Funky Fusion Fajitas

I don’t know about all of you, but I am hopelessly addicted to reality TV cooking competition shows. I’ve seen every episode of every season of my favorites, Top Chef(and all its iterations), Man vs. Food, and Hell’s Kitchen. I missed some of the first season of another great show, Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, currently airing on the Food Network, but I’ve caught up on almost all of them through marathons and reruns. If you haven’t seen the show, famous Iron Chef Bobby Flay travels around the country and challenges local chefs or regular people who have become famous for perfecting their “signature dish”. This show has provided me with numerous places to eat in the NYC area, and all of them have been fantastic – I cannot overstate how highly I recommend Taim for their falafel, Schnipper's for Sloppy Joes + Mac n’ Cheese, or A Salt and Battery for fish and chips. My best pal Molly knocked one out of the park when she gave me the Throwdown! cookbook for Christmas. It contains more than 100 recipes from the show, and I was super excited to find the falafel AND fish and chips recipes were included! I decided to try the recipe for steak fajitas first, since they looked delicious on the show and they seemed fairly easy to make. Bobby Flay lost this throwdown to Father Leo Patalinghug, a Catholic priest from Maryland who is famous for his funky fajitas, so I decided to make Father Leo’s version. Bobby’s version will no doubt be made very soon, since fajitas are a favorite in our household.

Father Leo’s Funky Fusion Fajitas from Bobby Flay’s Throwdown! Cookbook

What You’ll Need

• ¼ cup white wine
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp ketchup (Heinz.  There is no other option.)
• 1 cup firmly packed medium or dark brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (1 ¼ lb) flank steak
• ½ red onion sliced into thin (½”) crescents
• 1 green bell pepper cut into ¼” strips
• 1 yellow or red bell pepper cut into ¼” strips
• 4 green onions (both white and green parts) sliced into ¼” pieces
• 12 (8”) flour tortillas, warmed
• Guacamole
• Screamin’ Sour Cream

Screamin’ Sour Cream

• ½ cup fat free sour cream
• 2 tbsp hot sauce (Frank’s.  There is no other option.)
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

What To Do:

In a large bowl, whisk together the wine, soy sauce, vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, ketchup, brown sugar, 2 of the garlic cloves, ginger, 2 tsp of kosher salt, 1 tsp of black pepper, red pepper flakes, and the garlic powder. Set aside about ½ cup in a small bowl to serve with the cooked fajitas.

The marinade will be a viscous, molasses-like consistency that smells fantabulous.

Remove the steak from its packaging. Poke it all over with a fork so that the marinade will be able to penetrate beyond the surface of the meat.

Flank steaks are fairly lean, so there shouldn’t be too much extra fat to trim off of the steak. They are also long and thin, which allows them to cook quickly without giving up any of their tenderness, making them ideal for this dish. If you can’t find flank steaks, you can try any similar cut of meat – just avoid the shorter, fatter cuts which tend to dry out.

Place the entire steak into a large Ziploc bag. Pour the rest of the marinade from the bowl into the bag, seal, and refrigerate for at least 2 or up to 4 hours.

About 30 minutes before you are ready to start grilling the steak, remove it from the refrigerator and hold it at room temperature. Heat your grill to medium high. Once it’s smoking hot, remove the steak from the marinade and liberally season both sides with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Grill for about 6 minutes on each side for medium rare, or more if you prefer it more well done. Let the meat rest for about 10 minutes, while you are cooking your vegetables.

While the meat is grilling, prepare the Screamin’ Sour Cream by whisking together all of the ingredients in a small bowl.

Cover with Saran Wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, or until you are ready to eat.

Next, slice, cut, or otherwise prepare all of your veggies.

Once the meat is resting, heat the final 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onion, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, about 1 tbsp of the reserved marinade, and salt & pepper to taste. Stir frequently, cooking for about 6-8 minutes or until the veggies are crisp yet still tender.

Slice the steak by cutting it across the grain into thin pieces.

Spread the bottom of your tortilla with about a tablespoon of guacamole (I got lazy and used Trader Joe’s guac, since it’s cheaper than making it on my own and just as yummy!). Fill the tortilla with 5 or 6 slices of meat, a scoopful of vegetables, some sour cream, and a drizzle of the reserved marinade.

Give thanks for this awesome meal, and enjoy the feast!

These are, bar none, the best fajitas I’ve ever eaten in my life. The marinade is really what makes the difference, since the rest of the ingredients are fairly standard. The sauce is tangy, slightly sweet, and has enough to kick to avoid being cloying. I couldn’t stop drizzling the leftover marinade onto mine, and next time I’m definitely setting aside more than the recommended amount. The sauce would also work great with chicken, but why mess with something so close to perfect? After my first bite of these, there was only one thing I could think of saying to Father Leo: BLESS.

Empanadas

Empanadas are one of my favorite comfort foods.  There are a million different ways to make them, and I have experimented quite a bit with different fillings, sauces, etc.  This version is the simplest, most yummy one yet, and has quickly become my default.

Taco Empanadas

What You’ll Need

• 1 1.3 lb package of ground turkey (93% Fat Free)
• 2 packages of Goya Discos (White or Orange)**
• 1 lb. 2% Velveeta cheese
• 2 packets Taco seasoning (appx. ¼ cup)
• ⅔ cup water
• Fat free sour cream
• Chunky salsa

**Note: Goya discos are sold in the freezer section of your grocery store.  I have seen them in various locations, but mine are always located somewhere between the frozen dinners and frozen vegetables.  If you can’t find them, ask your grocer – I’ve never been to a large grocery store that doesn’t sell these.  There is no difference between the orange or white versions; I buy the orange because I like the added color. Be sure to let these defrost overnight in your refrigerator before using them.

What To Do:

Brown the ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes or until no pink remains.  Use a spatula to constantly break the turkey up into small crumbles.  Drain any fat or water from the pan and return to the heat.

Plain cooked ground turkey tends to look a little gray and unappetizing, but it’s healthier than ground beef and by the end of this recipe, you’ll never taste the difference!

Next, mix the taco seasoning with water in a small mixing bowl.  Since I usually buy a large bottle of Taco Seasoning mixture at Sam’s Club, I generally eyeball the amount I think I’ll need.  Stir with a fork until the mixture is smooth and there are no clumps in the bowl. Pour the seasoning mixture over the turkey; mix well and heat for one minute.

Remove the turkey from the heat and set aside.  Preheat your oven to 400F, then assemble your discos and the cheese.  Cut thin (1 cm) slices of the Velveeta, then cut those in half, until you have 20 total slices.

To start filling the empanadas, hold one disco in the palm of your non-dominant hand.

Spoon one large tablespoon of the ground meat mixture into the center of the shell. Add one slice of cheese.

Fold the two halves of the disco together and pinch the edges together to seal the empanada.

Pinch small amounts of the folded edge together to create a crimping pattern. Alternatively, you can use a fork to crimp these like you would a pie crust or ravioli.

Place the assembled empanada onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Once all 20 are finished, bake for 13-15 minutes.  Even though the meat is already cooked, this will allow the shell to get crispy and the cheese to get melty and gooey.

Serve the empanadas with the sour cream and salsa for dipping.

Although these are very simple, I can make a meal on them alone.  The bonus of making 20 at one time is that you have enough for two meals for two people, or one meal for a family of 4, for about $10. Empanadas are most often deep fried, giving them a moist and flaky crust, but I prefer to bake them to make them slightly healthier. Even though this might seem like a total junk food, it’s not completely terrible for you.  I once worked it out, and each empanada ends up having about 3 grams of fat.  If you use fat free sour cream, they are practically guilt-free! Like I mentioned earlier, I have experimented with these considerably.  You can make a more traditional empanada by including olives, or using a sauce based on tomato paste, cayenne pepper, and other spices.  Feel free to play around with these to your liking – try adding some green pepper chunks for some crunch, or jalapenos if you like spice and you’re feeling brave!

Mexican Tortilla Casserole

For my very first official recipe post, I've decided to go with....(drumroll please)...something I can't find the recipe for!

I KNOW. 

But you guys, this was SO. GOOD.  It deserves to be the first thing I post because it was so yummy-noise-inducing, plate-scrapingly delicious.

I got the starter recipe for this in my daily AllRecipes.com email, but, as I am wont to do, I used it more as a starting point than a concrete set of instructions.  There's a decent amount of prep work before this goes into the oven, but I've always enjoyed chopping, dicing, and slicing (now I sound like a serial killer) so I didn't mind it at all.

Mexican Tortilla Casserole

What You'll Need:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with all fat removed cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 can of low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups of medium chunky salsa 
3/4 cup 2% shredded Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 
1/4 tsp chili pepper
1 pinch of salt
2 tbsp olive oil (2 swirls from a bottle)
3 low-carb, whole wheat tortillas

What To Do:
Preheat oven to 375F. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat until both the pan and oil are very hot.  Add the chicken and cook for 2 min. until all pieces are white on the outside. Add both the onion and green pepper and cook for another 2 min. until the onions are translucent and the pepper is slightly softened.  Add salsa, tomato and black beans, then cook for 1 min.  Add cumin, salt, black pepper, and chili pepper, and mix all ingredients well to evenly distribute the spices. 

Spoon 1/3 of chicken mixture into a medium casserole dish. Cover with 1 of the whole wheat tortillas and 1/3 of the cheese.  Repeat for second layer.  Add remainder of chicken mixture and finish the casserole by topping with the final tortilla.  Reserve the remaining cheese.  

Bake casserole for 20 minutes.  Add remainder of cheese and bake for 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.  The tortilla on top should be slightly crispy to the touch.  Let casserole sit for 2 minutes after removing from oven to allow ingredients to solidify within the dish.  

Prep time: 25 min.
Total time: 50-60 min.

I served this dish with non-fat sour cream on top and corn as a side.  It is extremely filling, so rice would have been a bit of a carb-overload.  The slight heat from the chili pepper and salsa blended well with the coolness of the sour cream and cheese, while the beans and chicken helped prevent the dish from getting too mushy.  This was great when initially served, but was definitely a dish that improved when reheated.  The layers were more clearly defined and the salsa juice had been absorbed, although nothing was soggy.  

You can easily get 5-6 large servings from this dish, and possibly more if you choose to serve smaller portions with more side dish options.  My husband and sister-in-law both paid me the ultimate compliment by making lots of yummy noises and not speaking until their plates were practically scraped clean.  This is great comfort food and a perfect recipe for evenings or weeks when you're short on time!