Traffic Light Fajitas (with Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper and Courgette)

Traffic Light Veg

The results are in!!! This week I asked you, the reader, which recipe you would like to see posted on the blog next. You voted on twitter ( @KitchenGoddess3 ) and on the Facebook Page and decided that you wanted to see my Traffic Light Fajitas, so here they are!

These Traffic Light Fajitas are so called because strips of red, yellow and green make up the bulk of the filling. The bold, vibrant colours remind you of fiery hot Mexico and the beaming hot sun. What a better way to celebrate the start of the hot weather than with this fun dish.

We often have “Mexican Night” in our house and although we eat our fair share of enchiladas, burritos and tacos, fajitas are the firm favourite.

Fajitas can be filled with almost anything. Chicken, beef and pork work really well but for the vegetarians among us (or meat eaters who just fancy a change) mixed peppers are the stars of the dish. Their ability to soften under the fiery heat of the pan yet retain their shape and a slight bite gives them the perfect texture when wrapped in a soft corn tortilla.

Courgettes may not initially an obvious choice. Often used in ragouts and slow cooked dishes where they are given the chance to soften and break down, they might not seem suitable for fajitas. However, by cutting the courgette into strips and cooking it hard and fast on a high heat you are able to retain the same kind of bite you get in the peppers.

I find the prep when making fajitas quite therapeutic. I think it’s the repetition of cutting neat, clean strips all of the same length and width. Or maybe it’s the fact that it’s normally carried out with a margarita in hand!!!

But it’s all part of the fun. Fajitas are all about everyone chipping in and sharing and what better way than with a jug of margaritas right?!



Traffic Light Fajitas with Orange and Chilli Salsa, Sour Cream and Avocado and Corriander Salad

So we’ve got the perfect red, yellow and green combination for our Traffic Light Fajitas but that’s only half of the battle. The sweet flavour of the veg needs to be kicked up a notch with a fiery blend of spices.
I first made my own spice blend when I had friends round in a “Come Dine with me Style” competition at university. Since then, Mr KG has refined it and we now have our house blend. It’s worth noting that everyone has different tastes so as you go do have a taste – some like it hot, some like it peppery. It’s up to you! As much as you can customise what condiments go into a fajita you can also customise the spice.

Our spice mix is as smokey as it is hot, but it’s not a pure chilli heat. The cayenne gives it a peppery kick too for a more well rounded flavour!

Baked Spanish Eggs

As quick as it came, the Shake Up Your Wake Up campaign is almost over and breakfast week will soon be a distant memory…

Ok so there’s probably no need to be quite so dramatic. Especially considering that you’re all going to eat breakfast every day from now on! Right?

The campaign this year has been fab in my opinion, with hundreds and hundreds of people sharing their breakfast pictures every day using the hashtag #breakfastwatch.

I was pretty proud of myself as I managed to send in a picture 5 out of the 7 days! Looking back on the week I had some pretty cool breakfasts!

Monday: Black cherry jam on wholemeal toast

Tuesday: Porridge with berry compote

Wednesday: Breakfast detox smoothie

Thursday: Bacon jam on toast

Friday: Spanish Baked Eggs!

It probably won’t come as a surprise that I won’t be able to keep up that level of variety much longer! With two jars of jam now open in the fridge I’ll probably be living off of jam and toast for the next month or so.

Hopefully you’ve all been just as inspired as me to try to add a bit of variety into your morning routine, so with that in mind I’m going to share with you my Spanish Baked Eggs recipe!

This recipe is guaranteed to put a smile on your face as the little egg yolks look like sun shines in your brekkie bowl (/ramekin!)

They’re also packed full of flavour which is guaranteed to wake you and your taste buds up.

Warm Salad Series: Golden Bulgar Wheat Salad

Why not enjoy this salad with a good book?

Past posts in the warm salad series: Grilled Nectarine and Goats Cheese Salad; Honeyed Fig Salad with Mozzarella and Cured Ham; and Chicory and Fennel Salad with Balsamic.

Over the last four weeks I have posted a series of salad recipes that are perfect for staying healthy while the dark nights close in and the air becomes cold. Today is no exception, as I bring you a Golden Bulgur Wheat Salad. The spicy salad is filling, super tasty, and jam packed with roasted veggies to keep you healthy.

Served warm and tossed with baby spinach leaves, this recipe is perfect as we move into autumn. As Halloween creeps up, you may also want to swap the butternut squash with pumpkin!

Unlike my other recipes this one takes a little longer in the preparation department; but it will keep you fuller for longer with that lovely warm feeling thanks to the roasted vegetables and the chilli and paprika heat.

Bulgur wheat was a bit of a mystery to me before I came up with this recipe. It’s very similar to cous cous, but is more substantial in size, texture and flavour which makes it a perfect addition to this salad. The longer the vegetables are roasted the sweeter they become, contrasting with the chilli and spinach. The apricots also give the salad an extra zing to brighten up your lunchtime! 

Beef Chilli

Any students out there in need of a winter warmer? Then this chilli is for you! If you like it hot, turn up the heat and add more chilli, if you like it cool, why not serve with a dollop of sour cream?

You may notice that the recipe does not include kidney beans, and that instead I used borlotti beans. Personally I think these make the chilli even tastier and now I've started using them I certainly won't be going back!

After being blown away by just how delicious they were (and in anticipation of writing this post) I thought I'd do a little bit of research about them, and I found out that they are actually a variety of kidney bean! Who would've thought!!!

Their flavour is nutty and they have a creamy texture. Apparently they are more commonly used in Italian and Portuguese cusine, but they worked perfectly in this chilli!

Of course I won't be offended if you go back to the standard kidney bean! 

My favourite thing about this recipe however is not just how delicious the beans make it, but how versatile it is. I've already made suggestions for turning up (or down) the heat, but it can also be served in a variety of ways.

This Guy Fawkes Night a made dinner for my mum, dad, sister, boyfriend and house mate, and served this chilli inside warmed taco shells! I've never seen plates left so clean!!! Last night I served it with fluffy white rice, but tonight I will be having it with a jacket potato and salad!

Bear in mind if you are someone who lives on your own this will serve two. It's a brilliant dish for batch cooking and you can either leave some for the next day, alternatively it freezes really well.

Here's the recipe...

Lumaconi alla Vodka

The idea of adding Vodka to a tomato and bacon based pasta sauce did not seem strange to me today when I decided to give it a try, but after searching into the history of the dish, I struggled to find where the idea originated from.


Even Wikipedia was no help, giving numerous possibilities of how the dish developed:
According to Pasquale Bruno, Jr., author of The Ultimate Pasta Cookbook, penne alla vodka was invented at Dante, a restaurant in Italy. Other historians of the culinary arts recognize James Doty, a graduate of Columbia University, as the inventor of penne a la vodka. Paula Franzese, an American law professor, has asserted that her father Luigi Franzese, born in Naples, Italy in 1931, devised the first version of penne alla vodka, which he called penne alla Russia because of the addition of the vodka to his tomato and cream sauce base. He first prepared the dish table side for patrons at the New York City restaurant Orsini in the early 1970s. (This seems the more recognised version of events with other websites I stumbled across stating the same!) The Williams Sonoma Essentials of Italian cookbook says that it was invented in the 1980s by a Roman chef for a vodka company that wanted to popularize its product in Italy.

Wherever the dish originated from, this is my version! Do give it a try and let me know what you think!