Thursday, May 4, 2017

Beef Fajita Salad with Lime Yogurt Dressing

Yum

Beef Fajita Salad with Creamy Lime Yogurt Dressing is a hearty salad that can be served at your next fiesta.

Since Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, you can run to the grocery store and get these simple ingredients today.   Your family and friends will enjoy digging into this salad. 

The warmer months of the year are getting here and I really love making salads into entrees when the weather is hot outside. 

This salad is a great low-carb alternative to eating traditional fajitas.  The warm seasoned beef and pepper/onion mixture is a great way to make a salad into a meal. 


I had to make a crispy topping to add some "crunch" to my salad.  I simply fried some tortilla strips and a few minutes later I had the perfect accent to this salad.

I decided to make this salad complete with a healthy creamy lime yogurt dressing.  This dressing compliments the salad with some of the same seasonings I used to marinate the meat.  The tangy, creamy, rich dressing makes you feel like you have a fiesta in your mouth.

All I needed was a fork and a glass of my pink grapefruit margarita to make me want to say "ole'!!"


Fajita Salad with Lime Yogurt Dressing 
Recipe by Ramona from Kitchen Simmer

Ingredients:

Fajita Marinade:
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper 
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbs chili powder (used to make chili con carne)  
1 tsp red chili flakes  

*Note taste marinade, if you find it needs a little salt, add about 1/2 tsp.  I add 1 tsp of Montreal Steak Seasoning as my additional salt.

Fajita Topping:
2 1/2 pounds of beef sirloin (sirloin flap meat is what I used) marinated 
2 large onions sliced
1-2 jalapeno peppers finely diced
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper 

Note:  You can use any color peppers you like, you can also use sweet mini peppers  


Crispy Tortilla Strips:
2-3 tortillas (depending on size)
1/2 canola oil for frying
salt for seasoning

Creamy Lime Yogurt Dressing:
1 1/2 cups plain full fat yogurt
Juice of 1/2 a lime (about 2 Tbs)
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp chili powder (used to make chili con carne)   
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder 
salt and black pepper to taste 

Fajita Salad:
Romaine Lettuce chopped 
tomatoes 
cucumbers
olives (black or green)
Fajita topping (meat, peppers and onions)
Creamy Lime Yogurt Salad Dressing

Directions:
 Place beef sirloin in a large plastic food storage bag.  Mix marinade and pour over meat.  Massage meat gently until all the marinade is distributed over the meat. Place in fridge to marinate for 2 hours.  Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

 Place meat in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes.  *We like our meat well done so it took 55 minutes.  If you like the meat slightly pink, take it out earlier. 

Once meat is cooked to desired "doneness", remove from oven and allow to sit for 15 minutes before slicing .  Slice against the grain.  This means look for the lines on the meat and then slice in the opposite direction.  

While the meat is resting make the pepper and onion mixture.  Heat a pan with 1 Tbs canola oil and saute with a little salt and black pepper.  I also added some of the juices from the baking pan with the fajita meat into the pepper and onions.

To make the Salad Dressing and Crispy Tortilla Strips:

Dressing: Mix together all ingredients and keep dressing chilled until ready to use. 
Note: Adjust ingredients to taste.

Tortillas: Cut into thin strips 2 inch strips.

Heat oil in shallow frying pan.  Once heated, add strips and fry until lightly golden.  Drain on paper towel and lightly sprinkle with salt while hot.

Assemble Fajita Salad:
1.  Chop and prepare all green salad ingredients. 
2.  Top with warm fajita meat and pepper/onion mixture
3.  Top with salad dressing as desired
4.  Top with crispy tortilla strips.






Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Kitchen Simmer formerly known as Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.