it's friday...hooray!

fridays are awesome for a multitude of reasons.

1) it's the end of the work week.

2) in the spring, it means i have a rugby game the next day (and tomorrow it'll probably be in the rain!)

3) every other friday is my grocery shopping day!

i've made it a point to only go grocery shopping once every 2 weeks. the reason is that so many times i have all this food i buy that gets tucked away somewhere in the fridge or pantry and ends up going bad. what a waste of money! by only going to the store every other week (and no in between trips, unless it's a special occasion of some sort - i.e. superbowl), i've been saving money, actually eating all (or most) of the food that i purchase, and coming up with new recipes to use up whatever ingredients i have left. not a bad deal, in my opinion.

i always scour the ralphs weekly ad and decide what i'm going to buy based on their sales. i just got my ralphs reward packet for this month, and i received a $9 certificate...woohoo! i also had a bevy of coupons to use, so i was super stoked about that. this week, both beef flap meat and chuck roast were on sale. i'm making some pot roast in the slow cooker tonight (which i've never done), so i'll let you know how that turns out tomorrow. for tonight's dinner though, i thought i would make some awesome fajitas! i had never used flap meat before, so i looked at some different recipes online. it seemed like i could use it similarly to a flank steak, which is why i decided to make fajitas with it. my friends cmoore and melinski came over for our hot dinner date, complete with an on demand viewing of buffy the vampire slayer.

here is my new fajita recipe for you. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!! i'm even going to share my guacamole recipe with you, which is the crown jewel of my party offerings. feel special, y'all.

friday fajitas!!! ole!!!

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 lbs beef flap meat (flank steak can be substituted)

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped

1 bunch cilantro, 1/2 of the bunch chopped

1 lemon

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp cumin

3 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper

2 avocados

1 large roma tomato, chopped

1 large red onion, 1/4 of it finely diced, the

rest thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 lime (i used lemon, but only because i still have 1/2 a treeful from karl)

8 whole wheat tortillas

salsa

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream (optional)

combine the garlic cloves, 1/2 the jalapeno, 1/2 bunch of cilantro, and cumin in a blender. blend these ingredients together. add the juice of the lemon, vinegar, and olive oil with salt & pepper and blend again. put the marinade inside a gallon ziploc bag with the meat. put the meat in the fridge and let it hang out for 45 minutes.

while the meat is marinating, prepare your guacamole. in a bowl, combine the avocado, finely diced 1/4 of the red onion, the remainder of the jalapeno (finely diced), remainder of the chopped cilantro, chopped tomato, lime juice, and salt & pepper. mash all the ingredients together. (i like using my hands because i can still leave the guac chunky and avoid squishing all the tomatoes in the guac.) taste and adjust seasoning as needed. set aside.

preheat the oven to 300. before grilling the meat, pull it out of the fridge and let it take the chill off for about 5-10 minutes. heat a grill pan to screaming hot on high heat. place meat on the grill. DO NOT MOVE THE MEAT. let it get the yummy caramelization going. cook the steak for about 6-7 minutes per side for medium rare. after you take the meat off the grill, let it rest on the cutting board for about 5 minutes.

while the meat is cooking, wrap the tortillas in some foil and place in the oven to warm.

while the meat is resting, put the sliced red onions and bell peppers on the grill where the meat had been grilled. again, let the veggies sit for a bit to developed some nice grill marks and color. season with salt & pepper and grill until they look nice and charred. put into a bowl/platter.

after the meat has rested, slice the meat thinly against the grain so it doesn't end up chewy. mix in the meat with the peppers and onions. serve with the warmed tortillas, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. OLE!!!