So once again I am going to prove to you how lazy I am. (I know confession is good for the soul, and I obviously have more to confess than most, but I seem to always be telling you of my deepest and darkest personal deficiencies.) And although laziness might not be up there on the list of the 10 most abhorrent habits known to mankind, it’s right up there on my own “must work on” list, second only to patience. But enough about my faults and on to Baked Chicken Fajitas!

As I wrote in my post entitled Chicken Fajitas, I love fajitas. And for my birthday party this year, I decided to follow my good friend Jim’s advice and serve taco/burritos with three types of meat filling. So I put my good friends Paul and Jim to work on the beef and pork (the two best meat cooks I know) while I concentrated on the chicken. I decided my chicken fajita recipe would taste great all wrapped up in a flour tortilla and slathered with all kinds of yummy condiments. But (and here comes the lazy part), I didn’t want to fry all the chicken and veggies necessary to feed 80 guests. (That’s a lot of chicken and veggies to fry, my friends. And although I might be lazy, I’m not crazy!) So I thought maybe there was a way to bake the chicken and veggies and still retain that lovely mixture of tender chicken and semi-crunchy veggies. So taking some good advice from several cooking sites I visited, while at the same time retaining the essence of my original recipe, I came up with this baked version.

Now I know it is in very poor taste to brag about oneself, but in this case I simply must! Not only did I turn my laziness into an inspiration, my inspiration resulted in nothing less than a fabulous new way to prepare one of my all time favorite dishes. The chicken remained tender and succulent and the veggies had that lovely semi-crunchy “roasted veggie” taste. Amazing! So in retrospect, maybe laziness (in certain circumstances) isn’t such a bad thing after all. I can live with that!

I hope you enjoy this new version of an all-American Mexican classic.

• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. onion powder
• ½ tsp. granulated garlic
• ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
• scant 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 1/3-inch strips
• 2 green peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 lg. yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 T. fresh lime juice
• warm flour tortillas
• shredded lettuce, grated cheddar cheese, salsa, thin avocado slices, and sour cream (preferably Mexican) for serving

Combine the cornstarch, chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, granulated garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Place the chicken, peppers, and onion in a 10×16-inch pan. Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the meat and vegetables. Drizzle the meat and veggies with the olive oil, and using your hands, toss the ingredients until everything is well coated in oil and seasoning. Bake the mixture in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or just until the chicken is done. Stir once half way through the cooking process. Remove from oven and squeeze lime juice over all. Serve in warmed tortillas, with lettuce, cheese, salsa, avocado slices, and sour cream or whatever your heart desires.