Sunday Night Baseball and Fajitas

I had some of the group over last night and made chicken fajitas. I hadn't really made them before but it's a simple idea. You make some rice, some beans, sautee some peppers and onions and cook some chicken. The biggest thing, how to spice the chicken. I made it up and it turned out pretty good.

First off, all meat tastes better when grilled so the first thing I did was fire up the new gas grill. I've made just about every meal on that thing in the past week. (Pancakes and eggs have been the exception) To spice the chicken I poured a small amount of olive oil on a plate. I sprinkled the oil with black pepper, garlic, salt (use sea salt. Always use sea salt!), and crushed red pepper flakes.

You decide the portions because you know how strong or weak your spice tollerance is. But this Mexican-ish food so spicy is the way to go. Stir it around on the plate a little bit and then drag the chicken breasts through the oil to coat both sides. Reoil and spice the plate as necessary. Let the oily breasts sit there and soak a few minutes.

Get your veggies going. I used about 1/3 of a large onion, one large green pepper and one medium red pepper for 6 chicken breasts (6 people coming to dinner). Could have doubled the onion. Adjust according to how much your cooking and taste. Throw those in a large pan with some olive oil over medium heat. Use a lid. I sprinkled some garlic powder and black pepper on the veggies. For more flavor you could sautee some fresh garlic in the oil before tossing in the veggies. For more spice sautee some fresh jalapeno in the oil first.

Put on the chicken when the grill is hot. Mine has a convenient thermometer and said it was at about 400F. The breasts seared quickly and cooked in the juices. That little bit a char you get from the grill is important. Cook the breasts through but DON'T over cook. Keep it moist.

Once done pull the chicken and cut it into bite size strips. Throw those on top of the veggies and start stirring that around. I put in some tomato weedges at this point. Not necessary but makes for a nice bit of extra flavor. The chicken should be nice and juicy but with a grilled flavor. The veggies are done when they are still a little crisp.

Put out your cheese and sour cream, rice and beans. Some taco sauce or salsa is a nice touch. Throw some shells in the microwave or on the stove to warm them slightly.

Dish it up.

Pop the top off an appropriate beer and jam in a lime wedge.

Eat.