Chicken Fajita Salad

When it comes to comfort food,
fajitas have always had a cushy spot in my "top 3."

We could probably even attribute them to my pre-teen chubby stage. 

And the chubby stage that lasted past pre-teen. 

Poor kid. 

I think that without fail, I ordered fajitas every single time I went to Chili's

for a consecutive decade of my life.

And to give you a little taste of how often I went to the beloved restaurant, my mama may or may not have had them on speed dial... just sayin...

Tonight when I was planning out our meals for the week, that familiar blend of tender carmelized onions and peppers tossed with scrumptiously seasoned chicken was seriously calling my name. There was only one problem--

I didn't have time to make corn tortillas,

and flour tortillas are a no-go on our current diet.

 So. I had to improvise...

Here is what happened:

CHICKEN FAJITA SALAD

*1 TBS vegetable or olive oil

*4-6 chicken tenderloins--diced or cut into strips

*1/2-1 tsp dry oregano

*1 med-sized yellow onion--thinly sliced

*1 green bell pepper--thinly sliced

*1 red bell pepper--thinly sliced

*1 clove garlic, minced

*2 TBS water

*1 8.5 oz pkg of quinoa & whole grain brown rice 

(you could obviously just cook up some quinoa and/or brown rice, but I was in a bit of a rush)

*1 15 oz can black beans

*Shredded cheddar cheese/sour cream (or greek yogurt. Mmm)/guacamole opt for garnish

1. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add sliced green & red peppers, onion and garlic. Cook 3-4 min. or until crisp-tender (don't overcook), stirring occassionally. Once cooked, remove veggies from pan and set aside.

2. Add chicken and oregano to skillet. Cook 4 min. or until chicken is no longer pink in center--stirring occassionally.

3. Return veggies to skillet. Add water. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and continue cooking 2 min. or until heated.

4. Serve veggie and chicken mixture over rice and black beans. Garnish with cheese, greek yogurt and guacamole.

Okay, maybe this doesn't look entirely appetizing. But it was delicious.

As if this wasn't enough already, I served it alongside my current love-affair.

Quick and Easy Salsa.

Which can be found in this cookbook

and possibly on this blog.

Quick and Easy Salsa

*2 fresh tomatoes

*1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

*1 clove garlic, minced

*1/3 cup sliced green onions

*3 TBS chopped cilantro

*1/4 teaspoon chili powder

*1 medium lime, juiced

Combine all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The end.

It's that quick. And it's that easy.

Which is why I have made it every week for the past three weeks.

That, and because it gives me an excuse to use gobs of cilantro.

Mmmm.... Cilantro....