Fajitas

Fajitas are amazing. And I do not cook them often enough. I get so excited when I see them coming up on the calendar and I act like it is a huge special surprise when I tell my husband that fajitas are for dinner. It’s funny because I make the food calendar. If I love fajitas so much, why don’t I add it to the calendar more often? I don’t know why I don’t but I am here to share my very, very simple and easy way of making fajitas.

Cast iron pans are what I make this dish in. I have made vegetable, chicken and beef fajitas. I will explain the chicken/beef fajita first:
1) Slice the meat thin.
2) Slice all vegetables. I use onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and zucchini. Any combination of these will work. My husband is not a huge fan of zucchini so I skip it in the meat fajitas.
3) Put a twist of olive oil in the pan and heat it.
4) Add the sliced meat in a single layer. Season the meat with any seasoning you want. I added cilantro, special salt and “hurcha” seasoning for this batch. Turn meat as needed. Cook fully.
5) Remove meat. Turn down burner. Look at the pan. Is it dry? If so, add a little more oil. Then add the vegetables. Stir frequently. The vegetable should start to turn soft as they cook completely.
6) Add the meat back to the vegetables and cook a few more minutes. This helps bring the flavors together.
7) Warm your tortilla. Eat!

Yes, you could most likely cook the meat and the vegetables together, but I get nervous about bacteria, so I fully cook the meat and then add the vegetables. The only reason why I removed the meat to cook the vegetables in this scenario is because of the massive volume of vegetables being cooked compared to the meat. I do not want the meat to become overcooked and dry out. I have at least 3 bell peppers, 3 onions and 4 oz of mushrooms to 1 large chicken breast, in the cast iron pan.

My husband and daughter loved it. Now let me tell you something about seasoning. Your dish is a little more forgiving when seasoning meat. The meat absorbs a bit of the spices. So if you are accidentally heavy handed while seasoning (which I was with this exact dish) you might be okay (which I was – zero complaints). This is not the case with the vegetable fajitas. The seasoning does not really absorb into the vegetables – it more so sits on top of it. It is NOT forgiving and the same amount of spice on the chicken fajitas will come off hotter on the vegetable fajitas. Luckily, I have learned to like the spice a bit, and even though my fajitas were much hotter than my husbands and daughters, then turned out tasting great.

Vegetable Fajitas:
Very similar to chicken/beef fajitas, but no moving of the meat.
1) Slice all vegetables before hand.
2) Heat the oil in the pan. Add vegetables and stir often.
3) Add seasonings.
4) Cook vegetables until they are soft.
5) Warm your tortilla and enjoy.

I had 1 small zucchini, 2 bell pepper, 3 onions, 4 oz of mushrooms and the same seasonings as the chicken fajitas, just more of it. As you can see, I do not add a sauce to my fajitas. They do not need it. The seasonings that I add, mixed with the juices of the meat and the moisture of the vegetables as they cook down, create their own sauce. I do not mind my fajitas being “runny”. Want to thicken the sauce that the fajitas are in? Adjust the heat to a low sizzle in the pan and carefully cook the liquid down. You will have to watch your pan, stirring frequently, making sure the food does not sear to the pan.

This was a weeknight meal. It is fast and simple. The only thing taking time is the cutting of the vegetables, but once you get a rhythm, it goes quick.
This is also an inexpensive meal.
1 Chicken breast ($4 at meat market)
3 Pounds of onions (on sale, $1.19)
2 Packages of bell peppers ($5.39)
Mushrooms ($1.69)
Zucchini ($1.89 a pound, so roughly $0.75)
Tortillas ($1.79)
and oil and seasonings, which you should already have.
Total = Right around $17 for dinner which yielded enough leftovers for a complete lunch the next day.
Calorie wise, I am satisfied with this meal as well. The tortilla shells that I pick out are 200 calories a piece. High yes, but I like them. Olive oil is 120 calories in 1 TBSP, so 240 calories over the entire pan is not bad. Then you just calculate the calories in the chicken breast and vegetables:
Chicken breast = 165 calories / 100 grams
Onion = 60 calories in an average onion
Bell pepper = 20 calories in average bell pepper
Mushroom = 5 calories in average mushroom
Zucchini = 25 calories in the small zucchini
These numbers are not bad at all!

I love fajita night at home. I know how much oil is in my pan (no more than 2 TBSP) and I know the amount of vegetables that are cooked down. I enjoy eating a large tortilla full of the cooked vegetables, knowing that there is not careless calories thrown in “for flavor” (fats, even more oil or sauces). I am excited that my daughter eats the chicken fajita (my veggie one is just a little too spicy). And I am really excited that my husband (and guests, if I have any) get just as excited as I do when they hear I am cooking fajitas!

What is an excellent dish that you do not cook often enough? Honestly, fajitas need to go on my calendar more often! Let me know in the comment section! Have a great one!