Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Say No To Kraft Dinner


For a simple and quick dinner my family loves Tex Mex food. My little ones like to eat the meat without the tortilla, but some of them are coming around. We like to serve them with a rice and salsa. It tastes like it came from a restaurant and it does not include all of the salt and chemicals that a fajita mix includes.

Kelly's Fajita's


~For chicken: 4-5 small ckichen breasts
~For beef: One flank steak or sometimes called skirt steak

For the marinade:
~1/2 cup to 1 cup olive oil
~one medium onion sliced into thin rings
~1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
~1/2 cup to 3/4 cup soy sauce or Tamari
~3 cloves of garlic minced or 1 to 2 tsp. of garlic powder
~ 1 tsp. cumin powder
~juice of one or two limes plus slice one and put it in the marinade
~1/2 tsp. black pepper
~1 tsp. of salt (this is optional and I don't use it without any loss of flavor)

Put the meat into a container with a tight fitting lid or a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I usually marinade it over night. The lime juice can start to cook the meat so don't marinade over 8-12 hours. It will taste the best if you grill the meat, but you can cook it in a frying pan or on an oven pan. Let it rest before slicing and then squeeze lime juice over the top.
Tip: try not to put the cilantro or onion on the grill with the meat as it will burn.


We serve it with:
~slice onions and saute until soft
~slice red and green peppers and saute until soft
~mushrooms sliced and sauteed
~salsa
~sour cream
~cheese
~fresh onion and jalepeno slices
~tortillas or make your own with this recipe from Tammy.



Simple Cheesy Spanish Rice

~2 cups cooked brown rice or white rice
~1/2 stick butter or 1/4 cup olive oil- but it tastes different
~one small onion diced
~one small can of petite diced tomatoes (about 15oz.) *you can use the one with onions in it*
~1 tsp of garlic powder
~1 tsp. cumin powder
~ 1 can of diced green chiles or 1 fresh cut up
~1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese or more to taste

Cook the rice and set aside. Melt butter in medium sauce pan. Add onion and cook until slightly browned. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed. Cook until the cheese is melted. Serve right away. This will be sticky compared to Rice-a-Roni type.



For more great ideas check back to Stephanie's blog at Keeper of The Home.


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, those both sound good! I love almost any style of Mexican food and so does my family. Thanks for sharing the recipes, Kelly! :)

Anonymous said...

I made some Spanish rice from scratch the other day, and although my husband and I thought it tasted delish, my kids didn't like it (*aghast!)

I'll have to try this cheesy version and see if it gets a better response.

Love your site; I'm adding you to my reader!

Joy @ Five Js

Anonymous said...

Oh, I think these will be a hit with my husband. I made him Spanish brown rice (from scratch) to add some extra calories to his breakfasts last week (he keeps shrinking!), but I think he'd appreciate the cheese factor. Plus, more calories!

Kelly said...

Thanks, hope you like them. The fajitas come out very moist. It seems like a lot of ingredients, but it's really just throwing them in a container with the meat. The rice is really quick and I use it to use up left over rice. You can make it without the cheese for a more traditional Spanish rice flavor, but my kids won't eat it without the cheese. Kelly

Michele @ Frugal Granola said...

I'm definitely going to have to try the Spanish rice recipe. I've always just kind of thrown things together, guessing what to put in. This one sounds great. Thanks! Plus, I love fajitas! :)
Blessings,
MIchele :)
www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com