Freakin' Awesome Fajitas

Growing up I never was one to fancy the fajita. The whole giant pieces of onions grossed me out. That is until Chili's came to town! I was in love! But I never even attempted to make my own Fajitas until after I was married when my husband peaked interest. I stumbled upon this recipe after a good Google search. 

Now, you should know that this next recipe is not like Chili's version BUT it is SUPER good. It's actually one of the best recipes I've tasted for Fajitas. (It's also a great way to eat more vegetables!) The key to this recipe: marinating your meat! It needs to soak for about 2 hours but other than that it throws together in about 10-20 minutes. We serve ours on Gluten Free corn tortillas and walla! Makes a great meal. 

Even my toddler eats this! For Audrey, I simply cut up the Fajita vegetables in small pieces and serve it over the marinade rice (see very bottom for recipe).  
 

Fajitas
(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Adapted by jalene from a recipe on Food.com

Meat Marinade Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp gluten free soy sauce
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Wright's liquid smoke (is verified gluten free)
• 3-5 drops hot sauce
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or 1 lb sirloin steak, cut into strips (I use more like 1/2 lb of meat just because we like more veggies)

Directions for marinade: 
Mix all the ingredients above together and put in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight. 

Vegetables you'll need: 

• 2 Organic Bell Peppers of different colors, sliced thin *see note
• 1 large onion, sliced thin

Vegetable Sauce Ingredients: 

• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp gluten free soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp lime juice
• dash of sea salt
• dash of black pepper
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

---

Directions: 

1. Take meat out of marinade (but save the marinade!) and cook over medium heat. After cooked, set aside and keep warm. (See my note below about searing meat.) 
2. Combine all the vegetable sauce ingredients and set aside. 
   
3. In a large pan, cook the onions and bell peppers in oil until desired consistency. 
4. Pour vegetable sauce over veggies and add cooked meat. 

Serve hot on GF corn tortillas. Avacado & Vegan Sour Cream are great additions. 

---

Notes from jalene: 

I use organic bell peppers because they are on the dirty dozen list. If organic is not available to you, use what you can. 

After taking a class from the Cancer Project I learned that searing your meat actuallys brings out 
carcinogenics which cause cancer. YIKES! You can read more about it HERE.  So, though it doesn't taste as good to not sear your meat, it's SO much better for you. And trust me, with the great marinade, you wont miss a thing. 
  

Now what to do with that leftover marinade:

If you know me, you know I don't like to waste and I've always hated throwing away the rest of the marinade! So after a couple of times making this recipe I came up with a great idea on how to use it! Make rice! 

I had almost 1 cup marinade leftover so I added a little bit more water to equal 1 cup exactly and threw it in the rice cooker with 1/2 cup calrose rice. It cooked up beautifully and compliments the Fajitas beautifully! If you start the rice right after you pull the meat out of the marinade, it will be ready just about the same time as you finish the Fajitas. 

---