Chicken Fajita Bowl

Hello!  Welcome to my blog.  Pull up a chair!  This evening's entry includes a delicious recipe and also a bit of a story.  I began the 21 Day Fix Extreme today and this recipe as listed below comes directly from the Fix Extreme Eating Plan guide.  :)  However, the recipe as shown above in the photo is not exactly the same as what I had planned on making for this evening.  It is close... and in fact, I think that we may actually prefer the version that accidentally came to be this evening.

I was actually NOT going to photograph or blog this one tonight, as things did not go as planned with the prep on this one.  I had brought our meal to the table.  We prayed and the kids began (or continued!) to munch on their dinner.  My husband asked me, "Aren't you going to take a picture of this??  You really should."  Okay, sounds corny, but I was touched!  My family sometimes chuckles at the way I am photographing dinner and snacks on a regular basis as I use them as examples and ideas within my role as a coach!  So I went ahead and took our two bowls over to the kitchen counter where the lighting is better than the dining room - my husband had sincerely suggested I take that step as usual with tonight's food photos.  Seriously, it kind of made my day after yet another long day of sub-zero temps here in Erie.  Now, had I been planning on a photo of this, I would have plated the meal a bit more artfully.  It is rather just thrown together.  Oh well!  And once we did sit down to eat --- WOW!  This one is DELICIOUS and I am more than happy to share it with you.

I went to the grocery store yesterday.  With a list.  So how is it that I wound up with NO lettuce for this evening?  That was kind of a key element of the presentation on this recipe!  Looooonnnnngggg story on how our day unraveled yesterday.  Basically, we were put into an unexpected time crunch when the practice that I thought was still scheduled for my daughter was actually cancelled.  And we had left her there, after checking that her coach was present.  Then my son and I went on to the grocery store.  I had been planning to shop alone, but he asked to tenderly if he could come with me and "spend time together".  How could I resist?  And we went to the Wegmans that was a bit more out of the way with yesterday's plans - "because we might see a train or a plane if we go to Wegmans West?"  We had not been there for long when I received word that I needed to get back to get my daughter!  Her coach was graciously waiting with her, but she was the only one!  We parked our cart with a store employee who kindly took it to the big cooler room.  And we set off on the -5 degree afternoon to make our way as quickly and carefully as possible back across town.  THEN we returned to the grocery store - me with both kids.  Except that we were now seriously on the clock, as my daughter and I had a funeral to attend 30 minutes past the time that we ended up walking out of the store.  So, I forgot the lettuce in the midst of all of that.

Rather than being in a bowl, the ingredients for tonight's meal should have been served in a lettuce "wrap".  That would have been part of the "green" veggie serving on this one!  And the recipe calls for fresh salsa.  I did not bring any home from the store yesterday afternoon... nor did I make any today!  So what did I use instead? (simple grape tomatoes cut in half).  And I am feeding my husband.  He is not a little guy.  This recipe is going to need some sort of carb in order to serve as a "real meal" for him (light red kidney beans at the bottom of each bowl).  And, after cooking what chicken I had ready to go here, I realized that if I were to stretch things just a bit, I would have enough to incorporate into both of our lunches for tomorrow!  But I also didn't want to short anyone on tonight's protein serving (Greek yogurt as a topping - once again this handy item comes to the rescue!).  Finally, we really love avocado.  Was I going to use just 1/8th of an avocado, thus totaling 1/2 of a "blue" serving?  Why not go for a 1/4 of the thing and use the whole blue?  

Using these modifications, our dinner here ended up counting as  1 Blue, 1 Green, 1 Red and 1 Yellow on the 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme color category breakdown.

Chicken Fajitas directly from the 21 Day Fix Extreme

Makes 4 servings, 2 fajitas each. 
 

Ingredients:
* 1 tsp. chili powder
* 1/2 tsp. sea salt
* 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
* 2 tsp. olive oil, divided use
* 4 (6oz) raw, skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut in to 1/2 inch strips
* 1 medium red or green bell  pepper, cut in to strips (I used a mix of green, red, and yellow)
* 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
* 8 large romaine (or butter) lettuce leaves
* 1/2 medium avocado, thinly sliced
* 1 cup fresh salsa
Lime wedges if desired as a garnish
 
Directions:
1. Combine chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and 1 tsp. of olive oil in a large Zip-lock bag.
2. Add chicken, bell pepper, and onion to the bag.  Mix gently to coat.
3. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
4. Heat the remaining 1 tsp. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Empty contents of bag into skillet and cook, stirring frequently.  Cook for about 5-6 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
6. Remove from heat and add lime juice.
7. Evenly top lettuce leaves with chicken mixture, avocado, and salsa.
8. Garnish with lime wedges if desired. 

21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme color breakdown = 1/2 Purple, 1/2 Blue, 2 Green, 1 Red