Hearty Fajitas

This is the start of our freezer meals from our Summer Sizzle collection of 10 grilling recipes.

As with all of our recipes, feel free to do substitutions based on your dietary needs and/or likes.  As you can tell from the pictures, I made changes (details later).

Not all of the recipes have to be done on a grill.  I fixed this on the stove top, sauteing the veggies & chicken strips.

Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 lbs flank steak

1 packet Bold Burger Seasoning

1/2 cup beer

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1-2 tsp Ultimate Steak Seasoning

12 8-inch whole wheat tortillas

Assembly Instructions:  Combine first three ingredients in a gallon resealable freezer bag; squish to mix.  In a quart resealable freezer bag, combine next four ingredients.  Place both bags inside another  gallon resealable freezer bag.  Seal well, label and freeze.

Cooking Instructions:  Thaw completely.  Grill or fry steak 4-6 minutes per side to desired doneness.  Wrap peppers and onions in foil and grill to desired doneness.  Slice steak into thin strips against the grain.  Place steak, peppers and onions in tortillas and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Okay, I mentioned substitutions.  I did several.  First off, chicken instead of beef.  Then I used different vegetables as my husband does not care for peppers.  I used tomatoes & mushrooms.  Oh, and to make it gluten-free, we used corn tortillas.

Avocado Oil

My new favorite!  Versatile!  Use it for lots of things.  Light-weight.

Avocado Oil is part of our new TS EatWell product line.  It is part of our Spring Summer 2015 seasonal line.

I use this in lieu of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my salad dressings mixing it with our other new products in the Balsamic Vinegar category.  I also use it for the oil when popping popcorn.

Ingredients:  Avocado Oil.

Product of Mexico.

Nutrition Facts:  Serving Size: 1 Tbsp (14 ml).  Servings per container:  about 17;  Amount per Serving:  120 Calories; 120 Fat Calories; 14 g Total Fat (22%  DV); 1.5 g Saturated Fat (8% DV); 2.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat; 9 g Monounsaturated Fat; 0 mg Sodium; 0 g Total Carbohydrates; 0 g Protein.  Not a significant source of trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, sugars, Vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

» Use in place of olive or vegetable oil.
» Great for high-heat grilling and pan-frying.
» Use to lightly coat potato wedges or vegetables before roasting.
» Use to make salad dressings.
» Drizzle a little over baked pizza.
» Use to prepare Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto and Red Bell Pepper Hummus.
» Check out the recipe online for Lime Cilantro Grilled Corn.
» Find more recipes at tastefullysimple.com.

You can purchase this product for $15.99 plus shipping and applicable sales tax (in Washington State, it is non-taxable) at my website.  All major credit cards are accepted.

Lasagna

My husband and son love homemade lasagna.   Most of my postings on this blog have been freezer meal ideas, quick dinners, or crock-pot meals.  This is NOT one of them.  However, since it makes six servings, you can freeze the leftovers (really delicious).

This time, I made it totally gluten-free, low sodium, and low fat.  I'm going to list the original ingredients but note that I did a lot of substitutions.  

Ingredients:

1 lb very lean ground beef (I used turkey)
12 oz no-salt added tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tsp basil
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder (I actually used 1 Tbsp Onion Onion)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I actually used about 1 tsp Garlic Garlic)
2 Tbsp sugar (I actually used Splenda)
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3 Tbsp unsalted margarine (I used unsalted butter)
1/4 cup flour (I used fava bean)
1 cup skim milk (I used 1%)
1/2 lb low sodium grated cheese (I used mozzarella)
1/2 lb lasagna noodles

Instructions:

Brown the meat (I add the seasonings here, including about 1 Tbsp Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto); drain off any fat.  Add the tomato paste, water, seasonings and vinegar; simmer 25 minutes.  I usually add a can of mushroom stems & pieces (no-salt added, drained and using the liquid as part of the water).

While the sauce is simmering, make the cheese sauce:  melt the margarine over low head and add the flour; stir with a wire whisk for a couple of minutes; add the milk and stir with the wire whisk; cook over low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes; remove from heat and stir in the grated cheese.

Cook the lasagna noodles as directed on the box, except do not add salt to the cooking water; drain.

In a shallow baking dish assemble the lasagna:  Spoon a little of the meat sauce, spread a layer of a third of the cooked noodles, add a layer of cheese sauce.  Repeat until all are used up, ending with a cheese layer.  (Usually 3 layers).  Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes; let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting.

You can assemble the lasagna ahead of time, refrigerate, and heat later.  Allow more time to heat through if it has been refrigerated.

Serve with garlic bread (ours was made with Tastefully Simple Gluten-free Beer Bread with Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning) and a green vegetable (I usually use green beans or broccoli).