Beef Fajitas

I always think that summer's unofficial beginning is after Memorial Day Weekend. With sunshine and warmth come so many opportunities for picnics, grilling, and patio & outdoor eating... and with this in mind, I couldn't resist making some beef fajitas for my lovely guests last night.

I'm posting a few photos here, just to tempt you a bit with some images...

Beef Fajitas

Prep: 30 minutes

Chill: 60 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Makes: 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

12 ounces beef flank steak

1 tablespoon purchased Fajita seasoning (or see recipe below on item # 2)

12 4-inch flour, corn or rice tortillas

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 cup green sweet pepper cut into thin strips

½ cup thinly sliced onion

¾ cup chopped tomato

1 tablespoon lime juice

Avocado / Guacamole (optional)

Bottled salsa and sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1.       If desired, partially freeze the beef for easier slicing. If using steak, trim fat from meat and thinly slice steak across the grain into bite-sized pieces.

2.       For homemade fajita seasoning: combine 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon minced garlic, and ¼ teaspoon onion powder. Use only 2 teaspoons of the fajita seasoning and save remainder for seasoning the onions and peppers later on.

3.       Place meat pieces into the bowl with the Fajita seasoning in a bowl. Make sure meat pieces are well coated; cover and chill for 1 hour.

4.       In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add sweet pepper, onion, and the remaining 1 teaspoon of fajita seasoning. Cook and stir until crisp and tender. Remove from skillet.

5.       Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the chilled meat pieces to the skillet. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until desired doneness. Drain well.

6.       Return onions and peppers to the skillet with the meat.

7.       Stir in tomato. Cook and stir 1 minute or until heated through. Remove skillet from heat and stir in lime juice.

8.       Wrap tortillas in tin foil. Heat the oven to 350F and warm tortillas for about 10 minutes.

9.       To serve, fill warm tortillas with meat mixture. If desired, top meat mixture with fresh tomato, fresh avocado or guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Roll up tortillas and serve with lime wedges.