Quick and Easy Taco Salad

This recipe possibly seems like a total no-brainer to some but I know that sometimes in the evening I am so hungry and have thought so little in advance of dinner time that I am just too ravenous to come up with anything to eat. Here is about the quickest way I know to make a super yummy taco salad that you could even feed to guests and get compliments for. You don't have to tell them that it took you 8 minutes to assemble. It will be our dirty little secret.

Here are your ingredients:

1 Bag of Hearts of Romaine Lettuce (or whatever other lettuce you like)

1 to 1 1/2 Cups Mexican Style or Tex Mex shredded cheese 1 Store bought rotisserie Chicken (Just the meat folks. No bones please. This is about the only step that requires more work than mindlessly opening a can or bag and haphazardly dumping.) 1 Can black beans (drained and rinsed) 1 Can olives (drained) 3 Scallions (chopped up) Several handfuls of your favorite corn chips (broken up). My real dirty little secret is that I actually really like mine with coronary artery disease in a bag Fritos. 1 to 2 Avocados (sliced up) Okay, so mix all of that up together in a big bowl. Just dump it all in and stir wildly. Let your pent up emotions out. It's quick taco salad, not pretty taco salad so therefore it doesn't have to look pretty. Don't you like how the name of it sets you free like that? It just has to taste darn good. And it will. I promise. Okay so in another smaller bowl mix the ingredients for the dressing. There's nothing easier than this. In all honesty when I make it I measure it in blops. But "one blop of this and one blop of that" doesn't sound very good so I'm giving you estimates of how much I use. Mix it all up and either dress portions of your salad individually (if you want to save any for leftovers this is the best way to do it) or dress the whole kit 'n' kaboodle at once because you'll likely consume the whole thing in one sitting.1/2 cup of Ranch Dressing 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa 1/4 cup of sour cream 3 - 5 shakes of Tabasco Sauce 1 Can diced green chilies That's it. Taco salad, whether I make it a little more gourmet or whether I throw it together in 8.2 minutes, is one of my favorite meals. It's because deep down I am part Mexican. I'm just sure of it. I'm just a really washed out Mexican. (And I realize fully that this meal doesn't really constitute real Mexican food. But work with me people.)

Beer Butt Chicken

I posted about it on my regular blog. Link to a link to a link for Beer Butt Chicken!

Perfection!

These two recipes were perfect together.

Cucumber Dill Salad (I call it Tzatziki Salad) I added two cloves of minced garlic some chopped chives and a bit of chopped fresh mint. It was better than fantastic. It was DELICIOUS!!

We ate it with this divine Rosemary Mustard Chicken. I never knew chicken breasts could taste so heavenly.

Chili and Cornbread

This is what we had for dinner tonight and it was super duper yummy. You probably already have a favorite chili recipe but I'm going to post mine anyways. It's just a series of cans to be opened.

Chili

1 lb. ground beef

1 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 can Heinz chili style beans

1 can black beans

2 cans oregano and basil seasoned diced tomatoes

1 small can diced green chiles

1/2 cup beef broth

several shakes chili powder

several shakes cumin

salt to taste

Brown beef, garlic, onions and seasonings until cooked and onions are tender. Drain. Dump all canned items and meat mixture into large pot. Simmer for 1 hour. Top with cheese and a dollop of sour cream. YUM!

It hit the spot tonight. Accompanied by a friend's recipe for Mexican cornbread, it was just perfect!

Mexican Cornbread

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1/3 cup honey

4 eggs

1 small can green chiles

1 can cream style corn

1/2 cup shredded Monty Jack cheese

1/2 cup shredded Old Cheddar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 green onion, minced

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

4 tsp. baking powder

Cream butter, honey and eggs together. Beat well. Add chiles, corn, cheese, buttermilk and onion. Beat well again. Add dry ingredients (sift together ahead of time if desired... I didn't because I didn't have time and it turned out divine so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.) Blend well. Pour into greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. DELISH!

Strombolis! Calzones! Pizza Pockets! (Whatever you want to call them!)

Oh yum! I just made these tonight for the very first time and they were delicious! A huge hit with everyone!

You will need:

For Dough:
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Sugar
4 cups all purpose (or bread machine) flour
4 Tbsp. bread machine yeast

For Filling:
1 small onion diced small
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. Extra lean ground pork (can use ground Italian sausage of any temp. if you like to go spicier)
Italian Seasoning (can use fresh herbs if ya got 'em)
1 can/jar of your favorite pizza sauce (or about 2 to 3 cups of your favorite homemade pizza sauce)
Approx. 3 cups of mozzarella (or pre-shredded pizza cheese)

Put all dough ingredients into bread machine and set to dough setting. Push start. (This is of course the easy, no fuss version! If you like or if you do not have a bread machine, make the dough as you normally would using any pizza dough recipe you like best.) [On a side note, I got my bread machine at a garage sale for $10 about 3 years ago. I love that thing! Keep an eye out for these at garage sales. People buy them with good intentions but a lot of people find that they just don't use them very often.]

I took my dough out of the bread machine about 30 minutes before it "bing-ed" at me to take it out. I broke it up into 7 equal sized balls and put them in my oven on the "bread proof" setting (100 degrees) with plastic wrap covering them loosely. I let it rise in there for about 30 to 40 minutes.


In a large skillet sautee the onion in a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) until tender. Season with about a tsp. of salt and a few shakes of your favorite Italian seasonings. Add the ground pork (or Italian sausage) and cook until there is no pink left. Add pizza sauce and simmer for about 8-10 minutes.


Roll out one of the balls of dough. Place a large spoonful of filling on half of the dough, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edge. Top it with a handful of cheese. Then fold the empty side of the dough over the filled side and press down around the edges. Fold the bottom layer of dough over the top layer and pinch together again, sealing the filling in. Place on cookie sheet or pizza stone and repeat until all are filled and sealed in this manner.


Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until just golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy! Caution: They will be very hot inside!

We had them with Ceasar salad. A great combo.

I decided to freeze the leftovers for another time.

Chicken Soup for the Sickies.

So since we all felt so awful tonight I decided that we needed chicken noodle soup. But I'm sorry, I have had enough of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. Those mealy noodles. Those little bits of chicken that look more like cat food. So, yes even though I felt like poo poo I made homemade chicken noodle soup. Kudos to my hubby for going to the store to get the needed ingredients.

Here's my recipe...

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs (could have bones and skin if you don't mind all the extra work... I'm sure there would be more nutrients in there) cut into bite size bits
30 oz. Chicken Broth
4 Cups water
1 large carrot peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 scallions chopped finely
1/2 tsp. salt (or a little more perhaps)
1/2 cup finely minced fresh parsley (don't even think of using dried!)
1/2 large bag or 1 small bag egg noodles

Put everything except for egg noodles into large saucepan/pot, bring to a rolling boil. Boil for a few minutes. Turn burner to low and cover. Simmer for approx. 20 minutes. Taste check for saltiness. If it needs more add it now. Then add the egg noodles and bring back to a boil. Once brought to a boil, turn burner back down to medium and cook until noodles are desired consistency, approx. 10 minutes.

This was just what the doctor ordered tonight. Hit the spot. Hopefully we'll get back to feeling human again and maybe I'll be my regular blogging self once again.

Posting this here too....

Because of problems with my blog I'm going to post this here for any who could not view all of it on the other blog. Sorry about the inconvenience!

Oh, I just can't help myself. I love pictures!! I love it that I have you all scratching your head over today's mystery post. (It's really not that exciting but hey, it's fun keeping you in suspense!) I'll tell you what it is tomorrow.

When we were on our way to California by way of Amtrak train, we had a bit of a layover in Portland, Oregon. We had to find a place to have lunch near Union Station on a Sunday afternoon. Pleasantly there just so happened to be a street fair going on only mere blocks away. Having been cramped in small spaces with little ones underfoot we were happy to go for the walk and enjoy the afternoon out and about rather than cooped up in the station.

It was a colorfest. I loved looking at all of the handmade wares. Everything from clocks, to natural wood carved bowls, handbags (be still my beating heart) to brilliant home decor. On top of all that there was to ogle, the food was gorge-worthy. My husband and I ate the best lamb pitas I think we have ever had the pleasure of coming across. And do you think I was going to let that moment go by without being duly noted in the form of a digital image? I think not!

Drool. Drool. Drool.

Pretty pretty purses.


I loved these baskets. It was a color feast.

And dang, if only I was still into these... I was sorely tempted.

Okay, so that was the street fair. There were a lot more pictures but I don't want to bore the bile out of you.

So you know that we went to family camp at Mount Hermon in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Every week of Family Camp all of the campers take the old train that winds through the Redwoods, on the very railroad tracks upon which I met my husband for the first time, and takes the whole lot of them (campers that is) to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It's a gorgeous trip in an open air train car.

So we all spent the day down by the sea and it was just delightful. The baby experienced sand for the first time ever (poor deprived little soul doesn't have a sandbox at home). He expressed his joy in this new texture by picking it up. By eating it. And by rubbing it right into his cheeks and eyes and hair and every other imaginable spot. Sadly, in doing so, he rubbed off all of his sunscreen and hence had quite a bad sunburn later.

Once he learned not to do that anymore he, like the rest of us, had a wonderfully exhausting day.

I love the Boardwalk. I have so many funny memories there. So many sweet memories. Some stinkin' scary memories. And I love this picture. It brings them all back.


So I love the Boardwalk. But I do not love everything about it. Numero Uno, why on God's green earth is there nothing unfried there to be purchased and consumed? Aren't there enough granola types in Santa Cruz to have created a real demand for organic, healthful, non-artery clogging foods at the Boardwalk? It's despicable. Luckily we had lunches packed so we didn't have to partake in any of the billions of calories that assailed us at every turn.

Secondly, there is one ride there that needs to be put into the world's largest slingshot and sent into another galaxy. It's evil. It's hellish. It's vomitrocious. It's the Fireball. It's what is now known in our house as the Sinister Spinning Pendulum of Death. The beastly ride turns in circles, oh... I'd say at about the speed of light while swinging back and forth. Don't ask me what the world looks like at that speed. I had my eyes closed and every single muscle in my body clenched more tightly than ever. I actually left a semi-permanent indentation in my arm where my bracelet had been so forcefully impressed. The thing was of course attached to the ground but for pity's sake, there is no earthly excuse for that kind of machine. I wanted to hurl so badly and I went to bed that night curled up in the fetal position rocking myself and moaning to my husband, "Why?! Why did I do that?!" He said he had no pity for anyone stupid enough to go on the thing. (This is how we love each other you see. It's a symbiotic thing that you may not understand.) The Giant Dipper on the other hand is pure splendor. And for some unknown reason they sent us on a second go 'round with no explanation as to why. Yay! Almost made up for the horrible Fireball experience. Almost.


We ended our time at the beach by walking down the wharf so as to completely exhaust the children in order to ensure a quality night's sleep that night. (It worked like a charm by the way.) We surveyed the sea gulls with caution (if you saw the very white splattered state of the wharf you would understand the caution.) We watched sea lions. We saw a gorgeous Rolls Royce. Then we caught the train back to camp and fell into our beds.


One thing that I saw while walking along the sidewalk between the Boardwalk and the wharf was this sign:


I thought, wow... rarely do you see such a blatant call for such things. I know I need to change in so very many ways but rarely am I reminded of the fact by street signs. I then quickly realized that this was no spiritual charge to the peoples of Santa Cruz, it was merely letting people know that there was a change machine nearby. Hmph. (Okay so I really knew it meant "change machine here" but still, I thought it could be just the thing for some poor soul who was looking for a sign from God that something needed to give in their life! Had to take the picture.)