Chicken Fajitas

Here's an update on one of the first recipes featured on the blog. I used to make this in a pan, but since I bought a George Foreman wanna be grill a few years ago, I make them on there. I put the chicken and veg's on at the same time (in batches) so the flavors meld together.

Mild, kid friendly fajitas: (pictured)
Lime Chops marinade

Spicy, adult-sized fajitas:
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
dash of chili powder

3 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
1/2 bag frozen peppers & onion mix (or 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper and 1 white onion if fresh)
soft tortillas
guacamole
sour cream
taco sauce
salsa
shredded cheese

If using frozen veg's, warm through in skillet and drain onto paper towels.

For marinated chicken, follow directions as with Lime Chops.
For adult-sized flavoring, place chicken in sealable plastic bag, add spices, seal and shake until thoroughly coated.

Heat olive oil in skillet on medium-high heat, add chicken. When chicken is completely browned, add veggies. (If using fresh, I like to heat until warm but keep the "crunch".) Allow veggies to heat through, stirring often.

Serve on tortillas and garnished as desired.

It's a meal all by itself, but if you need to add more, I like to serve this with a simple fruit mix.

Tacos (American Style)

This recipe isn't exotic. Or original. It's how I make tacos at my house and we like 'em. We always have our tacos with guac and chips. (Yeah, yeah, I like mine without lettuce. Sue me.) Here's the guac recipe:

1 avocado
some onion
some garlic
jalapeno (or diced green chiles)
lemon or lime juice
salt
pepper
some tomatoes
sour cream

Okay so my guac recipe is a little lacking in the measurement department - this is a totally by taste recipe. Any measurements are guesstimates on my part and suit my (and fams) taste. Usually when I make this I omit the jalapeno because The Diva loves it when it's not spicy. I also use my little Black & Decker chopper to make this.

Place avocado (scooped out of the skin and depitted), about a quarter of a medium-sized onion, two cloves of garlic (or one nice big one or 3-4 small ones - this is why I hate measurements), if using jalapeno add it here (if using green chiles from a can, I add it with the sour cream and tomatoes), if using lemon juice I give half a lemon one nice gentle squeeze if using lime juice I give half a lime several hard squeezes, salt and pepper to taste. Blend well in food processor (or other like kitchen tool). Scoop into bowl with room for mixing, add 2 large spoonfuls sour cream and about 3 tbsp diced tomato and gently fold into bowl. Refrigerate until chilled (or tacos are done) and serve with chips, veggies, on tacos or turkey sandwiches (or eat it straight out of the bowl....).

Here's the taco recipe:
1lb. hamburger
1 small can (6 oz? It's the small one you can usually pick up 3/$1) tomato sauce
chili powder
cumin
taco fixings: tortillas, shredded cheese, lettuce, black olives, salsa and sour cream

Brown hamburger and drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce, chili powder and cumin. I probably use about 1 tbsp chili powder and 1/2 tbsp cumin. You can use however much you want, but I think that the flavor balances out the best when using a 2:1 ratio of chili powder to cumin. Heat through and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Assemble tacos and serve with chips and guac. Oh and a little note about the guac... I use mine within 24 hours. It does look a little brown after the first few hours, but tastes fine.

Coffee Concentrate To Make Iced Coffee

To say that I am excited about this post is an understatement!! Or maybe that's the caffeine talking... and I take my caffeine pretty seriously. I've wanted to make coffee concentrate for iced coffee for a long time, but honestly I was scared. Of what, I don't know. This is SO easy! And now that the sticky days of summer are finally here, I'm going to share it with you.

Here's how I do it. I based my recipe from the method used by PioneerWoman (Ree). It's pretty much the same but I cut the quantities of water and coffee. If you want to see a great pictoral step-by-step, go here.

1 gallon cold water - I use cold water from the tap
1-1/3 cups ground dark roast coffee - I like the generic Wal-Mart brand, but use the roast and brand that you prefer. You may need to increase the amount of coffee for lighter roasts. Everyone's taste is different, I found my quantities by doing the math. 'Cuz I'm nerdy like that.
A few other things that come in handy:
     two one gallon pitchers with a little extra room at the top and lids
     plastic colander or fine mesh sieve
     medium sized pyrex bowl
     paper towels or coffee filters or cheese cloth

Five minutes before going to bed, place the coffee grounds into a container that will hold a little more than a gallon. Gently stir to moisten all of the coffee. Cover and let sit for 8-10 hours. (In other words, go to bed and we'll finish this in the morning).

In the morning, if you're really patient, place a fine mesh sieve over a second one gallon container. Place a single coffee filter in the sieve. Ree uses cheesecloth, but filters work fine too. Slowly pour coffee mixture through the filtered sieve, allowing to drain into the new container. This will take a bit of time and several "pours" to get all of the coffee grounds strained from the concentrate. Occasionally change the filter for a fresh one at least once during the process to help speed things up.

---OR---

If you're not so patient in the morning like me, grab a medium sized pyrex bowl, your favorite plastic colander and two or three Viva paper towels. Line colander with paper towels and place over pyrex bowl (colander should fit on outside bowl rim, just slightly off the bottom). Slowly pour about half the coffee mixture into filtered colander, allowing to drain into bowl. Empty bowl into second pitcher as needed.

After the first time you do this, you should have a feel for how much to strain at a time so that you can go off and do other stuff - like wake up your kids, get ready for work, pack lunches... check FaceBook...

After concentrate is filtered from the grounds, cover and place in fridge. I recommend allowing it to chill completely before serving. This keeps well for about 3 weeks in the fridge. After 4 weeks it gets a little bitter and at 5 weeks it went a little "spotty" (which is my-speak for "might have been moldy but couldn't really tell so I tossed it just to be safe"). And if you're wondering why this hung around so long in my fridge: it was my first batch that I made this spring and it was too durn cold to drink iced coffee. Poor timing on my part.

To serve: Fill glass with ice. Fill half full with coffee concentrate. Fill remainder of glass with milk, sweetener and stir. [I use 2% milk and a splash of flavored creamer.] Enjoy!

Natural Blonde Instincts

Natural Blond Instincts by Jill Shalvis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good read. Both characters were interesting. The plot was weak - more introspective than actual action. There was a side story romance that added a bit of humor.

Synopsis: Kenna Mallory is giving up "making it on her own" — aka puddle groomer and accounts payable clerk, jobs that haven't used all her natural abilities — to join the family biz and prove she's got what it takes to be VP of the newest Mallory Hotel. Okay, so maybe she has way more hair and cleavage than it takes, but that should be an asset around co-VP Weston Roth.

Wrong. Wes is hot, as Ivy League as the hotel's elite guests, and isn't buying the blond routine. Time to change tactics and start working the numbers. Good thing math is Kenna's other natural asset. And when it comes to getting the guy, if it isn't hair that grabs him . . . it's, uh, figures.

One True Love?

One True Love? by Stephanie Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a chick-lit type romance that I really enjoyed. The characters were over the top. The situations were a tad bit ridiculous with just enough realism to not throw the book out the window. It was a fun and fast read.

Synopsis: Corinne Weatherby believes everyone on this planet has one true love. Just one. Okay, so the one she's picked is a shallow, inconsiderate womanizer -- nothing a good breakup scene can't fix. Corinne comes from a legendary acting family, and there's a drama queen lurking just below her financial-controller surface. Her "I'm leaving you!" -- which really means she's going on a two-week vacation -- is bound to turn the boy around by the time she gets back.

But her office buddy Matthew overhears her performance and goes after her, determined to prove he is her real one and only. So Matthew, the unadulterated accountant, reveals his alter ego: Superstud.

Whether it's revenge or the thrill of seeing Matthew suit-and-tie-less, Corinne is suddenly ready to play his Lois Lane.

Stick Shift

Stick Shift by Mary Leo
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Awful. I hate to say that about any book, but really, I was gagging 10 pages into this book. I can't really pinpoint what I didn't like... the writing style, the creepy leacherous hero, the repetitive language... it was just bad. I gave up a few chapters in and won't regret not finishing it at all.

Synopsis: Lucy Mastronardo is heading in the right direction - good job, good apartment, good fiance - until a detour to Naples throws her off the map! Sure, she's just days away from tying the knot, but her next big promotion hits a roadblock and Lucy can't steer away from the last-minute business trip. With reassurances to everyone, including her vanilla-pudding-cup fiane, she vows to return before she has to say, "I do."

Lucy's certain she'll have everything sorted out in no time. But then her drop-dead due dates are laid to waste by wacky staff and the tempting restaurant owner next door. The one who makes her think there's more to life than deadlines and rules.

Do Over

Do Over by Dorien Kelly
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book wasn't horrible, but wasn't really likeable either. The story starts out meeting the heroine and I was ready to throw in the towel. Then we meet the hero, and he kept me interested in the story. He was the only character with personality - the heroine fell way flat. The storyline itself was inconsistent and lacked suspense. The romance was really subpar. For a quick read though, it wasn't a bad way to spend time.

Synopsis: If the gods decided to grant Cara Adams one "do-over," the choice would be a no-brainer--she wouldn't have been sucked in by Mark "the Shark" Morgan. Back in law school, Cara had "dumbed down" to catch Mark's eye. Thanks to her stunt, she lost a plum job at a Wall Street firm, and the Shark is enjoying life in the Big Apple. Now Cara's thirty and doing just fine, thank you very much. Positive she's a shoo-in for a partnership at her prestigious Michigan law firm, Cara's bought herself a new loft, paid off her student loans and is ready for the success she deserves. But the gods are laughing now. Her ally in the law firm bolts in the middle of the night, her secretary gets fired for using the file room as her own boudoir, and...Mark the Shark has come home. Really, the gods must be crazy.