Easy Fajitas for Two

The end of the month and the end of the grocery money has challenged me to make some creative dinners this week. It has actually been kind of fun! Here is a "must do again" dinner recipe I made up as I went...

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast portions (cut into strips)
1 T oil
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 clove garlic
splash of water
salt
pepper
cumin
tortillas

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Slice onion, pepper, and mince garlic, add to skillet. Stir for a few minutes until tender crisp. Remove from skillet. Put chicken in skillet and cook until no longer pink in the middle. Add salt, pepper, and cumin after the first minute or so.

Once the chicken is cooked through, add the veggies back in. Splash in some water to deglaze the pan. Cook until mixed together, add more seasoning if needed.

Microwave tortillas for 15-20 seconds.

Spoon chicken mixture into tortillas and eat!!

We will be having this simple meal again very soon!!

Yummy Pork Dinner

Tonight we are having a delightfully yummy pork tenderloin dinner. It is super easy to just put together a marinade early in the day, put in the pork, and have a tasty dinner to grill at the end of the day.

ASIAN GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PINEAPPLE
Serves 6 to 8.

2 pork tenderloins (12-16 oz. each)

Marinade
1 can (6-oz.) pineapple juice (3/4 cup)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups peeled & cubed fresh pineapple (1-inch pieces)
6 to 8 wooden or metal skewers


Cooking Directions
Place pork tenderloins in resealable plastic bag; set aside.

In small bowl, combine marinade ingredients; pour over pork. Seal bag; refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate, or up to 24 hours to enhance flavor.

Preheat grill to medium-hot.

When ready to grill, remove pork from marinade and place on grill. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes per side or until the internal temperature of pork is 160 degrees F.

Meanwhile, place the pineapple chunks on the skewer; place on grill during the last 6 minutes of grilling time, turning after 3 minutes.

To serve, slice pork into 1/2-inch slices (medallions) and serve with grilled pineapple.

We skipped the pineapple for tonight, but served with baked potatoes, it is amazing!!!

Bennett Chili

Our menu for this month had chili planned for a dinner. Mostly because it actually felt winterish here for a few weeks during which time I made the menu. The problem was, I didn't have a good chili recipe. I have tried a few here and there...including a white chili...but nothing really stuck with me.

So, I decided to see what would happen if I just put a bunch of chili-like ingredients we had about into a pot and cooked them up. Success! Husband said it was the best chili he ever ate!

Here is the recipe, which I wrote as I went, so it isn't super exact on measurements (think Rachel Ray)...

1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 bottles of water (yes, this is lazy, but it was sitting right there!)
1/2 pound sage flavored sausage, browned
1/2 pound ground turkey meant, browned
2 chipotle peppers with a teaspoon of adobo sauce (these are HOT, adjust as needed)
2 cans kidney beans in red sauce
2 can fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 jar medium salsa
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
tiny dash of chili powder

Boil onions in water while browning meat. Add meat to onions and water. Add everything else. Turn down to a simmer. Go vacuum the house. Simmer for 25-30 minutes. Eat!

Meal Plan

I generally plan out our meals a few weeks ahead to save time in thinking about what to make and trips to the grocery store. My cousin Misty posted her menu plan for January, which has inspired me to do the same.

Jan 4th - Turkey noodle soup
Jan 5th - Sweet and sour chicken
Jan 6th - Grilled chicken on salad with fixin's
Jan 7th - Burbon salmon, sweet potatoes, green beans
Jan 8th - Stuffed turkey burgers, chips, salad
Jan 9th - April's kitchen is closed for Saturday night!!
Jan 10th - Steak, baked potatoes, salad
Jan 11th - Grilled chicken on salad with fixin's
Jan 12th - Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes
Jan 13th - April's kitchen is closed because the cook is out of town
Jan 14th - Chili
Jan 15th - Tacos
Jan 16th - April's kitchen is closed for Saturday night!!

Breakfast is generally cereal or bagels and fruit or yogurt.

Lunch will mostly be PB&J and Slimfast (because Mark is at school over lunch most days) or frozen pizza or something equally quick.

And that makes grocery shopping so much easier. Today I did my major shopping of all pantry items and meat. Now all I will need to run into the store for is milk and produce (oh, oh, oh, I found a new fruit stand today with awesome prices and it is super close to the house!).

Turkey Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce

A while back I was feeling like trying out something new and, since I had never made tomato sauce from scratch, I thought I would attempt to make meatballs and sauce from scratch.

I found a recipe here (by the way, I have made several of Ellie Krieger's recipies with ground turkey and all have been wonderful)

But then I had to modify it as I went, because here in the Bennett household LOTS of sauce is a must have. So I added a bit more tomato sauce and paste than in the original recipe (and some extra garlic!!)

So here is the Bennett version...

Ingredients

Sauce:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste*
• 2 8-ounce can tomato sauce*
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, liquid included
• 1 teaspoon finely minced canned chipotle en adobo and sauce, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

*Depending on how much sauce you want, add or subtract some amount of these two items.

Meatballs:
• Cooking spray
• 1 pound ground turkey meat
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoons parsley leaves,
• 1 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 box (16 ounces) spaghetti

Directions
Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil for pasta.

Make Sauce:
In a 4-quart saucepan heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the onions until translucent, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, chipotles, oregano, and salt. Bring all the ingredients to a low boil, reduce heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes, until liquid has evaporated slightly. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. While sauce is cooking, make meatballs.

Meatballs:
Preheat the broiler. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine the turkey with all other ingredients in a large work bowl. Form into 2 1/2 -inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Broil for 10 minutes, or until browned and almost entirely cooked through.

Add the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and cook additional 10 minutes, or until sauce has slightly thickened and meatballs have absorbed some of the sauce. While the meatballs are cooking, cook the spaghetti according to package directions.

Marinated Salmon and Purple Potatoes

This recipe is a true Bennett Family Favorite. I think I found it on-line after Husband said he liked the salmon dish at Lonestar Steakhouse. We don't have one of those near us, so this is what we came up with. So far, we like it better!!

Marinade:
1 sweet bourbon marinade
1/4 c pineapple juice
2 tb soy sauce
2 tb brown sugar
1 ts kentucky bourbon
1/4 ts cracked black pepper
1/8 ts garlic powder
1/2 c vegetable oil

Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, bourbon, pepper
and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add
the oil.

This covers 2 8 oz fillets nicely.

Place the fillets in a shallow dish & pour the bourbon marinade over them,
saving a little to brush on the fish as it cooks. Put a lid over the
fish & refrigerate for at least an hour. A few hours is even better.

After the salmon is done in the marinade, it can be cooked any way you like salmon. We have tried it grilled and baked, both are tasty!!

The purple potates add a nice splash of color to the dinner. These seem to be getting more popular and can be purchased at major grocery stores now (for those of you in Florida, almost all Publix carry these potatoes).