Fajita Night

I hope everyone can tell by now that I love to cook.  I love creating things that are beautiful to the eyes, and it makes you want to eat it.  My favorite types of food to make are comfort food; pastas, sandwiches, and pizzas.  These are the types of food that inspire me.  Mexican food, not so much.  In my mind, I think of packaged taco seasoning, canned enchilada sauce, and bland rice and beans.  Whenever I tried to make tex-mex food at home, that is exactly what I got.  Until, I was watching Food Network and an epiphany.  Think fresh!  The ideas came rolling out.  No pre-packaged ingredients or seasoning packets.  Here's a look at Mexican night at the Milling house:

Venison Fajitas 

Look at all the beautiful colors!  Creating this dish was like painting a picture.  Now, don't get intimidated by the venison part.  This recipe would work equally well with chicken breast or beef tenderloin.

Cut your protein into slices.  I am pretty sure this picture is what Matt's dreams look like...

In a medium bowl, add your protein, 1 TBSP of olive oil, a handful of chopped cilantro, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp of paprika, the juice and zest of one lime, and salt and pepper.

Stir all of your ingredients together and set aside

Take a yellow onion and slice half of it into half moons.  Save the other half for another night.

Grab your bell pepper.  I used an orange pepper because they were on sale.  Any color would work, but the orange was just so pretty!  I only used half of the pepper for this recipe.  The other half went in my lunch with some hummus :) #noms

Cut your pepper into strips. 

Mix your peppers and onions with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Heat up your cast iron skillet or grill pan to medium high heat.  The pan needs to be really hot before you put anything on it.  Your goal here is to develop a yummy crust on the outside of the meat.  I put the onions and peppers on first because they take longer to cook than the meat.  If you are cooking with chicken, it will be about the same amount of time.  If I could do something differently, I would have cooked just the meat first then the peppers and onions, but everything still turned out delicious so either way is fine!

Mmm... so good!  

Look at that yummy crust!  I cooked the meat for about 4-5 minutes.  If I have learned anything when cooking with deer meat, it is not to overcook it!  Unless you like chewing your food a whole lot, that is.  

Cover your meat while you are finishing off your veggies

Look at the char on those peppers.  That is what you want to see!

Toss 'em all together and now it is tortilla time!

Place your tortillas on the hot grill pan.  You are using every bit of the flavor left on the pan.

Flip your tortilla over.  

Sprinkle cheddar cheese (or any kind you like) over the top.  Add a dash of paprika.

Watch it melt and feel your mouth watering.

OMG... so delicious.  Take your cheesy tortilla and top it with the meat, peppers, and onions.  Garnish your fajitas with a dollop of salsa and sour cream.  A few leaves of cilantro and its dinner time!  Ole!!

Ingredients

1 1/2lbs of venison, beef tenderloin, or chicken breast; cut into strips

1 TBSP of olive oil (plus some for drizzling)

1 lime (juice and zest)

1/3 cup of chopped cilantro

3 garlic cloves (minced)

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 bell pepper

8 tortillas

1 cup of cheddar (shredded)

salsa

sour cream

Directions

Heat a grill pan/cast iron skillet to medium high heat.  Place your strips of venison to a medium bowl.  Add the olive oil, lime juice and zest, cilantro, minced garlic, paprika, and salt and pepper.  On a cutting board, cut your onion into half moons and slice your bell pepper into strips.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

To your heated grill pan, add your peppers, onions, and meat.  Cook your meat for 4-5 minutes until it has a crispy crust on the outside and is still pink on the inside (if you are using chicken, cook all the way through).  Remove your meat from the pan to a plate and cover for ten minutes.  Continue to cook your veggies until they have char marks in a few places.   Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside.

Place your tortillas over your seasoned skillet.  Brown each tortilla on one side and flip it.  Sprinkle cheese over your tortilla with a dash of paprika.  Allow cheese to melt and remove it to a plate.  Do this with 8 tortillas.  On each cheesy tortilla, place meat, onions, and peppers.  Garnish each fajita with a dollop of daisy, salsa, and a few cilantro leaves.  Serves 4-6.