Steak Fajitas

A few weeks ago we visited Aaron's grandparents in Houston, Texas. I had not been to Texas since I was five years old and I really didn't realize how strong the Mexican influence is there. Of course it makes sense that there would be great Mexican food and fresh avocados, peppers, limes, etc., being so close to Mexico, but it just hadn't occurred to me before. I was picturing more barbecue, huge steaks, and cowboy food I guess. At the wedding we attended while we were there, the food was a fajita bar with tortillas, chicken, beef, vegetables, guacamole, queso, chips and pico. Yum! Aaron's mom said food like this was common in Texas and weddings or parties. Hmmm. Quite a bit different from the traditional ham and butter sandwiches that I have been told are common to have at North Dakota weddings!

 I could live off of tomatoes, avocados, black beans, and peppers, so this food was no problem for me! Aaron's grandmother made us migas one morning for breakfast. Reading on Wikipedia, I discovered that migas is a traditional Tex-Mex food that is Spanish for "crumbs." Her's was eggs mixed with strips of tortillas, bacon, peppers, onions, and cheese. Others meats, vegetables, etc could be used in it as well.  Something like this probably would not have sounded very good to me if someone described it to me- being used to pancakes and plain old scrambled eggs! But, we had our migas with fresh avocado slices, fresh tomatoes, salsa, and warm corn tortillas and it was delicious! It is a filling meal and I think it will become a regular on the Russell weekend breakfast menu or as a breakfast-for-dinner item. 

Before we left Houston, we visited a Fiesta Mart grocery store. It was liking walking into Mexico with food trucks in the parking lot, vendors selling hats, dresses and other trinkets in the doorway, and Latin products in the store. There were bags of key limes for $2.50, bell peppers and avocados for less than $1.00, live talipia swimming in tanks, every part of a pig, and fresh tortillas. We bought a bag of still warm corn tortillas for $1.00. I just wished I could have bought and bags and bags of food back! We will be using some of these tortillas for fish tacos this week, but when we got back from Houston, we had them with steak and beans and rice. Enjoy!

 

 Steak Fajitas with Beans & Rice
8 corn tortillas
8oz grilled steak, sliced
Optional ingredients:
grilled peppers and onions
shredded cheese
sliced avocados
diced tomatoes
chopped cilantro
salsa
light sour cream

1 cup brown rice
16oz canned pinto beans, not rinsed
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1. Combine rice, beans (do not rinse), tomato paste, cumin, coriander, and chicken broth. Cook according to package directions or in a rice cooker, about 40 minutes.
2. Heat tortillas until warm in griddle or microwave. Fill with 2oz steak and favorite toppings.

Serves 4 (2 tortillas each)