Cooking from Scratch for Busy Moms--Easy Fajitas

This easy fajitas recipe was invented by my youngest daughter during her teenage years. I had been complaining that she should take a turn cooking once in a while, and even hinted that it was time she learned how to cook.

My youngest loved the fajitas at our local Mexican restaurant. So one evening she somewhat huffily went into the kitchen, declaring that she “knew how to cook,” and turned out quite a masterpiece—which became a family favorite.

Her “by guess and by gosh” version was, to my way of thinking, better than the restaurant version.

While this recipe is for chicken fajitas, beef—such as reasonably high-quality steak—could be substituted to make beef fajitas.

This recipe is hard to beat for ease of preparation and wholesome, homemade “fast food.”

Ingredients:

1 whole frozen chicken breast per person, cut into strips

1 red bell pepper, sliced into lengthwise strips

1 bunch of scallions, cut crossways into small rounds

Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy (to taste—I’d say use a lot)

Olive oil for sautéing

Several flour tortillas, warmed in the oven (allow at least two per person)

Salsa—regular or salsa verde, or both

Preparation:

Use whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts—the kind that come frozen in three-pound bags.

Chicken breasts are mostly easily sliced into strips if they are partially—but not completely—thawed. You can microwave for a minute or two to accomplish this.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (a big cast iron skillet is best), add the chicken strips and sauté until just done—no pinkness remains. Add red bell pepper strips and sauté the mixture until the pepper strips are tender, stirring to blend. Add scallions and Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy and sauté till the scallions are tender, stirring to blend.

Taste to see if you need more Mrs. Dash.

The easiest way to serve is to set the skillet of fajita filling directly onto the table (on a potholder or trivet, to protect the tabletop), and let everyone scoop the filling onto the warmed flour tortillas, adding salsa as desired.

To make a heartier meal, these fajitas may be served with a salad. Another heartier side dish is refried beans: Empty a can of refried beans into a microwavable bowl, top with lots of grated cheddar cheese, and microwave for two minutes to melt the cheese.

Or rice could be served as a side dish. This is most easily done in a rice cooker—a kitchen appliance every single mom should own. If you dump the rice and water into the rice cooker and turn it on before beginning fajita preparation, the rice should be done—with no further attention from you—about the same time as the fajitas.