Chicken Fajitas

Yesterday we had a nice afternoon at the zoo with S. This was her first time actually being awake for a zoo visit. She seemed to really enjoy the animals especially at the children’s zoo; she thought the sheep were a hoot. This may have had something to do with me reciting Sandra Boynton’s “Moo, Baa, La La La!” as we were walking pass all of the animals. On our way home we decided it would be a nice night for grilling and mojitos; so we stopped at the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for fajitas and that is when our pleasant day turned somewhat chaotic.  Once we were home I unpacked the groceries, started to prepare our dinner and put S in the high chair to feed her.  Because I was trying to do too many things at once, I accidentally dropped a baby food jar on the granite counter top which caused the jar to break into 9 million little shards of glass. It was EVERYWHERE!  Thankfully, none of the glass got on the baby.  I ended up with cuts all over my hand and with glass in my foot.  While Chris vacuumed and washed the floor in the kitchen and hallway repeatedly, I brought S upstairs for a bath.  Needless to say the clean-up process royally screwed up the timing for dinner, now the food was going to be ready right as Stella needed to be put down for bed.  It also occurred to me that the new desk we attempted to put together on Friday night, which we later realized was damaged, needed to be carried downstairs, packed up and put in the garage so UPS could pick it up this morning.  As a result of all the commotion I didn’t have very high hopes for dinner last night; however I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out.

Preparing the Chicken

In a zip lock bag add the following:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup (measured prior to chopping) of cilantro leaves, rough chop
• the juice of 3 limes
• freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoon of Fiery Fajita Seasoning (I purchased this at Target; I believe it’s the Archer Farms brand.  You could use any fajita seasoning you have. I had intended on creating my own seasoning but due to the time crunch I used the already mixed seasoning.)
• a pinch of adobo chile powder  (I do think that the chicken could have used a little kick at the end so you may want to add a bit more if you like a little heat)
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Vegetables

• Red, Orange, Yellow Bell Peppers (1 small/medium of each)
• Red Onion (1 medium)
• Poblano Pepper (1 Large)

Slice the peppers and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and a dash of the Fajita Seasoning.

I wrapped the veggies in aluminum foil and cooked them on the grill along with the chicken.

The vegetables and chicken both cooked for approximately 20 minutes at 375 degrees on a charcoal grill.

Garnish Suggestions

Sour cream, shredded lettuce, Chihuahua cheese, guacamole, fresh salsa

Sadly, we never made the mojitos so we will have to partake in those later in the week.  I even picked up some Guava nectar to try a Guava Mojito recipe I found. The mojitos may have to be on tonight’s menu especially if our power doesn’t come back on before I get home from work.

This recipe was rated 4 asparagus spears

Flank Steak Tacos and Mojitos

Menu:
Flank Steak Tacos with Pico de Gallo and Guacamole
Spanish Rice and Black Beans
Mojitos




Flank Steak Marinade
1 tablespoon jalapeno, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup cilantro (maybe a little more), rough chop
1 tablespoons Spanish onion, diced
Combine all ingredients above in food processor with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Once everything is combined and chopped fairly small its done. Add this mixture to a zip lock bag along with the following:
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of ancho chile powder
1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
the zest and juice of 1 lime and 1 orange (I used a navel orange)
a pinch of kosher salt (approximately 1/8 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I prefer the low sodium)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Add the meat approximately 6 hours prior to cooking to allow all of the flavors to sink in. I am using a flank steak that is just over 1lb. You can also prepare the marinade ahead of time.  I made mine the night before.


Pico de Gallo
The amount I made yielded approximately 3 cups, however you can obviously adjust this accordingly to make more or less.
2 cups of plum tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup Spanish onion, diced
1 tablespoon jalapeno, diced
a dash of kosher salt (approximately 1 tablespoon)
1/4 cup cilantro, rough chop
Combine all ingredients above in a bowl. You can make this the night before.

Guacamole
2 avocados, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 cup Spanish onion, diced
1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
1 3/4 tablespoons jalapeno, diced
1/2  lime, juiced
Dash of kosher

Smash up avocado with a fork or potato masher. Add remaining ingredients and stir.  Keep the avocado pits with the Guacamole while storing to help keep it from browning. I must give props to my sister, Becky, for prepping the guac for me :)

I cheated a bit on the Spanish Rice and Black Beans.  I made Goyo Spanish Rice (Arroz con Tomate) by following the directions on the box.  And for the black beans I opened a can of Goya Frijoles Negros and heated them up on low on the stove. 

Preparing the Tacos
Take the meat out of the fridge while you are preparing the coals on the grill to take off the chill.  My husband did the grilling. The grill was at 375 degrees. He grilled the meat on direct heat for roughly 8 minutes per side.  When the steak is finished let it rest for 10-15 minutes prior to slicing. Remember to slice against the grain.  As another option you could always cook the steak on a grill pan on top of the stove.

To warm the tortillas wrap them in aluminum foil and heat in oven at a low temp.  I used El Milagro flour tortillas and heated them at 250 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. 

Additional toppings: a dollup of Supremo Crema Rancherito (sour cream), Shredded Chihuahua Cheese, romaine lettuce

And last but certainly not least... the Mojito recipe is from foodnetwork.com.