When I lived in Cali for a summer internship, I got so spoiled. I discovered this amazing thing called Authentic Mexican Food. While there I discovered that Mexican is my favorite ethnic food and I simply cannot get enough of it. That’s quite a bummer, because our closest Mexican restaurant that can be considered quite close to authentic is an hour and a half away from our little country town. I will admit, it has nothing on a good Taco Truck, but I’ll take what I can get and thank my lucky stars I can stop when I go shopping or to the doctors.
Later in college one of my roommate’s boyfriend was this awesome guy name Carlos. Carlos’s family was originally from Mexico. One day I confronted him and told him he had to teach me his family secret to fajitas. As it turns out, they’re not very hard. I have added and changed the recipe over the years and this is what I have gotten to.
OK, I know. Cinco de Mayo is an American holiday. So sue me. Any holiday that allows me to consume pitchers of Margaritas without guilt is a holiday for me.
Not to scare you…. But the secret to perfect Mexican food is homemade tortillas with lard in them. For those of us in the real world, we don’t have time for that. So just buy a packet of store bought ones. I did this time. I am still perfecting my tortilla making recipe and technique. I make mine mostly because I’m cheap and it’s a lot cheaper to make them rather than buy them. But I digress…. Here is the perfect Shrimp Fajita Recipe
- 1 pound of shrimp
- 1 T Garlic Salt
- 1 T Chili Powder
- 1 t Onion Powder
- 1 t Paprika
- 1/2 t Cumin
- 1/2 t Cayenne Pepper
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- Olive Oil for cooking
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced
- 1 Yellow Onion, sliced
- Tortilla Shells
- Favorite toppings
- In a plastic baggy add your deveined shrimp, all the spices and the juice from half of a lime. Cover all of the shrimp in the spices and set aside to marinade for 15 minutes.
- Chop all of of the vegetables into thin slices. Add 2 tablespoons to skillet and cook until beginning to char. Remove and set aside. Add more olive oil to pan and put shrimp in a single layer. Let shrimp cook for 2 minutes on each side and then remove from the pan and add to the vegetables.
- If the marinade is too spicy remove the cumin and cayenne pepper.
Step Two: Get out your shrimp and marinade them. It will only take about 15 minutes so you don’t have to plan ahead for this meal. I simply throw them in a plastic baggy along with the spices. Smush (I know such a culinary term) them around to cover the shrimp evenly and put them back in the fridge. My recipe for the marinade is really hot, so I will put an alternative recipe for those of you that aren’t spicy lovers. My husband is one those and he was not happy when he smelled the house. I promised him I would be nicer the next time.
Shrimp Marinade – Hot Version
1 T Garlic Salt
1 T Chili Powder
1 t Onion Powder
1 t Paprika
1/2 t Cumin
1/2 t Cayenne Pepper
Juice from 1/2 lime
Shrimp Marinade – Mild Version
1 T Garlic Salt
1 T Chili Powder
1 t Onion Powder
1 t Paprika
Juice from 1/2 lime
Step Three: Get your cast of characters out and ready to go. At this point I will cut up all of my veggies. I’m slow because I’m not a professional so it will probably take my the whole 15 minutes just to get that done. We want long, thin slices of veggies. I expect perfection.
Step Four: Put your frying pan out on the stove and begin warming it up. I love to use cast iron for these recipes. They put that delicious char on everything just like the restaurants. You want it warmed up to medium high heat. Add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil give or take. Now, throw in your veggies. Stir occasionally until they start to caramelize and get the veggies start to get burn marks. You also want to make sure they are soft but still have a little crunch. Remove the veggies and put them on a platter and set to the side.
Step Five: Add more olive oil to the pan. You will want more than the last time but it depends on how big your skillet is. Mine is a 12 inch and I added about 3 or 4 tablespoons. You want enough that they shrimp won’t start sticking to the skillet. If you need to you can add more oil as you go along. Start laying the shrimp out in a single layer. Each shrimp will take about 2 minutes to cook on each side. Once I got one row in I began flipping them over because it was about time. Once they are done, remove them and set them on the platter with the veggies.
Step Six: Set out your favorite toppings and enjoy this delicious, easy meal.
What would you pair with this delicious dinner? I’m thinking some homemade margaritas are in store. What do you think? 
