In New England, Memorial Day weekend kicks off the unofficial beginning of summer! I'm sure it's the same way in many other parts of the country, but here today the temp hit about 90, the humidity is about 87%, so needless to say it's the 3 H's - Hazy, HOT and Humid! This is the type of weather I absolutely detest and we get a summer-full of it every year. It's the type of weather that tempts me to shave my head, it maintains my mind in a constant state of funk and makes me want to spend the rest of the season sitting in front of my air conditioner, however, this year, I'm a little lighter, feeling a lot better and when I think about the horrendous winter we had that began the day after Christmas with a major Nor'easter that dumped tons of snow, along with the 2-3 foot snowstorms we had just about every week until the first week of February, toss in the subzero temps, the ice, the ice dams, the melting snow dripping through my bathroom window, well, I would say today was absolutely beautiful! I think if I have some time tomorrow I may remove the tarps covering my deck furniture and bbq grill, clean off the dirt and get my deck ready for the season.
I have been so busy lately that I haven't really been cooking very much with the exception of making a little meal here and there, but yesterday I made chicken fajitas (so easy) and Almond Meal bread. I've been jonesin' for something other than eggs for breakfast and the bread did the trick for me. I got the recipe from the Cooking with Trader Joe's website . It has a sticky, gooey texture when raw but when cooked it makes a decent loaf of bread, not the kind of yeasty bread we're all used to; it comes out like a dense and hearty, earthy-crunchy type bread. It's delicious with cream cheese or goat cheese spread and it took care of the craving. Also, it's about 317 calories per slice but it has 13 g. of protein and good fat, that is if you slice the loaf into 12 slices, so if you're watching your calorie intake I would suggest cutting the slices thin. The bread is filling so a little goes a long way, which is a good thing for those of us with VSG's, RnY's or Lapbands because we don't eat very much anymore!
Here's my recipe for Chicken Fajitas:
2 cups of cooked white meat chicken, diced into 1 inch cubes. (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1/2 of a green pepper, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 of a red pepper, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tsp. Ancho chili powder (optional)
1/2 to 1/3 (or more) of your favorite salsa.
Package of shredded Mexican cheese.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and when hot, add the peppers and onions. Cook until peppers are soft and onions are translucent. Add Ancho chili powder, a little salt and pepper if you want. When mixture is done add chicken and salsa and cook until heated through. Remove pan from heat.
If you're a carb lover, you can place some of the mixture into a corn or white flour tortilla and add some cheese. The heat from the mixture will melt the cheese or you can place it under a broiler. I sometimes have to do that with certain cheeses.
If you don't eat carbs but want to pretend you do (like me), I used half of a high protein, high fiber, low carb tortilla. You can find these in the International food aisle of your grocery store or ask where they would be. Yum!
This comes out more like a pizza, but you can prepare it in any way you please!
Anyway, it's been a beautiful day here and almost the end to a perfect weekend, so please take a moment to remember what this holiday is for, or if you know or see a vet, don't forget to thank him/her.
A la Prossima!
Around here, we keep low carb tortillas in our fridge. My favorites brand is Mission.
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