Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

I love Mexican food. Any kind.  I could seriously eat Mexican every day of the week in some form or another...it probably isn't a coincidence that Margaritas are my favorite drink too! Which, by the way, don't forget to check back on Cinco De Mayo for my Skinny Margarita recipe! 

These fajitas were really good and I doubled the amount of chicken from what the original recipe called for so that we could have extra for tonight's dinner! 

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Prep Time: 20 min.
Cooking Time: 2-5 hours (just depends)

What you need:

1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with green chiles), no salt added
1 medium onion, cut into quarters, sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 medium orange bell pepper, cut into strips
3 tsp. ground chile powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 lb. raw chicken breast, boneless, skinless, sliced

Optional: 
8 6-inch whole wheat flour tortillas, warm OR 4 cups romaine or bib lettuce (for salads) 
½ cup fresh tomato salsa
8 tsp. low-fat (1%) plain Greek yogurt
½ medium avocado, sliced
Finely chopped cilantro

Preparation:
1. Place tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, chile powder, cumin, pepper, and lime juice in a 3-quart slow cooker; mix well.
2. Add chicken; cook, covered, on low temperature for 4 to 5 hours (or on high or 2 to 3 hours), stirring once or twice, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
3. Evenly divide mixture between tortillas or onto lettuce for salads. Top evenly with salsa, yogurt, avocado, and cilantro.

For mine, I didn't use the greek yogurt or the tortillas (obviously), instead we made ours into big mouth watering salads!

For the salad:
2 cups lettuce & fajita veggies
3/4 chicken
toppings....

That left us enough chicken for salads tonight and just enough to make the kids some quesadillas from it.  I topped my salad with tomatoes, salsa, cheese and avocado. 

If you make yours like mine and are part of my Fix family: 2 greens (mix of fajita veggies & lettuce/tomato), 1 red, 1 blue. 

If you make them according to the recipe and use the tortillas it would be: 2 green, 1 red, 1,5 yellow, .5 blue. 

 

Turkey Taco Zucchini Boats

Who loves tacos? Me? Who could eat tacos every night? ME!! Who is trying to eat all of her carbs before dinner....yeah, me. So I decided to take my favorite Southwest Turkey Taco Meat and make Zucchini Boats out of it! 

Both Aaron and I were a little unsure as I was making them but when we took our first bite, we were sold! 

What you need for 2 servings:
2 servings of Southwest Turkey Taco Meat (about 3/4 cup each) 
2 large zucchinis, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
1/2 cup of salsa
Shredded Cheese
Guac (optional) 

How to prepare: 
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Boil water in a large pot (just enough to throw in your zucchini).
3. Spread enough salsa to cover the bottom of a baking dish (you should have about 4 tbsp left) 
4. Meanwhile, use a small spoon or melon baller to hollow out the center of each zucchini halves. Leave about 1/4 inch in each zucchini shell.  You can take the center of the zucchini and chop it up to add to your turkey taco meat, that is optional. 
5.  Place zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 4-5 minutes (we like ours soft, you can do 1-2 minutes if you prefer a crisper veggie). Remove from water.
6. Place each zucchini boat in your baking dish.  
7. Each person will get 2 zucchini halves and 3/4 cup meat mixture, so divide it equally among the boats. Press the meat firmly into zucchini. 
8. Top each one with 1 tbsp salsa (4 tbsp total) and 2 tbsp shredded cheddar (8 tbsp total). 
9. Cover pan with foil and place in oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.
10. Enjoy! 

Optional: You can serve with a side of guac, like I did! However, since I did that, I cut back on my cheese to do so, therefore my zucchini boats only had 1 tbsp of cheese on each one. 

For my Fix Family: I counted this as 2 Greens, 1 Red, 1 Blue (some may count the salsa if they use a ton of it, I didn't) 

Deconstructed Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

So, I made this recipe which came from the Team Beachbody blog, however, 1) It wasn't enough protein me for in 1 serving so increased it and 2) It was BLAND, nothing a little Frank's Red Hot Sauce can't fix (or Sriracha if you prefer)....

I also preferred taking it apart and throwing in brown rice, making it into a bowl vs a wrap. This is a recipe I would recommend doubling so you can throw some in the freezer! You know I love to do that.  This is a perfect meal for lunches throughout the week! You can precook it and eat the meat cold in your bowl or warm it up, whichever you prefer! 

Total Time: 19 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 9 min.
Yield: 4 servings, 2 wraps each or 1 bowl

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. raw 93% lean ground turkey breast
½ medium red onion, chopped
½ medium red or green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 green onion, chopped
⅔ cup chopped water chestnuts
1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 large head of lettuce, I use romaine (no iceberg folks, has no nutritional value whatsoever), roughly chopped up
4 cups cooked brown rice (I use Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, precooked, all I do is heat it up) 

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add turkey, onion, and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until turkey is cooked through and onion is translucent.
3. Add garlic, green onion, water chestnuts, soy sauce, and vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Add cilantro; mix well. Remove from heat.
5. Put 2 cups of lettuce, 1/2 cup brown rice and 3/4 cup of the meat mixture together in a bowl, drizzle with the hot sauce of your choice & dig in! 

For my Fix Family: 2 greens, 1 red, 1 yellow

Wraps! This was before I discovered the hot sauce gave it more flavor, I tried extra reduced sodium soy sauce (Trader Joe's brand of course) and it didn't even do the trick! Gotta go w/ the heat! 

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Anyone else a huge fan of buffalo chicken ANYTHING?!  I stumbled across a few recipes for crockpot buffalo chicken but they all called for stock but I wanted to keep it more simple than that! 

Feel free to double the recipe (I would keep the chicken to just a single layer on the bottom of your crockpot though).

What you need:
1 lb chicken breast
Water
Garlic (I used the freeze dried diced garlic)
Onion Powder
Frank's Hot Sauce (original not buffalo)

If you prefer, you can omit the onion powder & garlic, instead throw in a 1/2 onion (just cut in 1/2) & a couple of celery stalks for flavor, both are great options. 

Instructions: 
1. Place chicken in the crock pot. Cover the chicken with water.  
2. Sprinkle in some onion powder and garlic to taste. (I did not measure, just winged it)
3. Cook on high for 3 hours.
4. Remove chicken, shred it.
5. Discard most of the water from the crockpot (and any funk in it). Keep about 1/4 cup water in the crockpot.
6. Add chicken back into the crockpot with the water and 1/3 to 1/2 cup hot sauce (depends on how much you want). Cook for an additional 30 minutes. 
7. Serve over Romaine Lettuce.  Add cheese and ranch. I use Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Ranch. 

For my Fix family: 1 red, 1 blue & 1 green (I had some pretty big lettuce leafs) 

Flourless Chocolate Brownies

Ok y'all, my sweet tooth has been out of control this week (ladies, I know you feel me on this one) so I finally got the urge to bake from my Fixate cookbook! 

These brownies are DELICIOUS, because, let's be real, you know I had to take one for the team and test them out!! I have made black bean brownies before but they don't hold a candle to this flourless chickpea version.  My kids will be lucky if there are any left when they get home! :) And I can bet, if you make them without telling your friends or family what is in them, they won't even notice they are "different." 

A great flourless brownie recipe using Chickpeas, adapted from the Fixate Cookbook. http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/FixateCookbook?referringRepId=444548

What you need:
Nonstick Cooking Spray (I used Coconut Oil Spray)
15 oz can Chickpeas (drained & rinsed)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder, gluten free
1 pinch sea salt
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (dark is ok too)

Instructions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper, spray with nonstick spray & set aside.
3. Put all ingredients except the chocolate chips into a blender or food processor. Cover. Blend until smooth. 
4. Add chocolate chips and stir by hand until mixed.
5. Spread batter in baking pan, even it out.
6. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (insert in middle). 
7. Cut into 16 squares.

For my Fix family, this is 1 yellow treat! So what will it be wine or chocolate? Or 2 glasse of wine + 1 brownie (since you do get 3 treats a week, right)! 

Source: Fixate Cookbook