Cinco de Mayo Countdown - Part One

I'm so excited for this week's post! My good friend and neighbor, Alma has agreed to be my guest! She is sharing a few of her recipes with me - and you! These are a few of the recipes she prepared with her mother as they prepared for Cinco de Mayo when she was a young girl growing up in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico.

Look for the little red balloon!

If you click on the map (shown above), you'll see that Orizaba isn't very far away from the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, it's only located about a hour-and-a-half from the Gulf. Maybe we can convince Alma to visit again and share some of her recipes for seafood?

For today, she'll be showing us how to make chicken fajitas, rice, and pico de gallo. Below are the ingredients you'll need to prepare the fajitas, rice, and pico de gallo. This will prepare about four servings. Just a quick note to avoid any confusion:  you will only need one white onion, one green pepper, and one red pepper.

Fajitas

3 medium-sized chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips

2 -3 tsp. Chef Merito Fajita Seasoning

1/4 - 1/3 cup Goya Criolla Marinade

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 medium white onion, sliced

1/2 green pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red pepper, cut into strips

Rice

olive oil

1 cup white rice

2 cups water

1 tbsp. Maggi Pollo Seasoning

1 Roma (plum) tomato, cut into small chunks

1/4 red pepper, cut into strips

1/4 greeen pepper, cut into strips

1/4 white onion, sliced

1/3 cup frozen mixed vegetables

Pico de Gallo

2 Roma (plum) tomatoes

1/4 white onion, cut into small dice

1/4 red pepper, cut into small dice

1/4 green pepper, cut into small dice

6 radishes, ends trimmed, cut into small dice

olive oil

2 limes, juiced

handful of fresh cilantro, rough chopped

salt & pepper, to taste


Ready to start cooking a delicious dinner? And I do mean delicious!

Alma preparing the rice.

To begin, trimmed away the fat from the chicken breasts and sliced them into thin strips like the ones shown in the photo below.

Chicken breasts sliced thinly

Place the strips of chicken into a bowl and sprinkle generously with the Chef Merito Fajita Seasoning. Pour the Goya Criolla Marinade over the chicken and mix well. Alma told me these two ingredients are her "secret weapons". Set aside.

Alma's "secret weapons"!

While the chicken marinating, prepare the rice. Coat the bottom of a medium-sized sauce pan with olive oil (2 - 3 turns of the pan) and heat over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook in the oil just until the rice begins to change color. Add the water and the Maggi Pollo Seasoning (shown below).

Seasoning for the rice.

Turn the heat to low. Add the tomato, onion, red and green peppers, and the mixed vegetables to the rice; stir to distribute the vegetables evenly in the rice.

Isn't this colorful?

Cover and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. While the rice is cooking, make the pico de gallo. Dice the tomatoes, onion, red and green peppers, and radishes.

Tomatoes diced evenly

Place all the vegetables into a bowl and add the olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro. Toss gently with a fork to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper, to your liking. If you like, you can also add more lime juice. 

I cannot describe how wonderfully fresh this pico de gallo tastes!

Set the pico de gallo aside and prepare the fajitas. Slice the onion and peppers.

Ready for the fajitas.

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil (2 -3 turns of the pan) and heat over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and marinade to the skillet and cook (stir-fry style) until the chicken is cooked through. If you like, you can sprinkle a little more Chef Merito seasoning over the chicken while it cooks. Add the peppers and onion to the chicken and continue stir-frying until the vegetables become crisp-tender.

My kitchen smelled so amazing!

To serve:  heat some white corn tortillas in a dry skillet or on a griddle until they become soft and pliable. Spoon some of the chicken fajita mixture into the tortilla and top with the pico de gallo. Wrap and enjoy!

With a tortilla . . . .

I prefer to eat fajitas without the tortillas or with them on the side, so this is what my plate looked like:

. . . . and without!

This entire meal went from zero to table in about 30 minutes! Can you believe it? And the taste? Unbelievable! Everything Alma prepared was so fresh and so tasty! I had several little "tastes" while Alma was preparing the dishes, my first plate, and seconds. And then thirds! It's safe to say, I'm hooked!

A very BIG "Thank You" to my friend, Alma for preparing this amazing dinner and for sharing her recipes with us. Be sure to check next week's post for some great dessert and drink recipes to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Be sure to also check "What's in the oven?" on Wednesday. I'll be making a birthday cake - for me! 

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The recipes above are linked with love to the following: