Friday 8th of March 2013

Hooray, it's Friday!  Our supper tonight was one of those dishes that I first started cooking to use up leftover meat from a roast chicken, but, in common with quite a few of our favourite 'leftovers' meals, has become so popular in its own right that I now have to contrive the necessary leftovers (i.e. cook them specially the night before).  Having said that, I did take the 'Distracted' option this week and buy a ready-roasted chicken from a local shop.  The other advantage of this being that the carcass of a 'rotisserie' chicken does make really wonderful stock, so that'll help with another supper later this week.  Sometimes, there seem to be so many different containers of homemade stock in our 'fridge that there's hardly enough room for any other food!  I can always find space for some cheese, though, funnily enough. 

You need ready made tortillas, or 'wraps' for this recipe.  These are easy enough to find; even our village shop carries them now.  I prefer to get mini-sized ones if I can (and the Co-op stocks good ones), just for ease of serving, but the more usual, larger ones can easily be used.  It's a long list of ingredients for me, but as it's only a stir-together job, I don't mind.  Anyway...

200g cream cheese

150g bought 'salsa' dip 

squeeze of lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

3 spring onions, shredded

60g parmesan,grated

200-300g cold cooked chicken, shredded

chopped parsley

Combine all these ingredients in a large bowl.

!6 'mini', or 10 'standard' tortilla 'wraps'

Dollop filling onto the bottom edge of each tortilla (warm them briefly in the microwave, a few at a time, to make rolling them up easier).  I reckon on about 2 tbsp for a 'mini' tortilla and about 4 tbsp for a standard one.  Roll up as tightly as you can, then place on a lined baking sheet.  When all the tortillas are filled and rolled, brush with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake the filled tortilla rolls at 180°c for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are crisp and tinged with brown at the edges.   Incidentally, if you like, you can make up a batch of these and freeze them, unbaked (but still brushed with oil and sprinkled with salt).  Cook from frozen, at the same temperature, for 25-30 minutes. We like to eat these with a green salad and bowls of soured cream and guacamole.  They go down very well, so don't be shy! Happy Friday, everyone!

Cath xx

'Banging' Nachos

Nacho platters are becoming a big favourite with us, midweek, for a fast, slightly 'treaty' supper that doesn't break the bank (and see my recipe for Loaded Beef & Bean Nachos as well).  They are also a great way to get children to eat more pulses and vegetables.  I prefer to make my own tortilla 'chips' for these; I feel that the method I give here makes for a more filling base to the plate than a bag of bought tortilla chips provides, plus you can avoid all the extra added salt of the commercially fried chips.  Just take some corn or flour tortillas, cut each disc into six wedges and spread out on lightly oiled baking sheets.  Bake at 200°c for 5 minutes, then turn them and return to the oven for another five minutes.  You can make these in advance and keep them in a tin if you like, but  they aren't a great deal of effort even if you do everything for this meal just before you eat it.  

Making this sauce by mixing spices and herbs with a drained can of chopped tomatoes was something of a revelation for me when I first tried it out (necessity being the mother of invention, as they say) and I share it with you now. It gives you a lovely thick, spicy sauce just perfect for nacho-type dishes or just as a dipping sauce; no need to shell out for long-life jars of incredibly salty, yet suspiciously sweet, 'salsa' ever again!

Sausage Nacho Platter

6 flour tortillas, cut and baked as above
6 sausages
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
400g can mixed beans, drained
100g sweetcorn, defrosted if frozen
4 fat spring onions, chopped
1 small red pepper, diced
150g Edam, grated

Skin the sausages and divide each into three.  Heat some cooking oil in a non-stick pan and fry the sausage pieces until well cooked through (about 3 minutes a side).  Meanwhile, drain the excess juice from the tomatoes, discard it and mix the chili powder, cumin and oregano in with the tomato chunks.

Spread the tortilla chips out across a very large plate, then top with the beans and the sweetcorn.  Scatter over the red pepper dice and the chopped spring onion.  Nestle the sausage 'nuggets' atop the vegetables, then dollop and drizzle the spicy tomato mixture all around the surface.  Cover everything with the grated Edam and pop the plate in a hot oven until everything is covered in molten, oozing cheese.  Serve with a crisp green salad on the side.

Cath xx

Viva los Nachos!

Did you know that Nachos have been around since 1943? Or that October 21 is the International Day of the Nacho? Or, even, that they were first created for a group of U.S. Army wives who turned up at a restaurant in Mexico just after closing time?  Well, just maybe those hungry ladies should be considered the patron saints of unexpected guests, because the Nachos Especiales (Nacho’s special dish) that Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya hurriedly created for them that day started a huge culinary wave that continues across the world today.  Anaya’s Mexican original was a simple dish of tortillas with pickled jalapeños and shredded cheese, but thanks to U.S. appetites, we have since become more accustomed to the delights of 'Loaded Nachos', with a multitude of delicious things piled onto the humble tortilla chips that lie beneath. 

You can, of course, use a bag of bought tortilla chips to make Nacho dishes, but I quite like to make this easy version in the oven to cut down on the fat and salt inherent in the dish.  Just take some corn tortillas (they are usually sold in packs of 8), cut into wedges and spread out on lightly oiled baking sheets.  Bake at 200°c for 5 minutes, then turn them and return to the oven for another five minutes.  You can make these in advance and keep them in a tin if you like; I normally do them during the day, at some point, for supper in the evening.

Loaded Nachos with Beef and Beans 

I have recently found some fab mixed beans for this, labelled 'Mexican Bean Salad', which are a mix of pinto, haricot, red kidney and black turtle beans, but any can of beans will do.

350g Tortilla chips (and see above)
1red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp mild chili powder
250g beef mince
400g can mixed beans (and see above) 
fresh parsley, chopped
2 or 3 tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
150g Edam, grated


Heat a little oil in a large pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and spice, stir well, then add the beef to the pan, Brown it really well until it is completely cooked, then mix in the bean salad and heat through. Stir in the chopped parsley.

Spread the tortilla chips out across a very large plate, then top with the beef-and-bean mixture.  Scatter the tomato dice over, then cover it all with grated cheese.  I find Edam best for Nachos, really, because it melts in a way I like without too much oiliness.  The cheese flavour is prominent, without becoming overpowering,  but feel free to substitute Cheddar, Mozzarella, Monterey Jack or whatever you fancy. Nachos are such a moveable feast!  Flash the plates under the grill to melt the cheese and serve with sour cream or natural yoghurt.  I like to serve  pickled jalapeños, though I leave them on the side as I'm the only one who goes there.  Similarly, you could add other side dishes; some salsa; even a dish of guacamole, or some of my avocado dip if you really want to push the boat out....

Cath xx

Long Awaited

Do you ever find that you've spent all day looking forward to what you've planned to cook for supper that night? Daydreaming about suet pastry, wine bubbling and steaming into a pan,or the smell of curry spices, when you should be doing something else? Speculatively eyeing the clock, in forlorn hope that it'll soon be time to get cooking? I hope so, because I certainly do!

Take today for instance. Because we had roast chicken last night, I got up a little earlier this morning to put some chicken stock on, preparing for a batch of what we now call Mexican Chicken Soup. Maybe it was the fact of making that small effort, maybe it was just how much I like the taste, but all day long I was thinking about that meal; even finding reasons to mention it in conversation so that I could dwell on it just a little longer.

I didn't disappoint, I'm happy - and a trifle relieved -to say. I really enjoyed my (first and second) helping, even managing to save some leftovers, ready for portioning out into boxes for the freezer.

As a footnote I did, this time, decide to use my posited shortcut idea of substituting shop-bought tortilla chips for the deep-fried tortilla strips. Just as enjoyable, in a different way, but massively less effort.

Quack-amole

I love avocados, though I'm sure my hips don't thank me for that. They are (she writes in her defence) full of so-called 'good' fats and extremely good for the skin and hair if the (mainly self-appointed) experts are to be believed. Incidentally, the avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable, though much like the tomato I always think of it as the latter.

While we are all recent converts to Mexican food, I've never been particularly keen on traditional guacamole (i.e. with tomato in it) and I remain indifferent. As I have taken to adding soft cheese to this, for a milder flavour and to lighten the calorific load, this has no business calling itself 'guacamole', nor would I presume to do so. I feel that the food I cook must have some integrity, however silly that may seem. Avocado Dip it is.

I usually serve this as a first course with tortilla chips or, occasionally, with hot toast. Breadsticks and crudités accompany it well as part of a buffet spread and, if you want something a bit more celebratory, it also goes very well with smoked salmon.

Avocado Dip

I pinched the idea of seasoning the lemon juice before adding it to the other ingredientsfrom one of Nigella Lawson’s books, though I forget which.

2 or 3 avocados, depending on size
2 fat spring onions, very finely chopped
100g low-fat soft cheese (or 0% Greek yoghurt if you prefer)
juice of ½ to 1 lemon, to taste
a good pinch of salt and a twist of pepper

Mash the avocados well, then add the spring onions. Beat the soft cheese until smooth, then stir this into the avocado mixture. Stir the seasoning into the lemon juice and then pour it in, mixing well. Scrape the dip into a halfway decent-looking bowl, then cover the surface with clingfilm immediately and keep it there until seconds before you serve it. The lemon juice helps the dip to keep for a little while before turning brown, but don’t push your luck...

After our first course we enjoyed a pasta bake made with 200g of pasta, cooked and mixed with some leftover cooked chicken from Sunday's roast and some tinned sweetcorn. It was all bound together with a cheesy sauce and baked with more cheese atop.

Perky Turkey

It's been soooo hot today; not that I'm complaining, you understand. I've been shivering in "It's Spring, dammit!-denial" for weeks now, so it's rather nice that the weather has finally caught up with my wardrobe. James and I spent the afternoon (while Chris was at school) outside, playing and sitting, chatting to friends, respectively. I wasn't sure, on the way home, if the meal I'd planned for this evening would go down terribly well because of the heat. I'm happy to report that it did, after all - clean plates all round.

This is definitely a throw-it-together kind of meal. You can vary this in all sorts of ways to make it suit your mood and (in my case, anyway) what needs using up from the freezer.

Turkey Enchiladas

300g turkey, sliced
400g can mixed beans, drained and rinsed
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
6 flour tortillas
100g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

Heat a little oil in a large pan and fry the turkey strips until just cooked through. Add the beans, then stir in half of one can of tomatoes. Use this mixture to fill the tortillas, laying the 'wraps' side-by-side in an ovenproof dish. Tip the rest of the tomatoes into the pan, along with 100ml water, and bring to the boil. Pour this sauce over the tortillas, pushing the edges down to cover everything well. Top with grated cheese and bake at 180°c for 25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.


For an easy first course, I set out a bowl of yoghurt and another of Salsa Mexicana Verde (from a can!), with some shop-bought tortilla chips. The salsa, which came from Mexgrocer, is quite tangy and piquant but nonetheless addictive for that. The boys aren't so keen, but there's time...

Tortilla Filla

After all the drama of my car accident the week before, last week I was nursing a very poorly Christopher who was off school with a terribly upset stomach. Not much time for anything except cuddles and lots of laundry, though I did manage to keep a lunch date with friends to celebrate of of their birthdays. Cooking was limited by the facts of Karl's shifts and Christopher's inability to eat anything, so I used what little evening time I had for rest and relaxation as far as possible. However, I'm now back, as it were, and this week I will try again to get things back to normal again (famous last words...) and for us that started with a family meal. Tonight I cobbled together lots of bits and pieces and made a really good dinner which was so popular I just know I'll repeat it again and again. It started as a way to use up a pack of wholemeal tortillas that Hubby brought home (as they were reduced to the bargain price of ninepence), which had been sitting in the freezer for a while.

Mustering the minute sum of my Mexican cooking knowledge, I came up with this little wonder, which is basically my riff on enchiladas. I made the filling and sauce together, scooping the 'bits' out to fill the tortilla rolls, then used the sauce to moisten the dish before topping it all off with cheese.

Tortilla Bake

If you prefer, use strips of beef or pork instead of chicken. The Mexican Pepper Recaudo is available online from Mexgrocer as Mexican Marinade & Grill Sauce, or you could subsitute the equivalent quantity of some other Mexican-style cooking sauce)

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion, sliced
500g chicken, cut into strips
2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 311g bottle Mexican Pepper Recaudo (and see above)
6 flour tortillas (mine were wholemeal but - meh!)
grated cheese (strong cheddar for preference)


Heat some oil in a big pan and, when hot, fry the garlic cloves until they begin to colour. Scoop them out of the oil and discard them. Drop in the sliced onion and cook briefly to soften, then add the chicken strips and peppers and fry until the chicken is cooked through. Tip in the tomatoes and the Recaudo, then bring the sauce to the boil. Scoop out the chunky chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon and use to fill each of the 6 tortillas, rolling them up and laying them side-by-side in an ovenproof dish. Pour the sauce over and around the tortilla rolls, then top with plenty of cheese. Bake at 200 for 25 minutes until browned on top, then serve.

We ate ours with a simple green salad; all it needed, really.

Feeding Friends

It's been over a week since my last post, but things just don't stop for us (for which read me) at the moment. The boys and I had a fabulous week staying with my folks and were thoroughly spoiled - just what you need from your Mum and Dad, or Granny and Grandpa.

I even managed to fit in a couple of solo days out while my Mum looked after the children, which was bliss. I love them to bits, but sometimes it's nice to walk at your own pace and just poke around in shops for a bit of retail therapy. Souring the treat was my fruitless search for some attractive daytime shoes in a size 9, even after visiting a major shopping centre and (I think) every shoe shop in Bath! I bumped into more than one person on an identical mission while I was out, and nearly all the shop assistants admitted that mine is now a common problem - so WHY aren't the suppliers meeting the demand? Yes I'm tall, but I still want to be able to buy glamorous shoes with a decent heel, not ugly pumps and things that look like orthopaedic school shoes. Sorry, rant over.

When we got home on Friday night, it was a quick turnaround before some friends arrived to stay on Saturday. The boys stayed up a bit late for dinner and I cooked chili con carne with all the trimmings, followed by a Baked Alaska.

My Big Fat Chilli con Carne

1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp each of ground cumin and dried oregano
1 beef stock cube
500g beef mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can red kidney beans, drained
200g can sweetcorn, drained (or equivalent amount of frozen sweetcorn)
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

Heat some garlic-infused olive oil in a large ovenproof pan with a lid and fry the onion with the spices and herbs until soft. Add the mince and brown it really well, then tip in the tomatoes, the crumbled stock cube and half a can of water. Bring to the boil then put the lid on the pan and transfer it to a 150°c oven for 30 minutes. Stir in the drained kidney beans, the corn and the red pepper, then return the covered pan to the oven for another half an hour or so.

For a family meal I usually serve this with baked potatoes or rice, some salad and a bowl of grated cheddar cheese but, for something a little bit special I like to have all the trimmings; rice, tortilla chips, guacamole, soured cream and grated cheese. Even after all that we had room for a bit of pudding , so another retro favourite was delivered with a flourish...I used a bought sponge flan case for the base, topped with some caramel dulce de leche, but you can equally use some good jam or fresh fruit, puréed or not and even - gasp - make your own cake base if you like.

Baked Alaska

small bought sponge flan case
Dulche de Leche, jam, fruit or similar to cover the sponge base
ice cream, preferably not 'soft scoop'

For the meringue:

3 egg whites
150g caster sugar

Put the sponge on an ovenproof plate and top it with the caramel or whatever. Preheat the oven to 210°c. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then whisk in the sugar to make a thick and glossy meringue. You can have this done before dinner and just finish things off at the last minute. When you're ready for pudding, pile the ice cream onto the prepared base, then thickly, and completely, cover it with the meringue. nPop it in the hot oven for about 5 minutes until the meringue is crisp and golden on the outside. Serve immediately, it doesn't keep well as you can imagine!

After the children were in bed, we shared drinks and some cheese while we played Scrabble, before moving on to Pass the Pigs and 'Simpsons' Monopoly.

For lunch today I whipped up a batch of my Split Pea Soup with Prosciutto, which went down very well.

Bump!

Well, it's Christopher's birthday tomorrow and I'm taking a break from blowing up about a million balloons and finishing off preparations for his party. The cake is finished and I am so proud of myself. When Chris asked for a Mr Men cake, he initially wanted "all the friends", but I persuaded him to choose his favourite one. It worked out really well; I'm thrilled that the cake looks just like good old Mr Bump!

Underneath the icing the cake is my birthday standard; a vanilla-flavoured sponge, filled with some of my homemade blackberry jam. I keep a jar of golden caster sugar with a few cut-up vanilla pods in it for baking, but you could add a teaspoonful of vanilla extract with the eggs instead, if you prefer.

Birthday Cake

200g vanilla sugar
200g soft butter
4 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time, with a spoonful of flour after each. Sift in the rest of the flour and combine gently. Divide the mixture equally between two 20cm greased and base-lined sandwich tins and bake at 190°c for 20 minutes. Remove the cakes from the tins and cool them on a rack. Sandwich the two cakes together with jam. I brush the top of the cake with a little apricot jam to help the icing stick to it.

Hubby is at work late this evening, so it was just me and the boys for supper. I got some more of my huge Mexgrocer pack of corn tortillas out of the freezer and made quesadillas for us, using a mixture of grated cheddar and mozzarella and some leftover roasted vegetables from last night. You could use whatever you fancy, I suppose. Within reason.

Quesadillas

corn tortillas
grated cheese
leftover roasted vegetables

Heat a non-stick frying pan. Use the tortillas to make a 'sandwich' with some cheese and vegetables. Plop the tortillas into the pan and dry fry for a couple minutes until the cheese is melting. Flip the quesadilla over to toast the other side too, then slip it out of the pan and onto a board or something to rest while you cook the rest. Cut into wedges to eat; I had a dollop of soured cream with mine, but Chris, being a boy, wanted ketchup. These were fantastic finger food for the boys, but particularly for James; the cheese sticks everything together so he can't pick it all apart, like he so often does when I give him a 'normal' sandwich.

Holey Mole

Christopher's Birthday is fast approaching and I've got a party to get ready for. That means baking, and lots of it. I baked his cake today, which I'll decorate tomorrow, and made some chocolate cookies and some cheese biscuits. These mini-sized biscuits go down really well as snacks with both my boys , so I thought they'd be a tasty, healthyish addition to Saturday's birthday tea.

Cheesy Bites

100g soft butter
50g cheddar, finely grated
75g mozzarella, grated
200g granary flour
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp English mustard powder
milk

Beat the butter and grated cheeses together, then stir in the flour, baking powder and mustard powder. Add a splash of milk to bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Roll into 32 small balls, then place on oiled baking sheets. Flatten the balls a little with the bottom of a glass (dipped in flour). Prick each flattened round two or three times with a fork.

Bake for 12 minutes at 180°c, then remove to a rack to cool. They keep for about a week in an airtight box, but they're very moreish, so they might not actually make it that far...

After the baking extravaganza, I really needed something straightforward to cook for dinner. I'd ordered a carton of ready-made mole (mo-lay) sauce as part of my Mexgrocer consignment the other weeks, so tonight I tried it out.

I roasted some chicken thighs, pouring the mole sauce over them for the last 15 minutes' of cooking time. Served with some plain basmati rice and some roasted vegetables, it was a really good, easy supper. Christopher was a bit suspicious of the sauce until I told him it had chocolate in it (which is true), then he tried it and it went down a storm. James gobbled it up, same as he does with everything at the moment. Growing boys and all that. I think I'll have to get some more of this stuff in; supper tonight felt like a total skive!

Hot Potatoes

We're all still loving our 'Mexican Week'. I'm cooking things I never even thought of trying before and I'm enjoying it immensely. It really hasn't even been any extra effort - no more work than making the usual family meals. Tonight's dinner was my adaptation of one of the recipes on the Mexgrocer website. I didn't want to scare the children (or the old man!) with anything too outlandish, so this Mexican take on cheesy mash immediately struck me as likely to be very popular. I wasn't wrong; the baby in particular is now a right little burrito-face. I get the feeling I'll be making this again before too long...

Chile Potato Burritos

I prefer to steam potatoes rather than boiling them, but do as you like. To steam them, peel and cut into large chunks, then place in a steamer over boiling water for about 25 minutes. Quickly empty the water pan and use it to dry off and mash the cooked potatoes.

4 large potatoes
1 scant tsp ground de arbol chile powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
150g cheddar cheese, grated
8 corn tortillas
400g can chopped tomatoes
about 5 tbsp Mexican Pepper Recaudo Marinade & Grill Sauce

Cook and mash the potatoes (and see above). Beat in 100g of the cheese, the chile powder, cumin and oregano. Spoon some of the potato down the centre of each tortilla and roll up. Place the tortilla rolls ('seam' facing down) side by side in an ovenproof dish. Stir together the tomatoes, the pepper sauce and 100ml water. Pour this over the tortilla in the dish and scatter over the rest of the cheese. Bake at 180°c for half an hour until the cheese has melted and the protruding edges of the tortillas are crisp and browned.

I served this with a simple salad of chopped tomatoes and cucumber and a bowl of soured cream. It was actually quite hard, having to leave some in the dish for Karl, who was due to arrive home from work after the boys and I had eaten dinner this evening. I would have eaten it all, given half a chance! I can hardly even begin to describe how tasty it was, nor urge you to try it strongly enough.

Sopa di Tortilla

Lost for inspiration on the Mexican food front a couple of weeks ago, I trawled the internet for ideas. I kept coming across references to Sopa de Tortilla, or Tortilla Soup. Intriguing, until I realised that the 'tortilla' part is a garnish of crisply fried tortillas. Irresistible...

This, then, is my interpretation of the dish. I've tried to stick to the Mexican ideal, but I make no promises as to its authenticity. I used cooked chicken left over from our Sunday roast, plus stock that I made from the carcass yesterday. I got the canned black beans, chile powder and tortillas as part of my shopping trip to Mexgrocer last week.

Chicken Soup with Tortilla

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.2 litres chicken stock
75g white rice, uncooked
300g cooked chicken, shredded
560g can black beans, drained
340g can sweetcorn, drained
1 tsp ground de arbol chile powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
corn tortillas (I used 5)
oil for frying
grated cheddar


Heat some oil in a large pan. Fry the onion and garlic until just soft. Pour in the chicken stock and tip in the rice. Bring to the boil, then add the shredded cooked chicken breasts along with the beans and sweetcorn. Stir in the chile powder, cumin and oregano. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

While the soup simmers, cut the tortillas into thinnish strips. Heat a couple of centimetres' depth of oil in a deep, wide pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the tortilla strips, in batches, until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle of cheese on the top of each portion. Top with a handful of the tortilla strips. This was a really hearty meal, much enjoyed by all of us. I think it could do very well with vegetable broth and more beans and corn as a veggie alternative, if you like. It had a nice little twang of chile, but if you like your food spicier (than I dare to cook it with two little ones to feed), add up to another teaspoon of chile powder. It also occurs to me that for speed (and fewer pots to wash), you could top each bowful with some ready-made tortilla chips.

Wrap & Roll

A while back I was invited to take a culinary adventure into Mexican food by Mexgrocer.co.uk. I was really excited by the idea as this isn't a cuisine I've ever really explored before. The ingredients on the site are truly authentic and it seemed a fantastic introduction to something totally new. Living in a rural area means that we lack access to the range of ethnic grocery shops found in larger towns and cities, so internet shops like this one could be a real boon for cooks who want to dip a metaphorical toe in the waters of international cuisine. I spent a long time surfing the site and planning a week or so of evening meals based around some of the ingredients available and then - click! - went shopping

When the box turned up there was a gorgeous waft of spices as I opened it and I could hardly wait to get started. I'd already decided to start with something fairly straightforward and make fajitas the first night, using the spice blend I'd bought and some of the corn tortillas. I used steak for Karl and myself and cooked some chicken for the boys; James can't really cope with chewing steak yet and while Chris likes a bit of steak, I knew he'd want some chicken as well if I did some for his baby bro.

Fajitas

1 large onion, sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
2 thin-cut frying steaks, cut into strips
1 chicken breast
Mexgrocer Fajita Spice Mix
corn tortillas

Heat some oil in a pan and fry the onion and peppers until soft, sprinkling over a large pinch of the fajita spice mix as they cook. Scoop into an ovenproof dish and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the steak strips, then the chicken strips. Add some more of the spice mix as you cook each batch of strips. Warm the tortillas briefly in the oven, then serve everything at the table for self-assembly.

I also put some soured cream and a dish of grated cheese out on the table. The boys loved their hands-on dinner. The actual construction of the fajitas defeated them rather, but they still seemed to enjoy fiddling about and getting in a bit of a mess. As for me, I alway like to play with my food, and the spicing was just right. Warm and fragrant but not blast-your-socks-off HOT.

I must mention that the corn tortillas looked quite small and I was a little bit worried that they wouldn't make much of a meal, but actually they were incredibly satisfying, much more so than the flour tortillas I've bought from the supermarket to make 'wraps' in the past: the texture was much better too, pleasantly mealy and not at all 'chewy'. This meal also proved to be a good way of stretching quite a small amount of meat a long way. Even my notoriously hollow-legged husband found himself full after this dinner. All in all, a stunning result fo a first try; I'm looking forward to the next round tomorrow...