Chicken Fajitas

There's something supremely satisfying to most of us about the self-directed approach to assembling burritos, tacos and fajitas--loading on and layering all the veggies, salsa, sour cream and guacamole to make it uniquely your own--and the process is even more gratifying to kids. No shortage of individual inventions and weird combinations that generate creativity at the dinner table. And it kind of feels like they made the whole thing themselves, but without any of the hassle of the actual cooking. My idea of a perfect world. So it's no surprise that any of these options are generally the most popular requests I get whenever I ask for meal suggestions, as I did this week when I hit the wall in terms of new meal ideas. Even with dozens of cookbooks and magazines at my fingertips, not to mention the internet, we all get stumped sometimes. I was almost at the point of Carole's approach of resorting to a DQ Blizzard for everyone for dinner. Almost. Maybe next month.

So this recipe turned out to be a totally quick and easy recipe for a weeknight dinner that did its job of coaxing them in off the street to sit down for even a few quick minutes to gulp down a delicious meal. No small feat on a beautiful summer evening.

Grilled chicken fajitas with peppers and onions

serves 4

juice of 4 limes

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 large spanish onion, halved lengthwise and cut into strips

1 orange and 1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into strips

flour tortillas

Combine the lime juice, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, oregano, 1/2 tsp of the pepper and 1/2 tsp of the salt in a glass dish. Mix well and add the chicken breasts. Cover loosely and marinate, ideally for 2 hours or so. When ready, heat the BBQ and grill until done. Slice them into thin strips.

In a medium frying pan, over medium heat, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil and add the onions and peppers. Saute until the veggies are soft and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Serve with warm tortillas and a variety of your favourite condiments.