No one can say I did not try. I spent an en­tire af­ter­noon giving my children a les­son in what I would like for my Mother’s Day meal. But did I get miso-mar­i­nat­ed cod with mush­room ri­sot­to? Of course not. Since my oldest son was the only one able to make it home, my hus­band pitched in. And what did they make? Chick­en fajitas.
Well, I do love chick­en fajitas. And Tim added his first blog post.
Tim: My mom asked me to take over blog­ging duties for my sis­ter who is head­ing to med­i­cal school in July (congratulations Sal­ly!) So moving for­ward, as a 27-year-old male, I will be contributing to this blog … We may want to re­think the ti­tle.
As promised, I came home for Moth­er’s Day … the only child to come home, I might add. Al­though, with a broth­er at Princeton and now, a sis­ter in med­i­cal school, I think it’s safe to say I’m still com­fort­ably in 3rd place. Af­ter the leafy, green pea sauce last week, I wasn’t sure what to ex­pect for the meal, but my dad and I decided on fajitas, my mom’s fa­vor­ite. And I was thrilled. We mar­i­nat­ed the chick­en with a lime sauce and some onions and peppers (I’m not sure what was in the lime sauce, the Phil­lies were on). It had to mar­i­nate for 2 hours, dur­ing which I took full ad­van­tage of my par­ents’ re­clin­er and 50-inch TV to watch two episodes of FX’s Justified, that show is le­git. Next, we baked the fajitas for about 20 minutes, and, then my mom gave me the most im­portant job … making gin and tonics. Bluecoat gin, some top-shelf ton­ic wa­ter, and we were in busi­ness. When the chick­en was done baking we grilled it out­side for a few minutes on each side. While the chick­en grilled we sau­téed the peppers and onions on the stove top. My dad made gua­ca­mo­le (his first time and it was not bad!) And we were ready to rock-and-roll. Well, ex­cept for the fact that we had to wait 20 minutes for Mom to pho­to­graph the food. Re­al­ly, Inquirer? No pho­tog­ra­pher? Oth­er than that, the food turned out de­li­cious and the gin and tonics went down easy. All in all, a great Mother’s Day.

Chicken Fajitas
Makes 4 to 6 portions
Juice of 4 limes
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 large onions, halved lengthwise and cut into -inch slivers
2 bell peppers (I like red and yellow), seeds removed and sliced into strips
2 packages (7 ounces each) 6-inch corn or flour tortillas, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups guacamole (see note)
8 ounces sour cream or Greek yogurt
2 ripe plum tomatoes, cut into  -inch dice
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
Tabasco or hot pepper sauce
1. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, oregano, and  teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a measuring cup. Mix well.
2. Put the chicken breasts in a 9-by-13-inch Pyrex pan. Add the sliced onions and peppers. Pour the marinade over, making sure to turn over the chicken breasts so the marinade coats both sides. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and marinate, turning occasionally, for 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare hot coals or gas grill for grilling.
4. Remove the chicken, onions, and peppers from the refrigerator and bake, still covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts and set aside.
5. Transfer the onions and peppers to a heavy skillet, adding the remaining marinade. Sprinkle with the remaining  teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until they are very soft and slightly browned, about 15 minutes. Drain, if necessary, and set aside.
6. Place the chicken breasts over a hot grill and grill until they are cooked through but still moist, about 3 minutes on each side. Slice them into strips, 3 inches long and -inch wide.
7. Throw the tortillas on the grill for about one minute on each side, just to crisp them up, but watch carefully. (This is optional, but so worth it!)
8. Lay the tortillas on a large platter and serve along with the chicken, onions, guacamole, yogurt or sour cream, tomatoes, and cheese. Let each person fill a tortilla according to taste. Top with a dash of hot sauce. Fold or roll the tortillas and enjoy!
Note: To make guacamole, scoop the insides of 2 avocados into a bowl. Add 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, and mash the avocados coarsely. With a fork, gently mix in 1 chopped plum tomato, 1 tablespoon chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of Tabasco. Serve within an hour at room temperature. 
- Adapted from “The New Basics Cookbook” (Workman, 1989)
Per serving (based on 6): 373 calories, 26 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams sugar, 22 grams fat, 62 milligrams cholesterol, 747 milligrams sodium, 4 grams dietary fiber.