Crockpot Freezer Meal: Fajita Steak Taco Filling

Last month - in preparation for the arrival of Baby #3 - I went into full nesting mode one week and mass produced enough food to fill my freezer. I ended up with 9 crockpot meals, 5 dinners of turkey veggie pasta sauce, 6 meal sides of mango salsa, 4 bags of sweet potato hash and 4 jars of lemon garlic sauce - all so I wouldn't have to think or prep too much with the inevitable lack of planning that comes with having a new baby in the house.

This Fajita Steak mix is the first I pulled since #1: I knew Dave would dig it for his first cleanse day; and #2: because the extra prep was easy with the "toppings" I had in the fridge.

I truthfully can't find the original recipe I pulled this from as I was in overdrive on Pinterest and writing down recipes as I found them. So, if this is based off of yours, please feel free to take the original credit!

We prepped this tonight as "burrito bowl" style. This included making rice in faux-chipotle style (which I will also list below) with lettuce, guacamole (I would have used plain avocado but I had this on hand), organic salsa and jalapeños for Dave. This also works for lettuce wraps or as taco filling.

I love bowls at Chipotle and if I've ever coached you, we've probably talked about making "healthier" Chipotle choices if you are on the go and have no other choice but to grab something on the run. My normal suggestions for Challengers include: half rice (go brown not white), no beans (unless you are coming from a workout - extra protein), veggies, meat, salsas, lettuce ... Forgo the cheese and sour cream, of course. Guac is overkill for their bowls since all the nutrition you usually need is already there ... Plus the extra sodium from their prep.

Love this! Turned out great! I went no sodium when I prepped it for the freezer and did end up adding a couple of shakes of sea salt after I pulled the steak apart for a flavor kick just FYI.

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Fajita Steak Taco Filling

2 lbs. Flank/Lean Steak

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 red onion

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 fresh jalapeño (optional) chopped

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

To freeze:

Chop and slice all veggies to your preference. Combine all veggies and meat in a gallon size freezer bag. 

Mix spices in a separate bowl. Spread as evenly as possible over contents in the baggie. Shut Baggie and mix ingredients to ensure spices get coated over as much as possible.

Mark on Baggie: "Add 1/2 c. water."

Freeze 4-6 months in a standard freezer.

To make or do fresh: defrost contents for a day in the refrigerator. Place in crockpot with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 6-8 hours covered. Shred steak and combine with all ingredients in pot for final filling. 

If cooking for 8-10 hours on low, I would add 1/4-1/2 c. extra water to make sure your mix doesn't burn dry while you are at work!

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Cilantro Lime Rice

1 1/2 c. Brown Rice (I used instant)

2 c. Water

1 lime - squeezed

3 tbsp. cilantro

Combine line juice into the water while bringing to boil. Add rice. Cook down. Add cilantro after rice has set.

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Things I would do for next time: MORE VEGGIES and real garlic. :) Probably add another pepper or two.

Challenge-Friendly: YES. Serve it clean with a simple carb and added greens for the best results!

Taco Pizza

So, being 25 weeks pregnant with my 3rd kid, I FINALLY get around to being able to post food of some sort ... again.

I have to say, this has been a very different preggo experience from my previous ones and finding the balance between eating and eating healthy is not an easy road to follow when incubating a human life-sucker. For my first trimester, I lived on green smoothies; eating was not something my mouth or stomach wanted to do. As a non-consumer of milk for the previous year, we now find foods creeping back into the house like cow milk and cheese on a regular basis because sometimes they are palatable for me. Don't worry: post-pregnancy these items will once again be phased out as I hit my normal Advo-regime and can finally eat and prepare all my favorite healthy dishes without gagging or becoming nauseous.

Yep, right now I eat what I can and make it from scratch as often as I can so I know where my ingredients are coming from.

A lot of my cravings this time around are for foods I loved in high school. Why am I channeling my high school tastes buds??? I have no clue, but so far the choices have been deeply satisfying! At least I haven't started wearing "curtains" for pants again, so I'm not channeling my entire HS self! LOL 

Today was the Taco Pizza that I used to get from Mancino's back in the day. I'm sure ordering it from the store down the road would have been easier, but where's the fun in that?

This CAN be made healthier and I'll give suggestions at the bottom of the page. Also, make sure to use FRESH, ORGANIC or natural ingredients when possible. The less processed interference, the better your bowels will fair when you TREAT yourself to the dish.

And don't fret at the "Steps." I organized it this way so your workflow goes smoothly. It really only took 10-15 minutes total in prep and that was while other parts were in the oven. You'll even have time to wash your cutting boards while it finishes cooking!

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Taco Pizza

Step 1

1 Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust

Step 2

1 Can Refried Beans (with green chilis)

1/4 C. Salsa

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. red pepper (optional)

1 tbsp. minced garlic

Step 3

1/2 lb. ground turkey (previously made with Mexican flavors if possible - leftover ground turkey works great!)

Step 4

1/2 c. Diced tri-colored peppers

1/4 c. Diced Onions

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 tbsp. minced garlic

Step 5

1/2 c. Salsa

Small Can of Black Olives

1 c. Taco/Mexican Shredded Cheese

Step 6

Shredded/Chopped Lettuce

Diced Tomatoes

Greek Yogurt/Sour Cream

Salsa

Directions:

Step 1: Make up the pizza crust as told on the container. Oven at 400 degrees. 5 minutes to start. 

Step 2: While your crust warms up, add all ingredients from Step 2 in a small pot and warm up so it's spreadable.

Step 3: I had leftover ground turkey from another meal and that was the easiest to use. Heat it up in the microwave real quick so it's not going on the pizza cold.

Step 4: Heat up oil in a small frying pan and sauté veggies and garlic.

Option for combining Step 3 and 4: do up your meat and veggies in a pan together. Add cumin, paprika, pepper, onion powder and make it all yummy together if you don't have leftover meat to use.

Step 5: Pull out the pizza crust. Spread refried beans mixture like a sauce. Put meat, veggies, olives on top of sauce. Gently spoon/spread salsa over everything. Add cheese to the top.

Cook the pizza for 10 minutes or until crust gets golden brown and cheese is melted thoroughly. Chop up Step 6 toppings while you wait.

Step 6: top with what you want! Add things like lettuce, fresh tomatoes, more salsa or jalapeños or even banana peppers. Do it up like you would your fav taco.

ENJOY! Two pieces were enough for me! (It yielded about 15 pieces when cut - 3 across and 5 down)

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I loved this as I did it, but lets talk about options!

Crust: Make your own low carb or whole grain crust. I'm wondering how whole grain flatbread might hold up as well. 

Refried Beans: How can you make beans healthier?? Maybe smash up your own black beans! That would be yummy! Add in some spices and chili peppers and even more yummmmy.

Salsa: Homemade is the way to go, of course! Just try to keep some of the liquid/juice out so it doesn't get too runny.

Meat: Lean turkey or chicken is always best. Don't forget beans are a protein, too.

Cheese: This is the toughy. What is a taco pizza without cheese? I say go low fat, skim, cut down the portion even more, use sharp cheddar for more punch with less ... I did say this is a TREAT meal so just keep that in mind! You don't need to be eating this masterpiece once a week and a little cheese goes a long way.

Challenge-Friendly: NO as I have it here. Let's forgo the cheese for 24-days and use this as a fun-treat meal once in awhile!

Grilled Southwest Chicken and Avo-Corn Salad

Nothing beats cooking on the grill on the middle of winter. Which in turn makes you wish for summer, sunshine, warm days, lake time and BEACH weather ... sooooo it might be a bit bittersweet! BUT grilling in Indiana in the dead of winter is just a basic, seasonal rite-of-passage us Midwesterners enjoy. And mah belly enjoyed this CHICKEN!

Spicy, still moist and totally perfectly grilled. Plus we threw the veggie mix in foil and dropped it on the grill to warm, too. Heck, if the grill is on, you might as well utilize the heat!

The original recipe came from Martha Stewart but again, I had to make some changes and updates as usually. I RAN OUT OF CAYENNE! Yep ... talk about being prepared *eye roll for my lack of planning*. SO the little dash I had was used and then I broke out the Southwest Chipotle Seasoning so I could get some spice and smoke into the flavor. The avocado salad got an upgrade with corn for some added bulk (can you tell we've been digging on corn as our single carb for this round of the Cleanse?). Yummy and the leftovers were great in salad the next day.

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Grilled Southwest Chicken and Avo-Corn Salad

2 tsp. Southwest Chipotle Seasoning
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Minced Garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small lime juiced


2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 medium red onion, finely diced
1 Hass avocado, pitted and cut into chunks
1 c. corn (frozen or can)
Black Pepper


In a small bowl, combine all the seasonings. Dredge chicken through to coat and place on a plate. Let sit 30 minutes before grilling.

Combine corn, onion, avocado with the leftover seasoning mix. Place in foil and sprinkle with black pepper. Fold down foil, toss lightly and ready for the grill.

Place marinated chicken on grill; 5-8 minutes each side on medium to high heat. Place veggies on top rack or lower-heat grill-side to cook along with the chicken.

Plate and SERVE.
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Yes, I added a TOUCH of BBQ sauce to my chicken ... so sue me! But dang it was good! We even convinced Alice to eat some chicken, so we are rockstars :)

Challenge-Friendly: YES.

Juevos Mexicano

I was in HEAVEN last night with this dish!

#1 I love breakfast for dinner, so eggs were exactly what I needed.

#2 FLAVOR!

#3 And it wasn't even too spicy for me. Perfecto!

Anyone who knows me has seen me eat "Mexican" food before. I'm that girl who mixes EVERYTHING together ... the most common comment I hear is, "OMG! It looks like baby poop!" after I finish getting all the flavors combined. BUT I do it so I have the combo of the flavors all mashed up in my mouth and exploding my taste buds at one time! As a flavor bonus last night, I added diced mango and avocado into the mix and created that perfect blend of spicy and sweet. SERIOUSLY in love with this dish!

I adapted the recipe from Closet Cooking with a couple of differences. I didn't have chipotle chili powder so I used my regular Southwest Chipotle Seasoning mix I have on hand. Also, I baked the eggs at the end like they did ... but it took more like 25 minutes for them to be done instead of 5-8. *SADNESS* Dave didn't like the egg results even after baking so he pouched his and added them, so that is the method I'm going to suggest in the recipe because it takes LESS TIME and the result is about the same. Also added in corn for a carb (you could do rice if you wanted) and a little less jalapeño which made it perfect spiciness for me. Never be afraid to add more veggies! In fact, I added spinach to get more "green" into the dish and you couldn't even notice a taste difference.

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Juevos Mexicano

1 tbsp. EVOO
1 small red onion, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chipotle seasoning
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
2 10-oz. cans diced tomatoes (with green chilies) or 4 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 12-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen corn
1 tsp. oregano

1 handful cilantro, chopped
1 handful fresh baby spinach

2 eggs per person

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until tender. Add the garlic, cumin, chipotle, and jalapeño and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, black beans, oregano and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. At the end, throw in cilantro and spinach and warm until wilted.

Pouch your eggs or pan fry sunnyside up (all you need is a squirt of cooking spray to keep them from sticking to the pan). Two eggs per person should be enough protein along with the beans in the sauce for a meal.

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Again: I paired my awesomeness with mango and avocado for extra flavor and fell in love! I'm a huge yolk person so this is a perfect meal for me.

Challenge-Friendly: YES.

Spicy Salmon and Veggies

Soooooo I was looking at the recipe I took this from and realized I actually totally changed the flavor and spice and made a super spicy version!!! Lol But hey, we are cleansing right now and I needed something full of flavor and filling and this more than hit the spot. Please note: it is SPICY!!!

I adapted the recipe from Fitness Magazine: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/dinner-in-20-easy-healthy-dinner-recipes/?page=3

Differences? I used red pepper instead of chili powder. I also added some cilantro because it rocks and I wanted a "cooling" factor to the spicy marinade.

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Spicy Salmon and Veggies

Nonstick cooking spray

1 big lime squeezed
4 garlic cloves - minced
2 tsp. red pepper
2 tsp. cumin
1/8 c. chopped cilantro
2 tbsp. olive oil
2-4 skinless salmon fillets

1 1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
1/4-1/2 Red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4-1/2 Yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4-1/2 Orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 Serrano pepper, sliced thin, seeds removed
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
Dash of onion powder and garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a big baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. (Easy clean up, for the win!!)

In a small dish, mix the lime juice, garlic, red pepper, cumin, cilantro and oil. Dip the filets in the mix and place on the baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, toss corn, peppers, and onion. Pour the rest of the marinade over the veggies, toss, and spread on the baking sheet. Dash some onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper over the veggies for some extra flavor.

Place baking sheet in oven for 10-15 minutes until fish is cooked through and veggies are starting to brown. Serve and salivate!

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Much hotter than I expected but I ate it and liked it! Heck, we even convinced Alice to eat some ... With the promise of a Muscle Ball for dessert. It worked and she ate it! I'm good with that!

Challenge-Friendly: YES!

Santa Fe Crockpot Chicken

This is by far one of my favorite throw-n-go crockpot recipes lately! I will admit I tried it on the stove top to save time one night and it was totally sub-par in comparison. There is something about letting it simmer all day that adds that extra to the flavor of the chicken. Take the 5 minutes to throw it together before you head out the door and your taste-buds will be loving you later!

I adapted this from Skinny Taste: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html?m=1

Ah how I love Skinny Taste! But I generally forgo the cheese and, even though brown rice is a perfectly acceptable option, this is going over spinach tonight so I'm not doubling up on carbs (since, yes, corn is a carb!). I think most of you know I'm pretty carb conscious when I eat at home. Now, dinner out with any of you and you might see me opt for stuff I generally don't eat everyday so don't give my cheeseburger the evil eye since I probably haven't had one in a few weeks! LOL Let's get cooking ....

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Santa Fe Crockpot Chicken

2-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (or 2 large tomatoes diced)
1 c. frozen corn
1/2 Red Onion - diced

14 oz. of water mixed with 2 tsp. chicken broth starter (or use 1 can low sodium chicken broth)
2 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
2-4 cloves of Garlic - minced
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Optional: chop up peppers like jalepeno or Serrano. The original calls for cilantro which is an awesome addition if you have on hand.

Season the chicken with the onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Set aside. Mix everything else in the bottom of the crockpot. Place seasoned chicken on top (submerge a little if possible). Set in High 6 Hours or Low 10 Hours.

Shred chicken in the pot an hour before serving and crack lid so some moisture cooks out. Serve with brown rice or lettuce wraps. Warning: will be wet!

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I love this stuff! And it freezes well, makes a great salad the next day with a little hot sauce ... Simple and easy! If you need it spicier, add more cayenne or some red pepper flakes.

Challenge-Friendly: YES! Mmmmmmm

Shrimp Stir Fry

I sooooo fail at getting recipes up lately so please forgive me! After posting this pic on FB and realizing I have like 2 minutes while watching crazy monster children run around my living room, I thought I would try to accomplish the impossible and type this out real quick.

Recipe is adapted from Skinny Ms.: http://skinnyms.com/shrimp-stir-fry/

I didn't have hoisin sauce and cornstarch so those weren't even necessary IMO. I cut down the honey amount, added stir-fry veggies and mushrooms when I added the snow peas. The flavor was exactly what I wanted tonight! Perfect!

Note on honey: Honey and I have come to an understanding. Many friends have turned me on to the allergy relief benefits of ingesting local honey so I'm feeling pretty good about my use of honey over agave for most things again. Healing properties! Can't beat that!

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Shrimp Stir Fry

2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 Tbsp honey (local and raw if possible)

1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
(I used water and added 1 Tbsp of my broth starter)

8-10 oz. medium frozen shrimp

4-6 green onions - sliced
1/2 pound fresh snow peas (trimmed, and ready to use)
(Optional: stir-fry veggies, mushrooms, ect.)

2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 Tbsp minced fresh gingerroot (I started buying the tube kind from the herb section at the store!)

Red pepper flake for garnish

(optional) Serve over cooked brown rice, Soba noodles or brown rice noodles.

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In a small bowl, combine first 3 ingredients whisking until smooth; set aside.

In a wok or large non-stick skillet, stir fry shrimp in 1 tsp sesame oil and 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth; about 5 minutes for frozen shrimp or until shrimp turn pink.

Remove shrimp with spoon an add directly to the mix you just made up. Set aside.

Add green onion directly to liquid in skillet/wok and stir fry for about 3 minutes.

Next add the snow peas (and other veggies) and stir fry for 3-5 minutes until peas are crisp-tender.

Add garlic and ginger root; cook a few more minutes.

Add sauce/shrimp mixture to the wok/skillet, bring to a simmer. Sprinkle with red pepper flake and serve.

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Loved it! Light and easier than I thought is was going to be.

Challenge Friendly: Max only. Unless you use chicken or fish, and then eating for Cleanse with brown rice and veggies (no mushrooms) is perfect!