Stovetop Chicken Fajitas

I’m not the type of blogger who makes a recipe and runs to my computer to blog about it.  I usually have a list of 10 or so things backed up to be blogged about over the course of a few weeks…new items get added to said list (I keep it as a Stickie so it’s always quickly accessible) almost as quickly as they drop off when I blog about them.  But folks, today, I’m breaking my own “rules.”  Kyle and I made these chicken fajitas last night for dinner and we loved them so much that I couldn’t bear to keep them a secret from you.  I seriously gushed about them all night long, got sad when I packed them up for our lunches today, and got giddy again when I remembered there were still leftovers for lunch today.

The technique to making these fajitas isn’t really any different from my usual fajitas: sauté peppers and onions, remove from the pan, cook the protein, slice and serve.  What puts them completely over the top is the sauce the chicken is cooked in.  It’s a unlikely combination of orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, and garlic but the flavors combine and cook down into this amazing sauce that you’ll drizzle over the chicken, peppers, and onions before serving.  I had been dying to make grilled chicken fajitas this week but since our grill is still out of commission since it took a nose-dive when our deck collapsed this winter, I opted for this recipe instead and I’m not sure I’ll ever get to try the other recipe.  This one is just too much of a good thing to pass on next time I’m craving fajitas!

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Stovetop Chicken Fajitas
source: The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook via Annie’s Eats

2 teaspoons canola oil
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin
1 red onion, halved and sliced thin
Salt and pepper
4 (6‑ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, pounded if necessary
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¾ cup minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I used 1 ½ tsp ancho chile powder in place of the chipotle chiles)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped medium
3 scallions, sliced thin
8 whole-wheat flour tortillas, warmed
Cilantro, lowfat sour cream, and lime wedges, for serving:

Heat the oil in a 12‑inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and well-browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cover to keep warm.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Combine the orange juice, ½ cup of the cilantro, Worcestershire, garlic, and chipotles in the skillet. Add the chicken and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, about 5 minutes. When the liquid is simmering, flip the chicken over, cover, and continue to cook until the chicken registers 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes longer.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred it into bite-sized pieces when cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, continue to simmer the sauce over medium heat until slightly thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in the mustard, tomato, scallions, remaining ¼ cup cilantro, and shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with the pepper-onion mixture and warm tortillas.

Per Serving (2 fajitas): Cal 550; Fat 11g; Sat Fat 1g; Chol 100mg; Carb 57g; Protein 49; Fiber 7g; Sodium 670mg

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