friday night

Friday.
To a working girl like me, there is no better word. I love Fridays, my office is quieter and the weekend is here. I never really have major plans on Friday nights. Actually, I make it a point not to. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am a home-body. And I am ok with that. What I do like to do is make a fun meal at home with my husband. It usually grilled burgers or homemade pizza, but last night we made grilled steak fajitas. With homemade tortillas. Now, we make fajitas alot, but the steak (I am cheap and usually only buy chicken) and tortillas made it special. Friday night worthy.

Fajitas
Steak (marinated in worcestshire sauce, grill seasoning, cumin, fresh garlic, salt)
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow onion
- Throw steak on the grill and cook until med. rare. Let rest and slice into strips
- Slice veggies into strips and either cook on the grill or in a large skillet. I season these with s&p, cumin, garlic, and chili powder. Sometimes I use a fajita seasoning packet.
- Throw steak and veggies in a tortilla and top with cheese, cilantro, and a squirt of lime





Spanish Rice
*This is the easiest spanish rice recipe. Its pretty much the only rice I make.
1 cup long grain white rice (not the minute kind)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 -1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 chicken bouillon cube
diced onions (optional)
- Toast rice in a pot heated on medium high with a combination of oil and butter (just a little)
- Add diced onions
- Add cumin and chili powder
- Once rice has toasted (light golden brown) add tomato sauce, water, and bouillon cube (I usually break up the cube in the water to dissolve)
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low
- Let simmer for about 25 minutes or until rice is done

Homemade Tortillas
*these are so easy! They are chewy and thicker than most tortillas
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3/2 cup warm milk (zap in the microwave for 45 seconds)
- Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and oil
- Slowly add the warm milk
- Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed (I do this with a wooden spoon)
- Knead for 2 minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft
- Place dough in bowl (same one you mixed in) and cover with plastic wrap for 20 min
- After it has rested, separate into eight pieces and roll into balls
- Cover balls with plastic wrap and let rest another 10 minutes
- Roll out balls on a floured surface until desired size. They puff up, so I roll mine out VERY thin. Like, almost see through thin. If the dough is not rolling out well, allow it to rest longer.
- Cook in a dry skillet on high heat


Enjoy*

Side note...Peter and I began making dinner together our junior year of college. And fajitas was our first meal. Every Wednesday, I would take ingredients over to his apartment (and fear for my life, it was definitely not the safest area) and we would cook together. We soon added Sunday night pancakes to our routine. In that ghetto apartment we formed the foundation of our team....I cook, he cleans.

Here is a gem. Me, making fajitas in that apartment with my boyfriend. For the first time.