Beef Fajitas with a Creamy Avocado Sauce

When planning of my menu for the week, I try to think of things we haven't had in a long time and rotate what I make.  One thing that popped into my mind was fajitas!  We did have a lot of chicken in the freezer, but we have red meat so rarely that it sounded like the best bet.  For this recipe, I used tenderloin steaks which made the fajitas just fall apart and so flavorful!  I will make this recipe again in a heartbeat.  The creamy avocado sauce was PERFECT.  It was easy, fresh with the flavor of the cucumber and lime juice and had a good kick from the cumin.  I would use this sauce for nachos, tacos or fajitas....or just to dunk some tortilla chips in!

Beef Fajitas
Recipe courtesy of Relish!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 
• 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 pounds tenderloin steak, cut into cubes
• 1 avocado , seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped 
• 1/2 English cucumber , coarsely chopped 
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 white onion , thinly sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded, cored and thinly sliced

Directions

• In large bowl combine oil, garlic and onion, oregano, pepper, and salt; set aside.
• Add meat to oil mixture; toss to coat evenly.
• Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, for Avocado Sauce, in food processor combine avocado, cucumber, mint, sour cream, lime juice, water, salt, and cumin.
• Cover and process until nearly smooth, stopping to scrape sides as necessary.
• Transfer to serving bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Heat large pan to medium heat.
• Remove the meat from the marinade.
• Cook meat for 10 to 12 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F), turning to brown evenly.
• Place the onion and peppers into another pan on medium high heat, adding oil and salt and pepper. 
• Cook the onion and peppers until tender.
• Serve with the avocado sauce, grilled vegetables and toppings of your choice.  We used shredded cheese, cilantro and sour cream.