Monday, July 16, 2007

Triple Play Fajitas

The grill was talking to me yesterday; I could swear I heard it whispering "Fajitas!". Of course, I was mistaken! When I got closer, I could hear it was saying "Triple Play Fajitas"! So, even though this meal takes a bit of time and effort to prepare, I went shopping, acquired the ingredients, and began! Four people ate and loved these yesterday, if you try them I am sure you will NOT be disappointed!

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds flank steak
3 large chicken breasts
1 pound large shrimp (cleaned with tails removed)
3 large Onions cut in large wedges
2 red, 1 yellow, and 1 Green large Bell Peppers sliced6 cloves garlic, crushed
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika
1.5 tablespoons Samball Oelek
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Red Monkey Cajun Spice Rub
1 teaspoon Red Monkey Mango Habanero Rub
1 teaspoon Red Monkey BBQ Spice Rub
2 limes cut in half

On the side:
Salsa
Fat Free Sour Cream
Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Shredded Lettuce
LA Tortilla Factory Tortillas

Misc:
Wooden skewers
Non-stick cooking spray
3 large Ziploc freezer storage bags

Preparation
Roll out flank steak flat and with a tenderizer mallet pound both sides of steak across entire surface. In one of the freezer bags add 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon Red Monkey BBQ Spice Rub, 1/2 tablespoon Samball Oelek, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground back pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the juice from 1/2 a lime. Mix well and add steak removing excess air from bag before sealing and then insuring steak is well covered in marinate. Place in fridge.

In one of the freezer bags add 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon Red Monkey Cajun Spice Rub, 1/2 tablespoon Samball Oelek, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground back pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the juice from 1/2 a lime. Mix well and add chicken breasts removing excess air from bag before sealing and then insuring chicken is well covered in marinate. Place in fridge.

Now the really fun part; take the shrimp and place on skewers. I make sure each shrimp is pierced by the large neck area and about half an inch from where the tail was (thus getting a skewer of shrimpy letter C's - this insures the shrimp do not move around while grilling or fall off of the skewer) As each skewer is completed break off or cut off the sharp end of the skewer to avoid puncturing the marinate bag. Once all the shrimp has been skewered, in the remaining freezer bag add 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon Red Monkey Mango Habanero Rub Rub, 1/2 tablespoon Samball Oelek, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground back pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the juice from 1/2 a lime. Mix well and add skewered shrimp removing excess air from bag before sealing and then insuring shrimp is well covered in marinate. Place in fridge.

For best results marinate at least several hours, turning the bags over every hour.

Spray a large frying pan liberally with non-stick cooking spray and place on medium heat. Add sliced peppers, cover and cook three minutes. Stir well, and spray surface of peppers with non-stick spray. Cook covered another three minutes. Remove cover spraying surface of peppers with non-stick spray and stir, and sprinkle 1/8th teaspoon freshly ground back pepper on top. Continue cooking until peppers are at your preference for fajitas; some like a bite to them, some like them soft so this can vary from a couple of minutes to another 6 minutes or so. Remove peppers to large disk and cover with plastic wrap. Do NOT clean frying pan, the remnants of the peppers cooking will give the onions an excellent flavor.

At this point your grill should be lit and allow to pre-heat to a temperature of 550 degrees. I used a gas grill. The meat will take about 8 to 9 minutes to cook, so time it with the onions preparation below.

Spray frying pan liberally with non-stick spray and and place on medium heat and add onions, sprinkling a half teaspoon of salt over the surface. Cover and cook three minutes. Stir well, and spray surface of onions with non-stick spray. Cook covered another three minutes. Remove cover spraying surface of onions with non-stick spray and stir, and sprinkle 1/8th teaspoon freshly ground back pepper on top. Continue cooking until onions are at your preference for fajitas; some like a bite to them, some like them soft so this can vary from a couple of minutes to another 6 minutes or so.

On the grill place the chicken breasts and cook three minutes. Add the flank steak and shrimp skewers and cook an additional three minutes. Squeeze juice from the remaining half lime over the meats and shrimp before turning and then squeeze the remainder over the top. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes until at done. Remove to cutting board and slice chicken and steak. Serve shrimp skewered on each plate.

That's it! Ready to eat! I like mine with all three types of meat, peppers, onions, fat free sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and either some hot taco sauce or additional Samball Oelek! This recipe serves four to six people depending on how hungry they all are. Other than various pasta dishes, this is my favorite non-pasta food.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Chris,

I fear that the Fugi apple and spring water I am (was) enjoying pale in comparison to your fajitas!

- David