Steak Fajitas

My husband and I recently ate out and ordered steak fajitas. I'm a fan of most things that come in a tortilla, but I was blown away by the seasoning on the meat. I could have eaten the meat alone and been completely happy. When I realized how amazing a fajita could be with a great seasoned meat, I was determined to find a great fajita recipe. Luckily, it took me one look through Pinterest, and one try on the first recipe I found from Little Spice Jar to find a fantastic marinade. 

Now, as a relatively new newlywed, I don't have many spices. I don't have the space to store them, and for the first year and a half, all the spices I have were sitting loosely on our counter up against a wall. Finally I got a small wooden crate to contain them and make it look a bit nicer, but even that doesn't hold them all. So I hesitate to buy anymore spices than I already have because I just don't have the room. So when I made the recipe, I did not include the cumin, chili powder or cilantro, and I thought it was still amazing. 

Our favorites are orange and red peppers!

Tip about juices: The recipe did not state whether to use lime juice from concentrate (in the bottle) or fresh-squeezed juice. I used the juice in the bottle, but noticed that the lime taste was much stronger than the pineapple juice taste. I did add a bit more pineapple juice than it called for, but could still taste the lime. This was not a bad taste, as it added a tangy taste which was still delicious. However, when explaining this to my mother, she noted that any concentrate that you get in a bottle is going to be stronger than the fresh-squeezed juice. So next time I make this, I might use a bit less of the lime juice. Thanks for the knowledge mom!

One thing I struggle with when making meats is the time it takes to cook the meat. It always takes almost double the time to cook my meats than recipes state, and the only reason I can think of is that every stove is different. I also do not have a cast iron skillet that I hear is great for cooking any meat. But my meat took 10-15 minutes on each side, and it was still medium rare when done. I thought my meat was going to start moo-ing at me (something my family would say), so I stuck a few of the slices back in the pan for just a minute on each side, which was perfect. 

I added just a bit of the marinade in the pan so it didn't all go to waste

Cooking the veggies in the pan that the meat cooked in added a bit of that marinated flavor, and saved dishes. 

This is a simple and delicious recipe I will use again for fajitas! Enjoy!

Steak Fajitas
(My interpretation of directions. To find more explanation and detail, see Little Spice Jar's page.)
Marinade:
1/3 cup lime juice (less if concentrate)
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp EACH cumin and chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Fajitas:
1 1/2-2 lbs shirt or flank steak (I used flat iron steak)
1 Tbsp oil
2 medium white onions, sliced
2-3 bell peppers

1. Steak marinade: Combine ingredients for marinade in a bowl. Taste and adjust if needed. Coat steak in marinate and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Set pan on high heat to warm up oil. Add steak to pan (and a little liquid marinade if desired) and fry on each side for ~3 minutes on each side. Remove the steak and allow to rest before cutting, tented with foil. Slice the meat against the grain.
3. Add remaining oil to the pan and add veggies. Cook until desired doneness. 
4. Serve in tortillas with preferred condiments such as sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, etc. 

Pasta-Filled Peppers

I saw this recipe in my Taste of Home Guilt-free Cooking book and thought it looked fancy. The directions looked simple enough, so I thought I'd try it. The lesson I learned from this recipe: Things are not always as simple as they seem!

On the first step, I encountered a technique of cooking that I have not done yet. Broiling. I didn't even know what a broiler was except that there is a broil setting on my oven temp dial. So I had to do a bit of research before I could even begin. 

Tip about broiling: In my oven (and most typical ovens) the broiler is on the top of the oven. So to broil a vegetable, you should put a rack as close to the top as possible. One thing I learned immediately is that whole peppers can be big, and despite the ability to put them on the top racks close to the broiler as possible, it may not be the best idea if the peppers touch the broiler because they instantly burn. Each time I took them out to turn them, they hit the broiler element. I also had to make sure they were spaced on the cookie sheet so that they strattled the elements while in the oven.

The directions state next to place them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes. When researching ways to roast whole peppers, I found an explanation here of why it is important to cover and let them set. However, they were not cool enough to handle in 10 minutes, so I placed the bowl in the refrigerator and took out 1 at a time to take off the skin. As you can see, it was not easy. The skin did not easily come off, so I resorted to a knife and my fingers to peel only the burnt parts off. 

The insides were easier to cut out than I thought, but I think to another time, I might just lob off the whole top to make a bigger opening. 

The pasta filling could be a whole delicious meal just by itself. It's easy, cheesy, and fantastic! 

The peppers were a bit droopy, so I elected to have my helpful husband scoop the pasta into the peppers while I held them up in a casserole dish. Some help might be in order for this step. 

Overall, I was really happy with the results, and we thought they were delicious! They even tasted great as leftovers up to 2 days later! 

I was so proud of how a few of them looked, I wanted to show a comparison of the cookbook picture and my final plating. All that to say, you can make a fancy-looking dish in a small apartment kitchen! Have fun!

The picture from the book

My final product!

Pasta-Filled Peppers

6 medium green, sweet red and/or yellow peppers

6 ounces uncooked spaghetti

3/4 cup diced onion 

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp  canola oil

1 3/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup vegetable broth

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place whole peppers on a broiler pan; broil 6 in. from the heat for 10-15 minutes or until skins are blistered and blackened, turning often. Immediately place peppers in a bowl; cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Peel off and discard charred skins. Carefully cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. Set peppers aside.

2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, salute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add tomatoes; cook for 1 minute. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and broth until smooth. Gradually stir into tomato mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.

3. Drain spaghetti; add to the tomato mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, basil and Parmesan; toss. Spoon into peppers. Place in a 3-qt. microwave-safe baking dish. Cover and microwave on high for 1-3 minutes or until heated through.

Philly Cheesesteak Cups

This recipe has gone around the internet quite a bit, and is something that Derek and I both like, so I thought I'd try it out! I had lots of websites to choose from, but here's where I got my recipe. And, yes, I know I'm just adding to that pile of websites, but that's what blogs are for, right? You can pick and choose! No hard feelings if you pick another website, either. I do the same thing all the time.

This is a rather easy recipe to put together and doesn't require a ton of prep.

The recipe said to slice the meat thin, but how thin is thin? I thought mine would have been thin and small enough, but when I was ready to combine the meat with the veggies, I realized these pieces might not fit nicely in the cups. So I cut them up in the pan after they were cooked. 

I also added some left-over chicken!

One mistake I made in prepping for this meal was forgetting the heavy cream. I make about 4 meals a year that require heavy cream so rarely do I have some in the fridge, and just passed over it for my grocery list. So I quickly googled substitutions and found a helpful substitution with things I already have. I am big about prepping as much before I need it as possible. So I got the heavy cream substitution ready while the meat and veggies were cooking, but discovered something I didn't read about online for this substitution.

I cut the pastry to approximately 3x3 squares and they fit perfectly in my muffin tin. I had quite a few extra squares left over, so I decided to add a bit of crust onto a few just for fun.

These were delicious cups that were also quite filling! 

*Update: Because it is just the two of us, we had leftovers for the next few nights. I will say I am not a big fan of deflated pastry puff. So this meal might be best when you will have guests and can show off your creativity, and not have leftovers!

I still had 3 squares left over, so I decided to get creative and made a small and easy dessert. I just took some candy and stuffed it in the squares and baked it for about 10 minutes, just enough to melt the chocolate and make the pastry golden. It was a delicious dessert!

I hope you can enjoy these Philly Cheesesteak cups just as much as we did! And treat yourself to a delicious dessert, too!

Philly Cheesecake Cups

• 1 lb rib eye steak, thinly sliced (if you want to save a little money, use flank steak EXTREMELY thinly sliced, or use ground beef)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup mushroom, chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1 package puff pastry, thawed
• ½ cup provolone cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Preheat skillet and oil. Add chopped onion and peppers and sauté for approximately 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes. Set aside.

3. Cook beef in the same skillet until no longer pink. Add the veggie mixture back to the pan.

4. Add seasonings, cream and milk. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.

5. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Cut pastry to 3-4 inch squares and place each one in muffin cup. Add about 1/4 cup cheesesteak mix to each cup. 

6. Bake for about 10 minutes. Place a small bunch of provolone cheese on each cheesesteak cup and continue to bake for another 3 minutes or so. 

Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chops

I have only ever cooked with apples 1 other time, and I wasn't thrilled with it, so when my mom wanted to try this recipe (from Taste of Home), I jumped at it. I have to say, I became a fan! The cinnamon and brown sugar combination created a syrup that coated the apples and tasted excellent on the pork chops!

Tip about meat: Something that I have learned in the kitchen is that I don't always have to use the exact type of meat that the recipe calls for. For example, the recipe calls for boneless pork chops. If you prefer bone-in because it has more flavor, or it's more fun or messy, you can use a bone-in pork chop, and vice versa.  This also works with chicken, such as chicken breasts/thighs. Time of cooking the meat might have to be adjusted, but always cook meat until no longer pink. My mom had bone-in pork chops (and a lot of them), so that's what we used.
Personally, I am not a fan of bones. I'm the girl that gets weird about touching a raw turkey or hate to take the meat off a rotisserie chicken. I'm better now, by force I think.

I fully cooked the pork chops, and once I pulled them out, I turned the heat down because grease was spatting everywhere, even on medium heat. I was afraid the apples would burn because no additional liquid was to be added. I kept it at the low heat until the apples released their own juices. Then I turned it back up to medium heat.

One thing the recipe did not mention was how long it took to cook the apples. I cooked them for at least 10 minutes before they were my preferred softness. At this point, I also felt I had to pull it off the heat, because the brown sugar mixture had created a syrup that continued to thicken the longer it was on the heat, and I didn't want it to get any thicker.

If you make a lot of pork chops to have for left-over meals, I would suggest peeling the apples, as the skin on the apples became rubbery after a few days in the fridge. The syrup and pork chops tasted just as delicious, though.

The apples and its saucy-syrup tasted amazing on the pork chops, however I learned for this recipe, boneless is really the best choice. I had to cut the meat off the bone, which meant I had to take off the apples. I think it would have been a lot easier without having to deal with the bone. Perfect example of living and learning!

Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chops
2 Tbsp butter, divided
4 boneless pork loin chops (4 oz. each)
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
4 medium tart apples, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped pecans (I did not use)

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add pork chops; cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 145°. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

2. Remove chops; keep warm. Add apples, pecans, brown sugar mixture and remaining butter to pan; cook and stir until apples are tender. Serve with chops. 

Yield: 4 servings.

Chicken-Pasta Skillet

Although I love food, I have a confession. I am not the biggest fan of anything tomato. When I was younger, I didn't like tomatoes, ketchup, marinara sauce, or anything tomato-based. I ate pasta with butter and cheese, and lived on it. As I got older, I started to like it more and more, but still am not a fan of tomato soup or pasta drowned in sauce. So I was a bit hesitant to try this recipe, but the picture did not look too saucy, and it looked like I could actually control how much sauce goes into the meal. So I took a chance.
Let's just say I'm glad I have some intuition in the kitchen! This was a very easy recipe, but it could very easily have gone wrong.

I decided to double the recipe so we would have lots of leftovers. I cooked the chicken, which always takes longer than the recipe says (it took about 10 minutes). I then added green pepper and onion, chopped, just because it would cook faster, and I am not always a fan of strips of floppy onion and peppers unless it's in a fajita. 

 The recipe calls for 2 cups of uncooked pasta (doubled 4 cups), and a whole box of rotini is approximately 6 cups. As with most pasta meals, I added the whole box of pasta, because you can never have too much!

I was skeptical to add the pasta into the meal uncooked, because it takes a lot of liquid to cook pasta, and the recipe had very little liquid in it. But I wanted to go by the books. 

Before adding the additional cup of pasta

I checked the pasta about every 5 minutes while cooking, because I was afraid the liquid would cook away, and I'm glad I did. After about 10 minutes, it started sticking to the bottom of the pan. I then added an additional 1 cup of water, hiked up the temp for a minute to get it boiling again, and then turned it back down to simmer. Even with the extra water, when it was finished, there were some pieces of pasta that were a bit brown from sticking. 

I will say, if I did not lift the lid to check it so often, more liquid might have stayed in, maybe not causing it to stick so fast. But I didn't want to take that chance and ruin the whole pot. It also might have taken a bit more liquid because I added more pasta, but I don't think it should have made that much of a difference. 

Tip for pasta: You could also cook the pasta separately, and then add it to the pan. You would not need to add the water at all, although I would suggest taking a bit of the water from the pasta and put it in the mixture. To quote my favorite talk show host, Rachael Ray, "It’s the magic liquid that marries the sauce to the pasta itself." Once you add the pasta, mix it in, and then add the sauce.

For the sauce, due to my not-so-fondness of it, I did not double it to include 2 jars of marinara sauce, and I am glad I didn't. For some, maybe you would want to, but as you can see, there was plenty of sauce to go around. 

The end result was a delicious chicken, pasta and cheese delight. And the moral of this meal: go with your gut, and don't be afraid to check to make sure it's not burning. 

Chicken-Pasta Skillet
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups rotini pasta, uncooked
1 jar (24 oz.) traditional pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook and stir chicken in large skilled sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 5 minutes. Add vegetables; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in water; bring to a boil.
2. Add pasta; stir until completely covered with water. Cover with lid; simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in sauce.
3. Sprinkle with cheese. Cook covered on low heat for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted or pasta mixture is heated through, stirring occasionally.  

Sausage Tortellini Soup

This was another recipe I made while at my mother's house. I didn't realize it until this meal was complete, but this is a one-dish meal that is easy, delicious, and different! My husband loves sausage, and we have access to some great sausage in the area with a variety of flavors. 
The recipe says to use bulk sausage, which I found out for the first time meant ground meat. 
Embarrassing confession: I just started cooking with sausage this year for my husband (I wasn't a huge fan until now), and had to ask him the first time I cooked it whether or not I was supposed to take the casing off. Every time I've cooked sausage so far, I have only needed to cut it and fry it up, so I have not taken the casing off. Whenever I saw 'bulk sausage' in a recipe, I thought it was suggesting you buy it in bulk (high quantity) and use some of that. Apparently not! So if you only have links, you can just take it out of the casing to make it ground. 

I do suggest cooking this meal in the largest saucepan you have (not a stockpot). My mom's large saucepan is not teflon-lined, so I started with some oil. But even this did not prevent the bottom from getting a little brown. If you want to try to avoid this altogether, you could try cooking the sausage in a separate teflon-lined skillet and then transfer it to a pot.

She had some delicious Italian sausage that I used. Some people like to break their sausage up very fine, but I left them in bigger chunks, so that we could get some good bite-sizes of the good stuff. After the sausage is cooked, I added stewed tomatoes (cut up), beef broth, french onion soup and cabbage. This is a good meal if you have some left-over cabbage. The cabbage cooks down, so if it's a bit older, this is a good recipe to use it up. 

The recipe calls for 9 ounces of refrigerated tortellini. However, I had a 19 ounce frozen bag, and planned to use it all because my husband and I are huge tortellini fans, so you can never have too much. The instructions on the bag of the tortellini stated it should cook in 3 1/2 minutes, but I found it had to cook at least 5 minutes longer once the soup started simmering again. 

I tried the soup before I put on the parmesan cheese, and then added some on top. Honestly, I thought it was better without the cheese, and my mom agreed. Although I didn't try it, I think it would be better with some shredded mozzarella cheese mixed in rather than parmesan. It does give you that italian flavor, if that's what you love.

I think this is a recipe that you could experiment with different flavors of sausage and even add some other veggies such as carrots and peppers to add more color. If you have plain stewed tomatoes, I think it would probably work to add some italian seasoning with the tomatoes to cook in that extra flavor as well. 

Sausage Tortellini Soup
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 cups water
2 cups chopped cabbage
1 can (14 1/2 oz) Italian stewed tomatoes, undrained and cut up
1 can (14 1/2 oz) beef broth
1 can (10 1/2 oz) condensed French onion soup
1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large saucepan, cook sausage over medium heat until it is no longer pink; drain. 
2. Stir in the water, cabbage, tomatoes, broth, and soup. Bring to a boil. 
3. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 8 minutes. Stir in tortellini; cook 7-9 minutes longer or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with cheese. 

Yield: 10 servings (2 1/2 quarts)

Chicken Bundles

My mother first made this recipe a few years ago from a recipe in a magazine (sorry, it's been too long, we don't remember what magazine and no longer have the original). At the time, I thought the recipe was alright, but not my favorite. However, I had written down the recipe, and thought it might be time to pull it back out. It was time for a new and different chicken recipe, so I thought I'd give it a try. It also uses crescents, which is Derek and I's favorite side to any dish, any time.

When living in an apartment, no one has the luxury to more than a small freezer attached to your fridge. That means buying meat as you need it most of the time. For this recipe, it calls for 4 cups of cooked and cubed chicken. Because meat shrinks when it cooks, I had no idea how much chicken this would be, so I guessed and bought 2.75 lbs of chicken breasts. This worked out to almost 5 cups of raw cut chicken, and although I forgot to measure the cooked chicken, it was proportionate to the rest of the ingredients. I cooked the chicken ahead of time, and then cut it into even smaller pieces so the chicken was smaller than bite-size. If you want a smaller meal, you can use less chicken, but then may have too much of the "sauce."

I also recommend cooking the chicken right before you are ready to put it together. If the chicken was cold and put into the recipe, it might not heat up enough in the oven.

This recipe is easy to throw together, beating cream cheese, sour cream, dill, salt and pepper to make the "sauce." Then you stir in the chicken, a little bit of onion and celery. 

 Tip about celery: my husband and I do not regularly eat celery, and we usually end up wasting a full bag if I only need a little bit. So, I found a more cost-effective and less-wasteful way to buy celery. In Wal-mart, you can buy small packages of celery for on-the-go. Each package equals approx. 2 stalks, and even if I don't use them all, its easier to throw a package into a lunch so it doesn't go to waste.

I then unrolled 2 tube of crescent rolls on a baking sheet (I bought large rolls, hoping I could have 1 left over, but I had no such luck!) But I would suggest spraying the pan before you roll them out to try to prevent sticking. I placed the chicken mixture on the crescents, and then placed the third roll on top.

I folded the sides up and pinched and smoothed the seams together. I then brushed with only about half the butter that was called for. Because my husband and I love crescents so much, I skipped the bread crumbs, afraid it would ruin the crescent taste and texture. 

This is a huge recipe, so cutting it was a bit challenging, but it allowed for huge bites of the chicken creamy mixture, and then huge bites of crescent (YUM!) 

The husband did mention this would be a great meal for a large lunch, like maybe a football game meal or brunch. If you are the kind of person that likes cold pizza, this also might be a great cold lunch meal. But I think it's meat-y enough that it works well for dinner with a side of veggies, too.

I have to say it's much more delicious than it was the first time I had it.

I'm so blessed to have a husband who encourages me to try new things, and challenges my comfort level in the kitchen. Otherwise, I'm sure we'd be bored of plain chicken very quickly!

Chicken Bundles

1 pkg. softened cream cheese

1/4 cup sour cream 

1 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 cups chicken, cooked and cubed

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

3 tubes crescent rolls

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Beat cream cheese, sour cream, dill, salt and pepper. tie in chicken, onions and celery. Unroll each tube of crescent rolls and roll out like stromboli, rectangle shape. Fill with chicken mixture. Fold sides up and over chicken and pinch to seal. Brush with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.