Late Summer Grilling: Beef and Chicken Fajitas

I have been meaning to post this recipe for ages now and haven't gotten around to it for some reason.  Wade grilled these fajitas way back on Father's Day.  Now that the days are beginning to shorten and Fall is just around the corner, the days for grilling will soon be over.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate the end of summer than with fajitas and all the fixings and ice cold beers.

Chicken Marinade

•1 Tablespoon chili powder, more or less to taste- we used a New Mexico chili powder

•1 small onion, sliced

•4 cloves garlic, minced

•3/4 cup lime juice

•A couple large handfuls of cilantro, finely chopped

•Salt and Pepper, to taste

•2 1/2 pounds chicken breast

Marinade meat at least four hours ahead of time.  Mix the chili powder, onion, garlic, lime juice, and cilantro together in a large plastic container with a lid.  Season with salt and pepper.  Taste.  Adjust seasonings.  Add chicken and combine thoroughly.  Refrigerate until grilling time.

Beef Marinade

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•1 Tablespoon chili powder

•1/4 cup lime juice

•1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

•a large handful of cilantro, finely chopped

•Salt and pepper, to taste

•2 pounds boneless round steak

Mix the garlic, chili powder, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and cilantro in a small bowl.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Rub the marinade into both sides of the steak.  Place in a shallow container and pour any remaining marinade over the meat.  Cover and refrigerate.  Remove from refrigerator a few minutes before grilling time to take off the chill.

Grill the meat until chicken is cooked through and the beef is cooked to your desired level of doneness.  Slice thinly and put on a serving platter.  Keep warm



Meanwhile, make the veggies.



•3 large bell peppers, sliced- use one each of red, yellow, and green

•2 large onions, halved and sliced thickly

•Olive oil

Toss the bell peppers and onions in a large bowl with a bit of olive oil to coat.

Heat up a grill pan over high heat.  If you have a  veggie basket for the grill, go ahead and use that.  We don't have one, so I made them inside

Cook the veggies over high heat very briefly.  You want them just barely tender and nicely browned in places.

Serve the meat and veggies with all the fixings.

New Mexican Meatloaf with a Spicy-Sweet Pepper Glaze

Looking through my recipes it's easy to tell that we love, love spicy food around here.  There are few dishes that couldn't be made at least a touch better with some hot peppers.  We went to New Mexico last fall, and while we had fun visiting museums and Carlsbad Caverns, the food was a huge highlight of the trip.  From small hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants in Roswell to the dining at the La Fonda in Santa Fe, nearly everything we ate was fantastic.  This reminds me of some of the more modern and urban takes on classic dishes we tried in Santa Fe.

I love classic American dishes reinvented with a bit of Southwestern flair, like green chile biscuits and gravy, chipotle potato salad, etc. With its spicy glaze made with a colorful pepper jelly and homey ground beef, onions, and chili powder, this meatloaf is comfort food with a nice twist.  It's also my June entry for the Food of the Month Club hosted by La Cocina de Leslie.

•2 pounds lean ground beef

•1 medium onion, finely minced

•1 small green pepper, finely minced

•1-2 jalapeños, minced

•2 cloves garlic, minced

•1 14-16 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

•2 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

•1 egg

•1 Tablespoon chili powder

•1 Tablespoon cumin

•1/2 teaspoon oregano

•salt, and a generous amount of pepper, to taste

For the Glaze:

•1/3 cup pepper jelly (I used Habanero Gold, from Ball- not listed on the Ball site, but this is the same exact recipe)

•1/3 cup of ketchup

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together the ground beef, onion, green pepper, jalapeño, garlic, tomatoes, egg, bread crumbs, and spices until everything is well incorporated.



Form into a loaf shape and place in a greased baking dish larger than the loaf.  You want the excess fat to drain away from the meatloaf instead of pooling on top.



Bake for one hour.

Mix the pepper jelly and ketchup together in a small bowl.  Spoon over the top of the meatloaf.  Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.  Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Canning a Basic Homemade Salsa

We picked the first batch of tomatoes from the garden the other day along with some Anaheim peppers and a small green pepper.  It was time to make salsa.  I'm hoping to can at least 25 pints of salsa of several varieties this year.  We eat a lot of Mexican and Southwest food, so we can go though an entire jar in less than a week.

The first salsa of the year is just a basic recipe adapted very slightly from Ball's Complete Book of Home Canning.  The Ball recipe called for eight jalapenos, but I used five Anaheim peppers instead because they are a bit bigger than jalapenos.  I also added a half teaspoon each of cayenne pepper and chili powder to add more depth and flavor.

If you are not familiar with home canning practices please read the National Center for Home Food Preservation's guidelines for water bath canning here.  Recipes and directions for headspace and processing need to be followed thoroughly to ensure a safe product.  Canning is perfectly safe, but there is little room for improvisation and the amounts of acidic ingredients such as vinegar and tomatoes need to be kept at the correct ratio to other vegetables.  Spices can be tweaked slightly to suit your tastes, but don't change proportions too much.  Do not reduce the amount of vinegar and tomatoes and do not add more onions or peppers because this will throw off the acidity level and possibly make your salsa unsafe for canning.

Fresh Vegetable Salsa
Makes 5-6 pints

•7 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes
•2 cups coarsely chopped onions

•1 cup coarsely chopped green pepper
•8 jalapeno peppers or 5 smallish Anaheim peppers
•3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
•1 5.5 ounce can tomato paste
•3/4 cup white vinegar
•1/2 cup loosely packed and finely chopped cilantro
•1/2 teaspoon cumin
•1/2 teaspoon chili powder
•1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper



Prepare jars in a boiling water bath canner.  Set clean lids aside in a bowl.  Set clean rings to the side.

Combine all of the ingredients together in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until salsa thickens.  This will take about thirty minutes.

When the water in the canner has been at a rolling boil for a few minutes, pour a few ladles of boiling water over the lids and let them sit for a minute or so to let the rubber rings soften.  Remove hot jars from the water and fill with hot salsa, leaving 1/2 inch headspace in the jar.  Remove air bubbles with a chopstick or a plastic knife.  Wipe rim with a dampened cloth or paper towel.  Apply lids and tighten rings until fingertip tight.  Process in a boiling water canner 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  Turn off the heat and remove lid from the canner when processing is over.  Let jars sit for five minutes.  Remove from canner and let sit aside on a towel.  Test seals after an hour.  Refrigerate any unsealed jars.  Let the jars sit aside for 24 hours.  Label and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.