Am I right when I say that when you grow up, a grocery store isn’t just a grocery store anymore? Adulting with kids is SO hard some days that just escaping SOLO to the grocery store and slowly, purposefully, SILENTLY picking out delightful bits and bites at whim can be such a peaceful way to feel whole again. Sometimes on the way home from a date night when the hubby and I are too tired to hang out in a restaurant any longer but we’re too embarrassed to show up early for the babysitter, we head to the grocery store to shop together like we used to when there was just the two of us. And one of our favorite places to do this is Metropolitan Market-we are so lucky in Seattle to have this fabulous grocery store! So when I was asked to try out a recipe from their site I was excited but a little scared; my cooking skills can be unpredictable. I definitely have my own reasons for loving Metropolitan Market.
Somehow flowers always find their way into my basket. The floral selection here is absolutely gorgeous and I love when stores have beautiful blooms and pay attention to little details. The other day, the green onions were stacked so artfully I couldn’t help but snap a pic and smile.
Metropolitan Market also has an excellent selection of ready-made foods. At Thanksgiving, I wasn’t feeling that well and my husband and kids bought all the things they needed here to quickly make a feast. The ready-made foods here help us on busy lesson-packed days to make meals that taste good and feel homemade.
When my kids shop with me, we can’t leave without getting avocado sushi from the deli or a cookie or a pint of hand-packed Gelatiamo Ice Cream. My guys love picking their own eggs from the bulk egg section and they have refined their palate with samples of fancy cheese. My kids have always been welcomed here with kid-sized carts, holiday-themed coloring contests and cookies in the deli-it is so important for kids to be a part of learning about food choices so they can be healthy later on in life-I’m very thankful for the way this store helps shape our lives.
Since we often take out tacos or burritos in our house, I chose to make a chicken fajita from the Metropolitan Market site. (FYI- this chicken fajita recipe is easy and delicious!) I’m trying to cook more and eat out less this year and I thought this would be something my family would like.
I like that when you pick a recipe from the Metropolitan Market website, you can pick “Add All Ingredients” to your shopping list and you can have a printable list. (I usually just screenshot the list on my phone to save paper) You can also login and save recipes you like to a recipe box.
Here are the some of the ingredients for the recipe on my list, and you can find the actual recipe here! The marinade for this chicken fajita recipe is fantastic-it combined limes, cumin, garlic, cilantro and olive oil.
And do you want to know my secret to making this recipe for the first time? I had my mom help. My mom and dad came from Canada to visit and snowshoe at our cabin and my mom is an excellent cook so I thought it would be fun to cook together. Fajitas are such a great recipe for a multi-generational group with different eating needs because each person can customize how they want to eat them.
My husband doesn’t eat chicken but the kids and I do so we split the marinade and made the chicken part alone. My mom taught me that if you marinade it in a ziplock bag inside a bowl it is less messy and the chicken absorbs more flavor because all the marinade doesn’t just pool at the bottom.
We put the rest of the marinade on the peppers and onions and cooked that part too. My husband thought the vegetables tasted really yummy on his fajita. The kids liked the chicken more than the vegetables so they could adjust this meal to their own needs. My mom LOVED the fajita marinade so I’m glad she helped me out. We let the chicken marinate while we snowshoed so when we went to cook everything we were ready in a very short time.
We served our fajitas with refried beans, shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream and cheese. We also had flour tortillas and chips. Everyone was so famished from playing outside in the snow that they started eating before I could even snap the pictures or arrange the plates properly on the table so I caught this glimpse over someone’s shoulder.
But aren’t the meals we remember the ones when everyone is hungry and happy and digs right in? Do we have to stage every life moment? I love that simple recipes make it easier for life to just happen and eating together with family and friends is one of the things I live for most. This type of recipe is great because it can easily be adapted to accommodate more people too if spontaneous guests come for an impromptu meal.
Next time I’ll definitely be able to make these fajitas by myself and I know I’ll be making them again-they’re now in my online recipe box. I also saw a few more things I’d like to make like a vegetarian chili and some “Cooking with Kids” recipes too.
Is anyone else trying to cook more in 2017? Do you have a go-to easy recipe your family loves? Or maybe you’ve tried a new recipe yourself lately. I would love to hear!
(PS. I created this post in partnership with Metropolitan Market and I was provided with a gift card but the ideas here are all my own.)
(PPS. Thanks mom for helping me out-I love cooking with you!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
That cilantro marinade sounds tasty! I’m going to have to give it a try 🙂
I miss Metro Market so much after I moved north. Funny how you can get so attached to a grocery store 🙂