BBQ Chicken & Sweet Potato

I have totally been MIA but summer is busy! My main focus has been my kids and my challengers, so the blog has definitely seen better days but I did want to share a new recipe with you all that was SUPER simple and yummy!! Next time I make this, I want to top it with a slaw of some sort! I love an extra crunch in my food! 

Serves: 2 servings, 1 sweet potato and about ¾ cup chicken each

Ingredients

• 2 small sweet potatoes, washed, pierced several times with a fork
• 1½ cups shredded cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless, warm (I cheated and used a rotisseree chicken & peeled off the skin)
• ¼ cup barbecue sauce (they always call for reduced sugar, I can't find one, so I use Trader Joe's or you can make your own)
• ¼ cup Quick Pickled Red Onions (or 2 Tbsp. chopped red onions) (optional, I skipped this step)

Instructions

1. Place sweet potatoes on a plate. Pierce each sweet potato 3 to 4 times with a fork. Microwave 4-6 minutes or until tender. 
2. While sweet potato is cooking, combine chicken and barbecue sauce in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.
3. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise.
4. Top sweet potatoes evenly Quick Pickled Red Onions and chicken mixture. Serve and enjoy! 

Tips:

1. Look for barbecue sauce that has an ingredient list that does not contain artificial sweeteners, additives, or preservatives. There are many brands on the market that are sweetened with small amounts of honey, maple syrup, or molasses.
2. Use Healthy Barbecue Sauce as a homemade alternative to store-bought barbecue sauce.

For my Fix Family, it is 1.5 yellow and 1 red! 

Spicy Asian Tilapia w/ Mixed Veggies

I typically prep 80% of our lunches and dinner.  However since we have gotten back from our cruise (another post, another day), I have tried to mix things up a bit! I decided to throw some fish back on the menu, I can't tell you the last time I bought Tilapia, cooked it at home and actually enjoyed it! Usually it is way too fishy for me but this was so good! And it was the EASIEST meal to throw together ever, especially on a week night! 

No prep work, just out of the package & into the pan! I even used the same pan for the tilapia after I cooked the veggies to save myself (er...Aaron) the hassle of washing more than one pan! Yes, you read that right, he does the dishes around here too. 

What you need: 
2 pkg precut veggie mix from Trader Joe's (pictured) 
1 lb Tilapia (farm-raised fresh tilapia from TJ's, pictured)
San-J Szechuan Sauce (or other flavor you like), this one is spicy! 

1. Spray a large pan with olive oil cooking spray. Warm it up & throw in the veggies! Sauté them to your liking, I cook mine for a while because I prefer them softer. 
2. Once they are done, set them aside, covered in a bowl or container. 
3. Spray a tad more olive oil in the pan & place the tilapia in there. 
4. Salt & pepper the fish. Cook 2 minutes & flip. 
5. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the fish. (About 1-2 tsp total) 
6. Cook another 5 minutes. Fish will flake when done. 
7. Place 2 cups veggies on a plate with 1 piece of fish. Top with 1 tbsp of the sauce (or less if you can't handle spicy), serve immediately and devour! 

You can add brown rice if you want or even turn it into tacos but it is perfect with just the veggies!

Enjoy! 🙌🏼

For my Fix Family: 2 green, 1 red, 1/2 orange

Southwest Burgers

Southwest Burgers.  Don't worry, they are not spicy, they are just a perfectly seasoning burger, although adding some fresh jalapeños sounds amazing! 

This is a staple in our house, we probably eat them 3 weeks out of the month! I love them topped with homemade guac or even plain! 

When I made these, I double up! I love to individually wrap these bad boys and keep them in the freezer for my weekday lunches or quick dinners! Have you guys learned by now, I have to simplify meals?! 
 

What you need:
2 lb 93/7 or 94/6 Lean Ground Beef
2 tbsp Southwest Seasoning
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp mustard

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl except for the ground beef, stir them together.
2. Add ground beef, mix well by hand.
3. Make your patties (I make 7 4oz patties for Aaron and I, then 2 2oz, for the kids). I am a fan of measuring and using my burger press. You do not need these items though. 
4. Place burgers on grill or heated grill pan. Press thumb into middle of burger, this helps them cook evenly & not plump up, do not smash the burger with your spatula or you squeeze out the juices.  
5. I cook about 10 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through.  You can cook until your desired doneness. 
6. Throw on your favorite toppings and enjoy OR wrap them and freeze!

And if you have not learned by now, this seasoning is a must have in your kitchen at all time! You will see it on my blog often!

Southwest Seasoning:
2 TBSP chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregno
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix seasonings together and put in a container, there should be some left after you season the chicken! I use this seasoning for taco meat, chicken, anything really! 

For my Fix Family, this burger is 1 red! 

Turkey Chili

Alright guys, I attempted my first recipe video! I hope you liked it. There is some room for improvement for sure but I have to start somewhere, right?! 

Anyways, if you stumbled across this post, this is by far my most FAVORITE Chili recipe EVER. It is a modified version from a meal plan of a program I have done in the past and has become a staple in our house! 

This recipe makes 6 servings at 1 cup each however in the video, I made double, so 12 servings total at 1 cup each.  I prefer to double any recipe I can so that I can portion it out and put extras in the freezer for those busy weekdays or weeknights! Work smart, not hard! 

Turkey Chili

1 tsp. olive oil
1.5 lbs. raw 93% lean ground turkey
1/4 med onion, chopped (you can use one whole onion, we don't)
1 med green bell pepper, chopped
1 cloves garlic, finely chopped (you can use 3 cloves, again, we don't) 
1.5 tsp. ground cumin
1 Ttbsp chili powder
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste; optional)
2 (15oz) cans black beans (or pinto beans) drained & rinsed (I prefer to use one of each)
1 (15oz) can all natural diced tomatoes, no sugar added (do not drain)
12 fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, I prefer to use my dutch oven! 
• Add turkey, onion, bell peper and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 8 min or until turkey is no longer pink (this time will be longer if you doubled the meat) 
• Add cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper; cook, stirring constantly for 1 min.
• Add beans and tomatoes (with liquid). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 min, or until thickened.
• Serve warm, sprinkled w/ cilantro.

For my Fix family: 1/2 green container, ½ red container & 1 yellow container  

Recipe Modified from 21 Day Fix Extreme Eating Plan

Loaded Chicken Fajita Potato

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I am sitting here dreaming about my meals for the week and my grocery list magically putting itself together but since it isn't happening, I decided to casually avoid it by sharing a recipe! 

I love this southwest seasoning (listed below) and use it on EVERYTHING. Like seriously, everything.  So I really enjoy finding different uses for the meat that I make with the seasoning. 

This meal was a hit in my house...well, for me and my husband.  Kids = Pickiest eaters ever. 

Loaded Chicken Fajita Baked Potato

What you need:

2 Chicken Breasts
1 Green Bell Pepper Thinly Sliced
1/2 Red, Yellow & Orange Bell Pepper Thinly Sliced
1 Baked Potato (halved) 
Salsa (I prefer Trader Joe's Chunky or just Pace Chunky)
Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese
A little fresh guac (I make my own but those little packets of Wholly Guacamole work too)
Southwest Seasoning

Southwest Seasoning:

2 TBSP chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregno
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix seasonings together and put in a container, there should be some left after you season the chicken! I use this seasoning for taco meat, chicken, anything really!

1.     Make southwest seasoning as noted above. Set aside.

2.     Thinly slice peppers (feel free to add whatever fajita veggies you like, onions, tomatoes, etc.).  Place them in a Ziploc with 1-2tsp of seasoning (to your taste) and shake to coat.  Set aside.

3.     Take chicken breast and rub with about 1 TBSP of southwest seasoning.  I like to cover the chicken on both sides.  Again, you can use more or less, up to you!

4.     Place the chicken on the grill and cook until no longer pink or at a temp of 160.  Once the chicken is complete, I like to let it rest on a plate covered with foil for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices.

5.     While grilling the chicken, grill your veggies too.  If they finish before your meat, just place them on a plate covered with foil.

6.     Bake your potato in the microwave (don’t forget to poke holes in it with a fork) anywhere from 6-10 minutes depending on the size of it. You can test it with a fork after 6 minutes to see if it is done.  I cooked our potato while our chicken rested.  It worked out perfectly.

To Assemble:

Slice potato in 1/2
Place potato on plate & top with fixings! Super easy!

I layered mine as follows for all of you 21 Day Fix lovers out there:

½ Potato (1 yellow)
Chicken (1 red)
Peppers (1/2 green)
Salsa (1/4 purple)
Cheese & Guac (1 blue)