For even the most dedicated mothers who always want to cook for their kids, consistently finding time to do so is extremely hard. One of the most frequent questions I get from moms both here on the weelicious site and on our Facebook page is, “What can I make for my kids on a Sunday that’s going to last us for a few days?” Since I know first hand the guilt a mom feels serving my little ones the exact same leftovers several days in a row, I started coming up with 3 in 1 in recipes: dishes you can make once but serve three different ways (and are just as delicious on day 3 as they are on days 2 and 1).

When it comes to Chicken Fajitas, the most common way to eat them is placed in a warm tortilla and topped with a variety of accompaniments. But what do you do if you have leftovers or even if you decide to make a double batch of it like me? In our house we use the original recipe the first night and on the second day turn it into Chicken Fajita RIce Bowls. As delicious as fajitas taste wrapped in a tortilla, when the spiced chicken and vegetables are chopped fine, mixed with cheese and beans and placed on top of warm rice, you may be inspired to serve them this way all the time!

Tune in tomorrow for the THIRD variation on this dish.

Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl (Serves 4)

2 Cups Chicken Fajitas, (chicken & veggies) chopped into bite size pieces
1 Cup Pinto or Black Beans, cooked
1 Cup Mexican Cheese Blend, shredded
2 Cups Brown Rice, cooked

1. Place the first 3 ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
2. Place 1/2 cup of rice in each bowl and top with 1/2 cup of the fajita mixture.
3. Serve.

Whenever we go out to dinner with the kids, we try to ask them where they want to go to give them a bit of choice. Since we don’t go out often, we like to make it a special experience when we do. Each time, my son Inevitably shouts out the name of one of his favorite places, a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood, and when we get there, he always proudly orders for himself. Generally, he chooses one of his favorites, fajitas. As with most kids, when my son gets the chance to build his dinner the way he likes it, he’s totally game to eat!

But as much as we enjoy fajitas in a restaurant, they’re a really easy dish to recreate at home. And, in my never ending quest to turn one meal into three, I can make a double batch of the chicken and turn it into new recipes over the next couple of days (tune in tomorrow and Wednesday to see how!).

Nothing cracks me up more than watching the care with which my kids take in building their perfect fajita: the time they take picking what will go into it, the careful folding of the tortilla and then navigating that first great big bite. When a recipe is this healthy, delicious and so much fun to make and eat, could there be a better reason to stay home for dinner?

Chicken Fajitas (Serves 4)

2 Tbsp Oil, divided
2 Bell Peppers, sliced
2 Onions, sliced
2 Tsp Fajita Seasoning or 1 Tbsp for extra spice
1 Tsp Salt, divided
1 1/2 Lb Chicken Breast, cut into 2-inch strips
1 Lime, juiced
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped

Accompaniments: tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes or shredded lettuce

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.
2. Toss in onions and bell peppers and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until they start to soften.
3. Remove onions and bell peppers from the pan onto a dish, and set aside.
4. Add 1 tbsp of oil, chicken, 1 tsp of fajita seasoning and 1/2 tsp of salt and sauté for 2 minutes.
5. Add onions, bell peppers, remaining 1 tsp of fajita seasoning and 1/2 tsp of salt back into the pan and cook another 2 minutes.
6. Add the lime juice and cilantro to the pan and stir to combine.
7. Serve with tortillas and desired accompaniments.

*This is a 3-in-1 Meal:
*Chicken Fajita Quesadilla
*Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl

One of the first foods I gave my kids after they went through a rainbow of fruit and veggie purees was hummus. It’s creamy texture and vibrant flavors were an eye opening pleasure for them both, especially after the simplicity of their first foods.

Even now, you can always find hummus in my fridge. It’s easy to make and stays fresh for over a week, so I don’t have to worry about having a healthy protein on hand that I know my kids love (even though it will probably all be eaten up before a week is up). Whether I’m serving it as a dip with veggies, as a spread on a sandwich or even just to eat with a spoon straight out of a bowl (Chloe’s preferred method), hummus is a recipe that’s simple to prepare but packed with flavor!

Hummus (Makes 1 1/2 Cups)

1 15 Oz Can Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Garlic Clove
2 Tbsp Tahini (can be usually be found right next to the peanut butter at your local grocery)
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Salt
1/3 Cup Olive Oil

1. Place all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor and puree.
2. Add the olive oil and continue to puree until creamy.
3. Serve.

I’m not sure if I would be as passionate of a daily cook if I lived in New York City. Don’t get me wrong, the farmer’s markets there are incredible and some of the groceries make me feel like I’m in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory whenever I visit, but between the size of most NY apartment kitchens and the unbelievably delicious take out food you can pick up or order in to have on your table in minutes, it’s tough to want to spend time cooking, especially if you’re a busy mom.

Over the holiday, we went to stay with my in-laws, who live in New York City. Although I did cook a few meals there, ordering in was like a serious mommy vacation for me. We ordered in all kinds of yummy food: Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and chopped salads and from the most incredible caterer that seemingly carried everthing under the sun. One night, my MIL ordered some barley with mushrooms and onions and offered my daughter a taste. Chloe is an incredible eater, but I didn’t think she’d find this dish appealing at all. Enjoy it? She ate the ENTIRE pint. I was so blown away that I ordered some more for the plane ride home and she blew through all of it before we were halfway across the country. Never one to mess around when I find a food that my whole family likes, I picked up the phone and called the caterer for his recipe. I’m not sure if I replicated his dish exactly, but the other night I made this for five kids we had over and they made some serious “all gone”. Lucky for you this recipe is easy enough to make that you don’t need to order out to have it show up in your kitchen!

Mushroom Barley (Serves 4)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, diced
1/4 Tsp Sugar
1 Cup Mushrooms, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 Tsp Salt, divided
1 Cup Pearl Barley, rinsed
3 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes or until onions start to caramelize.
4. Remove the onions to a plate and add the mushrooms, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt to the pot. Cook for 3 minutes or until the water from the mushrooms start to evaporate, then remove to a plate and set aside.
5. Add the chicken stock into the same pot and bring to a boil, add the barley, 1/2 tsp salt, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes or until tender.*
6. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pot to combine and cook until heated through.
7. Serve.

*Cooking in the same pot allows all of the flavors to combine.

If you follow weelicious with any regularity, you know that I have a very intimate relationship with my crock pot — it’s like my best friend. Coming back after the holiday, with school starting back up, endlessly busy schedules to juggle and so on, my crock pot has been my salvation for getting hearty foods that everyone wants to eat made easily. A vendor at our local farmer’s market offers the most beautiful assortment of beans, and since black beans are one of our family favorites and cook beautifully in the crock pot, I buy them from him all of the time. Packed with protein and dietary fiber, black beans make for a filling, inexpensive and nutritious vegetarian meal that everyone can enjoy.

I really loved making this soup with my kids, because, like me, they love using the crock pot. But the real fun for them started when it was time to puree everything. Kenya, being an incredibly curious, almost 4 year-old boy who loves anything with a motor, was totally game to help me out with the hand-blender. As he gripped it and pressed the power button, he was enthralled as he made the beans transform into a creamy, rich soup. But if it was fun for me to witness the blast Kenya had, watching Chloe drink three helpings straight out of her bowl ensured that this soup will be in our regular mealtime rotation!

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup (Serves 6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Cups Dried Black Beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1 32 oz Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock, low sodium
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup Water

Accompaniments: Yogurt, Sour Cream, Crème Fraiche

1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and sauté onions for 4 minutes.
2. Add chopped garlic and sauté an additional minute.
3. Place the onion garlic mixture into the crock pot along with the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
5. Using either a hand blender or traditional blender, puree the ingredients to your desired texture (I like to get it so a few pieces of beans are still visible so the soup is thick and still has a bit of texture).
6. Top with a dollop of yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche.
7. Serve.

It’s been cold, rainy and — thankfully — really quiet here after the holidays, which means there’s plenty of time for me to make warm soup to fill everyone’s belly. Even though I’ve been in less of a rush than usual, that doesn’t mean I’m not looking for ways to make life easier for myself in the kitchen. So, time once again to break out my crock pot! All I do is toss in some lentils, a few herbs and a mix of vegetables from the farmer’s market and serve it with a dollop of herbed goat cheese on top, which the kids love swirling in to their soup. This recipe makes enough so that I can freeze half for cold, lazy nights when I don’t have any time to cook — which I anticipate happening quite a bit once school starts up again!

Crock Pot Lentil Veggie Stew (Serves 8-10)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Leeks, chopped (use only the white and light green part of the leek)
2 Large Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
1 Tbsp Fresh OR 1 Tsp Dried Thyme
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
8 Cups Vegetable Stock (you could also use chicken stock)
1 32 Oz Can Chopped Tomatoes with juice
16 Oz Dried Lentils
2 Cups Kale or Swiss Chard, chopped

Accompaniments: plain yogurt, herbed goat cheese, feta cheese, crème fraiche or Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 4 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
3. Place the onion mixture with the remaining ingredients in a crock pot and stir.
4. Cover and cook the lentils on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 8 hours or until lentils are tender.
5. Top with desired accompaniment and serve.

* You can also place all of the ingredients in a large pot over low to medium heat and cover for 90 minutes or until tender.

After a whirlwind long weekend of family, non-stop cooking and calorie-packed holiday meals, I feel like it’s finally time to kick up my heels, relax and pick a simple, healthy recipe to feed the family. Whenever I’m looking for the path of least resistance in the kitchen, it usually means pulling out my crock pot.

I ate a lot of Baked Beans as a kid, but they were almost exclusively prepared out of a can. Making these fresh, slow cooked, sweet white beans is a real treat that bears practically no resemblance to their canned cousins. And the taste? Whenever I make them my kids couldn’t be happier, so after the seeming non-stop parade of rich food during the past week, I think we’re all finally ready for something a little bit more healthy as we head towards the New Year!

Baked Beans (Serves 4-6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, chopped
1 16 oz. Pkg Small White Beans
1 6 oz Can Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Molasses
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 32 fl. oz. Box Vegetable Broth
2 Tsp Kosher Salt

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes.
2. Transfer the onions to a crock pot, pour in remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until beans are tender.
4. Serve.

Drum roll, please! After much deliberation and heated discussion amongst a group of kids, grandparents, moms, dads, friends and, of course, myself, the winner of the weelicious Holiday Recipe Contest is Kristen Fantozzi for her incredibly delicious and festive Cranberry Walnut Biscotti! So popular was this recipe with my gang, I had to make a second batch by popular demand! With a hint of orange zest and vanilla, a crispy texture and sweet bites of dried cranberries, these biscotti are great to keep on hand or give as a gift (if you can handle parting with them).

Hopefully Kristen will send me some of the new recipes she will be making with her new Zojirushi Breadmaker!

Cranberry Walnut Biscotti (Makes 30 Cookies)

3 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Tsp Orange Zest
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp Almond Extract
3 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Walnuts, chopped
3/4 Cup Dried Cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl or standing mixer, beat eggs, oil, sugar, orange zest, vanilla and almond extract for 1 minute until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and slowly add to the egg mixture in small increments until you form a stiff dough.
4. Fold in walnuts and cranberries and thoroughly combine.
5. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a log (about the length of the width of the cookie sheet). Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the log and flatten with a rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick and about 4-5 inches wide.
6. Place flattened logs onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Remove from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack to cool.
9. When cool, slice the bread crosswise into 1/2 inch slices and place them back onto the cookie sheet cut-side down.
10. Bake each side for 7-10 minutes or until slices are lightly toasted.
11. Cool and serve.

Congratulations to Deb, our 3rd place winner, for her unbelievable Chicken Curry. She’s taking home one of my favorites, a PlanetBox Lunch Box for her little one!

This recipe doesn’t seem like an obvious choice for a holiday recipe, but while I was in the midst of testing tons of submissions I came across this simple, healthy entree, with such great flavor and I was hooked. My entire family devoured it, so I insist you try it out over your holiday!

Chicken Curry (Serves 4-6)

2 Tbsp Curry Powder
2 Tbsp Water

1 Tsp Cumin
3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Tsp Tomato Paste
3/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Large Onion, chopped
1 Apple, cored, skin-on and cut into ½-1-inch cubes
1 Cup Carrots, cut into ½-1 inch pieces
1 Cup Celery, cut into ½-1 inch pieces
1.5 lbs Chicken, boneless/skinless breast and/or thighs, cut into ½-1 inch cubes (about the size of your apples, carrots and celery)
1 Cup Chicken Broth

1. Place the first 7 ingredients in a bowl, combine and set aside.
2. In a large skillet or pot over medium heat add 1 tbsp of oil and onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes until tender.
3. Add spice mixture to the onions and sauté another 30 seconds.
4. Add apples, carrots, celery and chicken and stir to combine to coat with the spice mixture and onions.
5. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover.
6. Simmer for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir every couple of minutes to prevent the curry from sticking to the bottom of the pot/skillet.
7. Cool and serve over Jasmine or Basmati rice.

Our family went to a friend’s birthday party a few weeks ago on a cold, chilly afternoon. As we walked into the house, we saw a huge group of kids gathered around something in the kitchen. My first thought was they must be attacking an enormous plate of holiday cookies, but as we got closer I realized that they were all standing in line for hot Apple Cider. We quickly joined the queue. You didn’t even have to taste it to know how good it was going to be. The entire kitchen was filled with the incredible aroma of apple and spices, drawing all the little guests to the stove like an aromatic Pied Piper!

It’s remained pretty cold here in California and I’ve been brewing up my own pots of cider,
treating everyone to something perfect at this time of year that is sure to warm their
tummies! It doesn’t get much easier to make, so you can enjoy this special treat with your family all winter long.

Spiced Apple Cider (Serves 4)

1- 64 oz Apple Cider
12 Cloves
2 Lemons, juiced
2 Cinnamon Sticks

1. Place all the ingredients (including the juiced lemon rinds) in
a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
2. Serve (obviously don’t ladle the cloves, cinnamon or lemons into the cups!).