Rum Lime Chicken Fajitas

I think my love of fajitas and various forms of tacos has been well documented on this site (here, here, and here). And from the looks of it, my fellow contributors share the love as well (as evidenced here, here and here.) So it's no wonder my bookmarks folder is constantly full of different varieties of my favorite Mexican fare. And when I decided to start trying some of those recipes, it's really no wonder at all that a title including the words "rum" and "lime" immediately jumped out at me. I found it on a site called The Talking Kitchen, and the photos totally sold me. I did change it somewhat, using chicken breasts instead of thighs, sweet onion instead of red, and I added jalapeno to the marinade in an attempt to infuse some spiciness (didn't work). The chicken tasted great before we put it into the fajitas, but it unfortunately it kind of disappeared once inside. The veggies, however, were a big hit. Usually we just salt and pepper them, but this mix of spices was really intriguing. So, I think I'll keep trying on the fajita meat, but we probably have a winner on the veggie side.

Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts

1/2 c. rum

2 limes, juiced and zested

1 jalapeno, chopped

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

freshly ground black pepper

2 bell peppers (your choice)

1 large sweet onion

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp cinnamon

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

Additional: tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheese

Mix the rum, lime zest and juice, jalapeno, sea salt, garlic powder and black pepper in a bowl. Make sure all of the rum goes into the bowl and not in your mouth (you can pour your own on the side). You can pour it into a plastic bag to marinate the chicken, or keep in in the bowl if you like. Make sure the chicken is covered, and flip it over after 30 minutes. Marinate about an hour. 

Slice up your peppers and onion into strips. Drizzle on a little olive oil and all the spices, stirring to coat everything evenly. 

You could absolutely cook the chicken on the grill, but we tried something a little different. We used our cast iron skillet on the grill. Spray it with non-stick spray (they make one especially for the  high heat of a grill) and let it get really hot on the grill. Then remove your chicken from the marinade and place it in the skillet. It should sizzle satisfyingly when you set it down, or else it's probably not hot enough. Throw away the extra marinade! I know it's rum, but you've got to draw the line at raw chicken. 

Let the chicken sit on one side, grill closed for about 5 minutes. Then flip and do the same on the other. From there use your grill-skills to make sure it's cooked through, depending on the thickness of your cut. Probably another 3-6 minutes. Set it aside under foil and start on your veggies. Toss them into your still hot skillet and let them stand for about 3-4 minutes before stirring. Stir and cook for a total of about 7-9 minutes, getting them nice and brown and tasty! Cook less for more crunch and more for softness. 

Slice your chicken into fajita size strips and serve with tortillas, sour cream, cilantro and cheese. You can add salsa or tabasco as you wish. It really isn't spicy at all, which is probably why it's not a total hit at our house, but it is flavorful and the hint of cinnamon on the veggies adds a really interesting flavor dimension. This won't be the last fajita recipe on here, but it is definitely a good addition to our mix.