What's to come?

There are some exciting new things happening with The Ox Mama lately and I can't wait to share it all with you!

Here are a few things to look out for in the near future:

1. The Ox Mama site may be down for a bit because we are transferring to a self-hosted site, to clean up the look, and to make things easier to access, share, and enjoy! I am so excited for this big move and I know it will do great things for this site!
2. We have some great small shops lined up that are going to share with us about their business AND provide you guys, my readers, with some great discounts! I can't wait to announce who those will be soon.
3. We will also be having our first giveaway soon! A wonderful company has provided me something to review and then another to give away to one of YOU! So all you new mama's will want to keep a look out for that one. This one's for you!
4. Lastly, I will be writing as a guest host for a few other bloggers this summer and I will announce those as soon as they are final.

Thanks for joining me on this wonderful journey!

Fajita Bowls : [Cooking With Toddlers #2]

For today's Cooking With Toddlers, I wanted to do something easy at first, that we have already done before together. But at the last minute, I changed my mind and chose something new to us. And I am SO glad I did. It was delicious and I am so excited to share it with you!

The funny thing is: Little Ox #1 is usually always so excited when he gets to cook with me. And he was at first, but part of the way through he gave up and decided he had better things to do. :) Which is always okay! I made sure to let him know whenever I moved on to a different task in the cooking process to see if he wanted to join back in though.

Taking a break to read on the step stool

Now on to the fun stuff!

Again all of BOLD, have your toddler help!

Chicken Fajita Bowls

Feeds two adults and a toddler with leftovers!

Ingredients:

• ·         2 Chicken breasts cut in small strips
• ·         Fajita Seasoning*
• ·         3 Bell Peppers, any color
• ·         ½ Yellow onion
• ·         1 Tbs Olive Oil
• ·         2 Cups (uncooked) of Brown Rice
• ·         1 can of Black Beans

*Homemade Fajita Seasoning:

• ·         Combine Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin, Paprika, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, and Cayenne Pepper seasonings all in a bowl. You can mess with the amount to match your taste.
• ·         This is a better option than most pre-packages ones because you can control the flavor (AND the amount of salt added!)

Directions:

Mix fajita seasonings in a small bowl

Cut the chicken into small strips (I cut and had these ready before my toddler woke up from his nap)

Heat up pan with olive oil and add 1 clove of garlic, if you prefer.

Pour chicken in a hot pan with the olive oil.

Pour (most of) seasoning evenly over the chicken as it starts to cook

Place cooked chicken in a bowl and set aside

Grab a somewhat dull knife and assist toddler with cutting strips, after you have cut out the insides of the bell pepper. Of course, you can do this by yourself, but I like to let him help because he is fascinated with knives at the moment, unfortunately! hah! Luckily, it is a good opportunity to teach him hand/eye skills and about the importance of safety in the kitchen.

Cut up onion in large strips

Have toddler toss all peppers and onions into a bowl.

Pour peppers and onions in a pan with a small amount of oil. Add the rest of the fajita seasoning to this if you saved some.

Cook and stir peppers and onions until they are soft but crispy

Add everything to one big pan to cook together. Add cilantro and lime juice for extra flavor, if wanted.

My toddler loved squeezing the lime into the pan.

While everything is cooking, cook rice and heat up black beans in a pan. We used minute brown rice because it is faster, but use what ever rice recipe works for you!

Put everything together and let your toddler maker their own bowl!

We set out extra fix-ins like:

• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Avocado
• Lime
• Cilantro
• Tortilla Chips (which my toddler and husband loved to scoop the dinner up with)
• Sour Cream
• Hot Sauce

ENJOY and have fun!

My inspiration for this meal came from HERE!

And just for fun :)

"I'M MAKING FAJITAS!"

One-Pot Chicken Chili Recipe

I have never been a fan of any kind of chili, but once my brother showed me this recipe that he learned in culinary school. I was hooked! I love everything about this chili! It is the perfect blend between spicy, creamy, and even sweet! And since so many people wanted to have the recipe - I decided to share it with you all!

I love anything that you can make in one pot! That's also why I love crock-pot meals. I am sure every other mama is with me on this one. The smaller amount of dishes to do, the better!

One-Pot Chicken Chili

*This recipe usually feeds 5 people with plenty leftover!

Ingredients:

·         4 Chicken Breasts

·         Salt and Pepper

·         1 Tbs Olive Oil

·         3 Cloves of garlic

·         5 Bell Peppers (any color, we usually get 2 green, 2 red, and 2 yellow

·         5 Jalapeño Peppers (Depending on how spicy you want)

·         2-3 Habanero Peppers (Again, depending on what spice level you want and how spicy the peppers you picked are)

·         1 yellow onion

·         3 Tbs of Paprika – Sometimes I play with this a little and put 2 Tbs of Paprika and 1 Tbs of Smoked or Hot Hungarian Paprika

·         3 Tbs of Chili Powder

·         2 Tbs of Cumin

·         6 Small (or 3 big) cans of Cream of Chicken Soup

·         6 Cans of White Kidney Beans

·         1 Bag of Sweet White Corn 

Directions:

Seed and chop all peppers and onions and place in large bowl. Turn on large stock pot to medium heat and add oil. Once oil is hot, add garlic until soft and then add peppers and onions. Cook onions and peppers until they are sweating and clean and chop the chicken while you are waiting. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then add to cooking peppers. Stir continually to evenly cook chicken and add the paprika, chili powder, and cumin. Stir to coat everything in the spices. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the cans of soup. Stir together. Drain and rinse kidney beans in a colander then add to the pot. Cook everything together and once it has been cooking for about 5-10 minutes, add the corn. Wait about another 5 minutes and add water if necessary. Sometimes it may still be too thick, so water will help thin it out. If you do add water, cook another 10-15 minutes.

Add Avocado, Cheese, or your other favorite toppings! Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of the recipe!