Pork Fajita Tacos are a take on a favorite restaurant meal. I don’t know about you but I don’t have one of those fancy skillets so I made these in the cast iron skillet at home! A super flavorful dish for any Taco Tuesday!
Happy Earth Day, Y’all! While I don’t have an activist bone in my body, I do believe in doing my part in walking as gently as possible on this earth. I always pick up trash, recycle just about everything and even compost my kitchen scraps in my vermicomposting system in my garage. (I know it’s weird but this produces the BEST fertilizer for my plants)! So on my walk this afternoon, I’ll bring a trash bag and pick up a little more. It’s the right thing to do! 🙂
So I was MIA last week. Again, life got in the way. This spring has just been really busy with projects! I have been in massive clean out mode. I can honestly say that if it’s in my house now, it’s something that I use. I can’t believe it but I have empty drawers and shelves! It feels really good to get rid (and donate) stuff that I don’t use but others can. I even cleaned out the refrigerator and freezers. If it didn’t have a date on it, it got pitched. Sad to say, I threw out a bunch of food but it felt good to do this as well. So now, I can enjoy the rest of the spring and summer and not worry about things that literally bug the crap out of me. Carpe Diem! Yeah for me…
So let’s talk tacos… Pork fajita tacos to be exact. This week I was wanting fajitas but didn’t feel like going out. I do like it when the sizzling plate of peppers, onions, and meat comes out to the table with that amazing smell and all the sides to go along with it but it was too much effort, so I decided to make my “easier” version at home! I wish that I had one of those fancy cast iron platters that fajitas are served on but no such luck, my cast iron skillet would have to work! And it worked just fine! I just decided to make full-blown tacos with all the fixings ahead for easier serving.
These pork fajita tacos are a little on the spicy side (because that’s what I wanted) but it’s cooled down with the sweet pineapple salsa and the queso fresco cheese loaded on top. It sure is a pretty dish filled with all the colors of spring. This version is gluten-free as I made them with corn tortillas but I also put them in flour tortillas and even ate them in hard taco shells! I have pretty much eaten this all week! I love weeks when meals stretch out over a few days! If you don’t want to use pork, chicken or steak will work just fine, I just happened to have pork on hand and it was delicious! Give these a try for your next TacoTuesday. Your belly will be happy! 🙂
A big pile of peppers and onions cooking down to make fajitas!
Perfectly cooked peppers and onions. My mouth is watering thinking about the tacos that I’m about to eat!
I had to include a picture of my plant babies. I’m a little sad though. I planted them in early March and they are nowhere near ready to be able to plant outdoors in Mid-May. I think my cucumbers and pepper plants will be ok as they are a little sturdier than the tomatoes. Good news though. The two big tomatoes or tomatillos came from my neighbor. He has a south facing window that is much warmer than my west-facing window where I place my seedlings. Isn’t it amazing to see what more sun will do? I think next winter I’ll explore hydroponic gardening. I heard it’s amazing especially for us sun challenged people! Heck, I’m in Colorado, the place knows it’s hydroponics…
My plant babies. In my opinion, they are the cutest!
Pork Fajita Tacos
Ingredients
For the Pork
- 1 1/2 pounds pork loin chops, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
For the Peppers and Onions
- 3 peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2 strips Pick your color. Red, Yellow, Orange, Green
- 2 cups thinly sliced onions
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
For the Pineapple Salsa
- 1 1/2 cups diced pineapple used fresh or canned
- 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced about 1 cup
- 1-2 Serrano chilies, seeded and diced
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilatro
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Pinch salt and pepper
Additional Ingredients
- 10-12 tortillas corn, white or taco shells
- chopped fresh cilantro
- queso fresco cheese, crumbled
- chopped avocado
Instructions
To Make the Pork
In a gallon size zip bag, add the pork, pineapple juice, lime juice, garlic, chili powders, cumin, salt and pepper. Squish around until well incorporated, seal and place in refrigerator and let marinate for 8 hours to overnight. Keep refrigerated until ready to cook,
- When ready to assemble the tacos, heat a large skillet (cast iron preferably) to a medium-high heat. Add a few tablespoons of neutral oil (canola or vegetable). While the oil is heating up, drain the pork in a colander and remove as much liquid as possible. In small batches, add the pork. Cook until browned. Give a taste to make sure you aren't overcooking. It won't take more than 2 minutes to cook the thin slices per batch. When cooked transfer to a plate and set aside.
To Make the Salsa
- In a medium-sized bowl combine the pineapple, tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt and, pepper. Stir to combine well. Set aside. (This can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use).
To make the Pepper/Onion Mixture
- In the same pan that the pork was cooked in, add the peppers, onion, garlic, chili powders, cumin, salt and, pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the peppers and onion become very tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
To Assemble the Tacos
- Take your tortilla of choice and layer the pepper/onion mixture on the bottom and top with pork. Add the salsa, cheese, cilantro, and avocado (if using) to top off the taco. Enjoy!