Chicken + Veggie Fajitas

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you don’t feel like even making the move from the bed to the couch in the morning much less planning meals and cooking? I definitely had one of those weekends though I was lucky that my only plans were my favorite plans- spending time with my family. We celebrated my cousin Kaitlyn’s 30th birthday at the Atwater Restaurant inside the Herrington Inn located in Geneva, IL. The day was filled with re-telling family stories, photo props, a delicious cake, and celebrating one of my favorite people in this world. The delicious brunch + mimosas didn’t hurt either. 😉

I wasn’t feeling too well Saturday evening (Assuming the food hangover from brunch) so Hubs and I put on some comfy clothes and headed over to my in-law’s house to see my sister-in-law who was in town from Michigan. I am lucky to have such wonderful in-laws that I enjoy spending time with. We played cards, watched ‘Finding Dory’, and indulged in my Mother-in-Law’s famous pumpkin bars. It was truly the perfect Saturday. 

Sunday morning my plans involved a quick workout & finding a way to talk my husband in to helping me put up the Christmas decorations. I couldn’t wait any longer to see my Nutcracker collection on the shelves. Everything is up now except for the tree- that comes this weekend 🙂 After tidying up our little condo and arranging and re-arranging my decor, I didn’t feel like going to any extreme lengths to cook. It was turning out to be such a relaxing weekend I didn’t want that to end. Luckily, I had everything I needed to put together one of my favorite dishes that also makes a lot of leftovers- a bonus on Thanksgiving week. These simple chicken + veggie fajitas combine a lot of flavor with very few ingredients. Heck- if you even CALL them ingredients. I love being able to dump everything in to my crockpot and serve when ready. Also, I am definitely a big fan of sweet peppers and I like using all the different colored peppers. These fajitas are perfect to serve as a ‘bar’ with your favorite toppings- sour cream, salsa, avocado, black beans, etc. are all good choices. We kept it simple last night and used some light sour cream. The key to this dish is finding the perfect combination of flavor/marinade for your chicken. I have used canned green chilies, tomatoes, and a few spices before. While good- I didn’t get the ‘fajita’ feel. Luckily, a few weeks ago, I found a perfect solution. I found that Frontera Kitchen makes skillet sauces for various Mexican dishes. Taco, Enchilada, and Fajita sauces are all available and I plan on purchasing quite a few of them. My dad used to love Chef Rick Bayless’ cookbooks and I always think of him when I use one of their many delicious salsas. While this is technically a ‘skillet sauce’, I thought I could use it as a marinade and eventually cook the fajitas in it in the Crockpot. I am glad I did because this, combined with a little cumin and extra garlic powder ( I can never have enough garlic), made me feel like these had just come off a flaming plate at a restaurant. Hubs loved it and I look forward to having leftovers this week. I will say, this does make a LOT of leftovers if you’re only feeding two people at a time, so if you’re looking to make a smaller batch, consider cooking them on the stovetop instead of the Crockpot. 

What are your favorite/easy foods you like to make leading up to big holiday meals?