Taco-ish Tuesday (Fajitas!)

The grandboys are here for supper at least a few times during the week, so if they’re here on Tuesday night, we have Taco Tuesday! Sometimes this really means tacos, but I try to switch it up and serve a variety of our favorite Mexican dishes. One of those favorite recipes is for fajitas. Most usually I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, and several years ago I found a fajita marinade recipe that works for any kind of meat on allrecipes.com. The link is to the same recipe, but a different person than the original post I printed out in 2001.

I make this marinade as written here. If you look at the recipe I linked to, there are comments with some changes some people made to make it work for them.

¼ C lime juice

1/3 C water

2 T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp soy sauce

2 dashes liquid smoke

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a one gallon zipper bag. Add meat to marinade and store in refrigerator overnight, or at least 2 hours.  This recipe makes 1½ cups of marinade, enough for 2 pounds of meat.

I usually put it all together in the morning and marinate the meat all day. Sometimes the chicken breasts are still frozen, so they thaw and marinate at the same time.

 a cast iron grill pan is the next best thing to cooking outside…

The peppers and onions don’t get a marinade soak, but do cook alongside that flavorful meat when I have to cook it inside. If the meat is grilled outside, the veggies are sautéed in the cast iron skillet on the grill. The meat is let to rest for a few minutes after cooking, then sliced for serving. The meat is juice and tender and so flavorful. Depending on how much cayenne pepper is used, it can also pack a bit of heat. It is so, so good! Besides the chicken breasts, I have used round steak, and one time I had some shrimp that was very tasty.

We always have multi-colored peppers and white onions, but you can use whatever color of pepper you prefer. You could add sautéed mushrooms as well.

These are served in warmed flour tortillas with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream. Side dishes always include refried beans, and sometimes homemade Spanish rice, and/or a tossed green salad. Greg likes to have picante sauce with his.

I’d love to hear if you have a favorite fajita recipe. We’re always open to trying a new twist on old favorites!