Famous Chicken Fajitas

These fajitas are famous in the Cullen/Martin household because they are absolutely delicious.  Once you add the marinade, all you have to do is grill the chicken breasts and top them with any fixings you like.  While the original recipe says that you can use chicken or steak, Ryan says that he's tried both and he prefers it with chicken.  As the huge steak eater he is, I take it as a sign that he says he liked the chicken better.  So since I like to tell you what to do rather than letting you choose, I've only included the chicken option in this recipe. :) 

We enjoyed these fajitas with some homemade tortillas, sauteed bell peppers, and guacamole.  With this combo, you get a great spiciness from the chili powder and jalapeno the chicken is marinated in, some sweetness from the bell peppers, and some creamy richness from the avocado.  You know me - I'm a sucker for the perfect bite so it's important that you can get a combination of flavors from each bite.  We also cooked our chicken on a grill pan so we got a little bit of smokiness from the pan, although it's not nearly the same as an actual grill.  We've had this chicken cooked on a cast iron skillet as well, which is still good, but not quite the same.  If that's all you've got, you'll still get a good result, you'll just be missing that extra charcoal-ey flavor from the grill/grill pan.

In addition to looking great, this meal is healthy and filling too.  You get a great mix of lean protein, veggies, carbs, and healthy fats for a well-rounded meal.  Now, without further ado, here's the recipe.

Total Time: 25 minutes + 2 to 24 hours to marinade

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbs chopped fresh oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tbs chili powder

2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 chicken breasts (2-3 lbs)

Optional: 1 jalapeno, minced

For the Guacamole: 

2 avocados

1 large lime

2 tbs cilantro, roughly chopped

1 medium jalapeno, de-seeded

Salt & pepper to taste

For the Final Plating:

10-12 tortillas

3 bell peppers, chopped

Optional: limes & cilantro

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl,  combine the oil, onion, garlic, chili, oregano, cumin, chili powder, cilantro and salt.  
2. Cut each chicken breast in half to create 8 breast thins.
3. Put the meat into a large zip top bag and add marinade.  Let marinade for 2-24 hours.
4. When ready to cook the meat, remove from the marinade and pat dry.
5. Grill or saute until meat is done.  (This is the direction from the original recipe.  In my experience, a chicken breast thin should take 3-4 minutes per side if cooking on medium-high heat on a grill pan).
6. While the chicken is cooking, saute your bell peppers over medium-high heat until soft and lightly browned.
7. To make the guacamole, mash the avocados in a medium bowl.  Add the juice of 1 lime, the diced jalapeno, cilantro, and salt & pepper to taste.
8. For the final plating, slice your chicken into thin strips.  Top your tortilla with chicken, then bell pepper, guacamole, and cilantro & a squeeze of lime juice.

I always marinade my chicken for at least 24 hours.  It's amazing how much flavor you can impart with just 24 hours.  Anything less really isn't enough.

I love cooking my chicken on a grill pan because it gives the chicken such good color.  I also use chicken breast thins from Trader Joe's so I don't need to go through the process of slicing them in half.

Just look at that chicken!

Add your ingredients together: tortilla, then chicken, bell peppers, guacamole, cilantro, and then a squeeze of lime.  And of course a touch of hot sauce!

Seriously, how good does that look?

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 772

Protein: 57g

Carbs: 31g

Fat: 48g

*Based of 2 fajitas with 1 breast thin total & all the toppings as 1 serving