Family Fun with Fajitas!

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Well, I have the perfect suggestion! Fajitas are perfect whether you are cooking for the weekend or in need of a quick and easy weeknight dinner! Fajitas are super easy and fun to prepare and enjoy especially when using my quick and flavorful Basil Garlic Rub. This rub makes grilling super easy and affordable because it works well with meats of all kinds, pork, poultry and seafood. Today I grilled flank steak, chicken breasts and jumbo shrimp. There’s something for everyone!  Those who like all three — flank steak, chicken and shrimp — are in luck! Because there are so many people allergic to shrimp and others who prefer not eat red meat, I separate everything when marinating and grilling.

Skirt steak is also a great choice for fajitas. The key to the flank or skirt steak is to cut across the grain which breaks up the fibers (tenderizing your meat).  I also cut my steak slices thinly on an angle.

Blend together and rub all over your meat, poultry or shrimp. Cover and let sit 30 minutes for meat and chicken, and only 10 minutes for your shrimp as the acid in the lime or lemon juice will begin cooking your shrimp. You can also marinate your meat and chicken overnight which you know tastes great!

When ready to grill, begin with your flank steak.  This will take the longest and will need time to rest. Cutting into meat or poultry too soon will allow the juices to release and we don’t want that! Cook your flank steak as you like, but it is best to grill 3 minutes per side. This will yield approximately medium rare doneness for an average cut of flank steak. Skirt steak will need less time.

If you are cooking your steak indoors and your pan starts to smoke too much, don’t panic –simply reduce the heat to medium-high. We want to brown the steak,  not burn it. Remove your steak from the pan and let sit, tented with foil, for 5 minutes. Bring on the juicy flavorful steak!

While your steak is resting, cook peppers and onions with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt on the stove top until slightly browned. Set aside.

Grill your chicken only 2 to 3 minutes per side or until juices run clear.  There are two methods for cooking chicken –dry or moist heat. Grilling is a method of cooking with dry heat and chicken breast typically take 8 to 10 minutes, but this will depend on a couple of things. How thick are your chicken breasts? Are they boneless or bone-in? Boneless chicken breast take less time to cook. Also making sure that the thickness of your chicken breasts are even will help them cook well. Chicken breast too thin in one area and too thick in another will make for some dry parts of your meat, so be sure to pound out evenly.

For your shrimp (this couldn’t be easier), skewer and grill for only 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until the shrimp turns pink.

Now for the fun part… the fixin’s!

We love serving a variety of toppings with our fajitas, and after all, this is what makes it a Fun Fajita Friday Night for everyone! Each person can make their own combination.

Here are some of our family’s favorite fajita toppings:

guacamole

salsa

sour cream

peppers and onions

fresh limes (for their juice)

shredded cheeses — we like the extra sharp artisan cheddar cheese at BJ’s

shredded iceberg lettuce

…and we always serve them with warm flour tortillas!

FUN with PERMUTATIONS

Teach your kids about permutations!  A permutation of a set of objects is an arrangement of those objects into a particular order. For example, there are six permutations of the set {1,2,3}, namely 1, 2, 3, (1,3,2), (2,1,3), (2,3,1), (3,1,2), and (3,2,1). One might define an anagram of a word as a permutation of its letters. The study of permutations in this sense generally belongs to the field of combinatorics.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_permutation_in_math#ixzz1zC6M0XSy

All of these fresh ingredients were purchased at my favorite wholesale club — BJ’s Membership Club! BJ’s has a wonderful meat department with butchers who are happy to help you and a produce section filled with organic produce with a 30% off savings.  Who says healthy eating has to be expensive? Tomorrow I will be featuring this recipe on CBS in Charlotte.

One of the items I picked up while shopping yesterday for the segment was this Iced Infusion Pitcher:

There are two really neat reasons we decided to feature this on tomorrow’s television segment:

1. It comes with a Fruit Infusion Rod which allows you to place fruit slices like lemon, lime or orange, or berries, like blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, or herbs like mint, etc.  I filled my pitcher with raspberries and blueberries! Simply fill your pitcher with water and then add the berries, etc to your fruit infusion rod (seen in picture) to infuse a fresh, natural, and healthy fruity flavor!

2. It also comes with a Freezer Ice Tube (which is currently in my freezer so it not seen in this picture). This tube (filled with frozen water) keeps your beverages chilled for hours. This also helps if you are storing a sweet tea or fruit beverage in your pitcher because it will not dilute your beverage -I love this pitcher!

Run and get your family one of these! You will be enjoying refreshing lemon, lime or orange water or berry infused sweet teas before you know it! The cost is only $14.99!

Happy Friday Friends!

From our heart to yours,

Elise and family