Tag Archives: yellow bell pepper

Fajita Foil Dinners

I had planned to make these on our last camping trip. Unfortunately, I forgot the foil, so I ended up putting everything in the Dutch oven instead. (Worked pretty well, actually!) Since we were getting bell peppers in our box this week, I decided to get limes, too, and try it at home. Potatoes aren’t a traditional fajita ingredient, but I can’t fathom a foil dinner without them.

Foil Fajita Dinners

You could slice the chicken and serve in a tortilla. However, I was too lazy to do that, so we just put the salsa on top. (Also, trying to watch carbs here; didn’t think we needed potatoes and tortillas.) It was raining, so I ended up cooking them on the gas grill instead of our fire pit, so the cooking time might be a little off.

Fajita Foil Dinners
Recipe type: Main, Camping
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 limes
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 bell peppers, sliced
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 pound thin skinned potatoes, diced
  • Your favorite fajita toppings
Instructions
  1. Zest one lime, juice both limes. Combine lime juice and zest, oil, garlic, and cumin in a zip top bag. Add chicken. Marinate overnight.
  2. Heat coals or preheat grill. Tear 4 sheets of heavy duty, wide aluminum foil about 5 feet long, fold in half crosswise. Spray one side with non-stick cooking spray. Divide chicken breasts, peppers, onion, and potatoes among the 4 dinners. Drugstore wrap each packet.
  3. Cook for 25-30 minutes, turning half way through. Serve with your favorite fajita toppings.

 

My New Toy-A Grill Wok

Last week, I had to take my car in for service. There is a Kohl’s right next to the service place-too dangerous! Since I had a 15% off coupon, I decided to do some shopping while my tires were being rotated. They had their grill accessories on sale, so with my coupon I got a smoking deal on a grill wok.

Grilled Orange Stir Fry

The recipe that came with the wok recommended brushing the sauce on the vegetables. Instead, I just put it on the vegetables a teaspoon at a time. It did not end up really saucy, but was delicious. I’m not posting times for this recipe, because my grill was running out of gas and not as hot as usual. It would probably take 10-15 minutes on a normal day.

Grilled Orange Stir Fry
Recipe type: Main
 
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup Zesty Orange stir fry sauce, divided
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
  • 1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 2 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch Japanese sweet turnips, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 bunch broccoli florets
Instructions
  1. Combine ⅓ cup of stir fry sauce and the chicken in a 1 gallon zip lock bag. Refrigerate for 4 hours, turning at least once.
  2. Preheat grill and grill wok on high heat. Remove the chicken from the bag with a slotted spoon and place in the wok. (Discard marinade.) Stir fry until chicken is cooked through. Remove from wok and keep warm.
  3. Place pepper, carrots, and turnips in the wok. Drizzle with a couple of teaspoons of the remaining stir fry sauce. Stir fry until vegetables begin to soften, adding additional stir fry sauce to coat.
  4. Add broccoli and remaining stir fry sauce. Continue to stir fry until vegetables are tender crisp.
  5. Add chicken back into the stir fry and heat through.

 

Variations on a Potato Theme, Part 1

I’ve been sharing variations of my Mom’s grilled potatoes over the years. I recently found myself over run with potatoes; and, given the hot weather we’ve been having, I’ve been grilling a lot more. So, over the next couple of posts, I’m going to share a couple of variations on my Mom’s original recipe.

Grilled Potatoes and Peppers

You could use any color pepper for this recipe; I used the orange one we got in our box this week.

Grilled Potatoes and Peppers
Recipe type: Side
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
  • 2 medium bell peppers, sliced
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat grill.
  2. Tear a sheet of heavy duty, wide aluminum foil about 5 feet long. Fold in half. Spray with non stick cooking spray.
  3. Combine potatoes and peppers on the center of the foil. Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper.
  4. Drugstore wrap the foil. Grill over medium low heat for 30 minutes, until potatoes are softened and browning.

 

Almost Summer!

I spent the end of last week nursing a cold. I don’t do sick well. Fortunately, my husband is patient, and can cook! I was feeling better yesterday, so we worked together, grilling a bunch of vegetables. I did the chopping and prepping, he did the grilling.

Grilled Veggies

I used this basic recipe from the Food Network. This can be really flexible, use whatever vegetables are fresh and available. I made way too many vegetables, I probably could have fed 8 people with this platter!

Grilled Vegetables
Recipe type: Side
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • vegetables-I used zucchini, tomatoes, baby portobello mushrooms, bell peppers, and asparagus
  • olive oil to coat the vegetables
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • a couple of sprigs of rosemary leaves, finely chopped
Instructions
  1. Cut bell peppers in half and seed. Cut tomatoes in half. Slice zucchini lengthwise in half inch slices.
  2. Coat all the vegetables in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat until done.
  3. While vegetables are grilling, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil with balsamic vinegar and rosemary.
  4. Place vegetables on a platter. Pour vinegar mixture over.

 

Pre Trick or Treat Vegetarian Fajitas

trick or treat fajitasWhen our children were growing up, Halloween night always involved either a Halloween carnival or trick or treating. They always came home with TONS of candy. I would always try to feed them something healthy before they went out.

These fajitas would definitely fill the bill! They are full of vegetables and low in fat. They cook up pretty quickly, too. You could chop all the veggies in advance, and have the dinner ready in 10 minutes. The original recipe comes from the Full Plate Diet website, I have adjusted the spicing to make them a little hotter. I also used some of the red mini jalapeno peppers I got from our niece.

Pre Trick or Treat Vegetarian Fajitas
Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 each red, yellow, and green bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • 1 small head Napa cabbage, chiffonade
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large jalapeno pepper (or about 5 mini jalapenos), chopped
  • 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon Mexican (or regular) oregano
  • Dash of paprika
  • 8 whole wheat tortillas
  • salsa, cheese, guacamole, or other Mexican toppings as desired
Instructions
  1. Prepare all of the vegetables.
  2. Heat oil in a very large frying pan. Add onion, bell peppers, cabbage, garlic, jalapenos, beans, and seasonings. Saute until vegetables are beginning to soften, about 10-15 minutes.
  3. Serve on warmed tortillas with toppings as desired.

Happy Halloween!

Ruth