Grilled Steak Fajitas

We enjoy Mexican food a lot. We've been wanting to make fajitas for a while. The multi-colored peppers make this a colorful as well as delicious meal.

Ingredients
1 lb. steak
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 medium orange pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 pkg. fajita seasoning
Olive oil
Tortillas
Shredded cheese
Sour cream

Grill the steak just enough to sear it and cut it into strips.

In a large, deep frying pan, saute the onion in olive oil until translucent.

Add peppers and saute until tender.

Add fajita seasoning.

Add steak.

Cook over medium heat until meat is cooked to your liking.

Fill tortillas and top with cheese and sour cream.

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Made-up Gumbo

I love southern food. I especially love spicy Cajun food. I have a jar of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning that, even after 10 years, still has quite the kick to it. We had some spicy sausage in the freezer just aching to be combined with some fresh veggies, a little rice, and some appropriate spices. Here's what we got.

Ingredients:
10 sausage links cut into 1/2 inch rounds (use your favorite flavor -- but they need to be brat-sized)
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 medium onions, chopped
3 Tbs olive oil
5 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 qt stewed tomatoes
3/4 C uncooked rice
1 Tbl Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (or similar Cajun spices)
2 medium zucchini, chopped

In a large, deep fry pan or stock pot, saute garlic and onions in the oil over medium high heat.

Add chopped tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, rice, and sausage.

Add Mix well and bring to a boil.

Reduce to low heat, add the cajun spices, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Chop zucchini and add to pan.

Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve hot.

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Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

A friend posted this on her Facebook profile, and I had to try it. We had a large family dinner party and a 7 lbs. pork tenderloin roast. I doubled the sauce recipe, and it turned out beautifully. The meat was tender and juicy, a feat difficult to accomplish with a pork roast.

Ingredients
2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1/4 C soy sauce
1 Tbl yellow mustard
2-3 Tbl maple syrup
2 Tbl olive oil
2 tbl diced dried onions
1-1/2 large garlic cloves, minced

Place the roast in your crockpot, fat side up.

Mix all other ingredients together.

Pour over Tenderloin in the crock pot, cover, and cook on low for 6 hours.

Enjoy!

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Russian Cranberry Chicken

I'm republishing this recipe because I didn't include pictures last time. We love it. It's easy. It's fast. And it's delicious.

Ingredients:

6-8 pieces of skinless chicken
1 C Russian salad dressing
1 pgk dry onion soup mix
1 can whole cranberry sauce

Place chicken in oven-safe casserole dish. Mix all other ingredients together.

Pour over chicken.

Bake for one hour at 325F degrees.

Serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

One Crazy Girl's notes: I prefer skinless thighs that have not been boned. They are amazingly juicy and taste wonderful. Also, if you would rather use breasts, they don't dry out as much if they are slightly frozen when they go in the oven.

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Russian Cranberry Chicken

Chicken Tikka Masala

A few years ago, I was part of a group at work who would bring in ingredients and start making Masala in the break room at 9:00 am so that it would be all nice and blended by lunch time. Two people were always tasked with bringing in the spices (not me), so I've been on the lookout for a good Masala for a while. If you like yourself some good Masala, give this a try. I didn't mix the Masala spices (just used the prepared Garam Masala you can get at any grocery store), but it sure tasted like what we made for lunch. Good memories. Now I just need to find me a good Garam Masala recipe so I can make that up myself.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken tenders
salt
ground coriander
cumin
1/2 C plain yogurt
6 Tbs butter
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 2" piece fresh ginger root, pealed and finely grated
3 Tbs Garam Masala
28 oz. canned diced tomatoes
1 Tbs sugar
1-1/2 C heavy cream
2 C Basmati or Jasmine rice
1 Tbs ground turmeric
4 C water
1 C frozen peas

Line a baking sheet with foil and place a large, oven-safe cooling rack in it that will hold all of the chicken. Season the chicken with some salt. Sprinkle on all sides with coriander and cumin. Coat the chicken completely with the yogurt. Place chicken on the cooling rack.

Place under the oven broiler on high about 10-12 inched below the heating element. Broil for 5-7 minutes per side. Watch carefully so the chicken doesn't completely char. Some blackening on the edges is normal. Chop chicken into chunks.

In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbs of the butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. Add garlic, ginger, and 1 Tbs salt to the onions. Next, add the Garam Masala and tomatoes. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it.

Add sugar. Let mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes.

In a medium sauce pan, mix rice, 4 Tbs butter, 1 tsp salt, turmeric, and water. Cook as you normally cook rice. You can also use a rice cooker.

After the sauce has simmered for 5 minutes, add the heavy cream and chicken. Stir until the chicken is thoroughly coated with the sauce. Continue simmering while the rice cooks.

Once the rice is cooked, remove it from the heating element and add frozen peas. Cover again. The steam from the rice will cook the peas.

Serve the chicken and sauce over the rice.

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Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken

From the kitchen of Carol Berlin

This is a quick, easy, delicious crock pot chicken recipe that is sure to please your family. And I'd like to thank my sister, Carol, for introducing me to it. Thanks!

Ingredients:
8 chicken breasts or 10 thighs and legs chicken pieces
Lemon pepper
Your favorite barbecue sauce

Cover the bottom of your crock pot with a layer of chicken. Sprinkle liberally with lemon pepper.

Cover with barbecue sauce.

Repeat until crock pot is full, but not too full.

Cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

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Baked Alaskan Halibut

I love all things seafood. I love most things fresh-water-food. But I especially love salt-water fish. My sister gave us some halibut caught on a trip to Alaska (I know, I know; I'm very spoiled). Who could say no? Not me. I found a recipe online, but modified it enough to call it my own.

Ingredients:
soft butter
4 halibut fillets
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
4 slices of homemade Italian bread, cubed
1/4 C milk
grated Parmesan cheese
parsley flakes

Coat the bottom and sides of your baking dish with butter.

Place the fillets in the dish.

Cover fish with onions and tomatoes.

Pour milk over fillets.

Cut bread into cubes.

Sprinkle the bread, cheese, and parsley flakes over everything.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

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Grilled Garlic Shrimp

I love seafood. I really love shellfish. We got this recipe on an election flyer for Mia Love. (She's running for the U.S. Congress here in Utah.) This recipe is easy and oh so yummy, if you like shrimp.

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. jumbo tiger prawns, deveined but with the shells still on
3 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs fresh minced garlic
juice of 2 limes
1 Tbs honey
chopped cilantro

In a large bowl, mix oil, garlic, honey, lime juice, and cilantro.

Add prawns and stir until they are coated.

Grill until pink.

Delicious!

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