November Secret Recipe Club: Herb Seasoning

The holidays are upon us (can someone please tell time to SLOW DOWN!), the days are getting shorter, and I'm in the mood for a quick meal when I get home from work at dark:thirty. The first evening after the time change Bender and I resorted to ordering pizza just so we could get home and stay there. Though we are no longer living in Germany, we still acted that way during the summer and did the grocery shopping one day at a time. November has taught us that those days are over and we are trying to plan in advance and do the shopping less often. It's only Sunday night and I've shopped through Thursday! (Please ignore the fact that I will be eating out Tuesday and Thursday.)

While searching for recipes to reduce the effort I need to spend in the kitchen during the holiday season, I came across a fabulous Herb Seasoning recipe on my Secret Recipe Club assignment for the month of November. Chocolate and Chilies is chock full of recipes I can't wait to get my hands on when I'm not quite so depressed about how short the days are (read: February when I finally start noticing the days getting longer). In the meantime, I'll stick to quick, easy, and flavorful. And what better way to quickly add flavor than an herb seasoning? You know I love spice rubs, and this herb seasoning will be the perfect counterpoint to the thick, heavy seasonings filled with chili powders. A nice palate cleanser, indeed!

If you don't go all wonky when the time changes and the days are super short (or even if you do!), head on over and check out the fabulously fun Chocolate and Chilies! The 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta is on the calendar for Friday night when Bender's out.

Herb Seasoning
adapted from Chocolate and Chilies, originally from Get Cracking!!

2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoons (or to taste) crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine herbs and spices in a clean, dry, airtight jar. Shake away, my friend!

THOUGHTS:
Oh dear, I'm completely out of garlic powder and oregano now. Guess I'll be adding those to my shopping list! But that let that distract you from the herb seasoning. It's great with chicken, and I'll be trying it on pork chops tomorrow night! I'm also seriously thinking about adding it to a pasta with white sauce just to change that up a bit. I thought about adding salt, but held back because I enjoy salting my meat before adding other seasonings so I can control the added salt more easily. I did add some heat with the crushed red pepper flakes, and I think the author of a blog named Chocolate and Chilies can't be too disappointed with that addition!

VERDICT:
Yippee-a-change-from-the-same-old-spice-rub: 2 votes!

Secret Recipe Club: Homemade Fajita Seasoning

I used to love making those layered sand thingys!

It's Secret Recipe Club time! Believe it or not, I have four dishes ready to go on the blog, but have failed in the writing-it-up stage. I seem to have writer's block. Or at least, that's what I'm calling my I'm-too-busy-obsessing-over-house-hunting-to-focus-on-anything-else brain. :) But alas, Secret Recipe Club beckoned and I temporarily came out of my house obsession to make some scrumptious food!

Secret Recipe Club comes around once a month on my blog, but you can check out Secret Recipe Club creations 4 Mondays a month! Are you a blogger interested in joining in the fun? Sign up here!

I have to admit I was quite intimidated when I saw the blog I was assigned: Anne Jisca's Healthy Pursuits! This woman is pretty amazing. She grinds her own flours and her normal kitchen stock is incredible. One day I'll be like her! I drooled over Anne's breads (spelt biscuits, Hearty Harvest Bread, Rye Bread, Spelt Bread), and came thisclose to making her granola bars. I'll definitely have to try out her recipe when I finally decide I'm ready to make granola bars!

So what did I go for? A recipe where I had everything in the pantry! Woot! I love it when that happens! I was also able to tie it into a Double Take with Tabitha. I love multi-tasking recipes! Almost as much as I love spice rubs! So yes, I picked a spice rub-ish. We'll call this one a spice mix :)

All Shook Up!

Homemade Fajita Seasoning

adapted from Anne Jisca's Healthy Pursuits

2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Combine ingredients in an air-tight container. Two heaping tablespoons is equivalent to one packet.

THOUGHTS:

I modified my fajita seasoning because I was using the crock pot and cooking the chicken directly in chicken broth, so I did not need chicken bouillon. Also, I left out the cornstarch because I wasn't sure how it would hold up in the crock pot. If someone else knows, do let me in on your secrets!

In the future, I would stick to Anne's use of the fajita seasoning rather than going for shredded chicken in the crock pot. Check out her original post for the recipe and directions! Also, I think the mix would make an excellent rub on grilled chicken for tacos. The fajita seasoning has a nice balance of flavors. If you like heat on your fajitas, feel free to double the cayenne and/or red pepper flakes.

VERDICT:

The-fajita-seasoning-is-a-hit: 2 votes!

Pulled Chicken Tacos with Queso Blanco, Tomatoes, Lettuce, and Salsa

Double Take: Beef with Spicy Cocoa Gravy

Beef and Pork with Spicy Cocoa Gravy

The way I’ve been cookng lately, you’d think I lived in the Southern hemisphere. But though we are now at the middle of July, it hasn’t quite gotten hot yet. Oh, it’s toasty here this week (if you consider temps in the mid 70s upper 60s to be toasty), but when I woke up on July 1, it was a mere 49°F/9°C. Thus, my oven is still in use and I’m willing to use my stove for lengthy periods of time. Roasting in the kitchen does not cause me to roast, so I’m taking advantage of the cooler than usual weather and using my oven and stove as much as I can.  

Of course, poor Tabitha is not enjoying such cool temperatures. Oops. But maybe it’s okay since she has air conditioning and I don’t?

Double Take: Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas (sort of)

Whilst everyone is gathered around the Thanksgiving table in the US today, I’m stuck at work. I’ve been reading facebook status updates all week: 3 days til vacation, 2 days, Today will feel like Monday and Thursday at the same time!, etc. Well, not me. I really can’t complain though, I had a wonderful week of vacation at the beginning of November, am taking a weekend trip to London soon, and will be spending Christmas with most of my immediate family (yay!). But on Thanksgiving Day, I went to work. And ya know what that means? It means I am incredibly lucky to have picked the field of environmental science when I got my bachelor’s degree. And even luckier that I decided I wasn’t ready for the real world so I went to graduate school for a master’s in biology. All of that led me to a point where, when Bender announced he got a job offer in Germany, I was able to get a job there too. I am thankful for the ability to work in a foreign country. This time last year, I knew I had a job lined up for me, but did not yet know when I would start. Tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of when I started my job. Today is a day of giving thanks, and I am thankful to be at this point in my life and to be able to call it good. And incredibly thankful that you are reading my blog so I’m not talking to myself over here!