Chili Powder...

I'm making fajitas and frijoles borrachos tomorrow. I decided to make myself a batch of homemade chili powder instead of buying a commercial brand. I went the easy route with ground spices. I did put the oregano in a grinder, since I was only able to buy the whole dried leaves. This makes a large batch. It can easily be cut by half, or even to a fourth of the recipe, if you don't use a lot of chili powder. A hot chile such as Cayenne can be added to the mix if you want the heat. I prefer to leave the heat out of most of my spice blends and add it as desired to whatever I am cooking. Heat can be added easily - it's much more difficult to remove it.

Steven's Chili Powder

8 tablespoons Pasilla or Ancho chile powder
4 tablespoons New Mexico chile powder
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground Mexican oregano

• Mix all the spices together thoroughly in a bowl.
• Store in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place.
• If the New Mexico chile powder is unavailable, California chile powder or paprika can be substituted. Similarly, conventional oregano (Italian/Greek) can be substituted, though the flavor will be different.
• Makes almost two cups of chili powder.