Best Chicken Fajitas Ever (Just My Humble Opinion)

Best Chicken Fajitas Ever

I think we all know by now that Mexican food is not the food of my people, but I do gleefully declare that my people love Mexican food, and we love fajitas, and these fajitas in particular. 

I've eaten a good number of fajita at chain restaurant and loved them, but it wasn't until we moved here that I figured out I could make them at home.  Now my first couple of attempts were pretty darned dismal; I kid you not.  No flavor, the vegetables and chicken were soupy or limp, just disagreeable all around.  Sometimes meals are better in restaurants.  Sigh.

But good fortune smiled on me, and I happened to be scrolling around Cooks.com looking at recipe reviews for ideas and I saw they had a fajita recipe that received numerous, numerous positive reviews.  Mmm, okay, I'm skeptical of any recipe calling itself "the best" because the concept of being best is subjective, but I decided to give it a whirl, and after the first bite I knew we had a winner.

I've shown you my fajita without all the fixings, and it definitely should have had a few more veggies for presentation, but regardless, this is deeee-licious.  I've served it to family members who are New Englanders, guests who are life-long Tusconians, and we all agree, these are fabulous.

There's a little marinating time involved, so plan ahead.  The wait will be worth it!  MMM mmm!

CHICKEN FAJITAS
 Original recipe from Cooks.com is found here.

MARINADE
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon season salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2lb chicken, sliced in strips as for fajita

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and marinate for at least 2 hours, stirring as necessary to ensure that the chicken is well marinated.

FAJITA
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 c sliced red bell pepper (or a combination of colors)

8 warmed large flour tortillas
1 sliced avocado
Salsa
Sour Cream
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Quickly saute the onions and peppers in oil on high heat until lightly browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Using a slotted spoon, move the chicken strips to the pan and saute, about ten minutes.

Toss in the vegetables to reheat and to allow them to pick up some of the marinade flavors.

Spoon into warmed flour tortillas and top with toppings of your choice,

COOK'S NOTES:   I make the marinade as stated in the recipe but for the fajita portion of the recipe I add mixed colors of peppers, use an entire onion, and omit the green onion (scallions).  Nowadays a lot of our chicken sold in supermarkets seems to be injected with flavorings (to make it juicier they say) but unfortunately it also makes for a lot of juice in the pan when quickly sauteing it.  I dump out the extra juices exuded from the chicken and might add back a couple teaspoons of the marinade to make up for what was lost and diluted.  The idea is that the chicken should be dry (if you know what I mean) and not soupy, which I think is a gross quality in a fajita.

My fajitas were served with refried beans and Mexican rice, which you can see peeking out.  One of these days, if I can get a decent picture of either one, I'll share the recipes.  One of my new friends here, a life-long Tusconian swears I make the best refried beans she's ever eaten.  I don't know about that.  Friends sometimes can be effusive with their compliments, but I will say they are pretty good.  But as I said, that's for another day.  Something to look forward to.  Grins.

Sopa de Fideo

Sopa de Fideo

One of the best things about moving from New England to the Southwest is I am being acquainted with a new culture, traditions, food, and people.  So different and yet we are still so much alike!  The mind and the waistline are expanded, grins.

Fideo is like the Italian vermicelli and the vermicelli can be substituted if your grocery does not have a well-stocked Hispanic food section.  The vermicelli just needs to be broken up into small pieces and you're good to go.

It seems to me that a lot of Mexican style food is pretty spicy, with the addition of different chili peppers, cumin, turmeric and oregano.  And no question, we have acquired spicy taste buds and will crave wonderful, warm (hot!) deliciousness. But then there is this little soup.  Very simple to make and delicate in flavor as written.  I belong to a Hispanic cooking site on Facebook and one of the ladies recommended adding pinto beans and hamburg; it's the way she makes it in her home.  I love that she shared that with me, and I think that would be good as well.  Make pinto beans as if for refried beans but pull some out before they are mashed and just add them to the soup towards the end to heat through since they'll already be cooked.

This would be a great soup when you aren't feeling tip-top but need to eat something.   The one thing I really liked about this soup is that it uses fresh tomatoes and with some nice buttery avocado.  Very farmers' market.

SOPA DE FIDEO

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
6 Roma tomatoes, roasted
1 thick slice of white onion
1 large clove garlic or 1/2 teaspoon jarred minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup of fideo noodles
salt and pepper to taste
garnishes:  avocado, cilantro, lime juice

Oil a boiler proof pan and roast the tomatoes on both the top and the bottom until the sides have blacked slightly.

Add the tomatoes, the onion and the garlic to a blender or food processor and blend until pureed.

In a medium skillet heat some oil and add the uncooked fideo.  Cook the fideo over medium heat until golden brown. Add the chicken broth and the tomato mixture.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook for 7 or 8 minutes or until the fideo are almost done.  Add the cilantro, if using, and cook an additional two minutes or until the fideo are done.  The fideo will continue to expand upon cooling.

Serve in bowls with diced avocado or other garnish of choice.

Breakfast is Ready

Darned Good Salsa on Cheese Omelet and English Muffin Batter Bread

Breakfast Burrito

No new recipes, just messing with my camera.

Previously posted recipes are here though.  Some recipes I just have to make over and over because they're that good.

https://cactuskateskitchen.blogspot.com/2018/04/darned-good-salsa.html

 https://cactuskateskitchen.blogspot.com/2017/09/english-muffin-batter-bread.html

Just a word about that salsa on the egg and cheese omelet.  Stop the train!  It was so darned good with the "darned good salsa."  Never thought I'd eat salsa on eggs, but boy am I glad I tried it.  Oooh the flavors. Swoon.  Swoon.  The salsa definitely kicked up the omelet to new heights.  I question whether I'll ever be able to eat a "plain" omelet again.  We've since been out to breakfast and I ordered the restaurant's omelet and salsa special, and all I'm going to say, in all humility, is they do't have anything over on me.  Going to save myself a bundle and make it at home.  Plus I get to eat breakfast in my pajamas.  Win-win all around I'd say.

And, of course, I love the buttery crunchiness of my English muffin batter bread and warm yeasty aromas.  It's a bread that has substance, not air.  Mmmm.  If I want to spoil myself, a little jam goes great.  My Sweetie Pie likes to dob on peanut butter and let its melty goodness just sink into it.

Nothing fancy with the breakfast burrito.  Just some scrambled eggs and diced ham rolled up in a tortilla.  A burrito makes everyday items look kind of fun and fancy, plus it's convenient to eat.    

Darned Good Salsa

Salsa

I have eaten more salsa in the last three years than the sum of all my life combined before that.  It's my current addiction.  I pass up ice cream for salsa and chips. When we want a simple snack, it's nachos with cheese and of course tons of salsa.  We have it bottles of it on the pantry shelf, must be that famine mentality or something.

And of course when we go to our favorite Mexican restaurants, they immediately pour out bowlfuls of salsa from huge pitchers and provide big baskets of hot tortilla chips.  Hot or mild, they ask.  We always ask for the mild and eat the salsa to the last drop.  We've had to force ourselves to stop to save room for our meals, grins.

This is my second attempt at making a homemade salsa and it's very good.  Allegedly this is a recipe that comes from a restaurant in Tucson, but I can't swear to it, but I wouldn't be surprised.  Are there better salsa recipes out there?  Perhaps, but I'm not going to go looking for it.  This one is a keeper.

SALSA

3 cans (15 ounce size) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
4-5 stalks scallions (green onions), chopped
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped, removing any thick stems
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon crushed chili pepper and/or 1 jalapeno

Blend all together.  Refrigerate.  Let it sit for a while for flavors to develop and then indulge.

COOK'S NOTES:  I personally do not like big hunks of vegetables in my salsa, so I put my onions, and scallions and cilantro in a food processor and give them a few pulses.  I also pulse two of the cans of stewed tomatoes into an almost puree consistency and the third can I pulse but leave it fairly chunky.  You can do whatever pleases you, all chunky, all smooth.  No rules.

A note on the 1 tablespoon of crushed chili pepper.  That, truthfully, could be too much heat for some.  It is on the verge of being too much for us, so if unsure of your heat tolerance, I would probably start with 1 teaspoon, check for heat, and add to taste.  I have a friend who adds the 1 tablespoon of chili pepper and the jalapeno, but she was raised on fiery foods and as far as she's concerned, the more heat the better.

This recipe makes a two full quarts of salsa at least.  Keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator.

It's Chili in Here, Folks!

Chili!

Hahaha! Sorry, I just can't stop myself with the bad chili jokes. And no matter how old and tired they are, Sweetie Pie and I just have to regale each other when them. But no joke, this was darned good chili. First thing Sweetie Pie said, hey, if it makes your nose run and your eyes water, it's gonna be good. Well, that's one measure I guess, grins. This chili is can be as spicy or as mild as you like, just adjust the hot stuff up and down to your liking. We're still newbies at spicy, but are slowly appreciating it more and more, to the point that some of our New England favorites are tasting kind of bland.

Chili!

1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained of fat
1 large onion, chopped
1 14-oz can diced tomato, undrained 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh, minced)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Optional: pinto, kidney, black beans (or other beans) drained, added 10 minutes before end of cooking,

Add all ingredients into a large pot. Simmer 30 minutes or until thickened. Adjust seasoning to your taste.

A good dollop of sour cream and some grated cheddar or jack cheese is nice.  Smooths out the spiciness and adds a nice mouth feel.

Chili is pretty versatile and you can customize it according to your taste.  Some add jalapenos, corn, celery (really?!), green peppers. We tend to be more straightforward, though beans are often considered chili sacrilege.

COOK'S NOTE: A regional ingredient that wasn't called for in the original recipe but makes a nice addition is an ingredient called masa harina. It's limed, ground corn and is not the same as the ground corn that is used to make hoe cakes, johnny cakes, cornbread, and so on. I use it to make corn tortillas and someday tamales. Anyway, it's addition to chili is used to thicken the chili and adds a touch of sweetness. For some chili lovers it's the missing ingredient in really good chili and we seem to fall into that category.  I started with a tablespoon, let it cook four or five minutes to see the thickness, and added more until I received a thickness that was pleasing to me.  This chili was even better the second day and freezes well.  Believe it or not, it's good in place of regular spaghetti sauce and is delicious mixed with rice.  Mmm!

Tex-Mex Style Flour Tortillas

Flour Tortilla

In my question for tortilla perfection, I am reminded of the story of the guy who was married eight times and always blamed his failed marriages on the women he married.  Grins, this is like my fifth or sixth recipe I've tried and since it's unlikely all those recipes are failures, it seems like time for a little self-reflection.  While I have yet to find the secret for great tortillas, I think I'm onto something here. My ideal includes adjectives like soft, flexible, fluffy, flavorful.  Not too much to ask for, but past efforts have yielded tortillas that were thin, brittle, and tasted like pie crust. 

First of all, tortillas take practice.  Oh. Yeah, I guess I should've known that.  When I think of my first loaf of yeast bread and how it clunked so loudly that I could hear it hit the metal trash can from my second-story apartment over city traffic, I know the ringing sound of failure.  I never thought I could learn to make beautiful loaves of yeast bread.  A little diligence and knowing the "feel" of dough paid off.  I think tortilla making is similar; you have to know the feel of the dough, and that only comes through practice and diligence.  And eating your failures, which is better than eating crow, I've found.

Tortilla too brittle?  Too much shortening, too much baking powder, or quite possibly the griddle wasn't hot enough.  The griddle has to be hot.  Also, it could be too much baking powder.  Tortilla tough?  Handled it too much.  And probably the biggest thing I've learned, they need to be kept in a tortilla warmer.  You don't need anything fancy, just a clean dishtowel maybe with tin foil loosely folded around it to help it retain the heat but still allowing the steam to escape.  I've found they soften nicely once they've allowed to rest a bit after cooking.

The other neat thing I've learned is there two schools of tortilla makers depending on the region you grew up and family preferences:  the thicker Texan style, popular in certain parts of Mexico (like the ones pictured above and my favorite) and those who favor the paper thin tortilla, almost like a wonton wrapper (perfect for burritos), which I believe is popular in the Sonoran region of Mexico and thus quite popular here since we live so close to Sonora.  Both are equally good; it's just personal choice and what you're accustomed to and probably how you intend to use the tortilla.

Tex-Mex Style Flour Tortillas (makes 8 thick tortillas)

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm milk

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the first four ingredients.

Slowly add the warmed milk, stirring, until a sticky ball is formed.  Dump dough out onto a floured surface and knead, about two minutes, or until ball is smooth, soft, and firm.

Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp paper towel or dish towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, break the dough off into eight sections, rolling each section into a ball as you break them off.  Place the balls on a plate spaced far enough apart so that the balls are not touching.  Cover again with a damp paper towel or plastic wrap, and once again allow to rest, this time for 10 minutes.

On a floured surface, pat the dough into a 4-inch disc and then roll into 8-inch circle. In your mind's eye, see the disc as 4 pieces of pie and starting from the center, roll out to the one edge and over it to keep the edges thin. Go to the next quarter, repeat.  Flip the disc, repeat.  You can also stretch the dough over your knuckles, like for pizza dough, pulling on the edges while spinning over the knuckles of  your closed fist to help attain a circular shape.

Keep the uncooked tortillas covered until ready to cook as you don't want them to dry out.

Preheat a dry (do not grease) cast iron comal or skillet over high heat and cook the tortilla about 30 seconds each side.  Tortilla will puff and bubble when it's done.

Place cooked tortilla in clean dish towel, napkin, tortilla warmer, whatever you are using, to keep them warm until serving.

Cooks Note:  So this is the basic recipe I made and I followed it exactly.  I'm pleased with the results, of course, but when I try this next, I think I'm going to tinker with it a bit, perhaps adding a tad more milk, a tablespoon or so.  It may be the brand of flour I'm using, but I found the dough to be a bit on the dry side.  It's all about the feel.

Charros Frijoles and a Little Food Lore

Charros Frijoles

Did you know that beans were one of the Three Sisters—the sisters being corn (maize), beans, and squash?  Squash shaded the roots of the corn, cornstalks provided support for the climbing beans.  All rather endearing I think.  Together they provided a nutritional foundation.  I ran into that little kernel of knowledge while reading a romance novel of all things some while back and it stuck with me.  Apparently, Native Americans combined the three to provide a complete nutritional foundation.

Since moving across country from our beloved little New England Victorian home to our now beloved desert home in Arizona, we've learned about new foods and flavors, and among those are pinto beans.  It's taken a while to develop a taste for caliente and piquante foods, but we've now started to appreciate and crave the flavors of heat and spice.  By some measure I'm sure we're still on the mild side in comparison to true natives, but hot sauce is a stable in our pantry along with some chilies, grins.  It's all good.

So, let me share a nice hearty pinto bean soup.  It's spicy good, though you can make it more or less spicy depending on your taste, it's inexpensive, and pretty much hands off once you get it in the slow cooker.  These are not refried beans, though similar in make up, as they have the addition of tomatoes and meat.  Also charros frijoles is soupier, served with a spoon.  Nice thick squares of cornbread is a tasty side to this.  Mmm mmm!  This reheats like a dream and freezes very well.  And if possible, it's even better on the following day when the flavors have had a chance to get acquainted with each other and develop a companionable flavorship.  It makes a potful, so unless you're feeding a small community or have a crowd of hungry eaters, you're probably going to have leftovers.

I put together several recipes, choosing those ingredients that were the most appealing to me, so the soup is quite versatile and forgiving.  This is how I made mine.

Charros Frijoles (a/k/a Cowboy Beans, and who doesn't love cowboys?)

1 one-pound package of dried pinto beans, picked, soaked overnight, rinsed, drained

1 small onion, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 1/2 ounces bacon, chopped, cooked and crumbled (I used the bacon grease to cook the onions in—only until translucent)

1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained

2-4 cups of chicken broth or make broth using chicken bouillon

Enough water to bring liquid a coupe of inches over the beans

1 teaspoon (or more) cumin

1 teaspoon (or more) chili powder

3 1/2 ounces cooked ham, chopped (or chorizo)

salt and pepper to taste (be careful of the salt if you're using bouillon)

a little chopped jalapeno is nice, added at the end

1 cup of cilantro chopped (added at the end, maybe 30 minutes before)

Cook the bacon, crumble, toss in the slow cooker.  Use the grease to cook the onions until translucent.  Toss everything in the slow cooker except the cilantro and the jalapeno, reserving those to add towards the end of cooking.  Set the slow cooker on low, and let it cook for about 6 hours.  I start testing the beans at 4 hours to see if they are soft enough to eat.  Keep an eye on the liquid level, adding water as needed to keep the beans covered by an inch or so.  Depending on the freshness of your beans it may take shorter or longer to cook them. Taste the broth for seasoning, adding whatever you think will make it perfect for you.  At the end I take a potato masher and give 'em a couple of good mashes to thicken the soup up a little. 

Cook's Note:  This can get too salty very easily, considering the bacon, chicken broth and/or bouillon.  I use low sodium bacon and don't add additional salt until I taste for seasoning.  When I've tasted it and the broth was too salty, I added additional water.  The other choice is to add a potato, cut in half, to absorb some of the salt. Just remove the potato before serving.