Mexican Night

Well, really, we had Chicken Fajitas and I made Bean and Cheese Burritos for the kids because my autistic son looooooves bean burritos. On a full fledged Mexican night in the past, I would normally make beef and bean and cheese burritos smothered in enchilada sauce (or homemade queso and enchilada sauce) and then bake it in the oven. Then we would have side stuff, like chips and cheese, salsa---well, basically nachos and on occasion I would even make quesadillas. Sometimes I'd also heat up taco shells and we'd have all the fixin's, like shredded lettuce and all....

However, not only is that too much food for just the four (and occasionally five) of us that are here, it's also very high in fat and sodium. I found a fajita recipe that I tried awhile back and we liked it so much that we've had it several times since. It's very tasty, and the bonus is that the fat content is relatively lower than most dinners (I hate to say "low fat", cuz one fajita is 12 grams of fat and 438 calories, but this can be cut down a bit by cutting out the guacamole and maybe using fat free tortillas and using cooking spray instead of oil. We usually have 2 fajitas apiece.)

It is however lower in sodium than most average dinners, despite the soy sauce. Keep in mind that a serving size of soy sauce is 1 tablespoon (which is equal to 3 teaspoons), and the sodium content is very high. This recipe calls for 1 teaspoon and will be dispersed throughout 5 servings.

All in all, it is very tasty and good.

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Chicken Fajitas

• 2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil (use cooking spray to cut fat content)
• 1 large sweet onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 1 sweet green pepper, cored seeded and cut into strips
• 1 sweet red pepper, cored and seeded and cut into strips
• 1/3 cup of fat free, low sodium (or no sodium) chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 4 whole wheat tortillas (use fat free to cut fat content)
  
• shredded lettuce
• guacamole (optional, to control fat content)
  
• salsa
• fat free or low fat sour cream
  

(note: for busy cooks, buying the frozen, pre-cooked chicken already sliced into strips should not alter things much)

1. Bake the chicken until cooked thoroughly. Slice crosswise into strips.
2. Warm oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and peppers. Cook, stirring, until tender - about 5 minutes.
3. In small bowl whisk broth, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, cornstarch, and garlic. Stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to skillet (stirring once more just before you pour it in because the honey tends to settle at the bottom) Stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add chicken and stir until warm.
4. (To soften tortillas, place a stack of about 4 or 5 on a plate, cover with a wet paper towel and microwave for about 40 seconds)
5. Spoon onto the tortillas. Top with condiments of choice, roll up and serve.

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Bean Burritos for the Kids (easy)

• whole wheat tortillas
• can of fat free refried beans
• shredded cheddar
• mild salsa

Cook the refried beans in small saucepan until hot, stirring often. Spoon out onto the tortillas, sprinkle with a bit of cheese, a little bit of salsa and roll up. Yum!