Copycat Chili's Fajitas

This is mom's recipe and I don't know how it hasn't made it to the blog yet, because I always go looking for it here.

Marinade
1/4 C lime juice
2 Tbs olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. liquid hickory smoke
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Ingredients
1 lb. Chicken breast, or skirt steak
1 Tbs. Oil
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 Tbs. water
1/2 tsp. lime juice
dash of salt & pepper
1 large Spanish onion
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
Tortillas

Toppings (Optional)
Pico de gallo
Sour Cream
Cheese
Guacamole

Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a large zip lock bag add chicken or steak. (I usually cut my meat into strips before marinading.) Marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight (preferred).

Combine water, soy sauce, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Grill meat over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Pour our marinade.
Cut meat into thin strips (if not already done) set aside and keep warm.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat cook onion and peppers in the remaining oil until browned. Remove from heat; pour reserved liquid mixture(What you combined at the beginning) over onions and pepper. Toss meat, onions, and peppers together.

Serve with warm tortillas, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.

Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Serves 6

Prep and cook time about 40 mins. depending on how fast you cut (leave time to marinate meat for at least a half hour)

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Marinade:

2 lbs. chicken breasts cut into pieces

1/4 C Greek Yogurt

3 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (I only had avocado oil and it worked great)

1 Tbsp Red wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp Oregano

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 1/2 C Greek Yogurt

2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar (Apple Cider Vinegar)

1-2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Fresh dill, diced

3 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 Cucumber, grated and squeezed to drain

Greek Salad

3 Tomatoes, Diced

2 Cucumbers, peeled and diced

1/4 C red onion, diced

2 Tbsp Fresh parsley, diced

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Feta Cheese

4-6 Pita bread

INSTRUCTIONS

Place chicken, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano in a bag and let marinate at least 30 mins, preferably 2-4 hours or overnight.

Make the Tzatziki sauce, stir together yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, dill, and garlic. Grate and squeeze the cucumber to remove excess water. Stir in grated cucumber and taste for seasonings. 

Greek Salad: Place tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper in bowl. Stir to coat. Season to taste. 

Cook chicken on grill or skillet, however you prefer.

Place chicken in pita bread. You can warm the pita bread to make it more pliable. Top with tzatziki sauce, greek salad and feta if desired.

Chicken or Turkey Pot Stickers

Chicken/Turkey Pot Stickers
adapted from Weight Watchers

1 Tbsp chili sauce
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp ginger, minced
pinch of cayenne (optional)
1/2 lb ground chicken or turkey, cooked
1/2 cup cabbage, finely shredded (or coleslaw mix)
1 green onion, minced
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp water.
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/8 tsp pepper
20 wonton wraps*
peanut oil
1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

In a small bowl, mix together chili sauce, cilantro, teriyaki sauce, vinegar, ginger, and cayenne.

In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cabbage, green onion, soy sauce, dissolved cornstarch, mustard and pepper.

Make sure to keep the wonton wraps covered so they do not dry out. Spoon 2 tsp of filling onto the center of a wonton wrap. Moisten edges with water and fold diagonally into a triangle. Make sure the edges are sealed. Repeat with remaining wonton wraps and filling. Cover wontons with plastic wrap or a damp towel after they have been made.

Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet. Place wontons in skillet without touching each other. Fry until golden brown, then turn and fry on the other side until golden brown. Serve, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and sauce on the side.

*Wonton wraps can typically be found in the produce refrigerated section or with the organic foods. I typically get my wonton wraps from a local Asian/international market. The wraps from the Asian market are usually thinner and easier to work with. The wraps found in the grocery store are thicker.

Moroni Chicken

Moroni Chicken

2 cups Sprite
1 cup oil
1 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. horseradish

1 lbs chicken, breasts or thighs

Combine marinade in a zip lock bag. Add chicken. Marinade over night, or at least 3-4 hours, in the fridge. Grill.

Orange Chicken

I use the same chicken from the pineapple chicken recipe, but I will post it here.

Chicken Marinade
1-2 Chicken Breasts
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Egg
1/4 tsp. Pepper

Later add
3 Tbsp Flour
3 Tbsp Cornstarch

Oil to Fry

Sauce
1 Tbsp Oil
1/4 tsp Chili flakes
1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
1/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Orange Juice
1/4 C White Vinegar
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Water
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
 Optional 1/4 tsp ginger (add with garlic) & 1 tsp Sesame oil for the top

Cut chicken into small bite size pieces and put into ziplock bag with the marinade ingredients. Mix it around with your fingers on the outside of the bag. Refrigerate and let marinade for at least 2 hours. When you are ready to cook add the flour and cornstarch to the bag. Mix it again. This will make a thick batter.

Heat up oil in pan or wok to fry the chicken pieces. Heat the chicken pieces until they are golden brown about 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken.

In another pot, add 1 Tbsp oil and let it get warm. Then add the garlic and chili flakes. Cook for 30 seconds stirring the pot. Add the sugar and brown sugar and stir them in. Then add the orange juice. Allow the sugars to begin to dissolve in the liquid. Stir occasionally. Add in vinegar and soy sauce and stir. Then in a different bowl add the water and cornstarch together and whisk to combine. Then add the mixture to the pot of ingredients. Cook the sauce until it thickens and resembles a thickness of maple syrup. Serve on top of your chicken.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

This recipe has you add food coloring to make it look authentic, but we didn't do that.

1/2 C Water
1/4 C White Vinegar
1/2 C Sugar
1/8 C Corn Starch + 1/8 C Water
Red food coloring (optional)

In a saucepan add water, white vinegar, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. In a separate bowl mix together the corn starch and water and whisk until combined. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan. Whisk all ingredients together. (Add food coloring if preferred) Reduce to a simmer and cook until it has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Pork Egg Rolls

Just made this for dinner with Pad Thai. It was delicious and pretty easy. I buy a brand of egg roll wrappers from Smith's that I am absolutely in love with!

1/2 a head of green cabbage shredded (about 3 cups)
1/2 C carrot shredded
1 clove Garlic chopped (About 1 Tbs of chopped garlic)
1/2 C Green Onions (Green part of the onion is advised)
1/2-1 lb Ground Pork (I used the whole pound and it was delicious! Original recipe only calls for 1/2)
2 Tbs Soy Sauce mixed with 1 Tbs Water
Salt & Pepper to tastse
Oil for frying
1 package of egg roll or wonton wrappers


Chop up the cabbage, onion, and carrot and put in a bowl together. Cook the pork in a skillet on medium-high heat. Break up large pieces and cook through until it is thoroughly cooked. Drain excess grease. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Remove meat from skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, add a tablespoon of oil and add in the garlic. Then add in the cabbage, onion, and carrot. Saute the veggies for 5-7 minutes or until they are softened. Add the pork back to the skillet. Then add the soy sauce and water mixture to the skillet. Mix all ingredient together.
Remove from heat and let cool to begin filling the wrappers.

Lay an egg roll wrapper out in a diamond shape with the point toward you. Add 2-3 Tablespoons of filling to the lower center part of the wrapper. Then roll up the point over the filling. Fold in the sides tightly and continue rolling until you get to the top point. Rub the top point of the wrapper with water to seal it to itself. Pull egg rolls in heated oil. Cook for a few minutes or until the wrappers are hard. I held the egg rolls up over the oil and let them drip off before putting them on a plate covered with a paper towel. Eat with sweet and sour sauce (On the blog and super simple)