to upload for three days with this title in mind. Apparently, great minds think alike! Since cutting back my calories, the evening meal has been my favorite and the most important when it comes to content. Although I know you are supposed to eat “five small meals a day”, dinner always winds up being the heaviest one and I want to make sure it counts.
Monday night we had chicken fajitas. They are a staple at our house and both girls will enjoy dinner with no complaints. This time, I happened to have fresh chicken tenders from a local market, but boneless, skinless breasts work just as well. I grilled the chicken on the stove with my cast iron grill pan, using salt & pepper, garlic and LOTS of lime juice. You can use the stuff in a bottle, but nothing is as good as fresh lime juice. I squirt it all over the chicken while I’m cooking, but I also like to slice a lime and lay the slices on top once I turn the heat down. The chicken seems to absorb the juice and it helps keep them from drying out.
Sophie isn’t quite coordinated enough to eat a fajita without making a mess and since she refuses help, her plate looks a little like this… chicken, tortilla, cheese and some tomatoes, which she ultimately turned down.
Ella likes hers just like her mom, but I usually attempt to help her keep them rolled up. I usually wrap them in aluminum foil and she unrolls it as she eats, but we were out this week and I had to be a little more inventive. What we learned, is that toothpicks work even better!
I also made fresh pico de gallo to top off our chicken and it was delish. So much so, in fact, that Josh used it in an omelet for breakfast the next morning. After I was already at work. Jealous much?
On Tuesday, we decided to try something new. We both love Alice Springs Chicken from Outback Steakhouse, but I’ve never been able to correctly identify the seasoning that they use on the chicken breast. I came across this recipe on Pinterest earlier in the week and it looked right and sounded right, although she topped hers a little differently. Here’s what I did.
I mixed 1/2 cup of plain dijon mustard with a 1/4 cup of maple syrup and coated four large chicken breast. Now I’m not talking about Mrs. Buttersworth, I’m talking about real maple syrup. I stuck the chicken in the refrigerator for an hour or so to marinate, but I think next time I’ll soak them in the mustard mixture over night.
This is the moment I remembered that our oven has been on the fritz. Of course, on Tuesday, the oven wouldn’t light even though the stove and broiler were fine. So, we improvised. I used the grill pan again, but I covered it with the lid from our electric skillet to keep the heat it and believe it or not it worked pretty well! My only complaint was that it didn’t reserve enough of the sauce, so I’m eager to try it once our oven situation is resolved (anyone know a good gas oven repairman?).
While the chicken was in the oven, I cooked eight pieces of bacon until they were crisp and turned the broiler on high. I topped the cooked chicken with two slices of bacon each and the added colby jack cheese on top. We broiled them until the cheese was nice and melty.
Since it is finally spring, I decided we didn’t have to wait any longer for squash and zucchini. I battered them in cornmeal and fried them up and we ate it like candy.
Part of me wishes the girls would like squash, but then I remind myself that if they avoid it then I don’t have to share! This is what our yummy chicken looked like when it came out of the oven and once again we were all smiles around the table. This chicken was so good and juicy and flavorful — I cannot wait to try making it again! And just in case you are turned off by the mustard, don’t panic… SD & I neither one eat mustard at all, but this dish was yummy.
Although I didn’t take any pictures of this one (crockpot meals are never pretty anyway), we also modified this recipe for dinner last night. Ella wasn’t a fan, but SD & I both enjoyed it and Sophie pretty much ate us under the table! The only thing I did different was substitute the cream cheese for fat free, strain the mushrooms from our soup and add about 1/2 can of Beef Consomme. I think we’ll add this one to our regular rotation for a while, too.
Let me know if you decide to try any of these. Have you cooked a new recipe recently? Once you found on Pinterest? Do tell!
