Friday Family Dinner and the Big Bad Mood

Vegetarian Recipes For Wolves, Print from Original Textile Art by AntheaArt on Etsy

 Can we be totally honest here? Hubster was in a very baaaad mood tonight. We are talking super-Grump! I don't know why, but anyway here I was, tired after a crazy work week which consisted of a a trip to Sacramento for a continuing ed. course, many meetings and of course, seeing patients. It also consisted of a late-night girl's night out and a nasty bladder infection that coincided with my 2 hour trip (I know, TMI!). So when I arrived home to a familiar fajita dinner, who was I to complain? The dinner conversation was, shall I say, not flowing, but Bella was happy, having just run through the sprinklers, so I started a chain-story. Have you tried this with a 4 year old? It tells you a lot about what is going on in their little mini-brains. Basically you take turns building on the story, making it up as you go along. Bella started the story with a daisy flower who was running away from the Big Bad Wolf (her favorite love-to-hate character).

 

Yellow Daisy Original Painting by DollgrinDesigns on Etsy




By the way, daisies CAN run, they use their roots! Who knew? So the daisy ran and climbed through a little girl's window and cuddled up with her for the night. It was a very suspenseful and action-packed story and in the end, of course the Big Bad Wolf was eaten by a crocodile after he was made to walk the plank of a pirate ship and the flower and the little girl remained best friends forever.



So now you think I'm going to say that hubby was much happier after this fun diversion but sadly, it was not so. At every dinner, our family likes to say 5 things we were grateful for that day. I know, how Oprah of us, right? Usually, after saying (out loud) 5 things you are grateful for, you can't possibly be in a bad mood anymore.Well, Hubby was, Sort-of... Win some, lose some, go to bed and start again tomorrow!

Fajitas

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time: 20 min

Inactive Prep Time: 8 hr 0 min

Cook Time: 11 min

Level: Easy
Serves: 6 servings (12 fajitas)

Ingredients

Marinade:

• 1 orange, juiced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 pounds skirt or flank steak, trimmed of fat (we had chicken breast instead)
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• Guacamole, recipe follows
• Salsa Fresca, recipe follows
• 12 flour tortillas, warm

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together marinade ingredients. Place steak in a shallow container, and pour marinade over it. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight to tenderize meat. (We used chicken and just cooked it in this sauce instead of marinating)

Drain the marinade from the meat. Grill the steak in a ridged grill pan over medium-high he
at for 4 minutes each side. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let stand.
In the same pan with the steak juices, add the bell peppers and onions. Saute the mixture for 3 minutes until the vegetables are limp. Thinly slice the steak against the grain on a diagonal.
Spread some guacamole on a tortilla, top with a few slices of steak, peppers and onions and salsa fresca. Roll up the tortilla to enclose the filling.
May also serve with sour cream and shredded cheese

Copyright 2011 Television Food Network G.P.

Just to update you on my French Skinny Experiment, today I ate a small bowl of yogurt with honey and blueberries for breakfast. I had a small bowl (a bit larger than a ramikin-size) of rice, beans, salsa and guacamole for lunch with a couple slices of baguette with butter, and 2 bites of a chocolate chip cookie. For dinner, one chicken fajita on a corn tortilla with lots of guacamole, a glass of wine and 5 mini peanut butter cups for dessert. Never hungry. Never felt deprived. I've been holding steady at my high school weight since late May. This is the best trick I've ever learned, I feel fantastic!