Chicken Fajitas

(I apologize for the low quality photos- camera has been dropped one to many times by kiddos and finally died, so I resorted to iPod photos)

I love this recipe. My mom has been making it since I was a teenager and it is easy and fabulous. I love food that is visually appealing and colorful.This is gorgeous. Most everything in this is a pantry/fridge staple. So you just have to pick up the veggies and you are set! If you don't have time to marinate for the full hour, don't worry! It will still taste great!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup(60ml) lime juice
1/4 cup(60ml) Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup(60ml) oil
1/4 cup(60ml) salsa (if you have it- I usually don't so I just add 1/4 cup of pico de gallo instead; tomatoes, cilantro, onions)
1 tsp(5ml) liquid smoke
2-3 tsp(10-15ml) garlic
1-2 chicken breasts ( I usually use 1 but you can use two if you like your fajitas meatier)
1 each yellow, red and green bell peppers, sliced
1/2-1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp(15ml) cornstarch
2 tbsp(30ml) water
salt to taste ( about 1 tsp/5 ml)

 Directions:

Add lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, oil, salsa(or Pico de gallo),liquid smoke  and garlic to a bowl.

Cut chicken into matchstick like strips.

Add to marinade.

Mix to combine. Let sit for 1-2 hours in the fridge.

Cut peppers and onions into thin strips.

Heat a wok over medium/high heat. Add marinade and chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add peppers and onions.

Stir to combine.

Cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring every minute so that the vegetables cook evenly.

Turn off heat. Make a well in the middle of your chicken pepper mixture.

Add cornstarch mixed water. Stir to combine.

Turn heat back on and cook for an additional minute.

Serve in tortillas with cheese, salsa/pico de gallo, and/ or sour cream

Cilantro Lime Ranch Salad Dressing

In the western U.S where I hail from there is a small restaurant chain called Cafe Rio. It is the favorite Fresh-Mex restaurant of a whole lot of people I know. Whenever all my family gets together (3 siblings plus spouses) we have to have at least one "Cafe Rio" night. This involves, making guacomole, shredded chicken or pork, cilantro rice, Mexican black beans, pico de gallo and this salad dressing. Tonight we didn't go all out with all the usual Cafe Rio stuff. Instead we just ate it over barbarcoa pork Mexican salads with the cilantro spicy rice I posted earlier, pico de gallo and shredded cheese.
This is another recipe that I've had to "china-fy" (to use my friend Josette's term)
But the alterations work and it is amazing! It will keep for a week after it is mixed. In our house it is always all gone within two days.

Ingredients:
Two 100 g containers of plain yogurt
1 packet of ranch dressing mix (or equivilant - I bring over the big container from the States and then just measure out enough powder for one batch of dressing. I haven't looked but I'm pretty sure City Shop carries individual packets of ranch dressing mix)
2 tbsp lime juice
1 small tomato, seeded (just cut the top off and then squeeze out the seeds and pulp and discard them into the trash)
1 clove garlic
1/2 a hot green pepper, diced.
good bunch of cilantro
2 oz cream cheese

Directions:

Assemble all of your ingredients.

Add everything to the blender except the cream cheese and blend until smooth.

Add 2 oz (or 1/4 of a brick of cream cheese) to the blender. (if you want to omit the cream cheese for calorie counting purposes, feel free. Your dressing will be a lot more runny and will lack thickness, but it will still taste great)

Blend until smooth.
Serve over your favorite taco salad or add to the filling of homemade burritos.

Homemade tortillas

I had never made homemade tortillas before I came to Shanghai. Why bother when it is so easy to pick up a pack at any grocery store in the States? But this really is an awesome recipe. Homemade are so much tastier (though they don't keep long- again no preservatives) and they beat the month(s) old ones at City Shop any day. And truth be told, my ayi often helps me roll them out so we get them done pretty fast.

As long as you make the dough really soft and let the tortillas rest the right amount of time they roll out really thin.
These tortillas are perfect for soft flour tacos, fajitas and eating out of hand.

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup lukewarm milk

Directions:
Stir together the flour, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

Add vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough with a fork. It will be sticky.

If too gooey add a little more flour, but be careful not to add too much.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (Or you can just knead in the bowl). The kneading will take care of the stickiness.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)

Divide your dough into 8 balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes.

Keep the pieces of dough you aren't working with covered so they won't dry out.

Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat into a circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, turning 1/4 turn every few rolls. Roll out until you have a 10 inch tortilla.

Transfer the tortilla to a dry skillet or griddle over low heat. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 20-30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 15-20 seconds. It is done when it has small brown spots. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

Cilantro Spicy Rice

Mexican food is one of the easiest things to make from scratch in China. They have an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions. In the US, in the west where I'm from, we have a restaurant chain called Cafe Rio. This is my take on the cilantro rice they serve there- My sisters and I think it's even better than the rice at Cafe Rio.
This rice is only mildly spicy. I do not really like spicy stuff and I absolutely love this rice. Both my kids will eat it plain so that tells you it's pretty mild.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice
½ hot green pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
½ cup cilantro
3 cloves garlic
2-3 tablespoons water

salt or chicken bouillon

Directions:
Cook 1 ½ cups dry rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. You can add a little chicken bouillon to the water if you want.

In a small saucepan, sauté the diced hot pepper in a little water until tender. Do not drain.

Add to the rest of the ingredients, and pulse in a blender until everything is chopped and well blended. (You might have to add just a bit more water to get everything to blend well)

Add to cooked rice and stir until well combined. Add salt to taste.

*Note: Thai rice works best with this recipe. This makes a great side dish or filling for soft flour tacos.