Fajita Fiesta + Homemade Guacamole

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Keep it simple or go all out. Why fight the crowds on Cinco de Mayo when you can celebrate at home? Pick your playlist and get ready for some festive kitchen fun! Here’s a sneak peek at a smart, delicious recipe from my family to yours. Smoky chicken fajitas in your cast iron skillet, no charcoal required. Squeeze on some fresh lime, dress them up the way you like. Easy enough for a weeknight, just be sure to recruit many hands to assemble the festive buffet! Ole!

All the fixings for a homemade fiesta.

All the fixings for a homemade fiesta.

Fajita Fiesta

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced crosswise
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
  • 1 tablespoon Anc ho chile powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle chile powder (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ground pepper
  • juice of 1 lime

For serving:

Warm flour tortillas, shredded cheese, guacamole (recipe follows, here’s where the hands come in), jalapeno slices, lime wedges, sour cream,  ribbons of shredded colorful cabbage

HEAT oil in large skillet over medium heat.

ADD red and green bell peppers and onion and stir fry for 5 minutes until beginning to soften.

TRANSFER to a large bowl using tongs and return skillet to heat.

ADD chicken, garlic, ancho chile and optional chipotle powder, ground cumin and salt and pepper and stir-fry a few minutes until chicken is opaque.

ADD the cooked pepper mixture to the chicken and continue cooking until chicken is done, and peppers are heated through.

SQUEEEZE in the juice of 1 lime and toss to combine.

SERVE, buffet style, spooning chicken and peppers into tortillas, and topping as desired.

 

Classic Guacamole

No fiesta would be complete without the company of this wildly popular festive dip. Have the kids scoop the soft green goodness right from its shell and into a bowl and start smashing.  The hardest part of perfect guacamole is having your avocados ‘just right’ They are ripe when they are just softening when lightly pressed near the stem end and the skin begins to turn black-ish. They usually need a few days on the counter to ripen—to speed this up, place in a small paper bag along with a ripe banana and the process happens more quickly.

  • 2 medium avocados, ripened/soft
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • CUT the avocados in half, running your knife around the pit from stem to blossom end and back up again.

TWIST the halves in opposite directions to free the pit, and pull the halves apart.

DISLODGE the pit, then scoop the avocado out of the ‘shell’ into a medium bowl.

MASH the avocado with a large fork or potato masher, and stir in the lime juice and salt.

SERVE, or if not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate for up to 2 days.