Easy Steak Fajitas

To me there is almost nothing simpler than these Easy Steak Fajitas. You use an inexpensive cut of beef such as skirt, hangar or flank steak, make a quick marinade, add some sliced onions, peppers and seasonings and voila'! That's really all there is to it.

My excuse to make these Easy Steak Fajitas were some Mad Hatter peppers we were growing in our raised bed garden. The plant was given to me to try by our friends at B's Greenhouses, and i couldn't wait. This sweet pepper is a species from South America commonly used in Bolivian and Peruvian cuisine.The taste has a refreshing, citrusy floral flavor that remains sweet, only occasionally expressing mild heat near the seeds. Aren't they cute?

What do you need to make these Easy Steak Fajitas?

• Cast iron or other large skillet
• Homemade Fajita Seasoning Blend
• Skirt, Hangar or Flank Steak
• 1 sweet onion
• Fresh cilantro or dried Oregano Leaves
• Sweet peppers (I used Mad Hatter but Bell peppers work)
• 2 limes or lime juice concentrate
• Flour tortillas

RECIPE
Ingredients

Homemade Fajita Seasoning Blend:
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Steak Fajitas:
1 clove garlic minced
1 of the full amount of the recipe Fajita seasoning above
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped, plus more for serving or 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves (for those who have an aversion to cilantro)
1 1/2 pounds hanger, skirt or flank steak halved crosswise
2 tablespoons butter
1 sweet onion halved and sliced vertically
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Mad Hatter peppers (or red and yellow bell peppers), cut into thin strips
2 wedges of lime, or 1 tablespoon lime juice
Warm flour tortillas

Method
For the Homemade Fajita Seasoning Blend
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

For the Steak Fajitas
In a shallow bowl, combine the garlic, fajita seasoning, 1/4 cup olive oil, and cilantro or oregano. Toss the steak to coat in the marinade, cover, refrigerate, and marinate for 30 minutes or longer.

Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch cast-iron or other large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and onion in the skillet. Season with the salt, stir, and cook until the edges of the onion are deeply golden yet still a bit firm, about 10 minutes.

Add the peppers and cook for 5 to 8 minutes more, depending on how done you prefer them. Transfer the onion and peppers to a small dish.

Working in two batches, sear the steak on both sides for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 to 8 minutes before slicing into thin strips.

Return the strips and any juices from the cutting board to the skillet, squeeze in the juice from the lime wedges or lime concentrate, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Serve on warm tortillas. We love to top these with a Mexican cheese sauce such as white Queso sauce, and pickled red onions.

Original recipe adapted from Foodiecrush

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Satsuma Mandarin Orange Pepper Jelly

At the very end of October or early November, these pretty little Satsuma Mandarin Oranges ripen and are begging to be picked, so a group of us headed over to McKenzie Farms Nursery to visit Stan McKenzie and buy some of his glorious citrus fruit freshly picked from his grove.

Satsuma Mandarin Oranges McKenzie Farms Nursery

A few  years back we had paid our first visit to Stan's nursery and marveled at all the wonderful fruit he had available. He showed us everything from Asian Pears and Dragon Limes, to Guava and Persimmons, but it was the much sought after Satsuma Mandarin Orange we were really after.

Satsuma Mandarin Oranges - McKenzie Farms Nursery

What is the Satsuma Mandarin Orange? It is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, Its fruit is "one of the sweetest citrus varieties, with a meltingly tender texture" and usually seedless, about the size of other mandarin oranges (Citrus reticulata). One of the distinguishing features of the satsuma is the thin, leathery skin dotted with large and prominent oil glands, which is lightly attached around the fruit, enabling it to be peeled very easily in comparison to other citrus fruits. The satsuma also has particularly delicate flesh, which cannot withstand the effects of careless handling. The uniquely loose skin of the satsuma, however, means that any such bruising and damage to the fruit may not be immediately apparent upon the typical cursory visual inspection associated with assessing the quality of other fruits. In this regard, the satsuma might be categorized as a hit-and-miss citrus fruit; the loose skin particular to the fruit precluding the definitive measurement of its quality by sight and feel alone. (source: Wikipedia)

Our visit this time did not disappoint, and we quickly loaded  up on these delightful little oranges, along with some fresh lemons and pecans from his trees and a few produce items also grown right on their land.

McKenzie Farms Nursery

When I got home with my goodies I contemplated making a jam with my Satsuma Mandarin Oranges, but I didn't want a marmalade, so I thought, hmmmm, what about a pepper jelly with just a touch of heat? One that would be great with grilled shrimp, chicken or pork, but equally delicious on a cheeseboard with crackers and cream cheese? And so this recipe was "born." It is sweet and tart with a touch of heat ... just as I wanted.

Recipe
Ingredients
1 - 3 lb bag Satsuma Mandarin Oranges
1 small lemon, sliced thin
1 cayenne pepper, sliced thin
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced thin
1 package (1.75 ounce) Sure-Jell (powdered pectin)
5 cups sugar

Method
Peel oranges and process sections in small batches in a food processor. Pour into a mesh strainer placed over a large bowl to collect the juice. Use a spoon to spread pulp back and forth in mesh strainer to get out as much juice as possible. You should have about 3 1/2 cups orange juice.

In a large stock pot, add strained orange juice, thinly sliced lemon, peppers and Sure-Jell (powdered pectin). Bring to a boil over high heat stirring often. Add sugar all at once and return to a rolling boil (one that doesn't stop when you stir it), and boil hard one (1) minute.

Ladle jelly into prepared canning jars, using a spoon to evenly distribute the peppers and lemon slices into each jar, leaving 1/4-inch head-space. Cover with lids and bands and process in boiling water bath 10 minutes.

Remove jars from water bath and let sit on a kitchen towel on your counter-top. Jars are sealed when button on the top of the lid is fully depressed and won't move up and down. Once jars are sealed, and while the jelly is cooling and thickening, slightly shake jars to evenly distribute lemon slices and peppers throughout.

Store jars on pantry shelf up to one year. Opened jars need to be refrigerated.

Yield: 6 half-pint jars

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Chicken Enchilda Soup for Canning

Updated August 2020

My foodie friend, Alice, of Ally's Kitchen made this awesome Chicken Enchilada Soup she shared the other day, so I decided to make a version of it I could can!  Once done, all you'll need to do when ready to use it, is add the black beans, diced peppers and cilantro, and cook through about 15 minutes. Quick, easy and convenient, stores on your pantry shelf until you are ready to serve it.

RECIPE
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 chicken tenders 
Sea Salt/Coarse Ground Pepper to taste
1 small onion diced
4 tbsp minced garlic
1 packaged white chili chicken seasoning (or make your own: 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. seasoning salt, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 chicken bouillon cube, crushed into powdered form)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried chipotle chile
4 cups chicken broth
1 - 14.5 oz. can diced roasted tomatoes
2 cups frozen corn

Add to canned soup when heating to serve:
1 can black beans
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
1/3 cup diced red/orange bell peppers
½ cup roughly cut cilantro (optional)

Method
In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken tenders. Pan sear about 3 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook about 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Remove the tenders to a cutting board and chop or cube chicken into bite size pieces.

Using the same skillet on medium heat, sauté onions and garlic about 3-5 minutes. Add chopped chicken, white chili seasoning mix, cumin and chipotle chile and cook about 5 minutes.

Add chicken broth and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook about 20 minutes.  Add corn and let simmer about 20 minutes.  Add additional sea salt and pepper to taste.

Strain soup through a mesh strainer, over a large bowl.  Scoop chicken, corn, tomatoes, etc. from mesh strainer evenly into 5 pint canning jars (so that each jar has equal amounts of solids filling the jars 1/2 full with solids). Top each jar with soup liquid in bowl, leaving 1" head space.

Cover jars with seals and rings and pressure can pints 1 hour and 15 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure adjusting for altitude.

**When ready to use, add black beans, diced peppers and cilantro and heat through about 15 minutes, or until soup is hot and peppers are getting soft.

You may also like:
Italian Chicken Soup

Yield: 5 pint jars

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Cuban Shrimp Stew (Enchilado De Camerones)

Just dug out this recipe I've had in my collection for years yesterday when I was steaming up some shrimp!  This is a wonderful, full of flavor, spicy shrimp stew you serve over rice. 

 

Photo credit:  The Daily Chef Blog

 

RECIPE

Ingredients

Shrimp:

3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. Cuban oregano (any oregano will work)

¼ tsp. cumin

1½ pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed

Salt and pepper to taste

Stew:

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cups onion, chopped

1/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1/3 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1/3 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. cayenne, or to taste

½ tsp. oregano

½ tsp. cumin

1 bay leaf

⅔ cup tomato paste

1½ cup dry white wine (I use cooking wine)

¾ cup water

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley for topping

Method

For the shrimp: Combine the lime juice, garlic, oregano and cumin in a bowl and mix well. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

For the stew: Heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute' the onions, peppers, celery, 2 T. of the parsley, cayenne pepper, oregano, cumin and bay leaf in the hot oil for 5 minutes or until onions start to brown. Stir in the tomato paste. Saute' for 1 minute longer. 

Add the wine and water to the vegetable mixture and mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Stir in the un-drained shrimp. Simmer for 5-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the stew into a serving bowl over cooked white rice. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

 

Enjoy,

Mary

 

Pepper Jelly

Updated December 2020

This is my good friend, Liz Krejci's, Pepper Jelly recipe! I remember the first time I ever had some, she brought it to a party we were having, and served it over cream cheese on crackers! Ohhhhh I was in love with it! It was soooooo yummy! 

Since then I've had it many times (every Christmas we would get a gift basket of her canned goodies, and the pepper jelly was always one of the most cherished).

Until today had I never made it myself, so I picked some great peppers from my Kitchen Garden and got to work chopping and dicing the peppers. Ooooo laaaa laaaa! Wonderful!

RECIPE

Ingredients
1 ¼ cups white vinegar
2 cups chopped bell peppers, any color (seeded)
1 cup chopped jalapeno peppers (with or without seeds)
6 cups sugar
1 pkg Sure-Jell
1 tsp butter

Method
Mince in a food processor or pulverize in a blender ¼ cup vinegar, chopped peppers, and chopped jalapeno peppers.

Place in a large stock pot and add 1 pkg Sure-Jell, 1 cup vinegar and 1 tsp butter.

Boil 3 minutes, skim off foam (if any). Pour in sugar all at once and boil hard (rolling boil) for 1 minute. Remove from heat and ladle into sterilized jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Process jars 10 minutes in boiling water bath or steam canner.

Remove jars and let sit undisturbed on your kitchen counter-top for 24 hours undisturbed. Jars are sealed when button on top of lid is fully depressed and won't flex up and down.

Store in pantry up to one year. Open jars must be refrigerated.

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.