Jan. 13, 2003

I've always sort of looked down my nose at pre-packaged spice mixes. Those little foil pouches of spices, pre-mixed to make tacos, chili, and grilled chicken always seemed to me to be expensive crutches for those who couldn't make their own spice mixes from scratch. I'm not sure I've changed my mind about these little pouches when they're marked at full retail price, but when they're only 25 cents, well.......
Second Chance has a good selection of these little foil pouches, in mixes ranging from chili to spaghetti. I finally decided I'd try one of the pouches, just to see if they were any count. I have to say I've decided that while the pouches aren't such a great idea at full retail ($1.19), but at only 25 cents each, they're an adventure into arenas we normally wouldn't visit.

SHISH-KABOB

1 pouch Adolph's "For The Grill" Cracked Pepper With Lemon Marinade
1 pound beef stew meat
1 pound beef smoked sausage, sliced thin
1 large sweet onion, peeled, quartered, separated
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1" squares
8 oz of whole fresh mushrooms
20 bamboo skewers (100 skewers costs about $1.00)

Soak the skewers in water for about 20 minutes.
Mix the Adolph's pouch with water, per directions, and marinate the beef stew meat for 15 minutes.
Skewer the above ingredients on the bamboo skewers, using lots of onion and one mushroom per skewer. Alternate the order of ingredients.
Put the skewers over a low bed of hot charcoal for 20 minutes (10 minutes per side), or until the onions are starting to turn clear on the edges.
Just before removing from the heat, sprinkle the skewers with salt.
Serve with hot buttered bread.
This served two adults and two kids (6 and 9 yrs.) very well, with some leftovers. 
Cost? A measly $3 per person, way less than the cheapest burger joint.

The Chef Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Steak Seasoning was one we tried a couple of weeks ago, and I have to admit, I would never have come up with that one on my own.
For less than the cost of a Coke, the pre-packaged spice bins are worth a browse.