Chicken Fajitas

I’m in need of going to the grocery store, so tonight I stared into the fridge with no clue what to make. I saw some frozen chicken breast, and thought well that’s what we’ll have then. Reluctantly, I pulled it out, not knowing what I should make with it. Then, I saw a frozen package of pepper and onions, from Kroger’s recipe beginners. Now I had an idea!

Ingredients:

1. 2 pieces of chicken breast (sliced)

2. 1 package of onions and bell peppers (or just 1 onion and 1-2 fresh bell peppers)

3. 5 fresh mushrooms (optional)- sliced

4. ½ of a package of taco seasoning

5. 2-4 tortillas

6. 1 cup rice (I use Minute Brown Rice)

7. 1 cup water for boiling rice

8. Shredded cheese (for garnish)

Steps:

1. Heat sauté pan and add onion and bell pepper mixture

2. Add strips of sliced chicken

3. Add mushrooms- stir occasionally to avoid burning

4. Meanwhile, place 1 cup of water in saucepan on high and bring to a boil

5. Add ½ of a package of taco seasoning to chicken mixture and let simmer, stirring as needed

6. Add rice to water and follow instructions on box as how to cook rice

7. Heat tortillas in microwave for 15-30 seconds

8. Serve rice on side or add into tortillas for a fajita burrito

9. Oh, and sprinkle some cheese on fajita for some extra yum! :)

This was an easy fix, for an “almost frozen pizza” dinner! The taco seasoning packets are always good to keep around in your cupboard, since they don’t expire quickly. You never know when you’ll have ground beef, or plain chicken for that matter, that needs to be used or are strapped for an idea.

Hawaiian Toast

My Mom made this for parties all the time when I was younger. It’s super easy to make lots of people and everyone always liked it. Today, it made a great Saturday lunch! Justin had never had it before and he said it passed the test! :) Mine got just a tad bit too much oven time! But it was still yummy!

Here’s what you need:

1. 2-4 pieces of bread (depending on how hungry you are)

2. Deli Ham (or Turkey or whatever is in your fridge)

3. 2-4 Cheese (that will melt well, I use American Singles)

4. 2-4 Canned Pineapple Slices

5. Baking sheet

The preparation is extremely simple:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Place bread (untoasted) on baking sheet. Spread out so they don’t touch. I don’t grease the baking sheet, and the toast never sticks. Might depend though.

3. Put desired amount of deli meat on bread.

4. Add one slice of pineapple.

5. Top the layering off with a slice of cheese.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese as melted.

And that’s it! Enjoy! I made ours today with turkey, because that’s the only deli meat we had in the fridge. It does taste best with ham, but I don’t feel it’s necessary to run out the grocery store for one item, and would prefer to use what we have left anyway. I’ve also made it with left over pork chops before, so it’s really up to you. The meat can be left out too and you’ll just have a sweet cheesy pineapple toast, and it also tastes great!

Mushroom Tortellini with Shrimp Spinach Sauce

Here's what we had last night! Pretty simple! :) Sorry, I should add a picture but I didn't take one- I'll try to do so from now on.

Mushroom Tortellini with Shrimp Spinach Sauce

Ingredients:

1. 1 package Mushroom Tortellini (Can be any kind though)

2. 1 Can of Diced Tomatoes

3. 8-12 oz Frozen Spinach

4. 1 small can of Mushrooms or 4-6 oz. of Fresh Mushrooms (sliced)

5. ¼ lbs Frozen or Fresh Shrimp

6. 1 Small onion (chopped)

7. ¼ tspn Garlic powder

8. Pinch of salt and pepper

9. ½ tspn Olive Oil

10. ½ cup water

11. Water for boiling

This can be made with substituting what you have in your freezer or fridge. You can even leave out the shrimp completely and make it vegetarian, or substitute another protein like chicken. You can use broccoli or any other type of vegetable instead of spinach. This recipe really allows it to become several different, varying meals. I’ll make it this way today, but next time I’ll switch up some of the ingredients and it appears to be a totally different dish! :)

Steps:

1. Set pot of water on stovetop and add a pinch of salt (if desired) in order to get the water to boil.

2. In a sauté pan heat Olive oil and desired amount of chopped onions. Sauté until onions become a little translucent. Add shrimp (or other protein) and a little salt and pepper.

3. Add spinach (does not have to be thawed if previously frozen) and mushrooms. Sprinkle with garlic powder. You may also add any other herbs or spices that you like in pasta.

4. Sauté for a few minutes and then add 1 can of diced tomatoes.

5. Meanwhile, add mushroom tortellini to water when it is boiling and cook according to package directions. (Normally just over ten minutes)

6. Stir the ingredients in the sauté pan occasionally to avoid burning. Add ½ cup water as needed to loosen sauce.

7. Drain tortellini and serve with shrimp spinach sauce!

That’s it! It’s super easy and tastes great! I took the leftovers to teach the next day and another teacher asked me if it was Olive Garden! :) Nope! Wayyy easy and super delicious!

You can also throw a garlic bread loaf in the oven while preparing the above recipe or butter some toast and sprinkle with garlic powder to create quick and easy garlic bread to accompany this dish!

My Most Used Kitchen Gadgets!

Along with certain ingredients that should be in every young couples kitchen, so should certain cooking tools. We’re just starting out so we’re not going to have it all, nor are the things we have going to be the top to the line. But here are a few things that I try to at least have around and that really allows me to do the majority of my cooking!

1. Knives! – If you can get GOOD ones! And if nothing else these two:

a. Paring knife

b. Chefs knife

2. Skillet

3. Saucepan (if possible two)

4. Sautéing pan (with lid)

5. Can opener

6. Peeler

7. Wooden Spoons (to avoid scratching pans)

8. Slotted Spoon

9. Serving-type spoon

10. Spatula

11. Mixing bowl

12. Cutting board

13. Measuring cups and spoons

14. Parchment Paper

15. Some type of inside grill (George Forman or Griddle)

I find that these basic items are really all I need to cook. Yea, sure, it’s nice to have a mini food processor or other gadgets for certain recipes, but for the most part I never really use these items with any frequency.

"Keep-Around" Ingredient List

We're a young couple. We don't have unlimited funds to stock our pantry, so I always budget shop. Although, I must admit, if we had a Whole Foods Market in our area I would buy lots of fresh produce there. But we don't. We live in a small town where the nearest chain grocery store is located in the next town over. This often limits my options for supplies, and all those fancy ingredients some recipes call for. Nevertheless, there are several things that I always like to keep around in order to create/have quick meals. They are things that don’t expire quickly, since cooking for two often means not knowing when and how you will fix fresh ingredients. Here's a helpful list:

1. Chicken Stock (Carton or Can)

2. Frozen Vegetables (A good variety, including mixes)

3. Canned Vegetables (especially mushrooms and diced tomatoes)

4. Frozen Meal (Bertolli type or similar)

5. Frozen Protein (ex: Perfect Portion Chicken from Perdue put in freezer or Tilapia Fillets)

6. Onions

7. Potatoes and the occasional Sweet Potatoes

8. Olive Oil

9. Minced or Fresh Garlic (little jars)

10. Pasta (different varieties, including Tortellini)

11. Couscous or Rice (Brown or White Minute Rice is great!)

12. Jars of Pasta Sauce (variety)

13. Cream of Chicken/Cream of Mushroom cans

14. Bag of Bacon Bits

15. Frozen Pizza (We all love Pizza!) :)

16. Spices and Dried Herbs

a. Salt & Pepper

b. Paprika

c. Cayenne Pepper

d. Some type of All Spice (Chef’s Blend, ect)

e. Basil

f. Parsley

g. Garlic Salt or Powder

h. Beef and Chicken Bouillon Cubes

i. Any other type of spices/herbs or like

17. Eggs

18. Flour

19. Sugar (Granulated, Brown, and Powdered)

20. Butter (unsalted)

Then there are several fresh ingredients I try to keep around that are great! The only thing is that I have to have a plan for them within the coming week! So here’s that list:

1. Fresh Baby Bella or regular mushrooms

2. Carrots

3. Tomatoes

4. Cheese

5. A Bottle of cheaper Wine for sauces

Then, of course, I often have certain meals in mind while at the grocery store, and I will stock up on those individual ingredients at that time. I’m also big on using my resources. There are cooking magazines, websites, and books out there for a reason! And I use these recipes often. You don’t have to “reinvent the wheel” when cooking- I like to use what’s out there or make individualized adaptations. However, the items in the first list will definitely provide meals for two without additional ingredients or complicated recipes. I will try to prove this to you throughout my cooking journal!

Objective of this Blog

I have contemplated about starting this blog for quite a while now. I really enjoy cooking and really think it’s a great way to bond with friends or family. In between jobs, night classes, and other life stresses it really is nice to sit together, enjoy a balance meal, and talk about our day. It’s a time that Justin and I cherish. I’m normally the one cooking though (Justin grills on nice days) and sometimes it just isn’t the easiest to cook after a long day and especially the added difficulty of cooking for two. Since we’ve been living together, I have started to come up with some helpful techniques that have made this process less problematic. I’m also in that age range where a lot of my friends are also beginning to get married, living with our significant other, or actually starting to have to cook for ourselves (post-college cafeteria). So, there may be other’s that could benefit from sharing these little discoveries and recipes.

Since, formal cookbooks sometimes call for rare or expensive ingredients that stretch a young couple’s budget, adapting recipes is key. I plan to blog about our dinners, including how to make it, with the hope that it may help or inspire others that share our situation. They’re not fancy, but sometimes it’s hard to come up with something quickly, so these simple meals work great for us.

Now, I’ll be realistic, I don’t cook every night of the week. We really enjoy eating out every Friday night. So, unless it’s a special dinner, I don’t cook on Fridays. Then there are the occasional other times when it just doesn’t work out, and I think that’s okay too. However, for the most part I strive to create a delicious, well-balanced meal for the two of us through out the week. We do have a wedding to get ready for, aside from trying to be healthy, so I don’t cook with a lot of fats or sugars. Let’s just say I do my educated best to have yummy, yet healthy dinners. (Justin agrees that they taste good too!)

Please feel free to comment, make suggestions, and definitely be sure to let me know if you tried a recipe and it worked out for you! I’m really excited to see how/where this goes! :)

About Me

I am getting married in August! :)

I love cooking for my future hubby, but life gets busy (as it does for everyone), and this sometimes becomes a challenge. We’re young, we have lots of things we are doing to get ourselves established in the “real-world”, and we often don’t have the extra time to cook a balanced, delicious dinner. Not to mention the fact that most of us are inexperienced chefs, myself included, who are still learning the ins and outs of cooking.

My Fiancé and I have been living together for a little over six months, and I have discovered some little tricks that allow us to have great meals, and most importantly enjoy each other’s company after our hectic days.

We all know it’s hard to cook for two and especially after running around all day. So, I want to share our experience with others; young couples who enjoy spending that extra valuable time with our “other-half” while, enjoy yummy food! I hope you can benefit from this information to enhance the cooking experience for you and your love bug! :)