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Don’t you love ordering fajitas at a restaurant . . . there’s something about the sound of sizzling meat and onions and peppers that we can’t resist.  When they bring them out you know everyone else is thinking , “I should have ordered the fajitas!”

Fajitas are somewhat of a staple at our house – we love them.  We make them often and we make lots of meat and peppers with the intent of having lots of leftovers!  {Cook Once Eat Twice}.   We love to use the extra for fajita–style quesadillas {more on that to come. . . }

So if your mouth is drooling just looking at this platter of meat and veggies, check your pantry and fire up the grill!

Fajita Marinade for Chicken or Steak

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 – 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1-4 pounds meat (depending on how many you plan to serve and if you want leftovers)  We recommend:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Skirt Steak or Flap Meat

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a gallon-size ziplock bag.  Add meat and allow to marinade overnight or as long as you can on the day you plan to grill (separate bags if you do both chicken and steak).  Grill.

Be sure to grill some onions and peppers if you have room on the grill.   (We usually cook a lot so I have a burner on the grill that works great for the onions and peppers, or you can do them inside on your stove).

Allow meat to rest for about 5 minutes then slice steak across the grain in thin diagonal slices.*  Cut chicken in thin, diagonal slices also.

Serve on fresh tortillas with all your favorites! We recommend homemade restaurant-style salsa and a side of Mexican Rice with Cotija Cheese.

NOTES:

I buy my skirt steak/flap meat at Costco or Sams (2 in package). I’ll make up the marinade and put it on the meat and then stick several packages in the freezer. (It will marinade as it freezes and as it defrosts.) That way we can just pull it out of the freezer when we get a craving for fajitas {which is often at my house}.

*The grain on the skirt steaks usually runs the short width (see picture on grill).  You’ll want to cut the length in half and then slice the meat across the grain.

If you live in a cold climate and aren’t fortunate enough to use your grill year round, you can use an indoor grill, or cut the raw chicken/steak into thin strips and cook in a hot skillet.  {Because fajitas are too good to eat only in summer!}