Fajitas

One boneless, skinless chicken breast per person, OR  skirt steak, sliced into thin strips.
The rule is 4 ounces per person, more or less, depending on the appetites.

Sliced bell peppers, either green or a mixture of colors
Onion, cut into strips, to taste (I usually use three peppers to one onion)
Shredded cheese.. If you want to go strictly authentic, use queso blanco. I like shredded Monterrey Jack/Cheddar blend
Sour Cream
Homemade or bottled salsa
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Anything you put on them in a restaurant can be put on 'em at home.. I hate guacamole, but my family loves it, so... in it goes. You are going to put these out in jars, or in Ramekins, so get what your family likes...

Flour tortillas, wrapped in foil.
I put my cast iron fajita skillets into a 300 degree oven while I make the fajitas, so I wrap the tortillas in foil and put them in the oven as soon as I start cooking the chicken.


Marinade
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all these ingredients... the lime juice does NOT taste right if you use concentrated juice. It takes 1 to 1 1/2 limes to make that amount of juice, and is well worth it.

Slice one breast per person into strips, place in a gallon bag, pour marinade over this, and place in refrigerator for at least one hour, no more than four... overnight tends to turn this marinade into pure lime juice, and the chicken gets bitter.

Drain the marinade off the chicken, and saute the strips in a cast iron skillet. This just takes a few minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan and pour in the onions and peppers, stirring them until they get hot. Remember, your skillet is hot and will cook the peppers as you present the food, so don't get this part over done.

Once the pepper/onion medley is cooked, lightly salt it, put the chicken or steak on top, and serve on the heated fajita pans, OR serve family style right in the skillet you used to cook the food in.

If you do prep work ahead of time, this meal is less than 15 minutes from fridge to table..

Use any leftovers to make Fajita Chimichangas. The recipe for them, Pico de Gallo, and Homemade Salsa with chips are all on this blog.

This meal is filling, tasty, and everyone can make their fajitas the way THEY like them, with their favorite fillings.

If you wanna go all out, throw some re fried beans, lettuce, etc on a plate, add some Mexican or Spanish rice, and you may never eat Mexican anywhere but home after this.

Pork Chops

6 Large Pork Chops
1 cup Self Rising Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Onion, very thinly sliced ( I mean VERY thinly sliced, here folks)
1 small can of mushroom slices, drained well
2 envelopes Brown Gravy mix (any brand that makes a cup per packet, or 1 2-cup envelope)
2 cups water
1/2 to 1 cup oil

Mix flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl and dredge pork chops through it. Cook chops in  skillet, until breading has browned. While the pork chops are cooking, mix the gravy mix and the water, line a roasting pan with foil, and scatter half the onions and half the gravy over the bottom of the foil lined pan. Put chops on top, put the rest of the onions on top. Bake for twenty to thirty minutes at 350.

I know, I know, you've had this recipe with variations before... but this is simple, doesn't use cream of mushroom soup or lots of other incidentals... the only think I change is NO MUSHROOMS in mine.. but its just easy, and tastes like you slaved away all day.. it only takes about 45 minutes from walking into the kitchen until you are eating,and most of that time is spent in the oven, so you can help the kids with homework, walk the dog, start the laundry, or just chill out for a few.... you'll get some much deserved praise and you won't feel guilty about the frozen lasagna you gave 'em last night...

Chicken Fajita Chimichanga

You can see the peppers, chicken and onions inside,and the Cheese Sauce and Pico on top!

Spoon about a tablespoon refried bean into a very thin layer in a burrito sized flour tortilla, and scoop left-over Chicken fajitas (left overs from a restaurant, your own recipe, or try mine on here) on top. Fold the sides in and the longer sides up and over each other, secure with toothpicks, and deep fry in oil heated to 350 degrees, until browned.

Top this with guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, or white cheese sauce. Mine, pictured above, has white cheese sauce, heated with homemade pico de gallo, and poured over the fried chimichanga.

Some people put tomatoes in their fajitas... I don't like cooked tomatoes, never have, so I don't use them. In addition, the juice in a tomato may cause spattering in the process of deep frying the chimi, so try to drain the veggies as much as possible before deep frying. I do love a white cheese sauce with pico de gallo, so I microwave the sauce, put in some pico, and pour it over the chimi... yummy, yummy, for the tummy!

Chicken Fajitas

1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (I use EVOO)
4 Teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (mesquite is wonderful with this!)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients for marinade.
Heat oven to 300 degrees and heat fajita pans or a large cast iron skillet, to serve sizzling fajitas.

Thinly slice 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, put into a zippered gallon sized bag, and pour marinade over it. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight is even better.

Thinly slice a large onion and bell pepper. If you use red and yellow, it is really a pretty presentation.

Take chicken out of the bag, and stir-fry it in a skillet, until done. Put some olive oil in the pan you cooked the chicken in and saute' the veggies until they are tender-crisp.

Arrange onions on the bottom of the fajita pans or the skillet. Bring them to the table, sizzling. Serve with warm flour tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, and Pico De Gallo or salsa, guacamole, rice and beans... whatever you like...

This recipe makes 3 heaping fajita pans, enough for six people... enjoy!

Simple Homemade Calzone or Pizza Sandwiches

Frozen Pizza dough, thawed ( I found mine pre made in the freezer section at Walmart for less than $1.50 - enough for three small or two regular sized calzones)

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Pepperoni Slices

Additional Ideas :
Pre Packaged Italian Sausage Sprinkles, onions, real bacon bits, or fried bacon pieces, olives, mushrooms, bell peppers,diced.. whatever you like in a pizza

Homemade Marinara Sauce (or a jar of pizza sauce works fine)

Olive oil

Thaw the dough, divide into 2, 3 or 4 smaller balls, roll out into desired size.
Put cheese, filling ingredients on one side, leaving about 1/4 -1/2" for sealing...
Fold the other side onto the filled side, crimp the edges, Sprinkle very lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese,and bake at 400 degrees for 10 -12 minutes, or until desired shade of browning is reached.
Remove from oven, let cool for 3-5 minutes, serve with warmed Marinara or Pizza Sauce for dipping...

Fruit Pie Chimichangas

Flour tortillas, (medium or small size) one for each diner
Fruit pie filling ( use home canned or store bought for this,to make it simple), such as Cherry, Peach, Apple ( I dont see why you couldn't use blueberry or blackberry, but I just think the 3 flavors mentioned seem more like a fried pie)
Veg Oil
Powdered Sugar
Cinnamon

Take fajita or taco sized tortillas and lay them out on a cookie sheet or wax paper
Put 1/4 cup (more or less depending on the size of the tortilla) of the pie filling into the center of the tortilla.
Fold sides inward, roll the tortilla, secure with toothpicks, and drop into enough oil to allow the chimis to float, or place in a deep fryer at 375 degrees...
Fry until chimis float and are just slightly less brown than you want the finished product..they continue to brown as the heat leaves.

Roll in cinnamon/sugar mix (apple or peach), or sprinkle with powdered sugar (cherry/blueberry/blackberry) and let sit for about 5 minutes, to allow filling to cool a bit, and serve... good with ice cream or whipped cream, or just as you made 'em...


VARIATIONS:

Apple fajita chimi:

For an amazing and impressive presentation, or, if you just want something fancy... heat a fajita skillet in the oven, place an APPLE chimi in the center, top with a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream, and top with the following mixture

Melt some real butter (unsalted) in a pan over med heat, and mix in 1 tsp brandy, cooking until the alcohol fumes are gone... pour over the pie/ice cream, and serve it sizzling... take your compliments and smile, humbly... your family will think of you as a pastry chef!

If you just refuse to use alcohol in cooking, a warm caramel ice cream topping, poured over the ice cream and chimi, allowed to sizzle as you serve it to your guests, is about as impressive, although the smells will be a bit different, of course... but every bit as yummy!

Cherry pie, a la mode: (works with blueberry or blackberry, as well)

Top the cherry chimi with Ice cream or whipped cream, instead of the powdered sugar.

Easy Homemade Salsa

1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds taken out, finely diced (or use a few jarred jalapeno slices)
1/2 lime
pinch of salt
1/4 to 1/3 bunch cilantro, minced

Mix all ingredients except lime, and stir. Squeeze lime over the mixture and stir into it, discarding pulp and hull.
Refrigerate. Taste it after an hour to see if it needs heat or toning down.
If you need heat, pour a bit of the juice from the jalapenos (if you used a jar or can of jalapenos). If you used fresh, either add more jalapeno or a few of the seeds, since that is where the heat is... but be careful... heat increases as the flavors meld. What seems very mild after an hour will be a medium heat in four hours, etc.
If you get it too hot for your taste, add more tomatoes or, if you don't have tomatoes, add a pinch of sugar..

Serve this with store bought or homemade corn tortilla chips.

Homemade corn tortilla chips are so easy.. just buy corn tortillas, cut them into 6 or 8 triangles and drop into hot oil until they rise to the top, drain, salt and enjoy!

Pico De Gallo

1 large onion, chopped (Red Onion is good in this)
4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 med. Jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1/4-1/3 Bunch of cilantro, minced or chopped, depending on your desired size
Vinegar or 1/8 cup of juice from pickled jalapenos
1/2 fresh lime

I don't use jarred jalapenos for this recipe, simply because I want all the colors to be vibrant and all ingredients to be fresh.. if you don't want to bother with fresh jalapeno, by all means, use the jar...I do NOT use seeds, so that most everyone can enjoy the flavors, but you can if you want it hot... use your taste buds as you go, but remember... the heat increases, sometimes doubles, overnight... use heat sparingly.. you can ALWAYS add, but you can NEVER take away the heat.. taste it, add, let it sit, taste it, etc...

Mix all ingredients together, pour vinegar or juice over the mixture. Squeeze the lime over the mixture, stir and refrigerate 4 hours to overnight. Be sure and taste this before you serve it, so you can warn your guests, if it turns out a little hotter than you meant... I have used sugar to tone down heat in chili, etc, but I think it would ruin pico... try it if you get it too hot, or just add some more tomatoes and onions to decrease the ratio if you feel it is entirely too hot.

This is fantastic served on a grilled chicken breast, in fajitas, on top of pintos or white beans, and if you put it in some ranch dressing, top the chicken breast with some cheddar-jack cheese, and melt it, you have a great mexi  ranch chicken breast!