Quick Chicken Fajitas

I came home early today after a media interview that I think went well ... if only I knew what the hell they were saying. The entire interview was in French. I will only have to hope that the journalist will be ethical and not write things out of context etc.

Anyway, I came home and decided I might have some fajitas. Don't ask me why ... I just thought that I should since I had avocadoes, tomatoes and I'd just bought some organic salsa which I was dying to try out. Problem is I'm not a big fajitas chef since all the fajitas I ever had homemade were cooked up either by one of my ex-boyfriends and one ex-housemate. Since the ex is far away in a different time zone now I thought it would be terribly unfriendly for me to call him just to get a recipe. And the ex-housemate has been going through a major midlife crisis and I did not want to have to listen to that just to get a recipe. Sounds uncaring but he really put me through hell with his shenanigans (booze, drugs, hookers, uninvited weirdoes in the house in the middle of the night and strange women ... and one bloke I think ... trying on my clothes from the dryer, etc) and I swore we would always remain distant .. very distant friends after that. So, seeking the most peaceable and safest alternative, I scoured my cookbooks and the Internet for one instead.

I found one and it looked really simple and fairly quick. I needed quick ... I have too much work to do.

Quick Chicken Fajitas
3 tbsp oil
1 sliced onion
1 sliced pepper - I used half a yellow and half a green pepper as I had these leftover
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp gruond oregano
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 large chicken fillets or 4 small ones
Tortillas - warmed (about 2 for me but the recipe called for 4)
1 chopped tomato
1 chopped avocado
Grated cheese - I had some Edam so I used that
1 cup salsa

1. Heat the oil and saute the onions and peppers till tender

2. Add the spices and cook for 1 min
3. Add in the broth and bring to boil
4. Add the chicken and cook for 8-10 mins (shorter time if using small fillets)
5. Warm the tortilla - I zapped mine in the microwave on High for 35 seconds on one side and then flipped it and zapped it for 10 seconds on the other
6. I removed the chicken from the mixture and sliced it into strips and added it to the pan again to coat and warm. The original recipe just asked that you dump the whole chicken into the tortilla
7. Place the chicken mixture on top of the tortilla and add the tomatoes, avocado & cheese

8. Roll it up, dip it in the salsa and eat it quick while it's still hot

I thought it was an OK dish but I was not really blown away by it. I didn't really like how the chicken was almost poached and I think if I repeated this recipe again, I might grill it next time before adding to the peppers and onions mixture. Also, I tried to be super healthy so I did not add sour cream with the tomatoes and avocado which the original recipe asked for. I think that compromised the taste. I'd add that next time if and when I make this again.

The organic salsa I used was really yummy. I am so glad I spotted it at the supermarket. Since I came across sites like Fresh Approach Cooking, I have been even more intrigued by organic food. My mother used to use them back in the 70s and I typically try to use organic pasta if I can find them and if they do not cost an arm and a leg. They do taste better.

So, this meal scores a 6.75/10 for taste and a 7.5/10 for health. I had a lot of leftover chicken mixture as well as avocado and tomatoes. I decided to eat them together in a bowl and save the rest of the chicken for quick pasta dishes.

Also, I paired it with orange juice. After getting a bit of a heatstroke during the installation of the sculptures today (shoulder are a little pink and tender still), I decided I should take extra care with dinner. And now back to work.


Categories - Chicken Run