Nontradtional Fajitas

First and for most... HI!!! We haven't posted in a long time so here we go... Now I originally was going to make my original recipe for nontraditional fajitas but we did't have a few of my usual ingredients so I ended up making a slightly different recipe... as I go through I will point out my changes... This new recipe turned out much much better... Now above I have a round steak that was marinated in my loves thrown together marinade which she marinated by accident but personally it worked out freaking awesome!!! Start by trimming off the fat, gristle, and other undesirables... Unless you like the fat but still take out the gristle... that part is just too blah... on a side note you could also use flank or skirt steak or if you have expensive tastes use any cut of beef or even chicken... 

Continue trimming and remove any bones... take any of the trimmings and cook those bad boys up for any dogs you may have... only beef bones though...

Once you have finished trimming your meat of choice it should look something like this...

Slice that beautiful piece of meat into any thickness you would like... I usually cut the steak into half inch to an inch thick slices...

Take out your skillet and start getting it heated up... medium to medium high heat is roughly where you want to be... As usual I will tell you my preferences... My iron skillet (given to me by my loving mother for Christmas) is my top choice next would be stainless steal... I am slowly trying to move away from average cookware such as anodized or non-stick pots and pans because of the harmful chemicals and carcinogens used to coat them... Also this is where I made my first change to my original recipe... I used to use a dutch oven or stock pot...

If you are using cast iron it should be well seasoned but you still need a cooking medium (oil)... I will be using a mixture... first a liberal drizzle of vegetable oil (canola oil would work too)... avoid using anything with a high smoking point or anything that will pop too much such as corn oil... 

Now sesame oil is kind of new discovery for me... I have always known of its existence but I never really cooked with it... We had some lying around from some of our Asian cuisine we have made so I decided to take a whiff and used it in some of my dishes and realized its amazing quality... it has a pleasant smoky aroma and brings that aroma and flavor to the food... a little bit of this stuff goes a long way so be careful... too much might over power the dish... 

Now of course practically every piece of art I create has bacon or bacon grease in it and this time I opted for just the grease... again don't use too much because it is quite poppy and it is high in cholesterol... But as with just about everything it is good in moderation. 

Now start cooking your steak... You don't want too cook it all the way quite yet... just till it is about half way to desired doneness...

Now peel up some garlic... sadly we only had about six cloves left but it did the trick... normally I would suggest anywhere from half to a whole bulb... but add however much you prefer... the easiest way to peel your garlic is to lay out your cloves and smash them lightly with the side of your knife which loosens the skin... Please be utterly careful not to cut yourself... knife safety is very important...

After you are finished with your peeling endeavor chop it up... I go with a rough mince but really you can cut it however you please... shoot you could even through in the cloves whole but cutting it up in some fashion helps release the oils in the garlic and lets it work its magic just a bit better...

Now once your meat is cooked about half way add the garlic... mmmm garlic!!!!

Some of the herbs and spices I used wouldn't show up against the color of the beef so I just took pictures of our the specific herb or spice... here, as the label clearly states is dried cilantro flakes... If you are one of those people who believe it tastes a bit soapy then you can choose not to use it but none the less I recommend it because the flavors will all come together nicely and the cilantro will not over power... just don't add a whole lot...

Luckily for you I did manage to get a picture of this spice in with the meat... This is Spanish paprika... any variety will work of course but the Spanish is what I had on hand... Paprika is another smoky ingredient and it has a wonderful fragrance and absolutely beautiful flavor... it is one of my favorites... add a liberal amount because it helps replace the flavor of grilling the steak in traditional fajitas...

This here is chili powder...  it adds a nice little kick and if you buy the good stuff it also has nice peppery flavor too it too...

Although I added fresh garlic I also use powdered garlic... be liberal if you are using supermarket packaged garlic powder and use less if you are using a higher quality powder...

And of course cumin... this spice also has a smokiness to it but  can be quite spicy if too much is used... we like our Tex-Mex spicy so I used a lot...

Oregano is typically used in Italian cuisine but I believe it to be quite universal thanks to the other dood... as a matter of fact the only reason it is being used is because of his pure unconditional love for it... that and it brings a nice mild spiciness to it... When adding any of your spices make sure your shaker top is on... when I added the oregano I didn't look and spilled almost half the jar... Luckily I'm super awesome and was able to remove the excess..

Now this is where I changed things up a bit... Normally I would use Kikkoman's teriyaki sauce which is not nearly as thick as the sauce I am using here... Another difference is I would use quite a bit of it... making it almost soupy... Now as to why I use an Asian sauce in my Tex-Mex I really have no explanation... for some reason it just works...

Just a light drizzle of this stuff will be enough... It should make a nice thin coat over your meat... another side note... this picture is freaking awesome... Let this cook for a few minutes so that the teriyaki forms glaze...

Now another change... Beer... Yes there are more uses for beer than drinking... it's really fun to cook with... I just grabbed what I had on hand which was Golden Cap by New Holland brewing company... Please don't use a low quality beer... yeah Budweiser is cheap but its gross... any local brews or micro-brewed beer is your best bet...

Now deglaze the pan with the beer... deglazing is the technique used to remove any of the browned bits and residue from the bottom of the pan to make a sauce... don't use the whole bottle unless you are making a large batch... for this about a fourth of cup will do the job...

Once it is deglazed it should look something like the deliciousness you see above... and in the top right hand corner of the picture you can see a little pile of brown stuffs... that would be some of that excess oregano... oopsies..

Now this part is optional... I like to add a little bit of left over coffee to my south of the border foods... it adds a nice layer of flavor... and keep in mind the little bit part... coffee has a strong flavor of its own...

Meanwhile, I, Theron, slice up some bell peppers. Any kind you like. We used green and some sort of yellowish  white one. Start by cutting it in half and taking out the seeds and membrane.

Then cut it into thin strips.

And here is the final product, with the green bell peppers on the left and the strange hybrid on the right

And here we added the peppers in with the onions that we also sliced thin.

Now we add the peppers and onion to the fajita concoction.

Mix in the veggies and add some water... not a whole lot... just about a half cup...

Then cover it and let it simmer till the veggies are tender... it shouldn't take any more than ten minutes... 

And voila... You have yourself a nice skillet filled with delicious nummy num nontraditional fajitas...

Now heat up some tortillas by any means necessary... normally I use corn tortillas for almost anything Tex-Mex that isn't a burrito or enchilada or anything real big but today we used flour... first of all because they were on hand and also because the corn wouldn't be able to hold itself together (awesome pun hopefully someone will get it since Theron obviously did not) thanks to the sauciness of the fajitas... 

Take your tortillas and add your fajita meat/veggies and top it off with your favorite toppings... This spectacular picture is of my girlfriends fajitas and she merely topped hers with Theron's freaking awesome Pico de Gallo... Which is amazing... I hate tomatoes and onions but this stuff is the stuff... but yeah anything really... cheese, bacon, fresh cilantro, bacon, sour cream, lettuce (none of that iceberg crap), spinach, bacon, or any other type of salsa... On a yet another side note... bacon would be really good on these... BACON BACON BACON... too bad I didn't think of that when I was eating mine... Shame on me...