Daring Cooks: create a recipe challenge

Blog-checking lines: Our April 2012 Daring Cooks hosts were David & Karen from Twenty-Fingered Cooking. They presented us with a very daring and unique challenge of forming our own recipes by using a set list of ingredients!
It was required that you use at least one ingredient from each of their three lists :
List 1: Parsnips, Eggplant (aubergine), Cauliflower
List 2: Balsamic Vinegar, Goat Cheese, Chipotle peppers
List 3: Maple Syrup, Instant Coffee, Bananas

Some of those just seemed wacky to me... but WOW! Have the Daring Cooks been creative!  I was a little bit more cautious.  I know, I know.  It wasn't very daring of me.  However, I did make sure not to follow any recipe.  I just relied on what I remembered about making a marinade... so that counts, doesn't it??

I ripped off the basics of the fajita and added roasted cauliflower and goat cheese.  But first I had to marinade my beef to get all the flavor I could out of it.  I was able to find chipotle peppers in adobe sauce but that wasn't what I wanted.  I couldn't find any dried chipotle peppers either.  That left me using a dried powder or trying to smoke my own jalapenos.  Sorry, I went with the dried powder.  Again, not very creative of me but Life has just been a bit chaotic lately and so I took the easiest route.

Beef Marinade
2 pounds round steak, sliced thin
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon dried chipotle powder
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

combine ingredients and let set for at least two hours.
When ready to cook, drain off marinade and quickly fry in a pan with a bit of oil.  I did my meat in two batches so that the meat would sear and not steam. The meat will cook quickly.

Roasted Vegetables
1 head cauliflower cut into florets
2 onions, sliced thin
3 peppers (I used red and yellow) sliced into strips
2 tablespoons olive oil

Line two cookie sheets with tin-foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.  Spread out vegetables onto trays and drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with kosher salt.
Roast in oven at 425 degrees F., for about 25 minutes (vegetables should become nicely golden.

To assemble I just added the meat to my flour tortilla, scooped on some roasted vegetables and topped with a bit of goat cheese.

I admit, it was on the cautious side.  I will also admit that it was pretty tasty too!