Steak Fajita Bowls

When I'm out and need a quick lunch, Chipotle is one of my top choices. It is really easy to eat paleo there--just order the salad or burrito bowl and skip everything but the lettuce, meat, peppers and onions, salsa, and guacamole. When I decided to make fajitas at home, I played with the idea of rolling them in cabbage, but thought the flavor would be too strong. In the end, I harvested some lettuce from our garden and made our own fajita bowls. They were tasty and we have lots of leftover steak for lunches this week.

Serves 6.


Adapted from foodnetwork.com.


Ingredients
Marinade
1 orange, juiced
2 limes, juiced + 1/2 lime, juiced
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1 jalepeno, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
3 tsp cumin, divided
1 1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
2 1/4 pounds skirt steak
3 bell peppers, thinly sliced (I used yellow, red, and orange)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
guacamole
simple salsa
lettuce for lining serving bowls

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, whisk together juice of 1 orange, juice of 2 limes, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt, minced jalapeno, 1 tsp cumin, minced jalapeno, and cilantro. 
2. Place steak in a shallow container, and pour marinade over it. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight to tenderize the meat.
3. Drain the marinade from the meat. Grill steak over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest.
4. While the steak is cooking, heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add peppers, onions, and 2 cloves minced garlic and saute over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes or until soft. Sprinkle cumin, 1/2 tsp sea salt, and juice of 1/2 lime over mixture and toss gently to coat.
   NOTE: If you grill your steak in a grill pan, omit the extra seasonings for the pepper mixture and, instead, saute veggies in the reserved steak juices in the same grill pan.
5. Thinly slice steak against the grain on a diagonal.
6. To serve, line bowls with larger lettuce leaves and add some chopped lettuce in the bottom. Top with a few steak slices, peppers and onions, guacamole, and simple salsa.

Fish Tacos with Spicy Citrus Sauce

Adapted from Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals, Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier.


I love fish tacos so when I saw this recipe, I thought I'd give it a go. After looking at the original, I could tell I needed to kick up the spice a little bit. I also added my own mango avocado salsa to balance out the meal. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!


Ingredients

• 2 pounds fish – I used black cod but mahi-mahi, halibut, or even tilapia would work
• paprika
• ground cayenne
• sea salt
• fresh-ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• lime
• red onion, sliced thin
• 1 head of Boston lettuce, leaves separated, trimmed, rinsed,and patted dry

Note: All spices are to taste. I just sprinkled a bit on each filet before broiling. I also kept the skin on the fish, didn't flip it, and then flaked the cooked fish off of the skin when done, making sure to remove any tiny bones.


Preparation

1. Season the fish with paprika, cayenne, sea salt,and black pepper. Drizzle olive oil over fish and rub gently to coat.
2. Broil, pan fry, or grill fish for about 4 minutes per side. (I used my water broiler and left the skin on, so I did not have to flip my fish.)
3. While fish cooks, make citrus dressing. When fish is done, squeeze a little lime juice over it.

Spicy Citrus Sauce
Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup cilantro, minced
• ½ - 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 3 large or 4 small limes with their zest

Preparation

1. Combine mayonnaise, garlic, cilantro, cayenne, and lime zest in a small bowl.
2. Slowly add in lime juice until the dressing is the flavor and consistency you want.
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mango Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut in ½-inch dice
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 green onion, white and green parts, sliced thin
• ½ large or 1 small jalepeno, cored and diced, with seeds (optional for heat)
• juice of 1 lime
• fresh-ground black pepper

Preparation 

1. Gently combine mango, avocado, onion, and jalepeno in a medium bowl.
2. Drizzle with lime juice and toss to coat.
3. Sprinkle with pepper.

To serve:
Fill lettuce leaves with fish, drizzle with citrus dressing, and top with mango salsa. Enjoy!