Fajitas II, from the family cookbook

Chicken Fajitas II

I’ve fiddled with my fajitas a bit (don’t give me that look, Echo!). It’s more complicated but still quite tasty.

Serves my family of 6

1 cup of rice, uncooked
salt, to taste
6 chicken thighs, boneless skinless
3 T. Grill Mates Sweet and Smoky rub with cinnamon and chipotle
1-2 T butter
1 large onion, rough chopped
2 large bell peppers, one each red and green, seeded and rough chopped
1 can of mushroom bits and pieces, very well drained
4-6 roasted roma tomato halves, chopped
condiments as desired, sour cream, cheese, salsa, lime juice, olives, fresh tomatoes, avocado, hot sauce
6-8 6” Tortillas (I like wheat)
More butter, salt, and (optional) fresh cilantro

Echo, don’t be intimidated by this wall of text. It’s a simple recipe, really; I’m just overly verbose. Start your rice. Salt the rice water until it tastes like ocean water. Use a rice cooker. I love those things. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add in the chicken thighs (frozen or thawed, doesn’t matter) and sprinkle the rub over the meat. Cover and cook until the bottoms are cooked. Flip the meat and schmear it around in the spices. Cover and cook until the other side is cooked. Remove to a cutting board and take pan off of heat. It doesn’t matter if it’s cooked through yet. Chop the meat into rough pieces and return to pan, and return pan to heat. If the meat is cooked through, add a splash of water and stir the meat into the caramelized spices. If it isn’t cooked through, it’ll sweat enough on its own to be fine. Either way, get all the tasty stuff off the bottom of the pan, make sure the chicken is cooked through, and put it into a bowl. Use your best judgement about how much oil is still in the pan. If it’s too dry, add the butter before adding the onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook until the onions are tender (yes, I prefer tender fajita veggies) and the mushrooms are turning color. Add in the roasted tomatoes and heat through. Remove to another bowl. Heat tortillas on a hot skillet or electric griddle. Toss your cooked rice with small chunks of butter, a pinch or two of salt, and the (optional) cilantro. My fav way to assemble mine is to forgo the tortilla. Small bed of rice, sprinkled with lime juice. Top with a small sprinkling of cheese, a scoop of veggies, a scoop of chicken, a sprinkling of lime juice, and a dab of sour cream. If I have avocados, it doesn’t matter where they are as long as they end up in my belly.