Don't judge your taco by its price.

What night is it?!? 

It's Taco Night!

I am pretty sure that someday, this will be a weekly event...

Husband and I were discussing what I should make for dinner tonight and when I mentioned Mexican, the Husband and I both got excited. 

Operation Dinner Decided Completed.

I texted my house husband (this week only) what I would need to accomplish our desired dinner, he told me if we needed it or not, I went to the store on the way home and got to it.

Cat's Chicken Taco Filling and Salad Topping

1 chicken breast, cubed and seasoned with taco seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 bell pepper (I used green), chopped

1/4 of an onion, (I used red) chopped

1/4 cup of corn (leave out if low carb salading it)

1 can organic black beans

1 avocado, chopped

1 Roma tomato, chopped

1 heart of Romaine, chopped (if you are having salad, otherwise, just enough for garnish)

Tortillas

Cheese of choice, grated, for garnish

Sour cream, for garnish

Salsa of choice, for garnish

Salad Dressing: (if you are having salad)

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons sour cream

Dash of taco seasoning

Taco Seasoning:

Paprika

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Cumin

Cayenne

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

Method:

In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium high and sear seasoned, cubed chicken.

After outside of chicken is seared, added bell pepper, onion, and corn the skillet and lower heat to medium.

Stirring the chicken and vegetables regularly, heat the black beans in a saucepan.

While the bean and chicken mixtures are cooking (Don't forget to stir both occasionally), prep small bowl of grated cheese, sour cream, and salsa.

Mix together the salad dressing (if you are having salad) and chop tomato, lettuce, and avocado.

after the vegetables are cooked to desired doneness, remove from heat and start the buffet lines to make your dinner of choie.

Just keep stirring...

My super duper yummy and filling Taco salad!

Husband making the ultimate in large taco...


Husband devour!

This was a simple and easy dish that hit all the taste bud needs as well as dietary. Very easy and fresh, and individual as it is the "create your own" style of meal. Maybe, for the picky eaters out there, cooking everything separately. As I am married to an easy stomach, I don't have to worry about that though.

Until the next meal...


**Today's title comes from Hunter S Thompson...duh.**

Promises and pie-crust are made to be broken.

So this is getting posted a little late...but 3.14 was PI DAY!!!!!!!

I still had a bit of piecrust dough left over from Homemade Poptarts I made, but not enough to make a full out pie...so I made it work.

Thus I made these:
BLACKBERRY LEMON GOAT CHEESE SQUARES
Ingredients

6 oz goat cheese, at room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons honey

1-2 tablespoons milk

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1/2 pint blackberries

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

small handful arugula

Method

Preheat oven 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment & set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the goat cheese, lemon zest, honey & milk together. In another small bowl stir the blackberries with the balsamic vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes.  On a lightly floured surface, cut the puff pastry into 2 inch squares. Place squares onto the parchment lined sheet  about 2 inches apart and score a square into the pastry making sure not to cut all the way through to the bottom.

Place a dollop of lemon goat cheese on top of each square and top with a blackberry. Bake squares for 15-20 minutes until golden. Let squares cool and place a leaf of arugula under each blackberry. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Now as you might have noticed, the recipe calls for Puff Pastry Dough. This would have made this little guys absolutely decadent. Instead of going out and buying things, I made it it with what I had...aka Pie Crust and no arugula.






While these did not taste (or look) how they were originally intended, they turned out very nice and were nice quick bites for Husband when he just wanted a little something something before dinner or in the afternoon.

Until the next snack...


**Today's title comes from the mind of Jonathan Swift.**

BFMH: Breakfast Corn Dogs

Here we are on Saturday morning. A day of relaxation and delight to spend with my Husband and later with friends.

The best part of waking up is, of course, coffee and breakfast so here is what I decided on making this morning.

Breakfast Corn Dogs

Ingredients

1 (12 oz.) package maple or regular breakfast pork sausage links (14 links), cooked according to package

14 5-inch wooden skewers

1 (32 fl.oz.) bottle canola oil

1¼ cups pancake mix

⅓ cup self-rising cornmeal

½ teaspoon salt

1 large egg, beaten

¾ cup milk 

Maple Original Syrup

Instructions

Insert skewer into each cooked sausage from one end. Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to 350°F.

In a large bowl, whisk pancake mix, corn meal mix and salt. Add egg and milk. Whisk until smooth.

Dip each sausage in batter until fully coated. I found it helpful to use a knife and basically frost the sausage with the batter.

Cook 3 at a time in hot oil, 50 to 60 seconds or until golden brown, turning constantly. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining sausages. Serve immediately with syrup alongside.

Notes

To make 5-inch skewers, cut 10-inch skewers in half.
If you don’t have self-rising cornmeal you can make your own by combining the following:
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp cornmeal

Here is a little guy in the deep fryer we got husband's little brother, hence known as BROTHER.

That is Maple Syrup, not oil, don't worry! They were surprisingly not greasy.

NOM NOM NOM 

(you can tell from my moo moo and my unwashed hair that I do, in fact, make these things for breakfast)

So this turned out....yeah, it turned out.

They weren't great. The batter was incredibly thick and made for a bad Cornbread Pancake to Sausage ratio. On the other hand, they were delightful and fun and a great way to learn to use our AWESOME little deep fryer from BROTHER. I doubt I will ever make them again as I like regular pigs-in-a-blanket so I will chock this up to a good learning experience. Huzzah!

All you need is love.

During their visit to the states, Bro Bro requested for me to make Chocolate Roll Out Cookies. While I looked though the Betty Crocker Cooky Book as well as any recipe I might have inherited from Grandma or Mom, I could not find the recipe he was specifically requesting. So I started search the web and I found this one.

Perfect Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

6 cups (750 g) all-purpose flour, sifted

1-1/4 cups (137 g) dark cocoa powder

1 teaspoon (8 g) salt

2 cups (454 g)(4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar

1 cup (228 g) light brown sugar

3 eggs, cold

2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract

Instructions

In large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs until just combined.

Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add vanilla and blend.

Remove 1/2 of dough from bowl, make a ball, and place on a large piece of plastic wrap on counter.Wrap the sides of wrap over the ball, then press down with the palm of your hand and make a disc about 2" thick. Finish wrapping the disc with the plastic wrap. Repeat with 2nd half of dough. Chill both discs of dough for about 45 minutes.

Remove one disc and remove plastic wrap. Place on top of a large piece of parchment paper (I use a silicone rolling mat underneath to ensure it doesn't slip while rolling, but you can even dampen counter so the parchment sticks a bit.), then place two 1/4" wooden dowels on either side of your dough, then another sheet of parchment paper.

Roll dough (this will require a bit of elbow grease for the first few minutes until it softens up a bit) so it's flush with dowels--they will ensure that your dough is even thickness.

Preheat your oven to 325° F. Slide your parchment paper and dough onto a board, then place in refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Remove from fridge, and cut your shapes using the cutters of your choice, placing them on a baker's half sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (or parchment), with 2" clearance around each one and the edge of sheet. Place sheet with cookies into freezer for 15 minutes before baking. Bake until cookie edges are just crisp, about 16 minutes.

Cool sheets on wire racks for 10 minutes, then gently remove cookies and place on wire racks to finish cooling.

Notes: May be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. They also freeze well in an airtight container.

Also, because these cookies are all about the chocolate, try to use the best quality cocoa powder you can find.

As he and family were staying at his home about 1.5 hours south, I decided that I would make the dough and refrigerate it, then make the trek south with dough, parchment paper, cocoa for dusting, cooling rack, cookie cutters, rolling pin, sprinkles, and tubes of icing for decorating. Because I am the best Sister/Auntie. God help my own someday maybe children if this is what I do for the offspring of my brother.

These didn't turn out "perfectly". They were no means bad, but perhaps because I refrigerated the dough overnight or something, there was too much flour, not enough moisture. I added a bit of oil to combine the crumbly dough, but then it was too sticky to roll out well. Then moving the cut shape to the cookie sheet caused many mickey ears to break off. It was a trying experiment, considering I wanted it to be perfect for little niece.

Though the dough didn't turn out perfectly, the decorating portion was definitely fun. I had purchased some tubes for frosting after Christmas time. Tsumi mentioned that she would have to find them to take home to Japan and I joyfully reported that I had another set of them at home and that they could take the ones we were using home with them.

Thing 1 had a great time and felt very special. The icing I used in the tubes was a bit troublesome as her small hands couldn't squeeze it out very well. So I would ice things and then she put on the Dino Sprinkles. We make a great (and yummy) team.

Until the next cookie....

**Today's title comes from the mind of Charles M. Schulz: All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.**

Thirsty Thursday: Blue Fin Chardonnay Tasting

Another wine tasting commences!



Today, we went with the finest of wines...$3.99 Blue Fin. I know that I already enjoy the Pinot Noir, but now came the test of the Blue Fin Chardonnay.

WINE NAME	Blue Fin Chardonnay		WINE TYPE	Chardonnay
VINTAGE	2011		PRODUCER	Blue Fin Winery
GRAPES	Alcohol 12.5%		REGION	Napa, California
PURCHASED	Trader Joe's		PRICE	$3.99
Companions	Husband and Wife		Food	Green Bean Curry
SIGHT					NOTES	PTS
Clarity	Cloudy (less)	Hazy	Clear	Brilliant (more)		3/5
Depth of Color	Watery/Thin (less)	Pale	Med/Deep	Dark/Rich (more)		3/5
Color	WHITE - Yellow Gold Brown	Green Tinge Pale Yellow	RED - Purple Red/Purple	Red Red-Brown
Viscosity – liquid	Thin	Normal	Heavy	Syrupy		3/5
SMELL
Aroma	Herbal Nutty	Fruit Mineral	Spice Earthy	Floral Icky	Oaky	3/5
Bouquet	Dumb/Pale/Closed	Simple/Pleasant	Deep/ Dark	Powerful/Dynamic		2/5
Smell Intensity	Light (less)	Mild	Prevalent	Pronounced (more)		2/5
TASTE
Acidity (like a lemon)	Flat No Bite	Fresh Crisp	Tart Tangy	Sour Vinegar		8/10
Sweetness	Dry	Off-Dry	Semi-Sweet	Very Sweet		4/5
TASTE Descriptors Balanced Chewy Complex Concentrated Crispy Deep Delicate Dull Firm Flabby Harsh Hint Intense Intriguing Jammy Piercing Simple Soft Structured	FRUITY Berrylike Blackberry Black Currant Blueberry Raspberry Strawberry Cherry – Black/Red Plum – Prune Gooseberries Citrus Grapefruit Lemon/Lime Stone/Tropical Apple Apricot Mango Melon Peach Pear Pineapple	FLOWERY Violet Rose Orange Blossom Jasmine Lily Geranium Orchid HERBAL Hay Mint Rosemary Thyme SPICY Black Pepper Licorice Cinnamon Clove	NUTTY Almond Coffee Hazelnut Walnut EARTHY Dry leaves Cut grass Moldy Mushroom ICKY Barnyard Dirty Diaper Boiled Egg Gas Alcohol Flinty Vinegar	OTHER Buttery Oaky Mineral Vanilla Cedar Tobacco Chocolate Leather Butterscotch Olive Bitter Hot - alcohol Sour Sharp Sugary Salty Velvety		7/10
Complexity	Simple	Interesting	Exciting	Dynamic		3/5
Balance	Unbalanced	Good	Very Well	Perfect		7/10
Body	Light	Medium	Heavy	Huge		4/5
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Finish	None	Short	Medium	Long (10 secs +)		2/5
Drinkability	Never Again	Maybe	Yes	Can’t wait		7/10
Value	Waste of money	Eh…	Decent	I love a value!		10/10
Overall	Simple, great value wine. In the running for a usual wine.					64 /100

While, No, this is not an amazing wine, the flavors and qualities were most agreeable to Husband and myself. That combined with the sheer VALUE of the bottle (roughly $.16 per ounce) makes it definitely in the running for our "House Chardonnay". 

Until the next tasting...