wherein Liz continues experimenting with fajita spice mixes

I cooked ground beef fajita filling again tonight, this time with an Ortega seasoning packet. The flavor is better (and the texture much less gritty) than the store-brand packet I used the last time I did this, but I ended up having to play spice doctor anyway.

You see, the assumption is that Americans don't eat vegetables. This packet therefore instructed me to use 1lb of meat, one small onion, and one bell pepper. I duly used 1lb of meat, but because I do believe in vegetables, I used three small-to-medium onions and the equivalent of two bell peppers: one big store-bought plus three of my own small homegrown peppers. The seasoning packet just flat wasn't big enough to provide adequate flavor to the enlarged ingredient base. So I chucked in some ground chili pepper, some cumin, some garlic powder, and some oregano to stretch the packet, cooked the whole mess another five-ten minutes to let the flavor sink in, and then dumped most of it into tupperware for future meals.

I am happy to report that the small portion I ate tonight (with shredded cheddar, of course; cheese is important!) tasted lovely, though it probably could have stood even more supplemental spicing. :)

(I also cooked a batch of rice, which is now packaged and cooling in the fridge. I will freeze one of the containers and use the other as starch under a chicken thing I'm still working to finish off, which will probably make another two or three meals.)

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