Don't Panic: Quick, Easy, and Delicous Meals for your Family by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia

I love cooking, cookbooks, and new recipes.  I had never had a chance to review a cookbook before so I was really excited to test out some recipes on my family (which includes 2 very picky kids)! 

Before I get to the recipes, let's talk about the layout of the book.  It's very cook-friendly.  It has easy to find sections and includes the following sections:

• Small Bites and Appetizers
• Breakfast, Breads, and Brunch
• Soups, Salads, and Sides
• Pasta, Pasta
• Crockpot Collection
• Easy Baked Oven Dishes
• Grate Grills and Marinades
• Savory Skillets and Quick Sautes
• Desserts Divine

It also has a very helpful measurements, equivalents, weights, and servings section that helps take out all of the guesswork and in some cases, experimentations.  It also has the nutrition information, which I find extremely helpful.  It makes me want to cook out of it even more because there's no guessing has to what I'm eating and what a serving size is.

In this book, we tried the Chicken Fajitas Garcia with the Easy Spanish Rice.  We had a hard time choosing because this book had recipes for such a wide variety of foods.  It had Mexican, Asian, American and then whatever you want to call soups, dips, and desserts.  I'm sure I didn't use exact measurements in my testing because I never do, but it was great!  I'm definitely making it again and am looking forward to cooking out of this book many more times.  Now, here's the moment I know you've been waiting for.....A FREE RECIPE! 

Chicken Fajitas Garcia

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

MARINADE:

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 tsp. season salt

1-1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons lime juice

FAJITAS:

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

1 onion, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

FOR SERVING:

flour tortillas, warmed

salsa

cheese tomato

lettuce

avacado

This recipe yeilds 3 servings.  Prep time is 10 minutes.  Total time is 2 hours and 30 minutes.

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all marinade ingredients in medium bowl; add chicken and toss to coat.  Marinade chicken in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.  In medium skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and saute onion and green pepper until lightly browned.  Remove from pan.  Add remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil and saute chicken and marinde in the same skillet until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Return vegetables to pan and mix until well combined.  Spoon fajita mixture into warm flour tortillas and top with favorite ingredients.

Calories: 239 per serving.  Total fat is 11.8g.  Protein is 17g.

It has contains instruction for freezing this meal, but you'll have to get the book for that! 

_________________

"Available April 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”
_________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group <http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”