Amazing Fajitas

A friend of mine made Olive Garden's Zuppa something soup earlier this week and I loved it and wanted the recipe. She sent me the link to this website that has copy cat recipes.

We LOVE fajitas... and on this list was Chili's Chicken Fajitas. I have to admit, I used to make dang good fajitas - but now I make AMAZING fajitas. :) This recipe is a keeper!

Fajitas like Chili's®

1/4 cup lime juice
3 Tbls. olive oil OR vegetable oil - divided
4 cloves garlic - crushed
3 tsp. soy sauce - divided
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. boned, skinned chicken breasts OR skirt steak
2 Tbls. water
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1 dash salt
1 dash black pepper
1 lrg. Spanish onion - sliced thin
1/2 med. green bell pepper - seeded, sliced thin
1/2 med. red bell pepper - seeded, sliced thin
1/2 med. yellow bell pepper - seeded, sliced thin

-Combine 1/4 cup lime juice, 2 Tbls. oil, garlic, 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. salt, liquid smoke, cayenne pepper, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper in a sealable plastic container, add chicken/steak to container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight (preferred).
-Combine water, 1 tsp. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. lime juice, and a dash of salt and pepper; set aside.
-Grill meat over a medium-high flame for 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.
-Cut meat into thin strips; set aside and keep warm.
-In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook onion and peppers in remaining 1 Tbls. oil until brown; remove from heat; pour reserved liquid mixture over onions and peppers.
-Toss together meat, onions, and peppers.

Notes: Serve with warm tortillas, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. When I make this, I make sure to marinade at least overnight; the taste from the marinade is so good, I like to make it stronger. Also, I steam the peppers and onions rather than sauté them, as it cooks them evenly and retains their color perfectly.

I made a few changes...

• I used garlic powder - my garlic heads were moldy.
• I had the chicken cut into strips before putting it in the marinade.
• After I cooked the meat I pulled it out of the pan and left the marinade; boiled it and then added the veggies to steam in the chicken marinade as the recipe note suggests.
• I had the chicken sitting in the marinade for about 30 hours. Not on purpose. It just turned out that we didn't make them last night.
• I used a red onion cause that's what I had in the house.
• I added a lot more peppers - cause I love 'em.

Now personally - having formally been vegetarian - I would love these with just the veggies. What I love about fajitas is that I don't have to have any meat in mine if I don't want! And the husband is still happy cause he gets his carnivorous desires taken care of! :) See - everyone is happy!

If you want to link to this awesome website: http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/C/64.htm Here you go!

My tummy is full and I am going to enjoy a Sunday afternoon nap!