fwijfwopef
Fajitas
Ever found yourself sitting looking at your dinner ingredients and just not motivated to make the normal staple? Tonight was one of those nights for me.
I had bought a couple of packages of chicken breasts for stir fry and with these, I usually turn them into a tasty lunchtime chicken salad.
Back to my dinner dilemma tonight. As I stood staring blankly into my fridge, searching for something to jump out at me, some motivation and something that would accompany my chicken that would satisfy my family.
With the weather being unseasonally warm today I didn't want anything to heavy or labour intensive. As I scanned the contents of the refrigerator I found myself wishing that I had picked up an Old El Paso fajita/burrito/taco box. You know the one, it contains everything you need to create a taste of Mexico in your own home. Of course, you need the lettuce, cheese and sour cream but other than that the box provides the taste.
I decided to create my own seasoning and make a Fajita that I knew my family would love. I jumped online and found a recipe on Jamie Oliver's site.
It was Jamie's 'Chicken Fajita's with homemade Guacamole and Salsa'. I quickly scanned the spices that he used and read about his guacamole and decided to take a few elements of his recipe and make my own.\
Ingredients
Coconut Oil
400 Gr Chicken (preferably breast prepared for stir fry)
1/2 onion thinly sliced (could be white or red whatever your preference)
1 Capsicum (red, yellow, orange your preference)
1 Avocado
3 Tbsp Plain Yoghurt
3 small tomatoes (or 1 large)
1/4 chopped red onion
1 lime
Lettuce
Shredded Cheese
Fajita Spice
Cayenne Pepper
Smoked Paprika
Chipotle Chili Pepper
Ground Cumin
Method
Turn on your oven on so you can be prepared to warm your Fajita/Burrito/Taco wraps.
Melt coconut oil in a pan.
Add thinly sliced onion and saute for approx 1min.
Add Fajita Spice (now this is to taste. Mine was approx 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika, 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, 1 tsp Chipotle Chili Pepper, 1/2-1 tsp Cumin) and just make it your own.
Add your Capsicum and then drizzle half of the lime over the onion/spice mix. You know your families tastes so play around a little. You might need to add a little more coconut oil, you don't want the onion + spices to get dry.
Sauté for 30sec - 1min and then add your chicken. Because you are using coconut oil you can heat at a higher heat than normal so turn up your flame/element so the chicken sizzles when it hits the pan. Cook well on both sides but try not to 'overcook'. Approx 1min/side then turn the heat down and let it sit and soak up all the flavour of the pan. Scrape the pan and get the onions mixed well with everything.
While the chicken is resting on the warm pan smash your avocado in a bowl and add your 4 Tbsp on PLAIN yoghurt and mix.
Then, chop your tomatoes, place in a bowl, chop your red onions and add to the tomatoes, squeeze the other half of the lime over this mixture, stir and sprinkle a teenie tiny bit of salt over the mixture (this will draw flavours out).
Now, take your warm wraps out of the oven. Spread with the Avocado/Yoghurt mixture.
Take a piece of chicken out of the pan and slice it. Place it on top of the Avocado/Yoghurt and then add your Tomato Salsa, Lettuce and Cheese.
Wrap, serve and enjoy! Next up I'll learn to make the Tortilla... I hope :)
Note: When you sauté the chicken, you could marinate all of this beforehand which is what I will probably do next time. I would just keep a bit of your spice mixture to cook with the onions because spices are always best when cooked in combination with the onions (not sure why but it is yum!)
Spicy Lentils
Here is one of our favourite recipes…You will love this as will your kids (if you have). This recipe is regularly requested by my kids, friends and family members.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large brown onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon Madras curry paste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
400g can diced tomatoes
2 cups(375mls) chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
Method
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan; cook onion and garlic, stirring until onion is soft.
2. Add paste and seeds; cook, stirring until fragrant.
3. Stir in lentils, undrained chopped tomatoes, stock and coriander; simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes or until lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
Italian-Style Meatloaf
Ingredients
2 lbs. Ground Turkey
1 lbs. Ground Turkey Sausage
3 eggs
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
½ cup sundried tomatoes (chopped)
½ cup fresh basil (chopped)
2 tbsp fresh oregano (chopped)
1 cup bread or cracker crumbs
1 tsp each salt and pepper
Method
Pre-heat oven to 375ºF.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients mix well.
Put into a pan and shape into a loaf. Bake approximately 1 hour or until done.
Remove from pan or drain juices from the pan and serve.
Grate with Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
Hainan Chicken Rice
293 Likes, 15 Comments - Susan Sohn (@susanjsohn) on Instagram: "Dinner at #CasaDeSohn. This is one of our family favourites - Hainan Chicken Rice. Link in bio for..."
Plate up!
Okay friends, it’s time to revisit a Sohn family favourite dinner which is approved by family and guests and I’m pretty sure you will love it. Anyone I have made this meal for always asks about for the recipe and comes back for more. This dish is super easy to make and promises to please every palate, from young to old. It is perfect on a chilly, rainy day or as a light option on a hot day. Whatever the weather it promises to delight the palate and soothe the soul.
It is definitely one of the Sohn Family Soul foods.
Ingredients
Chicken – You can either use 4 Organic Chicken breasts or the chicken strips that are prepared for stir fry (cuts down on your prep time. You might need to cut them in half as I do to make them bite-size pieces). The trick with the chicken is to keep it moist.
3 cups Chicken Stock
2 cloves chopped Garlic
Green Onions/Shallots
1 Full knob of Ginger
Olive Oil
Salt
Sauce ingredients
Approx 10 Green onions finely chopped and placed in a bowl.
1 good sized knob of ginger peeled and grated and mixed with onion (you may use the entire ginger root)
1-1.5 cups Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Mix all together and set aside in individual sauce dishes or in one dish for the table with a spoon for distribution.
Method
Chicken
If you choose to poach your chicken, place the breasts or strips in the chicken stock and let it poach slowly (remember you want to make sure you don’t dry the chicken out).
Once Chicken is poached place it on a serving plate. If you want to dress the meal up serve the chicken on a bed of lettuce. Alternatively, you can plate each meal as per photo. If you’ve poached, reserve the stock and give each person a bowl of soup (the stock….it’s so yummy).
Rice (This is important)
Cook your rice in Chicken Stock (follow your usual rice cooking directions and just use broth instead of plain water). So tasty, you’ll love your rice cooked this way.
Veggies
Our family loves Baby Bok Choy. I have made this as a simple stir fry it in a little olive oil and a lot of garlic (we’re a garlic family – don’t be scared it’s really good for your health and if everyone eats it no one can tell anyone has the dreaded ’garlic breath’). Or, recently I have been blanching the Bok Choy in the broth which adds flavour to the broth and keeps the dish less oily which some prefer.
To Serve
Typically I will put the Chicken and Veggies on a big platter in the middle of the table. I then use a rice bowl for the rice and an Asian soup bowl for the soup. However, in the picture above I kept things simple and used a white dinner plate. Created the rice block by using a square sauce dish and inverting the rice onto the plate. placed the chicken near the rice then drizzled the sauce over. The soup was in a Korean teacup (easy to drink and dip your veggies in. Next time I would opt for a rice bowl, easier for dipping and still drinkable). Lastly, after blanching the veggies I simply cut them in 3 and piled them on the plate to add a dimension to the dish.
The Best Lasagne
Over the past few weeks, I have made meals for a few friends who have either been under the weather or just on the run and crazy busy. I find Lasagne an easy meal to make for friends for a number of reasons:
1. Most kids like Lasagne
2. It’s an easy meal to transport
3. You can jazz it up by adding spinach, grated carrots and other ‘hidden’ veggies
4. Couple it with a salad, some garlic bread and the meal is ready to go.
For whatever reason, our famous Sohn Lasagne is something people seem to love. The recipe has been requested time after time so tonight I finally found a moment to pull it all together. This recipe is familyroom tried and true, it has passed even the toughest of palates so relax and know that it won’t disappoint.
~ Oven Temperature: 375 | Cooking Time: 1 hour | Pan Size: 9x13 inch ~
This recipe freezes well. If you slice it up and put it in zip lock bags it works really well for kids’ lunches {if microwave is available}. I take it out of the bag in the morning, place it in a glass container, pop it in their lunch bags. The Lasagne coupled with a piece of fruit a veggie and maybe a cookie and your child has a perfect, very filling hot lunch.
Serves 12-14
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
2lbs ground beef
4 cloves of chopped garlic
½-1 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp salt
2-15oz cans diced tomatoes
2-6oz cans tomato paste
1 cup chopped onions
OR If you’re pressed for time, you can cheat and buy a store prepared sauce. If you do this, I would buy the roasted garlic meat sauce and as natural as possible.
Cottage Cheese Mixture
3 cups dry cottage cheese {if you can’t find dry put your wet cottage cheese in a strainer and let it drain}
3 beaten eggs
2 tsp salt {you can leave this out if you want. I usually do}
½ tsp pepper
2 Tbsp parsley flakes or preferably fresh parsley chopped
½ cup parmesan cheese {the finer the better}
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
Method
1. Fry ground beef and drain grease .
2. Add other ingredients and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
3. Combine cottage cheese mixture, except mozzarella
4. In a greased baking pan place a layer of noodles + ½ the cottage cheese mixture followed by a layer of mozzarella then the meat mixture {this is where I add my own flavour to the mix…. I add spinach, eggplant, zucchini or whatever you want. Alternatively, you can grate veggies and add them to your meat sauce if you have a ‘picky’ eater. This is an excellent dish to ‘hide’ a lot of goodness. Get creative and make this your own}.
5. Repeat beginning again with the layer of noodles, cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella and finish with the meat mixture and mozzarella and any left-over parmesan to sprinkle.
6. Bake. Recommended baking time is 1 hour however I usually take it out after 50 minutes. The last 10 minutes seems to brown it up just a little too much. This is best cooked ahead of time and then reheated. For some reason, it holds together better that way.
