Easy Fajita Spice Mix (Gluten Free) and Chicken / Beef Fajitas Recipe

Delicious with Chicken or Beef and Peppers!

Want to knock up your own tasty fajita spice mix in seconds, and know what's in it?

This is my delicious fajita spice mix, similar to commercial brands which you simply sprinkle over your chicken (or beef) strips and stir in just before you cook it - no need to marinate, and you just stir together the spices. It couldn't be more simple, and you know what's in it!

If you don't have onion powder or garlic powder, no problem, you just grate fresh garlic and onion onto the chicken (or beef) and stir in before you add the spice mix, and it tastes just as great either way!

This makes enough to make a generous serving for four people (using 640g chicken cut into 1/4 inch strips, 3 red/orange/yellow peppers, and two small-medium onions - see below for instructions how to use). Easy to double (or more) and store. This quantity makes about 5 x 15ml tbsp, so if you make a big batch, just measure this out for a 4 person serving.

Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

This has to be one of THE tastiest ways to serve steak!

This deliciously punchy sauce which originates from Argentina and Uruguay is the perfect condiment for barbecued, griddled or grilled meats - especially steaks.

We've recently got into the thin-cut sirloin steaks (more economical for a family of four, and a modest portion of red meat), which need only seconds on each side on a really hot pre-heated griddle for a nice char on the outside, and a pink and juicy inside, and are perfect then sliced into thick strips and drizzled with the chimichurri sauce.

This amount of sauce generously serves 8 when having a moderate amount of steak (such as the afore-mentioned thin-cut sirloin steak - which is around 160g / 6 oz), however I appreciate that some people like a big hunk o' meat, so the quantity of sauce reflects this, as if you're having 4 large steaks, then this would be enough to go between 4 to 6 people. You can easily halve the quantity of sauce if needs be. It also keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and you can make it the night before if you want the flavours to develop - otherwise just make it an hour or two in advance (or more if you have time).

Rich Madeira Sauce with Wild Mushrooms

Delicious with steak, this decadent sauce is a real treat which also complements chicken and pork.

Things like Madeira, cream and wild mushrooms are luxurious ingredients, coming together in a rich sauce perfect for when you indulge yourself in a really decent, aged steak from a good butcher, and want to adorn it with something which will complement it, and not overpower it.

I confess, I haven't taken the best photo as I was plating up for four (including two hungry children!) for a certain person's birthday without the time or opportunity to faff about with beautifying the plate as I often do, or take anything but the briefest of photos, but I hope you can at least imagine how delicious the sauce might taste - which it really, REALLY does - there was not a drop left on these plates afterwards!

See? All appetites catered for here - boys on the left! If you're bored of peppercorn sauce with your steak (even though it's gorgeous), and you like mushrooms, you'll love this!

Retro Chasseur Sauce

A rich tomato, white wine and tarragon sauce with sliced mushrooms in it.

This sauce may be a bit of a blast from the past, for those of us frequenting British Pubs and Restaurants a couple of decades ago! 

However, this version is made from natural and fresh ingredients, and packed full of flavour. This sauce goes equally well with steak, chicken or pork fillets/steaks (just substitute chicken boullion/stock), or fish (use vegetable or fish boullion/stock). 

Makes 4 servings at 120 calories each (if you're counting. If not, feel free to increase the oil if you need to.), freezes well. Slimming World 1.5 Syns per serving.

Steak and Ale Top Crust Pies (includes Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker method)

In this house, steak and ale pie is the King of all pies...

I've been making steak and ale pie for years - I often start off by braising beef this way, and sometimes it even gets the traditional pastry lids when it actually ends up as a pie (I usually like to do them individually in pots with just a puff pastry or rough puff pastry top), sometimes it ends up not as a pie, but with fluffy dumplings on top, soaking up the juices, or occasionally it's served with baguette slices laid on it near the end, smothered in a mix of butter and mustard and topped with cheese... and sometimes, it's 'just' served as a beef casserole with potatoes and vegetables.

This is my pie - it's a small one - everyone elses' is about double the size!

It's just the kind of braised beef dish that's soooo good, and so versatile that I go back to the core ingredients time and time again but end up using them in different ways. Usually, I make this quantity the day before, and put half in pots for making pies the next day so it's nice and chilled before putting the pastry lids on, and the other half is frozen for another time. You can get away with putting it into the fridge to chill for just an hour or two before putting pastry lids on and baking if you're using individual dishes for the pies, as it will cool down quicker (and if you want to top it with dumplings, you can just pop them on top as soon as it's cooked, and cook for another 20 minutes or so until they're fluffy and cooked - adding mustard, parmesan and some thyme if you have it is lovely!).

This quantity serves eight people (or if they have Desperate Dan appetites, maybe six?) and is easily doubled if you want to cook in bulk.

If you're counting calories, it is 2,965 calories for the whole quantity of filling, not including pastry, and therefore 371 calories for an eighth (of filling only - so for a low calorie meal you could always have the filling as a braise with steamed green veg and some new potatoes, and try to ignore those eating it pie style with chips!!).

Creamy Peppercorn and Brandy Sauce - Thermomix Version

This is our absolute favourite sauce of all time to have with steak, so it was about time I wrote up my recipe for the Thermomix!

It's also good with pork steaks, or even chicken breasts, but for me, this is complete 'steak dinner' perfection served with chunky chips, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, and peas (or petit pois in our case!) and of course, a perfect medium rare steak. Throw on some crispy onion rings if you're going to really push the boat out! If you haven't got a Thermomix or you really love setting fire to your sauces (seriously!), then worry not, my original recipe is here, and if you want instructions on how to cook the perfect steak sous vide in your Thermomix (however you like it cooked, and whether you have a TM31 or a TM5), you can find them here.

This makes enough sauce to serve four generously (it yields around 350ml so possibly six - I'm just incredibly greedy with this sauce because I love it so much!), and you can also freeze leftovers, which re-heat very successfully with a vigorous stir at the end. If you would like to cook your steak sous vide, you can put the sauce aside to keep warm while you cook your steak, or re-heat, and it will be quite happy. Lay some greaseproof paper over the top to stop a skin forming, or just give it a vigorous stir before serving.


Serves four, takes 20-25 minutes to cook, 164 calories per serving (but you're not seriously counting with this, are you??) ;)

The Perfect Steak - Cooked Sous Vide (including Thermomix Instructions for TM5 and T31)

Whether you enjoy your steak rare, medium-rare, or medium cooking it 'Sous Vide' is the way to get perfect results every single time...

When I met my partner years ago, I cooked him steak 'sous vide' in the early days, and it was the first time he'd ever had it cooked that way. In those days, I didn't have any high end kitchen gadgetry - no vacuum sealer, no sous vide machine and no Thermomix. It was just a couple of steaks in re-sealable sandwich bags with the air pushed out (via water displacement - sink them in a bowl of water almost to the top before sealing) pegged over a stock pot full of water which I'd heated to 55 degrees celcius, and carefully monitored with a sugar thermometer for an hour, while I did other things in the kitchen, then seared in a pan once it was ready. A little labour of love, but worth it for such tender and juicy steaks (well, they do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!).

He's pretty much had steak cooked sous vide ever since that night, he was so bowled over by it - so I'm very glad I don't have to hover over a stock pot any more, and I'm lucky enough to be able to have the technology in my kitchen to do it other, easier ways now (including him cooking it)!

And there are really only four things you need to do, to cook your 'perfect' steak...

Perfectly Rich and Creamy Peppercorn Sauce for Steak

This is my perfect peppercorn sauce. I don't want to even admit how many years I've been making it, but I hope you like it too!

Out of all of the recipes I've ever posted or shared, this is probably the one I make the most. It's evolved over the years, and poured over juicy steak is the go-to pick-me-up treat of choice in this house. And there's no skimping allowed with this - a treat is a treat! Click here for the Thermomix version of this recipe.

Normally, I just cook it intuitively. I've done it so many times I don't weigh or measure anything, it's just all done by sight and taste and memory, because I make it the same way every time - but this time, I recorded it, and measured as I went so that I could share it. Part of me likes to think that when my kids have grown up and left home (hopefully not in the too near future!), this blog will be a little reminder of home, and some of the lovely food we've all shared together that they can recreate their favourites from (when they're not sneaking back for dinner!). I have to confess though, on the rare occasions we treat ourselves to steak, sometimes we hold out and wait until after they've gone to bed to have it (sorry kids!)... ;)

So, what to have this with? My personal recommendation is with your favourite cut of steak, cooked your favourite way (for me, that would be medium rare - we like to vacuum seal them, and put them in the water bath at 56.5C for an hour or more - more time makes no difference - oil lightly, season then just sear for a few seconds on each side on a searing hot griddle to get some 'barking' flavour), served with chunky chips or sautéed potatoes, and 'petit pois' peas (my preference over garden peas) with a grilled flat mushroom and grilled tomato. For complete overkill, add a few crispy onion rings in there, and you won't be able to manage pudding! Did I miss anything?

We like our sauce, we do - so this will give you a very generous amount. Probably enough for four people really - as you can see in the photo, you get a whole ramekin full to yourself (I'm a 'dipper', rather than a 'pourer'!). However, running out of sauce to go with your dinner is a heinous crime indeed - and you don't have to use it all up, it will freeze and re-heat gently, although you might want to give it a bit of a whisk when you re-heat it, to make sure it's smooth.

On this basis, I'm giving you a 'serves two'. Plus, I only have about 5 ounces of steak, and I know some people put away double that! Calories? Seriously? Oh OK then, call it 307 per serving with maximum cream. Well, I did say there was no skimping... [Calories in square brackets, spoilsports]

If you love my creamy peppercorn sauce, why not try my rich Madeira sauce with wild mushrooms with your steak next time?

Bulgogi - Korean Barbequed Beef (includes Thermomix instructions)

This is a delicious way of cooking beef on a barbeque - the marinade makes the meat really tender.

Listed at number 23 of the world's 50 most delicious foods (from a reader's poll in CNN Go - have a look here if you're intrigued as to what else is on it) - if you're a lover of all things beefy and barbecued and keen on Asian flavours this is something you might want to try!

         

If you fancy something a little different, but not too 'out there', this is a great way to cook rump* steak. One of the tastiest cuts of steak, it is also from a hard-working muscle which means it is not the most tender steak - however in this dish, the Asian pear in the marinade really tenderises the meat. And on top of this, it's packed full of robust Asian flavours - garlic, ginger, soy and onions, with a hint of sweetness (and all you need to do is blitz up all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor or blender - so it's easy to prepare too!).

Serves four people, at 287 calories per serving.