Living Life: Fajita love...

I'm not the kind of girl that is an awesome cook... the kind that can make anything taste amazing...

But I've been asked several times over the years about my fajitas - which is, by the way, my favorite food group. So I thought I'd share my 'recipe'... insert air quotes here b/c I don't typically use a recipe... but here goes nothin':

First you'll need:

-Chicken Breast (boneless, skinless) I like the pre-packaged 'stir fry' chicken strips from HyVee
-2 medium green peppers (HyVee only had tiny ones so I used 3)
-1 large red pepper
-2 Small/medium size vidalia onions
-Small tortillas (I like the soft taco size - less WW points!)
-Tones Fajita Seasoning
-1 package of Lipton Taco Rice
-1 can of refried beans
-Guacamole
-Mexican shredded cheese
-Tortilla chips

1. Put a little bit of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) in the bottom of the skillet and put all of the chicken in to start cooking. I usually want it to cook kind of slow so I have time to get all of my veggies cut.. so I will turn the dial to maybe 250-300 degrees until I'm done with the veggies. After a few minutes of cooking... add a healthy dose of lemon pepper AND fajita seasoning. Then turn the chicken over and season the other side.

2. Cut all of the veggies and place to the side to wait for the chicken to be done and seasoned. This is my favorite part to put on the 'Cookin' with Ray' show... just wait... it will take off one day. My best friend and I have been putting on cooking shows since freshman year of high school... and it was ONLY when cooking fajitas. There is something magical about this dish.. I'm telling ya.

3. This is when I put the refried beans in the little pot to heat up on medium (stirring every few minutes) and I start making the taco rice (following instructions on the back of the package)

4. Once the chicken is turning golden brown, this is when I start taking my rubber tongs and cut the chicken into smaller pieces. I find it is MUCH easier to cut chicken once it is cooked rather than having to handle raw chicken.... and it is way less gross :) The less touching of raw meat involved... the better in my world.

5. Now that you've cut up all of the chicken to the perfect fajita size... it is time to marry the veggies with the chicken. This is a tough step... really! Dump all of the veggies and stir the contents of the skillet until it is evenly mixed up and add a little more fajita seasoning. Then, add a little bit of water and put the lid on the skillet and then..... wait for it.

Literally... just WAIT. This is the hard part. It is soooo tempting to just continually stir the fajita mixture- but don't do it. Resist the temptation... walk away!

6. After 5 minutes or so... remove the lid and stir the fajita mixture. I will then let it finish cooking with the lid off. I usually wait until the onions are translucent... that usually means to me that the veggies are perfect! Now... disclaimer: everyone seems to like their veggies at different textures... if you like more of a crunch to them.. then it will be done a couple of minutes earlier than this... I like my onions caramelized to onion glory

7. I usually heat our tortillas up in the microwave. I use my tortilla keeper (not sure exactly what that thing is called) and I put a dry paper towel at the bottom, put the tortillas I'm heating on top.. then I put a damp paper towel on top of them and put the lid on before heating for about 40 seconds or so. I'm not sure if the damp towel actually does anything... its just how my family has ALWAYS done it-- so why end a tradition now, ya know?

8. This is the best part... there are so many combinations possible with these babies! Scott loooooves his refried beans and guacamole as toppings... I simply like my cheese, rice and salsa toppings. I love guacamole, but as a dip for my chips rather than a fajita topping. :)