Friday, January 29, 2010

Fiery Citrus Chicken Fajitas

Being a slightly food-obsessed college student, I think that my counter-top grill (aka The George) is one of the greatest inventions to every grace my kitchen with its presence. In a fit of culinary productivity last weekend, I decided that it was high time to bust out The George and make one of my favorite creations, citrus marinated chicken fajitas. Easy to make, fresh, healthy, and awesomely delicious. This time I decided to kick up the spice a bit with rather pleasing results. So, here's the new and improved recipe. ¡Qué sabroso!

Note - As always, measurements are more like guidelines than actually rules, here. I add a dash of this and a splash of that until it tastes good, then try to figure out the measurements.

The Goods:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 small green pepper
1 small red pepper
1 small white onion
2 tsp.s chipotle paste
6-8 flour tortillas
green cabbage

The Marinade:
2 oranges
3 limes
2 tblsp. white vinegar
2 tblsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 heaping tsp. salt
4-6 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
dash of cayenne pepper

Juice the oranges and limes into a large glass dish (hint: throw the limes into the microwave for about 10 seconds before slicing them and they'll give more juice), add the vinegar, oil, and spices. These amounts are rough estimates, so if you're looking for a bit more fire in your life, add a bit more cayenne and black pepper. If your tastes are a bit more mild, go easy with the peppers and the garlic. Whip up all the goodness until it "smells like a fiesta," as my friend put it. Reserve about 2 tblsp. of marinade to season veggies.

Add sliced chicken to marinade and let it soak up the goodness for 1-6 hours.

When it's about dinner time, plug in your grill. While it gets nice and hot, wash and seed peppers and slice them into thin strips, about an inch long. Peel and slice onion. Toss veggies with reserved marinade. For a bit of extra burn, add 1 or 2 tsp. chipotle paste. Heat a large frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and sauté veggies. Grill chicken, about 4 pieces at a time.

After grilling, slice chicken. Serve with warm tortillas, sautéed veggies, and chopped cabbage. I like to add a bit of salsa and sour cream as well.

Enjoy!


PS- Two shout-outs:
1- David Gray, I adore you. Thank you for creating an absolutely brilliant new album. I am much obliged.

2- Dear reader in Utica - Who are you? Thanks for reading and if you ever seen any of those LDS missionaries wandering around your town, tell my buddy Elder Jones "Hi!" for me.

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