Chicken Mango Fajitas, Guacamole and homemade tortilla chips

 Monday was the start of a new week; a week where vacation is over, and it is time to get back to routines. This means less time for cooking, so something fast and easy was needed. My husband had to work, and I am spending the week getting the toddler used to her new daycare. That means I am spending my entire days sitting and watching her play, trying to be as little involved as possible so she gets used to her new teachers, classmates, and the environment. She has been off for 3 weeks straight to boot, so she is totally off schedule. Sitting on your butt all day and watching kids play is more exhausting than you would think. Maybe because it is rather boring. Therefore, I had little energy to make dinner last night, but felt compelled to have an actual meal of some kind, so went for a household classic - Chicken Fajitas. This is a very fast meal to make that still feels put-together. The Tortilla chips were above and beyond our ordinary repertoire, just a whim after looking at too many pictures on Pinterest this week.

The toddler "helped" me by picking a lovely hydrangea blossom from my brand new bush. It is in several pieces, so I put it in a bowl of water to float.

To use a mango - cut on either side of the pit.

Score the halves with the tip of a knife

Turn it outward and slice off the chunks

Sliced Bell Peppers and Red Onion

Ripe avocados

Guacamole - the before shot

Guacamole - after

Making my own chips on a whim

Homemade chips

Big girl is finally home from her trip and ate with savvy, saying that I should have my own cooking show and that this was the best food on the planet (or at least the chips were). It is especially nice to have her home again if she is going to suck up so extravagantly. A few months ago, she discovered that she likes Guacamole, much to her father's chagrin. He generally enjoys cleaning up the rest of the bowl with a spoon once the rest of us are done, but her newfound taste for it means there is none left. The toddler made Num-Num noises loudly throughout the meal, as usual, pausing only to yell for "Chicken!".

Chicken Mango Fajitas

2 chicken breast filets, sliced

2 bell peppers, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

2 T olive oil

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

a dash of turmeric (for color - only if you have it)

juice of 1 lime

pepper to taste

salt, optional

1/2 ripe mango, cubed

Sour cream

8 flour tortillas

Guacamole

In a large pan, heat olive oil on medium. Sauté chicken strips until cooked through. Add peppers and onion, sauté until starting to get soft. Add lime and spices, stirring to coat. Sauté until veggies are soft. Serve on tortillas, topped with cubed mango, sour cream, and Guacamole.

Serves 4.

Guacamole

2-3 ripe avocados

1 tomato, seeded and chopped (Roma is my preference)

1/2 onion (silver if you have it, otherwise yellow)

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 ripe mango, cubed

1 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp Sambal Oelek (or 1/2 minced jalapeno pepper)

a pinch of salt and pepper

Mash together with a potato masher or Guacamole masher if you have one, otherwise a fork will do but will be a little more work. Make fairly shortly before serving and cover with plastic wrap against the surface of the Guacamole to keep it from turning brown. 

Homemade Tortilla Chips

Cut small tortillas into wedges using a pizza cutter, and fry in 1/2 inch olive or vegetable oil in large pan. When it starts to turn golden, flip and do the other side. Drain on paper towels and serve. 

Big girl ate hers with corn kernels, sour cream, and guacamole. 

I had never added mango to either Fajitas or Guacamole before, but was quite pleased with the result. The flavors worked really well together.