Fajitas and Spanish Rice

Yesterday, one of my new friends in the blogging world wrote an incredible review of my site, and I am just so excited about it that I wanted to share it with everyone. Please visit KeMari's site to check it out... Phattitudes.

OK - well that is probably enough horn-tooting for one day (I'm awesome - sorry that slipped). I was thinking that since I started this blog (I rock - oops) in March I haven't missed a daily post yet. But, I am going to be away until Monday at a Canada Day weekend cottage party, and so I am hoping that for the next two days I will be too tipsy to type out my blogger ID or password. But don't worry, I will leave you with a couple of recipes to keep you busy in your kitchens until I'm back.

This was a simple weeknight dinner that we had on Wednesday. This meal highlighted an interesting phenomenon... When I serve out a healthy plate of dinner for my kids, they whine and moan about eating the vegetables or "green stuff" and often leave a lot of the best parts behind. But when I put everything out in the middle of the table, for a serve yourself type meal, they pile everything up onto their plates... and then EAT it all!! Maybe it has something to do with giving them the power to decide themselves what to eat that encourages them to make wiser more mature choices... who knows, I won't question it too much.

This Spanish rice is a really nice dish, I tried several versions of a spanish/mexican style rice before I found this recipe and I've been making it ever since. I have also included the recipe for the guacamole. I did make the salsa too, but I had to make a few substitutions because I didn't have all my usual ingredients on hand, so I will wait until the next time I make salsa to post that recipe.

Beef and Chicken Fajitas

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb steak (I used sirloin)
1 tbsp olive oil
Mexican Seasoning Mix
1 onion
1 green pepper
10 6" flour tortillas

1. Wrap tortillas in foil. Place a couple of sheets of dampened paper towel in with them to prevent them from drying out. Place foil packet in the oven at about 300°F to warm up while you get everything else ready.

2. Slice chicken and beef into strips. Sauté chicken in olive oil until almost cooked.

3. Add green pepper and onion. Sauté until soft.

4. Add beef and cook until desired doneness. Sprinkle with Mexican seasoning mix to taste. Keep warm.

5. Serve with warmed tortillas, sour cream, grated cheese, salsa and guacamole (recipe follows).


Guacamole

3 ripe avocados, peeled
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp lemon juice (or more if you like it tangy)

1. Place avocados, sour cream, salt, pepper, hot sauce garlic and onion in a food processor. Process until smooth.

2. Add lemon juice to taste.


Spanish Rice

2 cups water
1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups rice
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash hot sauce
fresh cilantro
1/4 cup grated Monterrey Jack

1. In a medium saucepan combine water, pepper, onion, and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Stir in undrained tomatoes, rice, chili powder, black pepper, and red pepper sauce.

3. Return to boil and simmer covered for 20-25 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Place rice in a serving dish and sprinkle with Monterrey Jack cheese.