Fajitas

I was in a mexican food mood tonight so I decided to make fajitas because they are quick cooking. Random Fact of the day: Did you know fajitas literally means skirt steak and doesn't refer to the cooking method. When you have chicken or shrimp fajitas they're technically not fajitas. Weird right?

When I went to the store today they didn't have skirt steak which was my original goal but I found marinated carne asada. The flavor was really delicious when cooked but if your store doesn't have any go with the skirt steak. Rub steak with canola oil and season with salt, pepper, and some lime juice.

There are lots of different sides for this dish. Feel free to make anything that sounds good to you. Some suggestions: salsa, grilled onions and peppers (below), Avocado Crema (recipe in left over green tacos post), beans, rice, cheese, and lettuce.

Jerry's comments on the night, per his request "making up his own rating system out of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) '4 because it was very good". I asked him why it wasn't a 5 and he replied "excellent has to be a very hard complicated meal". Haha I love people's input! I'll have to think of something really fancy to whip up next time I feed him.

Ingredients: (this amount serves 2 people)
1 1/2 lbs carne asada or skirt steak
2 onions, sweet onions are better (look for sweet in name at store) but regular onions are fine
1 bell pepper (any color)
1 bag mexican cheese blend
1 14 oz can refried beans
Corn Tortillas

Directions:
1. pull meat out of fridge 20- 30 minutes before cooking.

2. Slice onions and bell pepper (seeds and ribs removed) very thin. Place in a pan with canola oil over medium high heat. Continue stirring ever few minutes until onions are caramelized and peppers are cooked.

3. Make any sides dishes like salsa, avocado crema, grate cheese, and shred lettuce.

4. Place meat on a really hot skillet greased with a little canola oil. Don't move the meat once it's down. Allow to sit, untouched!, for 4-5 minutes. there should be a nice crust. Flip beef over and allow to cook about 4 minutes. Once finished set aside on a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let rest for a minimum of 5 minutes.

5. Heat up refried beans in a pan. These are already seasoned but I add a dash of the following to add more flavor. This is totally optional- salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika.

6. Slice up beef. There are natural lines in the beef. Cut PERPENDICULAR to these. Make thin slices and if they are too long cut in half or thirds. You want these pieces to be just a little bigger then bit size. Toss in juices that have collected during resting.

7. The last step is to wrap up some tortillas in a cloth dish towel and heat in the microwave for about a minute.

8. Set the table with all the sides, meat, and tortillas and allow everybody to make whatever fajita they want!