Chicken Fajitas

My family loves to eat Mexican food.  I am fortunate to live in Southern California where we get as excited about avocados being on sale as we are when it rains!  I usually buy the premixed fajita mix at the grocery store, but last time I did so, the chicken was in huge chunks and there were hardly any onions and peppers in the mix.  I set out to find a recipe to make from scratch. I tried one from Taste of Home that had good reviews and was quite happy with the flavors. I like being able to control how much salt goes into the dish.

Note: (To julienne means to cut food into short thin strips) I serve the onions and peppers separately because I have picky eaters that do not care for one or both, but if your family likes everything combine them with the chicken before serving.

Flavorful Chicken Fajita

adapted from Taste of Home Magazine (online) | Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 green bell pepper, julienned
• 1 large sweet onion, but into thin rings and separated
• 10 flour tortillas (warmed for 1 minute in microwave between damp paper towels)
• Toppings: Mexican cheese, salsa, slices of avocado

Instructions:

In a large zip-top bag, add the following ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, lemon juice, seasoned salt, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, paprika (red pepper flakes if using) and the sliced chicken breast strips. Close the top of the bag and massage the ingredients together until they are well combined and refrigerate the chicken for 1 to 4 hours.

Heat a large non stick skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Add the onions to the pan and season them with salt and pepper. Sauté the onions until they are softened and lightly caramelized. Remove cooked onions to a oven safe dish and keep warm.  Using the same pan, cook the bell pepper strips until softened. Season them with salt and pepper and set aside to keep warm.

Add remaining vegetable oil to the pan and cook the chicken mixture in batches until it is no longer pink.  Keep the chicken warm as you finish cooking the remaining chicken.

Heat the tortillas between damp paper towels in the microwave for 1 minute.

Serve.  Place a tortilla on each plate and top with chicken, onions, peppers.  Top with cheese, salsa, avocado if desired and fold two sides of the tortilla over the filling.  Enjoy!

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Mennonite Apple Crumble

My mother sent me this recipe some time ago, but I never got around to trying it.  It is similar to Apple Crisp, but sweeter. My family loved this dessert.  It is especially good served warm with ice cream of whipped cream.  Best of all, it is really easy to prepare.  I think next time I will increase the apples to 7 or 8 granny smith apples from the 5 I used this time.

Here is the recipe:

Mennonite Apple Crumble

Serves 5  |  adapted from an old Mennonite Recipe Book

Crumble topping:

• 3/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Apple filling:

• 5-8 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions:

Melt the butter.  In a small bowl, combine the oatmeal, sugar, baking soda and stir.  Add the melted butter and stir into the oatmeal mixture.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and stir to combine.  Add the apple pieces and stir to coat with the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Evenly spread the apple mixture in a greased baking dish (spray with Pam).  Top the apples with the oatmeal topping and gently press the crumble over the apples.

Bake at 375 F for 35 to 40 minutes.  Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

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