Steak Fajitas with Homemade Guacamole

Fajitas are such a quick and easy dinner and a great way to get in a lot of veggies.

I wanted to make a homemade Paleo friendly marinade for the steak because the majority of store-bought fajita seasonings have modified food starch which is just another name for gluten.

I borrowed this recipe from the Paleo Girls.  Has a lot of good flavor and makes me happy knowing that I'm not feeding my family processed garbage.

Ingredients for fajitas:

• 1 lb steak (You can buy the already prepped fajita meat.  Will make it much easier.  If you want to buy the meat whole, the typical fajita meat is flank or skirt, or you could use a thin sirloin.)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tbsp lemon juice (fresh, always use fresh)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• dash hot sauce
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients, minus the steak, in a large ziploc and give it a good shake to mix.  Add the steak and marinate for an hour.  Do not over-marinate as the lemon juice can start to "cook" the meat.

Slice 2 bell peppers (any color you like, I prefer red, yellow and orange) and one medium yellow onion into thin strips.

Preheat a large skillet on medium-high heat with about two tablespoons of olive oil.

Add peppers and onions and cook for about 2 minutes.

Remove marinated steak and add to the same pan.  Discard excess marinade.

Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes more.

Your steak should be cooked throughout and veggies should be slightly soft.

Chicken and shrimp are also excellent protein options in this marinade.  Chicken should be marinated 30 minutes and shrimp about 15 minutes.

Chicken will need to be cooked about 3 minutes longer than steak.

Shrimp will only need to cook for 2 minutes so let your veggies cook for about 6 minutes before adding the shrimp.

Top with homemade guacamole!  This is a recipe from The Food Network's Alton Brown.

Ingredients for homemade guacamole:

• 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled (save the pit)
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 medium onion, fine dice
• 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (If you want to make it extra tasty, buy fresh garlic and grate a clove over a microplaner.  This will give you a strong punch of flavor throughout.)

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat.

Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated.

Using a potato masher (or fork) add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash.  Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic.

Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice.

Once your avocado mixture is done add the pit to the bowl.  This will keep your guacamole from turning brown.  I have no idea how it works, but trust me, it does!

Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve with fajitas.

This recipe gives you lean protein, veggies and good fat.  The trifecta!

Hope you enjoy!