Fajitas!!!The Mexican meat and pepper combination has had my heart since I first tried it at Mexican Village in Fargo, North Dakota. It’s the only meal that I know of that you can hear before you can see, and, when the sizzling platter shows up at the table, it’s Game On! You know what I’m saying?

Today, I combine this “fajita fondness” with my love for casseroles. Growing up in the heart of the Midwest, these “one dish” meat and potato combinations were common fare. Whether it be Goulash, Tater Tot Hotdish, or Shepherd’s Pie, I was always eager to dig in.The result is what I call “Fajita Pie” and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Here’s how it goes…I started with three grocery bags full of goodies. One contained 99% lean ground turkey and tomato puree, one carried 5 large sweet potatoes and the receipt for $52.40, and the third a whole lot of fresh produce.

I started by peeling the sweet potatoes over a layer of plastic wrap so that clean up would be easy.

I then wrapped the plastic up into a bundle and moved along.

I sliced the sweet potatoes into even size disks that would cook at an even rate.

I added those to an 8 quart stock pot and added enough cold water to cover the top potato disk by two inches. I placed them, uncovered, over high heat and carried on.

I turned this onion, yellow pepper, red pepper and Poblano pepper.

Into this.

I transferred these to a half sheet pan, set it aside and then turned this head of garlic.

Into this.

I slid the garlic to the side of the cutting board, brought another half sheet pan into play and used it to season 3.75 pounds of 99% lean, ground turkey with ancho chili powder, cumin, kosher salt and black pepper.

I placed a 14″ Camp Chef cast iron skillet over high heat and added olive oil and the minced garlic.

When the garlic began to toast (light brown edges forming), I added the turkey to the pan, seasoned side down. I then seasoned the top of the with ancho chile powder, cumin, kosher salt and pepper and began to fold the meat and garlic together.When the turkey was approximately half cooked, I added the peppers and onions.

I folded them in, covered the pan with a lid and cooked for 5 minutes. By that time, the onions were becoming translucent and there was plenty of moisture in the pan.I preheated my oven to 375 degrees.

The turkey was cooked enough to taste, so I took a bite. It needed more flavor, so I added another layer chile, cumin, kosher salt and pepper. I also added 2 tablespoons of Tamari, one 28oz. can of tomato puree and a dash of chipotle powder for some smokey heat.

I folded that in, seasoned once more and cut the heat. At this point, you want a strong presence of cumin and chile and the correct amount of salt, which is typically around 6 grams per pound of meat.I transferred half of the meat mixture into a ceramic baking dish and leveled them both out.

By that time, the sweet potatoes were cooked perfectly. They were fork tender, but didn’t fall apart when straining them into a colander. I covered the skillet mixture with sweet potato disks and then smashed up the remaining potatoes with a whisk to create a rustic mash, which I used to cover the other dish.I placed both of them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then, I turned the broiler on high and began to caramelize (gratinee) the top of each pie.When done, the skillet pie looked like this.

I allowed it to rest for 10 minutes while I monitored the other pie, diced up some tomatoes and bashed up a quick guacamole.

I placed this out on the table and it looked like this.

I plated up a piece, but it didn’t look as good as I wanted for the picture, so I resorted to the other pie, which was finished by that time.I scooped out a piece, hit it with a dollop of guac, some diced tomato and a sprig of cilantro.I was hungry and it was time to eat!

Seriously, guys, this was the best new meal creation I’ve come up with in a long time. It is a great option for weekly meal prep and freezes well. We’ll probably even add it to the Ice Age Meals line up!

I hope you’ll give this one a go. Do your best to stock the Paleo Bank Account at every opportunity because you never know when life is going to throw you a curveball. Focus on eating real foods regularly, but when you do rely on supplements, look to SFH for pre-workout, recovery and general protein replacement needs.

Have a great day and “Keep It Paleo!”

Your Pal,

Paleo Nick

With the Ninjas at Power Monkey Camp 4

SFH Fajita Pie

Ingredient List:

  • 3.75 pounds ground turkey
  • 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into discs
  • Juice of 3 limes
  • 3 avocados, peeled and pitted
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 Poblano/Pasilla pepper, chopped
  • 1 bulb of garlic, minced
  • 1 bunch of cilantro (¾ of the bunch chiffonade, ¼ whole sprigs for garnish)
  • 1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 28 oz. can tomato puree
  • 2 tablespoon ancho chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon chipotle powder
  • 1 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
  • Olive oil, as needed
  • 2 tablespoons Tamari (optional)

Preparation Instructions:

  1. Place sweet potato into an 8 quart stock pot and fill with cold water to 2 inches above potatoes. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to a medium boil and cook until fork tender.
  2. Place ground turkey on a sheet pan and season with ancho chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder, kosher salt and black pepper.
  3. Place a skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and minced garlic. Toast garlic until lightly browned, then add ground turkey , seasoned side down. Season top side of ground turkey with the same seasonings listed in step 2.Fold meat and garlic together.
  4. When the turkey is about half way cooked, fold in the peppers and onions. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  6. Once the turkey is cooked through, season to your liking with salt, pepper and Tamari. Then, add the tomato puree and fold into the turkey mixture. Remove from heat.
  7. Divide meat mixture into baking dishes or 9” x 13” and use a spatula to level them out.
  8. Strain sweet potatoes, mash them and spread them evenly over the meat mixtures in your baking dishes.
  9. Place both dishes into a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then, use the broiler to “gratinee” the tops of each pie. You want a light, golden-brown crust.
  10. While they are baking, mix together the avocado, lime juice, scallions, cilantro and Kosher salt to make your guacamole.
  11. Remove pies from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Then, serve immediately by garnishing each piece with a dollop of guac, some diced tomatoes and a sprig of cilantro.

“Keep It Paleo!”

Zone Breakdown:

Proteins: (33)

We get 50oz of cooked ground turkey, and given that 1.5oz equal one block, that gives us about 33 blocks.

Carbohydrates: (30)

We start with 4 sweet potatoes. On average we say that there are about 3 blocks per sweet potato, but since these are large, lets give each one 4 blocks.  This gives us 16 blocks from the potatoes.

From the juice of the three limes, we get probably enough for one block, a 1/3 of a cup.

We get 1.5 blocks from the roma tomatoes. Two tomatoes equal one block.

We are going to include all of our peppers into two block as two cups of peppers equal one block. On average two peppers equal the one block so since we have 4 peppers that gives us two blocks.

Additionally we get 2 blocks from the onion as ½ cup equals one block and about ½ onion gives us that.

We get a few blocks from the tomato puree. We count this the same as sauce so that ½ cup equals one block. Given that we have 28oz, that gives us 7 blocks.

Finally we are using one bulb of garlic. In an average bulb there are about 10 cloves which equal one block giving us a total carb block count of 30 blocks.

Fats: (30)

Our fats are coming from the 3 avocados. We know that a tablespoon equals one block. In each avocado, we will have about 10 tablespoons per avocado giving us about 30 blocks.

Balancing Act:

This meal is quite evenly balanced. Divide it up into 10-3 block meals, or 6-five block meals and enjoy!

 

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