This morning I’m doing a little V-day shopping, reaching into my gorgeous cherry red MK handbag and paying with my {magic charge card}. You know…the one where the bill gets sent to Cupid.
Mexican food is everywhere. I would say that the original taco shop was Roberto’s.
Then there was Alberto’s.
Royberto’s.
Rayberto’s.
Adalberto’s.
Ronberto’s.
Juanberto’s.
Sombrero. El Cotixan. Cotijas.
There are gazillions.
I miss having them on every street corner. But I’m glad because I’m afraid I’d be driving through for 5 rolled tacos with guac or a carne asada or California burrito or better yet some carne asada nachos.
Yesterday I spotted this recipe for {Baked Chimichangas} on my friend, Leah’s blog. I knew we were going to have them this weekend! I was cheap and bought the tortillas that were on sale and they turned out to be too small for the chimichangas, so I sorta made fat taquitos or flautas instead.
They were delish and certainly satisfied the Mexican food craving, but were much healthier since they star ground turkey and fat free refried beans {I used Rosarita green chile & lime}. I also served lowfat sour cream and some avocado on the side. I did cheat and use the packaged Spanish rice….
Thanks for the recipe, Leah! Next time I’ll spend the extra money and get the BIG tortillas!
It was SO nice to know that we didn’t have to rush, rush, rush this morning.
Get up. Go potty. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Pack lunch. Get backpack ready. Brush teeth. Brush hair. Wipe face. Put shoes & socks on. Dash out the door. Walk to school.
I decided to declare it “French Toast Friday”.
Since I love all things coconut, I recently picked up a bottle of coconut extract {emulsion} at Ross of all places. I normally don’t buy food items there, but I saw this and thought it’d be great for summer recipes in place of vanilla extract. And it was cheap so if it didn’t work out, no biggie.
So, this morning I decided to give our french toast a tropical twist.
I just added about 1 tsp. of the emulsion to 3 eggs and a touch of milk and scrambled with a fork before dunking the bread.
Here she is naked before syrup…
There was a little more egg mixture so I took the butt of the bread and soaked that, too.
Last Friday at dance class, while flipping through the February issue of Disney Family Fun magazine, I came across a recipe for Chinese Peanut-Sesame Noodles.
I wanted to see how it compared to this recipe. {I like the added veggies in this recipe, but both are excellent!}
And what better night to serve it than Chinese New Year…
I added grilled chicken and served with edamame on the side.
It was too spicy for the tikes, but you could certainly omit the chili paste. Also, if you don’t have tahini on hand you could easily substitute with the same amount of peanut butter.
These noodles were quick and easy ~ I had all the ingredients except for the scallions.
Last night {and the night before!} we had lettuce wraps.
They’re Elliott’s fave.
There was just a bit of the meat mixture and lettuce odds and ends leftover, so for lunch I fixed up a {lettuce wrap wrap} if you will…
I just took the meat and heated it with a little of the leftover rice, chopped the lettuce and added some cucumbers and cilantro. I tossed it in a little Sriracha Ranch, rolled some in into a warm flour tortilla and ate the rest as a salad.
Sure was a nice break from tuna.
If you haven’t made lettuce wraps at home, you really should try them. You don’t need to go to P.F. Chang’s to get your wrap on!
You’ll be lucky if you have any leftovers, though.
: Grilled cheeseburgers with crinkle fries and Sriracha Ranch :
: Quick Slip N Slide action in the backyard :
: Outdoor play-doh fun :
: Football and more football :
: New dinner recipe :
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My sweet, now in CO friend, Alicia, was so kind to send me a subscription to “Real Simple” magazine. I forgot just how much I love this publication. Full of ways to simplify, but still thoroughly enjoy life. Since I am currently obsessed with purging, this mag fits the bill perfectly. Thanks again, Leesh! I love the monthly love in my mailbox.
This month’s issue had a recipe that caught my eye. We’ve been talking about grilling up a pork tenderloin for weeks and when I scouted this one, I knew this was it.
Uh, chili powder and maple glazed pork with sweet potatoes? Yes, please!
It was the perfect recipe for our maiden {pork tenderloin} voyage! Jay grilled the pork instead of broiling as the recipe suggested.
The sweet potatoes paired with the Sriracha sauce?
Perfection.
And I love that there is some spinach thrown in to make you feel extra good about this dish. Next time I will add lots more spinach and maybe half the sweet potato to reduce the starch in the meal.
Love. Love. Love.
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And here is some proof that you can break out the water slide in January in So Cal…
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Hope your weekend was full of all things {simple}.
I remember years {and years} ago my Mom ordered a Monte Cristo sandwich at The Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland.
At the time I had no idea what it was, but once I took a bite, I knew it was something special. Like a mash up of french toast and ham & cheese. With powdered sugar. And maple syrup.
Julie over at Joy’s Hope introduced an updated, much healthier version of this ‘wich and I immediately knew it was on our Saturday lunch menu.
All you need is a tube of crescent rolls, some ham or turkey {or both} and queso of choice. I used honey ham and swiss. I finished them off with a light dusting of powdered sugar and seedless blackberry jam.
{Just follow Julie’s easy tutorial to put these sammies together}
I served it with some mini banana & blueberry skewers.
These were fantastic and I could close my eyes and imagine sitting {outside} at the Blue Bayou as park goers climb on the Pirates Of The Caribbean boat ride.
This may very well be the {happiest lunch on earth}.
I was able to run several errands in preparation for Valentine’s Day and Holden’s upcoming birthday next month. I found some super inexpensive treats for Elliott to give to her classmates for V-day:
I swiped this image off eBay, so it’s teeny tiny, but I found some ornaments filled with candy at Rite Aid leftover from Christmas for 90% off! {There’s nothing “Christmassy” about them other than they’re supposed to be ornaments, but you wouldn’t catch me hanging them on my tree! And yes, I inspected the date and the candy is good until Jan 2012…I am weird with stuff like that. Not that a Now and Later will be any more fresh in mid-February 2011 or a year from then!} They ended up being 10¢ a piece. I’m going to have her cut little hearts out of construction paper and hand write her name with a touch of glitter. The little balls are pink and will look very Valentiney with the added message on the red paper.
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Last weekend we went to Sprouts and loaded up on veggies.
I roasted some last weekend and we added the leftovers to a salad with some beer can chicken and some blue cheese!
I also made quinoa for the first time. Super easy, but a bit time consuming as you have to soak and rinse it {I bought mine from the bulk bin, but you can also buy it pre-rinsed and ready to go}. I used about 3/4 cup water and 1 cup chicken broth. I read that a 1:2 ratio makes the quinoa too mushy, so I used about 1 3/4 cup liquid to one cup rinsed quinoa. Just bring the liquid to a boil, add the quinoa, stir, cover and put on low for 15-20 minutes {or until water is absorbed}. You can also just make it with water and eat it for breakfast with some raisins, a little brown sugar and a splash of milk or cream.
{BTW, the quinoa is under the roasted veggies in the pic}
To roast the veggies, I just cut up whatever I had: red pepper, red onion, zucchini, yellow squash and baby carrots. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Toss it up and put onto a cookie sheet into a 400* oven for about 20 minutes. The flavor is amazing and this is a great way to eat your veggies! Elliott loved them {well, at least the carrots} and they are just as good warm as they are cold the next day. Tonight I am adding some cauliflower to the mix and using a little truffle oil that I picked up today.
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Today is my Dad’s birthday…
Happy Birthday, Popsi! Enjoy your special day!
{Next year he will celebrate a milestone birthday ~ I will let you guess which one}
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Does anyone out there still watch American Idol?
I tuned in last night {yes, we still have Direct TV} because I love J Lo. I think she’s so beautiful. And talented. And funny.
For me, the new judges are a breath of fresh air…it’s nice not having Simon pop off every 5 seconds and his snide comments flying around!
We’ll see if I am still able to watch next week…… 😉
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That’s it kids….how can it already be Friday tomorrow? I don’t know, but I’m glad it is!
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