Chicken Fajitas

When there are white-out conditions outside, it’s nice to have a colorful dinner inside. Fajitas were just the thing to make us forget the blizzard outside tonight.

Chicken Fajitas

2 chicken breasts
2 bell peppers (any color)
2 onions
3 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. chili flakes
salt
pepper
oil

Start by disconnecting your smoke detector. If you don’t, I can pretty much guarantee it’s going to go off and I think that noise has got to be one of the most obnoxious sounds in the universe. Now turn on your exhaust fan, the second most annoying sound in the universe.

Heat the oil in your pan over medium high to high heat; you want to stay just under the smoke point of the oil. The best pan for this is a large cast iron skillet because you’re trying to caramelize the food and cast iron gives a lot of color. If you don’t have a cast iron pan, you can use a wok, and if you don’t have that, use your biggest pan as long as it’s not non-stick.

Meanwhile, slice the chicken and vegetables into approximately equal strips. You won’t get caramelization if you crowd the pan, so I usually just brown one thing at a time. Throw the onions in the pan with about a third of the spices. They should be cooked in about two minutes. You want them to lose the raw taste but to still have some texture.

Pull them out and set them aside. Repeat the process tow more times with the peppers and then the chicken. You will be much more successful at browning if you don’t fiddle with the pan too much while the food is cooking. Don’t stir, flip, or toss until you see the first side is really browning. Don’t let the smoke scare you into messing with it.

When you see the chicken is nearly all the way cooked, add the vegetables back in and toss it all together for about thirty seconds. To serve, wrap the filling in warm flour tortillas. I like to serve it with lettuce, yellow corn, and sour cream. Serves 4-6.

Don’t forget to turn your smoke detector back on!