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Fajitas - Chicken or Beef

By Laura Dolson, About.com

Updated: July 25, 2008

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Before you ask, yes, there is soy sauce in this recipe (I consider it the "secret ingredient") I got the idea years ago when I asked the cook in a Mexican restaurant about his great fajitas, so I feel I'm on safe ground. Skirt steak is traditional, but you can really use whatever beef you like, or boneless skinless chicken breast. I usually use green onions for grilling (you can get more for the same carbs, and more fiber) but regular onions if I'm making them in a skillet.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5-2 lbs skirt steak or other beef or chicken easily cut into strips
  • 1 medium onion, sliced, or 15 medium scallions (green onions) - same amount of carb!
  • 2 large Bell peppers, sliced - two different colors is nice
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 Tablespoons oil

Preparation:

1. Combine soy sauce, lime juice, chili powder, and oil. If grilling, save a couple of Tablespoons aside to toss with the vegetables.

2. Slice the meat into about 1/2 inch slices. If using skirt steak, flank steak, or other meat with an obvious grain (lines through the meat), be sure to cut perpendicular to the grain, or you will be chewing a very long time. (Think about it - you want to create a lot of short fibers, not a few long ones.) How to Cut Meat Against the Grain

3. If cooking in a skillet, marinate everything together in a bowl or plastic bag (a zip-type works well). If grilling, marinate the meat and veggies separately. Even a few minutes helps, up to 2 hours is great.

4. If grilling, remove from marinade and grill.

5. For cooking in a skillet (preferably regular, not nonstick), cook the meat first (it will probably take two batches, depending upon your pan). Add a little oil to the skillet and get it very hot (the oil will shimmer). If you don't get it hot enough (or crowd too much meat in), the meat will steam instead of browning. When the meat is browned, remove and add veggies. When they begin to soften, return meat to skillet to heat through.

6. Serve with salsa, sour cream, cilantro (if desired) and guacamole. If low-carb tortillas are available, that is a nice addition, but a fork works fine.

Serves 5

Nutritional Information:Meat and vegetables, with 1.5 pound skirt steak and green onions, have 4.5 grams of effective carbohydrate and 2 grams of fiber, 28 grams of protein, and 307 calories per serving. The marinade could add as much as 1 gram of carb (the whole recipe has 5 grams), but obviously not all of it makes it to the table.
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Laura Dolson
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Laura Dolson
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