Chicken Fajitas and Homemade Salsa

I just HAD to share tonight's dinner.  Infact, my husband said, "You should take a picture of this."  Tonight's meal is another one of our favorites that is made in the Deep Covered Baker (DCB) in the microwave.  First off I'll put the pictures and then of course at the end you'll see the recipes!  If you don't have a DCB it's a MUST HAVE!  Coming soon I'll make the Molten Lava cake.  I just wish everyone could smell the smells I smell in my kitchen! YUMMY!

Before shot of Salsa! I used the Manual Food Processor to make the salsa!



Finished Product! We made this batch SPICY!




Uncooked chicken with Chiptole Rub on top (this cooks in 12 minutes in the microwave)



Water boils quickly in the Executive Cookware pot!

Tortillas in Micro Cooker (takes about 25-30 seconds)

 



Chopping the chicken with the Salad Choppers





It's ready!

 So here's the recipes!

Shopping List:

Chicken Fajitas

ü  2 medium onions

ü  2 green peppers

ü  2 red peppers

ü  4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (I suggest Perdue Perfect Portions so you don’t have to wash or trim fat.  There are 5 breasts which also gives you a little more!  J)

ü  1 package fajita size flour tortillas (2 if you are having more guests than the amount in the package)

ü  8 oz block Monterey Jack cheese

ü  Sour Cream

ü  Tortilla chips

Salsa

ü  4 tomatoes

ü  1 green onion

ü  1 jalapeno pepper

ü  1 lime

ü  1 clove garlic

ü  Cilantro

Recipes!

Chicken Fajitas 2 medium onions                                                    1 package fajita-size flour tortillas
2 green bell pepper                                                             8 oz block Monterey jack cheese
2 red bell pepper                                                      8 oz. Sour cream
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves       1 bag tortilla chips

2 Tbsp. Chipotle rub                                          

For the fresh Salsa
4 fresh tomatoes                                                      1 lime
1 green onion                                                           1 clove garlic
1 fresh jalapeno pepper                                         cilantro

1.  Slice up onions and peppers; place in bottom of Deep Covered Baker. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. Chipotle Rub.

2.  Sprinkle additional 1 Tbsp. Chipotle rub over both Sides of chicken and place chicken breasts on top of vegetables.

3.  Cover and microwave for 10-15 minutes. 

4.  Place flour tortillas in Micro Cooker and cook for about 30 seconds

5.  While the chicken is cooking, place all salsa ingredients in the manual food processor.  Pump the handle until your salsa reaches your desired consistency.  You can also use the Salad Choppers to chop all the indgredients together if you don't have the manual food processor!

6.  Take out peppers and onions and put into a serving bowl.  Leave chicken in DCB with the broth and chop with the Salad Chopper

So as you can see there are some GREAT must have products!  Of course the DCB! The Manual Food Processor is another great product!  If you have an electric one you can use that too but the Manual Food Processor is so quick and easy and less of a mess! The salad choppers are great too but it's not hard to fork the chicken into pieces.  YES it will come out that tender!

Specials, Specials, and MORE Specials!

Friday was a VERY exciting day for me!  I signed up my first recruit!  :-)  Do you want to see what she's going to earn for signing on in July?  Here it is:

I'm so excited for her!  It's not too late for you to sign up in July!  You could get your FREE skillet also!  I'm not sure what August's signing bonus is but I'll be sure to post when I find out!  You can join my team for as little as $80 for the mini kit.  The entire kit is $155 which is about $500 worth of products! 

Maybe becoming a consultant is not for you right now but you'd like to host a show!  Here are the great specials for August! In August hosts receive 60% off a piece of cookware! So if you feel like now is not the time to sign you can earn one of those skillets for 60% off simply by hosting a show!

In addition to the host benefit of 60% off a piece of cookware... hosts also earn FREE and 1/2 price products!  Here's how:

What about your guests?  What do they get besides an AWESOME time, yummy foods, and some time out with friends?  Well... here you go:

Contact me to join my team and/or to host a cooking or even a catalog show! I also can do Wedding Showers and brides-to-be can log onto my website and fill out a wedding registry!

www.pamperedchef.biz/maribethpriest
maribeth_bridges@hotmail.com
Check me out on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Maribeths-Pampered-Chef-Site/142763725734983

Pasta Penne al Fresco with Shrimp

As promised here is tonight's dinner!  I've decided that I'll probably only do this about once a week maybe once every other week because it took a long time to make dinner!  With an almost 17 month old... well you can well imagine!  Daddy was very good with entertaining him while I did this.  So how do you make Pasta Penne al Fresco?  Well... the one MUST HAVE is the Deep Covered Baker from The Pampered Chef.  It's great!  This meal was made in the microwave except for the shrimp.  It was frozen so I just heated it up in the Executive Cookware Skillet!  So take a look at the pictures and their captions.  At the end you'll see the recipe!

Before shot!

Red Leaf Lettuce in the Salad Spinner

Lettuce in the Bamboo Bowl before using the Salad Choppers

Salad Choppers in action

Color Coated Utility Knife and Cutting Board

Finished Salad in Bamboo Bowl with Bamboo Salad Tongs

Deep Covered Baker with sliced garlic and olive oil

Grape tomatoes after their time in the microwave

Executive Cookware Skillet

It's done! Remember... cooked in the microwave!



Dinner is served!



 You probably won't be able to tell from the pictures but this recipe does call for cheese.  Something my Italian husband refuses to eat!  So... the cheese has been omitted from this recipe.  If you have a "picky non cheese eater" this recipe will still turn out!  So here's the recipe:

Shopping List:

ü 4 cloves of garlic

ü 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes

ü 1 box of mezze penne pasta

ü 3 cups chicken broth

ü Dry white wine (i.e. Chardonnay) *see note below

ü Black pepper

ü 1 ¼ cup fresh basil

ü Block of Parmesan cheese (we will grate it)

ü 2 cups grilled chicken breast (if you want to buy the already cooked chicken breasts that might be easier)*in this recipe I used Gorton's already cooked frozen shrimp! I've also grilled chicken with Pampered Chef's Citrus Basil Rub YUMMY!

  

Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco

Directions:

1. Spray Deep Covered Baker with olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Slice garlic into baker using Garlic Slicer. Add tomatoes. Cover; microwave on HIGH 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst, stirring after 2 minutes. Crush tomatoes using Mix ‘N Chop. Add pasta, broth, wine, salt and black pepper.
2. Return baker to microwave; cover and microwave on HIGH 16-18 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring after 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely chop basil with Chef's Knife. Reserve 2 tbsp for garnish. Grate cheese using Rotary Grater.
3. Carefully remove baker from microwave and remove lid, lifting away from you. Add remaining basil, cheese and chicken to baker; mix well. Garnish with reserved 2 tbsp basil, additional Parmesan cheese and black pepper, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings
Nutrients per serving: Light (about 1 cup): Calories 240, Total Fat 2.5 g, Saturated Fat .5 g, Cholesterol 25 mg, Carbohydrate 35 g, Protein 17 g, Sodium 450 mg, Fiber 2 g
Cook's Tips: An additional 3/4 cup chicken broth can be substituted for the wine, if desired.

Any tube-shaped pasta requiring 9-11 minutes cook time, such as penne or rigatoni, can be substituted for the mezze penne pasta.

To grill chicken in the Grill Pan, season 2 chicken breasts, about 6 oz each, with salt and black pepper. Heat Grill Pan over medium-high heat 5 minutes. Spray pan with oil. Cook chicken 4-6 minutes or until grill marks appear. Turn chicken over; cook 4-6 minutes or until center of chicken is no longer pink and Digital Pocket Thermometer registers 170°F.

Recruiting New Consultants

Something that has been difficult with me in my Pampered Chef business is making phone calls!  I don't ever want to bother anyone.  I've gotten the phone calls before and have thought, "Why is she calling me again?"  Well... people change their minds that's why.  I was chatting with an old friend via facebook.  I started talking about my Pampered Chef business.  I emailed some literature and just like me she thought, "This is for me! I want to do it!"

So today... I'm hoping to reach my goal that I just set for myself this month!  I'm signing my 1st new consultant!  So, if you need some extra income visit my website.  Here's the direct link that tells you about becoming a consultant! http://www.pamperedchef.biz/maribethpriest?page=your-career-landing

I hope you will consider joining my team!

Proud Mama!

Okay... so my blog is mainly about being an Independent Consultant with The Pampered Chef but if you know me... you know how much I LOVE children especially my own! We've been waiting for my almost 17 month old son to walk... well!! Today at Little Gym... he walked all over the place! I'm a proud Mama right now! 

1st Follower Winner!

chalsae1987 You are the winner of my 1st follower contest!  Let me know how I can contact you!  I would like to send you a Season's Best Cookbook from The Pampered Chef!  You can email me at:

maribeth_bridges@hotmail.com

Coming Soon: What's Cooking in my Kitchen

Be on the look out!  Coming soon I'll be doing posts on what I'm cooking for dinner along with pictures and yummy recipes! 

Calendar of Events

Okay everyone!  Like I promised... here's what I have going on in August!

August 7th 2pm: Pampered Chef/Thirty-One Gifts Combo Party (may get cancelled but you can still order on this show! Go to my personal website and enter Veronica Haran as the host)www.pamperedchef.biz/maribethpriest

August 10th 7pm-9pm: I am the back up Pampered Chef rep for Niche Wine Bar's vendor show.  Stay tuned to see if it's me!  :-)

August 11-13th: I will be a vendor at The 2nd Look Boutique Consignment Sale in Apex.  Check out their website: http://2ndlookboutique.webs.com/

August 18th 6pm: Pampered Chef/Thirty-One Gifts Combo Party at Smith Mountain Lake!  Headed up to visit my parents and I also get to do a cooking show for my mom and her friends!  I can't wait!

I still have dates open for August!  I'd love to do a cooking show for you!  If you can't do a cooking show at this time but you would still like to earn FREE and 1/2 price products contact me and you can do a catalog show!

Stay tuned for September's events! 

HUGE GIVEAWAY

Hey everyone!  Some exciting news! Today at noon a HUGE giveaway is going to be launched and I'm part of it along with 14 other great local vendors.  http://www.elizabethmcdonoughphotography.com/blog

Check it out at noon today and be sure to enter so you can win some really awesome prizes while supporting local businesses!

Oopsie

So... Baby #2 is actually due Oct. 24 not 4th! Where's my brain?

Loving Life

Hi Everyone!  I am new to blogging and can't wait to update everyone on what I'm up to!  :-)  I am a Stay at Home Mom to my almost 17 month old son.  Baby #2 is due October 4th.  I taught elementary school for 8 years before starting my family.  My husband is also a teacher but he teaches Middle School. 

I am also an Independent Consultant for The Pampered Chef.  I'm working hard to get my business up and running.  I've been selling Pampered Chef products for a little over a year.  I've always LOVED the products so when the opportunity arose to become a consultant I jumped on it!  The products are wonderful and they really enhance my love for cooking.  I also think Pampered Chef is an AWESOME company to work for.  They stand by their products and they take care of their consultants.  I have yet to recruit anyone to join my team so this is my next goal.  If you love being around people and you have an interest in making cooking eaiser you should contact me.  The hours are flexiable and you can set your own goals!  You also do not have to be an expert cook to either use the products or to sell them!  Visit my website at: www.pamperedchef.biz/maribethpriest

You can contact me via my website if you are interested in hosting a show or joining my team.  My website also has my updated calendar on what events are to come.  I will also try and post them here on my blog.  Working as an Idependent Consultant for the Pampered Chef truly is a rewarding job.