CHICKEN FAJITA NACHOS

Top tortilla chips with cheese, fajita chicken w/onions, lettuce, tomato, avocodo, sour cream and salsa I don't know if you can really call this "fajita" chicken... There are probably certain requirements that have to be met to be considered a fajita, and just adding some "Mexican" flavors to chicken and then frying it up in a pan probably won't meet those requirements. A lot of things I cook are probably not very authentic so please don't be offended if what I make is far from what its supposed to be. That being said, I think this chicken is pretty good. If I was authentic fajita meat, I would be jealous of this chicken.
My favorite way to eat this chicken is fried up with onions, red and green bell peppers and served with warm tortillas. Since we had no tortillas in the house, I decided to make nachos.

For chicken fajita meat, have ready:

• 1 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 small lime
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (read HERBS 101, above)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 small sliced onion
• 1 teaspoon cayenne (or more if you like it spicy)
• my secret ingridient... 1/2 a pack of Old El Paso taco seasoning mix (Everything doesn't have to be completely from scratch, now does it?)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Put everything, but the chicken, into a bowl. Mix well. Add the chicken to the marinade, making sure that every piece is coated with the mixture. Let the chicken marinate in fridge for at least half an hour. When ready to cook, set stove on high. When pan becomes hot add in the chicken and marinade (no need to add oil to pan, because there is plenty already on the chicken). Cook until done. Serve as fajitas or on nachos (see below).

For nachos:

Set oven on broil (to cook from top) to the highest setting. On an oven-proof plate, spread chips evenly. On top of the chips, sprinkle a layer of cheese (I like Sargentino's four-cheese Mexican blend). Place plate in oven, under the broiler. Once cheese has melted, remove plate from oven (be careful, it will be hot) and top with fajita chicken and some of the sauce it cooked in. Top with lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream and salsa.

For fajitas:

Cook chicken the same way as exlained above, but half way though add sliced red and green bell peppers. Finish frying it up until the chicken is cooked through and peppers are tender. Serve with warm tortillas*, cheese, sour cream and salsa.

*Note: To warm tortillas, set a frying pan on the stove and set on medium heat. Once pan becomes hot, place on one tortilla for 10-20 seconds or until warm. Flip over and heat for another 10-20 seconds. You can also heat them in the microwave, but I don't think they taste as good that way.