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!