My family loves tacos. We have them for dinner at least once a month and often several times. It's especially easy to put them on the menu again and again when you can make different variations and never feel like you're having the same meal twice. For instance, I recently decided to step away from ground beef and seared steak in favor of some great chicken fajita fillings. My family adored them and they were particularly packed with lots of veggies, so I felt great feeding them to my family:
What's more, dinner was on the table in a half hour. I decided to use boneless skinless chicken thighs. You could use breasts instead, but I find it's too easy to dry them out and if you happen to have any leftovers (ha!), the dark meat will reheat better. These tacos are great without any extra toppings, but my daughter is a guacamole fiend and if I toss all the ingredients in a resealable bag, she'll finish the job in rapid time. So we tend to have that with tacos for sure. After all, who hates help in the kitchen?
The key to the amazing flavor in these tacos is the simple marinade the chicken rests in before it gets a quick cook in the skillet. If you are looking for a filling with a bit more moisture, you could reserve the marinade and add it to the pan after the chicken's fully cooked. I prefer a drier filling, both for texture and cleanup purposes.
Tacos tend to be a weeknight meal, so I keep things simple with some chips to have with salsa and the guacamole and maybe some sliced fruit. If I happen to have a bit of wine with dinner, I'll even toss some of the fruit in and call it lazy sangria. Who says you can't have a taco party during the week?
Chicken Fajita Tacos
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced into thin strips
- 1/4 c. canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 T. lime juice
- Cooking spray
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 8-12 mini sweet peppers, seeded and sliced
- Flour tortillas (or corn tortillas for gluten free)
Place the chicken in a shallow dish. Whisk together the next nine ingredients (canola oil through lime juice) and pour over the chicken. Cover the dish and chill for 20 minutes.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add the onions cook them until they are almost soft. Add the pepper strips; sear the peppers and onion until slightly charred. Remove pepper and onion mixture from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, add the marinated chicken by using a slotted spoon to move the chicken to the skillet; discard the remaining marinade. Cook the chicken until fully cooked and browned on the outside; add the pepper/onion mixture back into the skillet with the chicken. Cook for 1 more minute or until the onions are hot and the mixture is combined well. Serve with corn or flour tortillas and any toppings you prefer.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes