Friday, December 17, 2010

Spicy pulled chicken fajitas

Alex and I are huge fajita connoisseurs (for some reason the part of Madison that we live in has like 10 different tex-mex places within five minutes of our place).  I'm pretty sure that out of all of our frequent trips to "Mexican" restaurants, I've only NOT gotten a fajita entree twice.  I'm always looking for new and exciting recipes to make each home-made fajita dinner memorable, and this one definitely was.  Usually I just mash a bunch of spices together and smother the chicken with said spices, but this recipe produced a nice sauce that was obvious and yet not overbearing.  Granted, I didn't make it as spicy as the recipe calls for! Rating 7/10.
Recipe adapted from Healthy Food For Living

1 small onion- finely chopped
1 minced jalapeno pepper- removing seeds is optional
1 large garlic clove- minced (or one tsp of pre-minced garlic if you're lazy like me)
1 can of tomato sauce (8 oz)
1 tbsp of tomato paste (I added in three, just because I hate wasting paste)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry ground mustard
2 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper (I couldn't find any, so I just went with chili powder)
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (you chicken breast fans won't regret this)
Salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle oil in a large pot or dutch oven and add in the onion and jalapeno.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes, and then add in the garlic.
Let the vegetables continue to cook by themselves for 30 seconds, or until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add in the remaining ingredients (excluding the chicken) and stir the sauce until everything is combined.
Add in the chicken and make sure that each piece has sauce surrounding all sides.  There should be just enough sauce to cover all sides of every chicken thigh.
Cook for an hour, flipping the chicken thighs occasionally. 
Shred the chicken with two forks (if there's a better method out there- use that).
Allow the newly exposed meat to become saturated with the sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Eat in a sandwich, a fajita, a burrito, an enchilada, whatever!

2 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

Krista these really look delicious> I want to try this. Hopefully sometime between Christmas and the New Year. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Blessings...Mary

Diana's Cocina said...

Krista ~ This recipe is right up my alley. A must try!