Chicken Fajita Burritos

Darren grew up in the Southwest, so eating food wrapped in a tortilla is for him like eating lima beans cooked with pork is for me. His mom always says you can wrap anything in a tortilla, so today I'm sharing my recipe for fajitas.

I have been working on my fajita recipe since my grandmother gave me a stove-top grill for my first apartment in 1997. I don't think I ever cooked anything for her before she passed away several years ago. That's a shame, but I have put that little stove top grill to good use. I like to think she'd be pleased. She made a delicious apple cake with caramel icing. Maybe one of these days, I'll get around to sharing it on here.

Since I've been making fajitas for nearly 15 years, I'd say I've got a pretty good handle on them at this point. At least, I make fajitas that Darren and I both like. His mom likes them, too. I don't eat tomatoes, but if you like them, feel free to add them to the recipe.

I used to make my fajitas on a stove-top grill, but lately, I've been using a griddle. I like the higher sides of the griddle, as I tend to make a mess when I cook. I like to make my spice mixture first. I mix salt, pepper, chili powder, and several kinds of ground chilies in a gallon ziplock bag with a bit of vegetable oil. I actually do this twice, because I like to marinate my meat and vegetable separately. I have no explanation for this.

Then I chop up some bell peppers and onions and slice some chicken (or beef, but usually chicken).

I add the veggies to one bag and the meat to the other, and let them stand for at least 20 minutes.

I start the veggies on the griddle over medium heat and cook them until the onions start to become transparent and the peppers begin to brown. I stir them often.

Then I push them to one end of the griddle and add the meat.

Once the meat has browned on both sides, I mix it with the veggies.

I always look for the largest slice of chicken and cut into it to make sure it is done. Then I serve up the fajitas on flour tortillas. For this particular meal, we used giant burrito-sized tortillas because we already had them on hand.

Add refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese, and whatever toppings you'd like.

Then roll it up and dig in! Darren's burrito would barely close, but that's okay!

Darren likes to pile everything in his burrito, and I like my guacamole on the side, because I like the cold guacamole to contrast with the hot burrito. Eat them however you see fit.

Enjoy!