Taco Stuffed Peppers

I am so sick of ground turkey, not gonna lie. Turkey sometimes tastes way too much, like, well TURKEY. And it gets old....

I will still eat turkey on Thanksgiving....that is a totally different concept. 

I had made taco stuffed peppers before but not with this exact recipe or with beef and if I do say so myself, this one is way tastier! ;) 

What You Need (Serves 2 people): 

1 lb lean ground beef (96/4)
2 red (or green) bell peppers
1 c cooked brown rice
1 can of rotel (not drained) 
1 tbsp southwest seasoning
4 tbsp shredded cheese

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Slice the tops off of the bell peppers, then cut them in 1/2 (see pic) and remove seeds.
3. Place them in a baking dish with a tiny bit of water in the bottom. Cover them with foil and place into the oven for about 15 minutes. 
4. While those are baking, dice up the tops of the peppers.
5. Place diced peppers and ground beef in a skillet until meat is browned. 
6. While meat is cooking, heat up your rice (if you are lazy like me and use the precooked microwaved kind).
7. Once meat is cooked, add in 1 tbsp southwest seasoning and can of rotel. Simmer for 5 minutes. 
8. Combine 1/2 cup rice and 3/4 cup meat mixture, 2 times. I keep the 2 combined mixture in two different bowls because if you do the Fix, those are your portions for each person.  

You will also have extra taco meat, I used that for leftovers for myself or quesadillas for the kids! 

9. Stuff each pepper with the mixture, then set aside the extra for each person.
10. Once peppers are stuffed, cover the dish with foil and place back into oven at 350 degrees for another 15 minutes.
11. Take peppers out, top each 1/2 with 1tbsp cheese and place back into the oven, uncovered until cheese is melted.
12. Serve with extra meat and rice mixture. Enjoy! 
 

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Southwest Seasoning
2 tbsp chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix all the seasonings together and put in a sealed container, it should make enough to have some left for other recipes! It is really great on anything, I use it in my burgers too! 

BBQ Chicken Pizza (CPK Style)

One of the amazing things about each new program is that there are new recipes to try out! 

Of course, I always end up modifying recipes to: 
1) use products I love that can easily replace something I don't want to use, i.e. pita vs my favorite pizza crust
2) make it easier! The original recipe is from Core De Force, it uses whole wheat pita as the crust and they make their own BBQ sauce...ain't nobody got time for that! My Trader Joe's sauce is perfect for a BBQ Chicken Pizza! 

PS - I love when people are all like, "I am on this diet and I am SO HUNGRY all the time! I can't eat anything good! I have to eat some bar for breakfast that doesn't fill me up, then for lunch, I have a shake filled with artificial ingredients and it cost me like $300+"....and I am over here like, oh poor you, this pizza is eff'n amazing, I will eat some for you. ;) 

What You Need (1 Serving):

1 whole grain crust (or whole wheat pita)
2 Tbsp. bbq sauce (try to find one without a bunch of extra "junk" in it)
2 Tbsp. cheddar (recipe calls for mozzarella, but I prefer cheddar) 
1/3 chopped cooked chicken breast
2 Tbsp. chopped red onion (I only use 1 Tbsp...onions aren't my friend)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (or the amazing freeze dried stuff you can find near the veggies/salads in the grocery store, love those)

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 (one of these days I will figure out how to do the whole fahrenheit thing on my blog).
2. Place crust on a baking sheet, top with bbq sauce, cheese, chicken & onion.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
4. Sprinkle w/ cilantro, slice & ENJOY! 

 

I could eat this right now...

Crock Pot Flank Steak Fajitas - Fix Approved!

Would you believe I had never cooked flank steak in the crock pot before? I even texted my mom to ask her if that is something people do...then I remembered this little thing called GOOGLE and I ended up finding cooking times online and decided to go for it! It turned out soooo good, way better than the chewy mess it is when I grill it. :)

What You Need (Feeds 2):
1 lb Flank Steak
2 Bell Peppers (1 green and 1 red are my preference), sliced
1/2 Onion, sliced
2 Tomatoes on the Vine, cut into 6 wedges
1 TBSP + 2 tsp Southwest Seasoning (see below) 
 

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Mmm...those tomatoes were my fav.

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With 4 hours left, I started throwing in my veggies.

Preparation: 
1. Rub both sides of the Flank Steak with 1 TBSP Southwest Seasoning.
2. Place in crockpot and set on LOW for 8 hours. (No cooking liquid is needed, it will make its own juices)
3. Mix your veggies with the remaining seasoning, set aside in fridge for later. When there are about 4 hours left, throw in your veggies.  (If you will not be home, it is ok to put them in on step 2.)
4. Shred the steak and serve with your favorite fajita toppings!  
 

Again, this fed two of us, next time, I will get a larger piece of meat because it shrunk up A LOT in the crock pot. 

I had a side salad as well and topped it with my extra meat (that didn't fit on my tortillas), a little cheese, avocado and my favorite Bolthouse Yogurt Ranch. 

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Southwest Seasoning

2 tbsp chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix all the seasonings together and put in a sealed container, it should make enough to have some left for other recipes! It is really great on anything, I use it in my burgers too! 

Buffalo Turkey Burgers

What you need (4 servings): 

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup hot chili sauce, I used Frank's Red Hot
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cups whole wheat panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoon reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese (Additional for topping) 
Head of romaine lettuce (for lettuce wrapped burgers)
Tomato slices (topping) 

Preparation: 

1. In a large bowl, mix hot sauce, garlic powder, salt and water. Add ground turkey and panko, mix well. Add in cheese. Mix again. 

2. Divide meat into 4 even patties. 

3. Heat a skillet or your grill over medium-high heat, and spray with cooking spray. Add patties and cook until done. You can add a another tbsp of shredded cheddar to the top once cooked if you like. 

4. Top with a tomato slice and wrap in romaine (optional). 

I had mine with a side salad! It was perfect! Actually, I am about to go heat up my leftover burger for dinner...just talking about it on this post makes me excited for dinner! 

Caprese Chicken

What do you do when you have leftover basil and fresh mozzarella from your Margherita Pizza? You make Fix approved Caprese Chicken, of course!

This is one of my favorites and it is beyond simple but taste like it took hours to prepare...sometimes literally depending on if you are good at cooking chicken or not, mine sometimes tastes a little chewy and overcooked but I don't mind. ;) 

What you need for the top:
Pesto (2 tsp per chicken breast)
Tomato (I use 1 roma per chicken breast & eat any extra that doesn't fit) 
Basil Leaves (about 4 leaves per piece of chicken breast)
Fresh Mozzarella (1oz per chicken breast)
Salt & Pepper, just a dash will do

What you need for the chicken: 
Chicken Breast (4oz piece per person)
Dash of pepper
Olive Oil Spray

1. Spray a pan with olive oil spray and turn on medium heat. 
2. Season your chicken with some pepper and add to the pan. 
3. Cook your chicken about 4 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle (I use thinly sliced chicken breast so they cook quicker).
4. Place 2 tsp of pesto on top of your chicken breast, then layer it with 1oz mozzarella and 1 small roma tomato, alternating between the two.  
5. Cover and cook on low for about 2 minutes or until cheese starts to melt and tomatoes are soft. 
6. Take out of pan, place on a plate and top with fresh basil!   

I ate mine with a side of leftover tomatoes and broccoli with leftover cheese from my blue container melted on it...I mean, everything is better with cheese, right?!