Yesterday was a painful day. Maybe it was because the roads were wet and uneven. Maybe it was because C's horrific teething pain has caused his nighttime sleep patterns to revert to those he had when he was a month old. Maybe it was a combination of the two. But I had a very painful fall on a run yesterday morning. I hit a rough patch of road, my ankle gave out, and, I do not kid you, I rolled over twice, breaking my fall with my elbows. I, as gracefully as one can when one face plants on the street in one's neighborhood, grabbed my fallen iPhone and hobbled back to the house (unaware that I had accidentally called - or should I say "clutz-dialed" - my father, who was listening to my entire theatrical arrival home as my husband patched me up, good as can be, and sent me off to bed with some tea).
Nevertheless, I spent the majority of the day in a great deal of pain - sore, bruised, and scraped up. When it came down to put something together for dinner, for our weekly Taco Tuesday fest, I had to find something that I could make very easily. Upon checking my e-mail mid-morning, I got a message from Jamie Oliver's food revolution that included a super easy chicken fajita recipe that was light and healthy as well, except that I upped the number of veggies used. We love peppers! I added to it my own easy salsa recipe and a version of a guacamole recipe I got once from Wegmans. And since so many of the ingredients overlap, I had very little waste. (Even C was able to munch on some diced avocado along with the rest of his dinner.) I was able to prepare everything in advance, while C took his afternoon nap and A worked on her homework, and the actual "cooking" part of the meal took about 20 minutes. To quote A, "Oh man mom, I LOVE fajitas. Oh yeah!"
For the fajitas:
You need:
2 boneless chicken breast fillets, about 4 oz. each, sliced into strips
2 sweet peppers, sliced into strips
1 large sweet onion, cut into slices
1/2 lime
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
flour tortillas
sour cream or plain yogurt
shredded cheddar cheese
For the salsa:
You need:
4 medium tomatoes, chopped and seeded
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lime
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
salt, to taste
For the guacamole
You need:
4 ripe avocadoes, pitted and scooped of flesh
1/2 sweet onion, cut into rough chunks
1 medium tomato, seeded and cut into rough chunks
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime
salt, to taste
Start with your salsa and guacamole, which can be made in advance. In the bowl of a food processor, place the flesh of the avocados, 1/2 of the sweet onion, roughly chopped, 1 medium tomato, seeded and roughly chopped, and 1/2 a bunch of cilantro, chopped. Add salt to taste and the juice of 1/2 a lime and process to a consistency you enjoy. Scoop into a small bowl and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. In a small bowl, place the salsa ingredients together along with the juice of a lime. Stir and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. About 20 minutes before cooking, mix together in a large bowl the sliced chicken, vegetables, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Let the mixture marinate. Heat a grill pan or large skillet to medium heat and cook the entire mixture. While the chicken mixture is cooking, warm the tortillas in the oven.
To serve, scoop the cooked chicken mixture into the tortillas. Top with guacamole, salsa, sour cream or plain yogurt, and cheddar cheese. Enjoy!
