From my Kitchen: Mexican rice and Chicken Fajitas

Living in Croatia I don't prepare Mexican food as often as I would like to, mostly because I can't find all the ingredients needed and my belief that if I substitute the ingredients it won't have the same sabor 'taste'. Instead I have learned to prepare some of the local cuisine such as grilled fish and spinach with potatoes. So once in a while I will prepare one of my recipes and chicken fajitas is one of hubby's favorites.  I can find most of the ingredients at the grocery store. You can add as many veggies as you like. Beli had the same as hubby minus the jalapenos. For myself I prepared veggie fajitas with lots of jalapenos. 

1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil on a large pan and cook chicken strips until you see a golden brown color then


2. Add 2 large onions (cut in thin slices) and 2 large peppers diced and 2 cloves of garlic (jalapenos optional).


3. Continue cooking and stirring until the vegetables are brown around the edges.  


4. Then you need a side dish so I made some Mexican rice. I'm sure there are many versions but this is how I learned to prepare it growing up.



Ingredients to make the rice:

3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

1 medium chopped onion

2 tomatoes chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1-2 tomato bouillon cubes (Personally I prefer Knorr brand) but you can use any brand/flavor

1/2 cup of tomato sauce

2 cups of water (since I'm using the bouillon cubes I don't use vegetable broth)
some cilantro but I used parsley

Directions:

1.Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat and add the rice. Cook, stirring constantly until the grains turn light brown color.

2.Add onion, tomato and garlic and cook for a few minutes 

3.Add tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil, add the bouillon cubes but today I didn't have any so I used what had in my pantry,2 teaspoonful of vegeta ( the croatian version of Knorr in powder form)  and the parsley.

4.Reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes. (Note: I usually  let the water evaporate completely but the picture below shows how it was when I opened the lid and grabbed some for Beli.) Then I turned the heat off and I tasted the rice for flavor (sometimes it's not 'salty' or flavorful enough so I add more vegeta and a dash of pepper then I place the cover and allow the rice to "fluff"  for about 10 minutes so the water is completely evaporated. 

If you like you can always add more cilantro /parsley at the end for garnish. You can also add 1/2 cup of peas or corn during the last ten minutes of cooking. 

• Enjoy with flour tortillas and guacamole or sour cream.

I know my recipes are not very specific because I learned to cook by watching my Mom. She never followed any recipes, instead she added a little of this, a pinch of that and her food was always delicious.  I always  wonder why my recipes are never as good as hers. Hmmm... I hope  Beli can say that about my food when she grows up. So what's your favorite side dish for fajitas?    For me it's guacamole. YUM

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