Baked Chicken Fajitas

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet!  I've made it about half a dozen times and each time it's so yummy and everyone raves about it.  It's a very simple, tasty dish that is easy to throw together in the evenings.  My current tactic is to have Zak prep the veggies, since I'm not a fan of cutting onions or peppers.  He has it done by the time I'm home from work, I throw everything into a big pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Simple and delicious, makes a ton and is great for leftovers!  The original recipe can be found here, below is what I've modified for us. 

1 - 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 onion, sliced
1 (total) bell pepper, seeded & sliced (I usually do 1/3 from a red, orange/yellow and green to give it a variety of color & flavor)
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tbl. vegetable oil
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. taco seasoning

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13" baking dish.
2.  Mix together chicken, tomatoes, peppers and onion in the dish.
3.  In a small bowl, combine the oil and spices.  Drizzle over the chicken & vegetables and toss to coat.
4.  Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

We usually get about 9-10 servings out of this!  Sorry there is no picture for now, maybe I will add one later!

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Pork

I love sweet & sour pork and this recipe did not disappoint.  It was simple and tasty.  And pretty easy to throw together!

1 1/2 - 2 lb. pork loin or shoulder, trimmed & cut into 1-inch cube
1 Tbl. oil
2 (8 oz. each) cans crushed pineapple in juice
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 Tbl. ketchup
1 Tbl. quick-cooking tapioca
3 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1.  In skillet, brown pork cubes on both sides in oil; drain off fat and place in crockpot.
2.  In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over pork.
3.  Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours, or on high from 4 -5 hours.

I'm sorry, this was the only picture I managed to get

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

This meal is definitely a keeper. Zak didn't really want to come home and grill after a sub-par day at work, but once we got the kabobs on the grill and he smelled the delicious scent of grilled, teriyaki chicken, he knew he was in the wrong. I had decided earlier that day to make the kabobs, after getting a craving for them. And I wasn't going to pay over $5 a pound when I could easily make the same meal for cheaper! I mostly made it up as I went along, with the exclusion of my mom's teriyaki recipe. Which is:

1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkle of ginger

I made half of that recipe and had previously turned it into a glaze for chicken tenders on the stove a few days earlier. But I figured whether glaze or marinade, it would still work for our purposes.

I put two chicken breasts (probably 3/4 - 1 pound) in a Ziploc bag and added enough sauce for them to sit in. And then I went to work.

I read in a recipe book that if you soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before grilling, they won't burn on the grill. So as those soaked, I cut up:

1 onion
1 yellow pepper

into decent chunks. I cut them on the smaller size, but they worked out great us. I also cut up the chicken into pieces about 3/4 - 1" in size. And I opened a can of pineapple chunks.

Then I threaded them onto the skewers, somewhat in this manner:

chicken/pineapple/onion/chicken/pepper/onion/chicken/pineapple/pepper/onion/chicken

I tried to get about 4 pieces of chicken on one skewer. And I got 8 kabobs out of the ingredients, with some of the vegetables leftover.

Then Zak grilled them, and once they were almost done we added a glaze. I was initially just going to heat up the remaining teriyaki sauce and stir in some of the pineapple juice, but Zak thought we should add some spices to make it really yummy. I probably used half of the pineapple juice drained from the can. Zak added pinches of:
cinnamon (small amount)
garlic salt
pepper
ginger
chili powder (small amount)

He brushed it on both sides and they came out really well. We had them with corn on the cob and now we can't wait to have them again!

Here's a kind of recipe for those who didn't want to read my awesome explanation of everything:

1/2 recipe of teriyaki sauce, as provided above (which had been made thicker, into a glaze)
3/4 - 1 lb. chicken breasts, marinated in said sauce for 3 - 4 hours, cut into 3/4 - 1" cubes
1 onion, cut into similar sized cubes
1 yellow pepper, cut into similar sized cubes as well
1 can of pineapple chunks + juice (reserve in a bowl)
8 wooden skewers [if you use metal, I read to brush them with oil first]
pinches and dashes of [here pinches are the larger of the two]:
ginger (pinches)
garlic salt (pinches)
pepper (pinches)
chili powder (dash)
cinnamon (dash)

1. Make teriyaki sauce into glaze (add water that is equal to 1/2 of the total amount of sauce + cornstarch, microwave until thick and clear).
2. Put chicken (cut up before or after, doesn't matter) in bag, add maybe 1/2 of the sauce.
3. Marinate for 3 - 4 hours.
4. Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.
5. Cut onion and pepper up, into 3 /4 - 1" cubes.
6. Open pineapple can.
7. Cut chicken, if you haven't already.
8. Thread on ingredients in some semblance of this order: chicken/pineapple/onion/chicken/pepper/onion/pineapple/chicken, etc. I got 4 pieces of chicken onto each skewer.
9. Grill for 10 - 20 minutes, turning every 5 - 8 minutes.
10. Heat up remaining teriyaki sauce, add about half of the pineapple juice as well as the spices. Mix to taste.
11. Brush glaze onto kabobs once they are almost done cooking.

The moment he realized that I was right, and he was wrong. ;)

Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce

I first made this in December, after looking through my Bridal edition of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It looked delicious, and since I was craving some kind of coconut curry dish, decided to make it.  Zak and I have made it a few more times; we even made it for his family over the winter holidays. It's a little time-consuming but oh, so worth it. Below is our slightly altered version.

2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I also kind of approximate the amount)
1 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 of a large red (or white) onion, diced
1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped (the recipe originally calls for 2 jalapeño peppers, but we didn't want to use those)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 13.5- or 14-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbl. cornstarch
5-6 Tbl. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbl. snipped fresh basil (about 4 leaves)
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
rice to serve over (maybe 3 cups?)

1. In a medium bowl combine curry powder, black pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt, and chili powder. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Add to spices, toss to coat. Cover and chill for 1 - 2 hours to allow spices to sink in.

2. Pour oil into large skillet or wok (we use our wok, which we love!); heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper and garlic; cook and stir for about 8 minutes (until crisp-tender), then remove from wok. Add half of the chicken and cook for about 4 - 6 minutes (until no longer pink); remove from wok, repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Stir together coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and 1/4 tsp. salt until smooth. Add to wok, carefully. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken and onion mixture to wok. Stir in basil and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes, serve over hot rice. *We usually add rice to the wok to mix it all together, it is a good way to soak up the sauce.

Cooked chicken

Chicken and onion mixture

All done!

Ready to be enjoyed :)