- Wait 'til you try these chicken fajitas!
This recipe is easy, loaded with flavor,
and who doesn't love a meal in one pan?
Hey everyone, it's Natasha of www.natashaskitchen.com.
I'm gonna show you how
to make our family favorite chicken fajitas.
And I'm hungry,
so let's get started.
We'll start with the chicken marinade.
I like to let the chicken sit
and marinate for a while while I'm prepping the veggies
so that it's packed with flavor.
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Squeeze two tablespoons of fresh lime juice
into a large mixing bowl.
This is my favorite citrus squeezer.
It seems to have lasted the longest without breaking
and I will link to this in the notes.
To that bowl, add two tablespoons of olive oil
along with chili powder, paprika, ground cumin,
some onion powder and garlic powder,
and, of course, some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Stir that together until it's combined.
And this marinade smells so good!
That's gonna add so much flavor to these chicken fajitas.
Now you'll need two large chicken breasts
or about 1 1/2 pounds total.
Cut those in half lengthwise
for faster and more even cooking.
Once you have your four chicken cutlets,
transfer those to the marinade.
Turn the cutlets in the marinade
to make sure they're evenly and generously coated
in that sauce.
Set that aside and let it rest at room temperature
while you prep your veggies.
Since this process is pretty quick,
there's no need to refrigerate the chicken.
A quick hand wash and onto the veggie prep.
Once we start cooking, this recipe moves really fast
so I like to have everything prepped and ready to go
before we fire up the stove.
Cut your bell peppers in half,
then scrape out the seeds and remove the tops.
You can cut away the little white portions
in the center of the bell pepper, but it's not necessary.
Cut them into 1/4 inch slices.
You can use whatever color bell pepper you have on hand
but using a variety adds just so much color
and makes the recipe more fun.
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Now thinly slice one medium onion.
For fajitas, I like to cut it in half,
then cut off both ends and peel off the outer skin.
Now thinly slice your onions,
going with the grain from the root to the stem.
And the onion tears were crazy on this one.
It took me a little bit to recover.
We're ready to start cooking. (upbeat music continues)
Set a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.
I prefer using a coated cast iron pan
because it's non-reactive.
Remember, there's some lime juice in the chicken marinade.
Once the skillet is hot, add a tablespoon of oil,
then add your chicken in a single layer.
Saute for three to five minutes per side,
depending on the thickness of your chicken.
Cook until it's browned on both sides
and it reaches an internal temperature
of 165 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer.
I really do think using a thermometer
will make you a better cook
and I love this one. (upbeat music continues)
I will link to it in the notes.
Once the chicken is done,
transfer that to a cutting board and let it rest
for a few minutes while you start cooking your veggies.
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Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet,
then add your onion and sliced bell peppers.
Continue sauteing the veggies over medium heat,
stirring frequently until the veggies are softened
and golden in spots.
This takes about five to six minutes.
As you stir, make sure you scrape the bottom
to get all those yummy bits of flavor from the pan.
A couple minutes into cooking,
I like to sample one of the veggies
and add some salt and pepper to taste.
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As the veggies release steam,
you'll notice they start to create their own pan sauce
from all the flavorings in the skillet.
This results in some seriously flavorful fajitas.
When the veggies are almost done,
thinly slice your chicken against the grain
and add that back to the pan.
Because we used that thermometer,
you can see the chicken is perfectly cooked and super juicy.
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People will ask me how I got my chicken so juicy.
And my typical answer is, I didn't overcook it.
Stir that together to combine.
Take your skillet off the heat.
And to keep it warm before serving,
I'm gonna cover that with the lid and toast my tortillas.
Toasting tortillas is quick
and there are so many ways to do it.
You can toast tortillas on a cast iron skillet,
on a griddle, or even an outdoor grill,
but my favorite is to do it over a gas burner on my stove.
Now, keep an eye on it
because it takes just seconds per side.
You should see some light charring
on each side before you flip.
As you take them off the heat,
wrap them in a dry kitchen towel to keep them warm.
It also keeps them from drying out.
(Natasha laughs)
Who's excited? (upbeat music continues)
Fresh, toasty, and warm fajitas and warm tortillas.
And I love toasting them over the flame like this
because they get that beautiful charring effect
and it just makes it feel a little more authentic.
I love it. (upbeat music continues)
All right, now we're gonna build these fajitas
because I'm hungry.
And I've got all my toppings prepped and ready to go.
It's nice to have 'em prepped ahead of time.
That way they're ready when fajitas are warm.
So we're just gonna load this up.
Get tons of veggies, tons of chicken,
and I love that this is a meal in one.
It's just loaded with veggies.
It is so satisfying, such a feel-good dinner.
And it's nice to squeeze some fresh lime juice
over the top of your fajita.
So serve with lime wedges for sure.
And a little bit of cilantro.
Okay, here we go. (upbeat music continues)
Our toppings, we've got our avocado.
And you can also use guacamole on fajitas.
It's very delicious.
And cheese.
And you can use whatever cheese you like.
I think this one's a Monterey jack cheese.
You can use cheddar, you can use mozzarella.
You can also add fresh iceberg lettuce to this.
When my husband worked at Chili's,
they'd put that in the little caddies
when they served the chicken fajitas.
So that's a classic.
And then we've got our toppings.
So I love to use salsa.
You can use homemade salsa, store-bought salsa,
also fresh pico de gallo.
And we have such a good recipe for that.
It's delicious on chicken fajitas.
So I'm just gonna top with some salsa.
This makes it super saucy and adds a lot more flavor.
Okay.
And a dollop or two
of sour cream. (upbeat music continues)
So good.
My mouth is watering.
I'm really sorry if you guys are so hungry watching this.
Oh, I just, I cannot wait.
Okay, here we go. (upbeat music continues)
We're gonna just dive into the taste test
because everything good,
everything we love about chicken fajitas
is wrapped in this tortilla.
So epic and delicious. (upbeat music continues)
Okay.
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Oh!
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I am just...
Do I have salsa over here on my face?
I am just in such a happy place right now.
I'd like to just cut all the cameras and finish eating this
because it is packed with flavor
and you can really taste the spices on the chicken.
Make this once and you'll make it over and over
because your family will give you recipe requests.
I hope you guys love this
and we'll see you on the next episode of Natasha's Kitchen.
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Speaking of guacamole for fajitas,
we have our favorite recipe for guacamole
in our new cookbook, which is finally available to order.
You'll find a link to this in the notes
and there's lots more of good things in here.
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That was awkward.
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