Steak fajitas!

I like to think of this meal as my first iPhone dinner since I used my new iPhone and the epicurious.com app to make the grocery list and cook it at Rick's new place.  One of the things that I've been looking forward to when I finally got an iPhone was this app!  As I'm sure is obvious, I'm a huge fan of epicurious.com, and I've been admiring the app on their website for quite some time now!  If anyone out there was any other awesome cooking related (or not) app suggestions, please send them my way!  I'm looking forward to playing...umm, using my iPhone for a long time to come!

Okay, so back to the meal.  Sadly, Rick and I haven't been cooking anything new recently or at all really.  With the holiday weekend, we decided that we going to change that.  We've been spending more time at his new place, and last weekend, he bought one of those tabletop gas grills at Lowes.  It's really cool and allows us to be able to grill on his back porch (one of the things that I love about his place).  While he was running some errands yesterday afternoon, I decided to check out the epicurious.com page for some ideas for dinner, and I came across this one.  I thought that it sounded yummy, and what better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with some Mexican!  LOL!  Based on the reviews on epicurious, I decided to marinate the steak for a few hours while we were at the pool.  I also added cumin to the lime juice marinade.  Being that we were cooking at Rick's place, I had to stock up on a couple of kitchen necessities to take over there including salt and pepper grinders and a juicer when I went to the new Harris Teeter to get steak.  I ended up getting the pre-cut fajita steak instead of doing the cutting myself.  We used 0.62 pounds which made a little bit more than enough for two (perfect for snacking on later).  The fajitas turned out great!  Using balsamic vinegar with those ingredients wasn't something that I would have thought to do but the onion (and green pepper) were a perfect compliment to the meat.  Given the small amount of meat that we used, I think that going with one onion and one green pepper and a whole pound of steak would be perfect for 4 servings which is what I'm recommending in my recipe here.  I look forward to making this one again!

Here's what we did...

Steak Fajitas with Lime and Cilantro

Ingredients

1 lb steak (I used the pre-cut fajita steak from the grocery store)

1 sweet onion, peeled and cut into wedges

1 green pepper, cut into strips

1cup chopped cilantro leaves

Juice of one lime

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons salt and 

2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

Small torillas

Salsa of your choice

Sour cream (if desired)

Shredded cheddar cheese (if desired)

Directions

In a shallow dish, mix steak with lime juice, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 cup cilantro.  Cover and place in the refirgerator to marinate for 1-2 hours.

In another bowl, mix onions and green pepper with 1/2 tablespoon oil, balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 1-2 hours

Marinating time for both can be as short as 30 minutes if you do not have the full 1-2 hours.

Heat grill to medium heat.  Place the onion and pepper in a grill basket and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove the onions from the grill basket and place in a bowl.  Place steak in the grill basket and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove steak and add to the bowl with the onions.  Stir steak, veggies, and remaining cilantro together in the bowl. 

Toast tortillas on the grill for about 1 minute.

Serve steak, veggies, salsa, and cheese and sour cream (if desired) in wrapped tortillas.

Enjoy!

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Skirt-Steak-Fajitas-with-Lime-and-Black-Pepper-106578#ixzz0sjXjb4Hx

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Skirt-Steak-Fajitas-with-Lime-and-Black-Pepper-106578#ixzz0sjXjb4Hx

A blast from the past....good ole King Ranch Chicken

Way back in the early 90s when I thought cooking consisted of throwing a frozen meal in a microwave and pushing start or making spaghetti with sauce out of a jar, my friend Maria introduced me to one of the first real things that I learned to cook...King Ranch Chicken.  In fact, for a while, I think that it was the only thing that I knew how to cook! I'm sure that she had gotten the recipe from her mother, but for whatever reason, it was never made in my house when I was growing up.  Over the years, I've noticed that King Ranch Chicken has made an appearance in just about every church cookbook that I've ran across (including the one that my church recently put out), and there are quite a few versions out there (Southern Living must have had at least 5 over the years).  Some of them stray away from using condensed soups, and some of them have several layer which makes it some sort of tortilla lasagna.  I'm not a big fan of the layers because the chips end up super soggy.  

Since my cooking repertoire has grown, I honestly don't think that I've made it since the 90s, but I was thinking chicken and casseroles today, and it immediately came to mind.  Something about the cold weather just makes me long for a nice, warm casserole (and a trip to the tanning bed, too!).


What's not to like in King Ranch Chicken?  You've got Doritos (in this version anyway), cheese, and a mixture that my friends and I used to refer to as "barf" since it really does look like it, and not to mention how incredibly easy it is to make this dish that will feed you forever when you are a poor college student.  And well, even though I'm in my 30s now, I am a college student at least for a little while longer!  

Tonight, it's just me and the Tar Heels on TV night since Rick won't be coming over.  I don't blame him, though.  I've got to get up very early in the morning for my last clinical!  I'm going to miss my preceptor, Susan, and all of the wonderful nurses at Roper St. Francis labor and delivery!

"The barf"

My version of King Ranch Chicken evolved over the years as my cooking knowledge has. It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's still a simple, super comfort food. I've attempted to make it not-so-bad-for-you by using reduced fat cheddar cheese and soups.



 King Ranch Chicken


Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use Campbell's low fat)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use Campbell's low fat)

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 bag of regular Doritos (coarsely crumbled)
2 cups reduced fat (2%) cheddar cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.


Season chicken with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet or heavy pan, heat olive oil and add chicken.  Saute until it is cooked and no longer pink in the middle.  Remove from the pan and place on a towel-covered plate to drain.  Add green pepper, onion, and garlic to the pan and saute until soften. 

While the chicken is cooking, combine the soups, Rotel tomatoes, and cilantro to a pot and heat over medium-low heat.  When the green pepper, onions, and garlic have finished cooking, mix with the soup.

In a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, add chicken and then cover with the soup mixture.  Add a layer of Doritos and then top with cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes uncovered or until the mixture is bubbling.
Enjoy!!!