Fajita Seasoning

Last night the darling wife made fajitas using a seasoning recipe from food.com as a guide.

Seasoning Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or pinch of cayenne, to taste) 
  

For the filling she sauteed red pepper, onion and sliced chicken breast adding the seasoning mix from above (she omitted the paprika, onion powder and red pepper flakes in our version last night).  We also used a package of Mexican Rice, shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese, sliced tomato, salsa and sour cream as filling options.  We used small, white flour tortillas as our wraps.

This was a tasty meal, which everyone enjoyed.  We even made mini fajitas for the toddler, basically bite sized wraps he could easily manage.

Nanny's Goulash

One of the sites we use quite often is Allrecipes.com.  I made up a batch of Nanny's Goulash last night which we re-heated for supper tonight.  I don't follow the recipe exactly in terms of the vegetables it calls for, but I find it a useful guide for the spices.  I also like this recipe because it uses ground beef, which we have a lot of since we bought half a cow at the beginning of the summer.

Last night I used orange and red peppers since they were on sale this week, omitted the zucchini, and used regular yellow onions in place of the red onion.  In place of the stewed tomatoes I used Aylmer Accents tomatoes, one Italian and one Garlic and Olive Oil.  The nice thing with the Accents is they are already diced and add a bit of extra seasoning to the recipe.

Darling wife boiled up some alphabet pasta to add to the goulash at supper, the kids enjoy the letter shaped pasta, and we added finely shredded mozzarella cheese as a topping.  Overall this is a well received and tasty recipe.  It is also convenient either as leftovers the next day, or can be frozen and pulled out at a later date.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 (8 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 zucchini, thickly sliced
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped

Directions

1. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Remove beef with a slotted spoon and discard fat.
2. Return skillet to stove, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms, green and red peppers, squash, onion, paprika, basil, garlic salt, and pepper; cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in beef and tomatoes; simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Garlic Fingers

Here is a fairly straight-forward recipe for garlic fingers I created based on a post at ChowTown by RuneRider and my trusty pizza dough recipe from the Black and Decker All-in-one Bread Machine Manual (embedded below).

Ingredients for one pan:

• Pizza dough (see Bread Machine Manual recipe below)
• Melted butter (2 tbsp)
• Chopped garlic (I use a couple spoonfuls from a jar, approximately 2 cloves)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (I use a shaker and cover the dough, approximately 0.25 cups
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (I put a good layer on top, approximately 1.5 cups

The pizza dough takes about 2 hours to make in the bread machine.  Once it is done I usually divide it between two greased round pizza pans and flatten it out to cover the pan.

Once the dough is flattened take the melted butter and spread it over the dough.  I usually melt the butter in a glass measuring cup and use a silicone brush to coat the dough. After the butter, I dollop two spoonfuls of the chopped garlic onto the dough, and use the brush to spread the garlic out until it evenly covers the dough. Next shake the Parmesan cheese evenly over the surface, and finally top with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 425 F for 15 to 25 minutes (our oven at home runs quite hot so we usually only leave it in for about 12 minutes).

As for the donair sauce, I once tried the following recipe from a page entitled All things Donair, but I was not 100% happy with how it turned out (perhaps because the condensed milk I used was quite old and I was trying to make do with ingredients I had on hand).  I haven't tried the other sauce recipes at this point, but perhaps I will the next time I make up garlic fingers. You can also buy donair sauce in the deli department of the local grocery stores in Atlantic Canada, which is what I did the last time I made garlic fingers which I took to a pot-luck event.

Alternate SUPER-THICK Sauce Recipe(confirmed to be excellent)

• 2/3 cup canned sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

(Or for a 14oz tin of sweetened condensed milk, add 1/2 cup vinegar, and 1 tsp garlic powder)
Follow the same instructions as above, except that you really need to stir for a long time to get the condensed milk and vinegar mixed properly. Do not be alarmed. Stirring this recipe for a long time will not make it thin.

Leave set for a few minutes and you will be able to turn the bowl upside down and none of it will pour out.

Please note, the amount of sauce provided in this recipe will likely last two servings at most (if used properly). I find that the sauce can be made in larger batches and survives an unnaturally long time in the fridge.

Inspiration

If I were to describe much of my kitchen experience to this point, I would have to say I am functional.  I can get a balanced meal put together, but I am hoping to add some flair and creativity to my kitchen endeavors.

As I experiment with new recipes and techniques I am hoping to use The Kitchen Klutz as a place where I can catalog ideas I want to try, document things that I have tried, and record general impressions of the recipes and techniques I've come across.

I'm hoping, as well, to build a repository of "family tested" recipes, to help make meal planning and preparation less of a chore.  It is tough, for me anyway, to keep a mental inventory of recipes.  I have a few regulars I like to pull out, but there are plenty of good meals I've made over the years that just never make it back into the mental rotation.  I'm hoping the process of documenting the recipes will help jog the memory when it comes time to plan those next set of meals.