Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas -- Easy Weeknight dinner

I love fajitas! When you order them at most Mexican restaurants they are usually dripping with grease which is not good. This is a weeknight favorite at my house--kiddos love it, daddy loves it, I love it and I especially love how quickly it comes together! 

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp sea salt

or 

2 Tblsp 21 Day Fix southwest seasoning

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel) or 1 can diced tomatoes no-salt added.

1-2 medium onions, sliced

1-3 green bell peppers, cut into strips

Romaine lettuce /bibb lettuce / whole wheat tortillas / corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Mix seasoning together in a small bowl. Next place coconut oil in microwave and melt. Add chicken to 13X9 pan. Pour oil over chicken and stir it around. Then add tomatoes, peppers and onions to the pan and give it one last stir.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

*Prep ahead tip: In a large gallon size ziplock mix seasoning, add chicken strips and all the veggies --MINUS the tomatoes. Store in fridge until ready to add to pan. When ready, add tomatoes and bake.

Reebok Spartan Race Series-- (1) Free Race Entry GIVEAWAY!!

Congratulations to Liz our winner for the Free Race Entry to Reebok Spartan Races!!

A big thank you to Reebok Spartan Races for sponsoring this giveaway. 

I hope that you all have goals that scare you just a little bit for the New Year and if you don't..start planning now! If you didn't win the giveaway and you still want to rock a Spartan race in the New Year here is a coupon code that will get you 10% off!!  Coupon Code: SPARTANBLOGGER

#SPARTANUP

Is Spartan Race on your race to do list?  

One of the things I have learned over the last six years on my journey to better health and fitness is that our bodies are AMAZING!! We only have one body and one mind and it is so important to feed and challenge both to stay at our very best. My most rewarding races were not the ones I nailed my time goals (although they were awesome) but they were the ones that signing up made my heart skip a beat and my chest tighten up just a little bit in a panic--the races that I had to fight fear and fatigue to make it through to the finish line. 

When you challenge your body and mind you grow stronger and when you look back tears come to your eyes in disbelief and astonishment that you made it through. When we face challenges and obstacles and make it through to the other side we gain confidence that cannot be given...it is earned.

If you are looking for a challenge it looks like Spartan Race is here to deliver! #SPARTANUP

To enter the giveaway for a FREE Race entry to any US Spartan Race sponsored by Reebok Spartan Race:
(1) Free Race Entry for any US Spartan Race

Grilled Tuna | Italian Pasta Salad | Grilled Zucchini

Dinner outside again tonight. I'm not great at grilling. My husband does a much better job grilling, but he had to work late so I was master of the grill tonight, the zucchini paid for it. It was a little overcooked but I still ate it.

Grilled Ahi Tuna
I buy the frozen Trader Joe's Marinated Ahi Tuna.
Grill it for 9 minutes.
**I have used the dressing below to marinate seafood just add some chopped herbs.

Italian Pasta Salad
6 oz. Whole Wheat Orzo, cooked al dente
3/4 cup chopped fresh mozzarella
1 can black olives, cut in half
1 tomato, chopped
Fresh Basil, chopped
Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Dressing
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove minced
kosher salt & cracked pepper to taste

Take already cooked and cooled orzo pasta and place in a medium size bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl.

Make dressing. In a small bowl add lemon juice, garlic clove, salt and pepper and whisk. Next slowly drizzle the olive oil to emulsify the dressing.

Pour the dressing into the bowl with the pasta. Mix, taste, then salt and pepper if needed.

Grilled zucchini 
Nothing fancy here. Just slice the zucchini in half or quarters lengthwise. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Add to the grill, for 3-4 minutes.

After everything is on the plate I like to squeeze a lemon over all the food to brighten the flavors up a bit.   Great summer meal!

Zucchini "Spaghetti" Low Carb Pasta Substitute- Dinner

During my Whole Foods Market challenge I tried a few new recipes and one of them was Spaghetti Squash with Italian sausage  and it was delicious. Someone gave my husband a giant zucchini from their garden and I started thinking about the spaghetti squash and how yummy it was as a low carb and a nutrient dense substitute for pasta so I made Zucchini Spaghetti with meat sauce and it was really great! Another wonderful thing about using zucchini instead of spaghetti squash was that it is super quick to make and quick is always good.

The giant zucchini.

Quick work shredding in the food processor.

Zucchini "Spaghetti"

Recipe by: Simply Fit Mama

• 1 giant zucchini or 3-4 regular size
• 2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Peel zucchini. Cut the zucchini in half and scoop the seeds out of each half. You should have little zucchini boats. Use your food processors shredding blade and shred away. If you don't have a food processor you can make zucchini ribbons with your vegetable peeler which will give you a wider "noodle". Or you can use a mandoline slicer with a julienne blade.

Heat your pan to medium-high heat (I used a medium cast iron skillet). Once your pan is heated add your oil and quickly add your shredded zucchini. Using tongs toss the zucchini a time or two then add the garlic, salt and pepper. I like this cooked al dente so don't walk away your zucchini "pasta" will be done in 3-5 minutes. If you leave it longer it will release water and get soft and a bit mushy. 

Now top with your favorite pasta sauce and enjoy!

Organizing my mind with help from the Power of Moms- Review and Giveaway

Feeling Overwhelmed? Think you have a focus problem? Missed appointments? 

Well, you're not alone...

There have been times that I have considered myself to be a very organized person and I never understood how papers could be scattered and/or piled up or appointments could be missed but that is not the season I am in at this time. I'm not sure what changed but I do know it was a gradual shift, one moment I was in control and the next I was treading water trying to keep my head above it. The paper and information that comes into my house is mind numbing from the mailbox, emails, kids backpacks, etc. To be completely honest I was at a point where I felt like I couldn't breath. Even at bedtime my mind would be swimming with things that needed to get done or that I wanted to do and it would take a while to get my brain to shut off...wasting precious sleep and adding unneeded stress to my life. I have felt like I can't catch up with anything and felt very unfocused. Which has been very frustrating.

This is one of my main email inboxes before.

This is my after and has remained my after!

Years ago I read the David Allen's book Getting Things Done (GTD) and I loved it. I told my husband all about the book and what an amazing system it was. I spoke about it so much that my husband and I still joke about it many years later. If we get something done quickly and efficiently we always say "Man, you are a GTDer". But in reality when I read that book I felt overwhelmed with trying to implement David Allen's system it just seemed too complex for what I needed as a Homemaker. 

When I came across the Power of Moms website I felt like I had finally found what I needed and really what I had been looking for all of these years. It's the GTD system but better! It's the Mind Organization for Moms (M.O.M.) program, it's exactly for people like me, created by a mom that has been in my shoes.

I have been working through the M.O.M. program and I have absolutely loved it! I carved away a little bit of time here and there and now can say that I have a wonderful functioning system and it works! With each task that I completed in the M.O.M. program I felt a little weight lifting off my shoulders and more importantly out of my brain.

Below is a look into what my system looks like right now. My calendar and Immediate Next Actions are digital. I use my calendar on my computer it syncs to all our devices. I also use my reminders app as my Immediate Next Actions list because it's with me at all times and also syncs to all the devices. I may look into a more detailed app in the future but for now I'm sticking with simple.

I finally feel like I have a working system in place and now I can rest easy and know that things are taken care of.

I really have enjoyed getting my "stuff" organized. It was one of my New Years resolutions and if getting organized is one of your goals for the New Year I recommend going to the Power of Moms website and checking out all the wonderful resources they have available.

To enter the giveaway sponsored by Power of Moms :
a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary copy of Mind Organization for Moms but the views expressed are my honest thoughts and opinions of the program.