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Beef Fajitas with The Rancher’s Wife

March 9, 2014 by Allison

 

As folks that raise beef, we eat beef.  We love beef- every tender, juicy bite of it!

Lately I have been craving fajitas.  Beef with a little Mexican twist is always a favorite for our family.  The Rancher especially loves Mexican food, but it has to be good.  I mean he lived in Mexico for two years (you should ask him about it)so he knows the real stuff!  So when he says I did good, that means I really did good!

I wish I could share our DELISCIOUS fajitas with you, but alas… I can’t.  So how about instead I share the recipe and all the fun I had making them (because it was so fun!).

This might take some room, so click on to read the whole fajita story and recipe!

Lets start with the spices.  I don’t want to say its all in the spices, but it just isn’t quite fajitas with out them!  Get a little bit of onion flakes and paprika.  Add that with some cumin and garlic powder.  Then bring on the hotness with the cayenne pepper, chill powder and the red pepper flakes.  Give it a little salt and sugar and you have a tantalizing concoction that will bring you fajita heavenliness!

With the spices ready to rock and roll, mix in the olive oil.

Pour a little bit more than half of you marinade on the beef.  Slather it around and let it sit (in the refrigerator of course!).  You could just cook it up now but the longer you let it sit, the better the flava!

But this is a good time to get your veggies ready.

Pull out the peppers and onions and get to choppin’.  I go with a variety of colors because it is oh, so pretty!  And the combination of their sweet and spiciness is awesome.

Some days I go with just a straight white onion but today I was feeling the red onion too.

Check out all of that color!  Even the pictures look good enough to eat!

Next step- mix way!  Get that marinade on all those peppers and onions.  Go, go, go!  Some days I even use my hands (shhh, don’t tell!)I even rinse the bowl out a little to get every last bit of it!  Put it in the refrigerator to marinate while we keep going.

When your ready, lets get the steaks cooking.  I wish I had one of those fancy-shmancy grill pans… but I don’t.  So I just pulled out my favorite cast iron skillet.  And if you didn’t want to do that, you could put ’em on the grill outside.  Whatever you do, cook the beef!

But not too long- you want it nice and pink in the middle.  Remember that as hot as it is, it will keep cooking a tiny bit after you pull them off.

Bring out the peppers and onions for some cookin’!  Since I cooked my steaks in the skillet,  I poured my veggies in the same skillet to keep that savory juice left from the meat.

Don’t over cook them, because then you have smushy mess.  We are going for crunchiness!

While their cooking, head back over to the steaks and cut them into thin slices.  Yep… cut, cut, cut!  Can you smell it yet?  Oh, hold on!  You’re almost there!

Once the veggies are awesomely cooked, throw the meat back in the skillet to keep it all nice and hot.  Its a great way to serve it up too!  And not to mention, there is one less dish to do  (I’ll admit that I will avoid one more dish to wash at ALL costs!).

Now we’re ready for the best part- eating them!  Grab your tortillas (extra yummy if they are fried in a little oil) and your favorite fixings!  We go for pico de gallo, mexican cheese (The Rancher LOVES oaxaca cheese!) and a little freshly squeezed lime juice.  How ever you do it, pile ’em high and enjoy!

 

Beef Fajitas

Beef Steak (flank and skirt steak are the most popular, today I used sirloin because that’s what I had!)

1 tsp onion flakes

 

 

 

 

1/2 tsp ground cumin
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 onion (or 1/2 white onion, 1/2 red onion)
Tortillas
Cheese
Pico de Gallo
Limes
Sour cream
… and whatever other favorite fixings you want!
Mix together the chill powder, salt, paprika, sugar, onion flakes, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and cumin.  Add olive oil and stir.  Pour 2/3 of mixture on the beef in a prepared dish.  Coat both sides of steak, then cover and return to the refrigerator to marinate. Slice the peppers and onion and pour the remaining marinade over the veggies, coating well.  Cover and return to the refrigerator to marinate.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add some oil and cook steaks 4-5 minutes, turning after 2 minutes (for medium rare).  Remove the steak to the cutting board.  Let the beef cool a few minutes and then cut into thin slices.
Heat the same skillet to medium high heat and add the veggies, cooking only a few minutes.  They should be hot but still crispy.  Turn off heat and add sliced beef to the skillet.
Serve it hot on tortillas with your favorite fixin’s!

I think that we made enough, lets invite a few cowboys over!

 

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Comments

  1. Mandy Bird says

    March 10, 2014 at 9:57 pm

    Mmmm… looks so good! Great job on your food shoot 🙂

  2. Amy @ Little Dairy on the Prairie.com says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:48 am

    I found you on Mandy's Recipe Box! I grew up on a ranch in Idaho and then married a dairy farmer! The ranch life is more beautiful than dairy life but since my kids go to work with their Dad every chance they get I will take it! After all, it's still the agriculture life that I love! It sounds like we have so much in common. I blog at http://littledairyontheprairie.com. I would love for you to stop by!

  3. Amy Engberson says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:49 am

    I forgot the www. part in my URL! It's http://www.littledairyontheprairie.com

  4. Allison Eliason says

    March 11, 2014 at 4:15 am

    Thank, Mandy! I can't believe the time it takes to do it all… You are so brave! And I used picmonkey for the collages. It was so easy!! Slowly but surely, I am learning!

  5. Allison Eliason says

    March 11, 2014 at 4:24 am

    Amy! Where in Idaho did you live (if you want to share?) Thanks for stopping by! I love meeting other ranching/farming wives. We all do it a little differently but in the end we are still doing it together!

  6. countrylinked says

    May 12, 2014 at 7:02 pm

    What a yummy recipe! We too raise our own beef and also love, "every tender, juicy bite of it"!

    Thank you for linking up and joining the fun at the County Fair Blog Party week #11.

    Laurie – Country Link

Hello! I'm Allison, The Rancher's Wife! There's nothing I love more than being out on the ranch with my husband and kids. Join me for a look at what goes on here at the ranch and the life being a rancher's wife!

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Hello! I'm Allison, The Rancher's Wife! There's nothing I love more than being out on the ranch with my husband and kids. Join me for a look at what goes on here at the ranch and the life being a rancher's wife!

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Living on cattle, cocoa & kids running wild.
Daily ranch life, western style all with a side of dirt.

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