Breakfast casserole

This is a great dish to make when you have guests for brunch or overnight guests during the holidays or anytime you have leftover crusty bread.

1 small baguette
10 eggs
2 small zucchini
1 small onion
1 medium tomatoe
1 - 2 fresh jalapeños
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese (whatever you have on hand, I used jack)
olive oil
salt & pepper

Cube the baguette and set aside. In a medium size bowl beat the eggs, add the milk, salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the baguette, set aside.
Chop the onion, heat a skillet and coat the bottom with olive oil; add the onion. Chop the zucchini and add to the skillet. Chop the tomatoe and add into the skillet. Chop the jalapeño and add to the skillet. Cook thoroughly.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix your egg and baguette mixture with the cooked vegetables and cheese. Place in a casserole dish or pie plate and put in the oven for 35 minutes or until center is cooked thoroughly.
Once you remove it from the oven let sit for about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Chiles Rellenos

6 chiles poblanos
Jack cheese - cut into pieces
flour
4 egg whites
Corn oil
Salsa (see Huevos Rancheros recipe)

Roast the chiles - I grilled them until they were charred on the outside. Place them in a plastic bag to allow them to sweat, this will make pealing the skin off much easier. Once they chiles have cooled off remove the skin and make a small slit in the chile (you can remove the seeds if you like, I left them in), fill the chile with the jack cheese and set aside. Continue with the rest of the chiles.
Place some flour into a bowl, coat the the chiles with flour and set aside.
Take the egg whites and beat them until they form soft peaks. Heat your skillet and the corn oil, about a 1/4 inch of oil.
Take one chile and dip it in the egg whites and place in the skillet, repeat with the rest of the chiles. Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Once done place on a plate and set aside.

Make the salsa as for the huevos rancheros. Plate the chile and cover with the salsa and serve. Enjoy!

Chilaquiles

This is my husband's favorite and I make them for him all of the time; especially after we've been drinking. You can enjoy them alone or with eggs, I like to add a fried egg on top.

8 tortillas
1 - 8oz can of tomato sauce
A handful of dried chiles (to find the right amount of heat, you can start by adding just a couple at first and then more if needed)
1 garlic clove
1/4 of a small onion
Salt
Vegetable oil
Jack cheese - shredded

Cut the tortillas into small pieces. Heat your skillet and add enough oil to coat the bottom, add the chiles and roast them. Remove the chiles from the skillet and set aside. Add the tortillas to the skillet and fry them until they are crispy, stirring them so they fry evenly.
Place the tomatoe sauce, chiles, garlic and onion with salt to taste in the blender; blend thoroughly. Add the chile sauce to the skillet and allow to heat thoroughly. Top with cheese and reduce the heat until the cheese melts. Enjoy!

Fish tacos

1 box tempura batter mix
2 lbs Tilapia fish
2 cups flour
1 can of cold beer
1 tablespoon baking powder
Salt & pepper
Vegetable oil
Cabbage - thinly sliced and washed
Sour cream
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Cut fish fillets in half to the size of a fish stick. Place 1 cup of the flour in a bowl with salt & pepper, mix together. Coat fish with flour and place on a plate, set aside. In a mixing bowl add the tempura batter, beer, 1 cup of flour, 2 cups of water, baking powder, salt and pepper. Mix thouroughly. The batter should be the consistency of pancake batter, on the runny side. If the batter is thick it will coat the fish more thickly, you want a light crispy batter.
Take a skillet and add the vegetable oil, you will need enough oil to deep fry the fish. Once the oil is hot enough take one piece of fish and dip in your batter mixture and slowly dip in the oil (this will be your test piece). If the fish quickly floats to the top then you know the oil is hot enough. Repeat this step with enough fish to fill the pot, once it is brown and crispy remove from the oil and set aside.
In the meantime you can make the sour cream sauce. Take 1 cup of sour cream and add 1/4 cup of milk, salt and pepper and whisk together; add more milk until desired consistency. It should be easly able to drizzle over your tacos.
Once you're done frying the fish, warm the flour tortillas add a piece of fish, cabbage, top with sour cream and salse. Enjoy!

Milanesa

Milanesa is a breaded piece of beef round sirloin tip. It is very thinly sliced. If you go to any market where they have a butcher you can ask for milanesa or beef round sirloin tip.
We are going to serve the milanesa as a torta on a Mexican roll known as a telera or bolillo.

1-2 lbs Milanesa
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 cups bread crumbs (I used the generic store brand)
4 telera rolls
2 avocados
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
4 large lettuce leaves
mayonnaise & mustard as preferred
vegetable oil

The secret to making the breaded coating stick to the milanesa is to do a dry, wet, dry coating. Take three bowls. In the first bowl add the flour and salt & pepper to taste, this will be your first dry coating.
In the second bowl you will make an egg wash, this will be your wet coating. Add the eggs milk, cinnamon, salt, pepper and the parsley. Beat the eggs to combine. (you will need to keep combining the egg wash throughout the process as the cinnamon will sink to the bottom of the bowl.)
In the third bowl you are going to place your bread crumbs, this will be your last dry coating.
Take the milanesa steaks and cut into pieces that will fit onto your telera roll. Heat your skillet and add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom.
Take your first piece of milanesa and coat with the flour mixture on both sides of the steak, then coat with the egg wash on both sides of the steak and lastly coat on both sides with the bread crumbs and place in the skillet. Repeat these steps with the remaining milanesa steaks.

Cook 3-4 minutes per side, remove from the skillet and place on a platter.

Wash the tomato and lettuce, slice the tomato and onions. Slice and toast your telera bread and add mayonnaise and mustard, place your milanesa steak on the telera, top with tomato, onion, lettuce and avocado. You can also add cheese. Enjoy!

Marinade

Marinade for steak or chicken

1/4 cup soy sauce
juice or 2 oranges
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. You can also place all ingredients into a blender and blend together.

Take chicken or steak and pour the marinade all over, let sit for about 30 minutes or overnight. Grill to your taste and serve. Enjoy!

Mashed Cauliflower

In an effort to eat healthier we are eating more vegetables. My family loves mashed potatoes, so I thought I would try making mashed cauliflower.

2 heads cauliflower
1/2 stick of butter
2 tablespoons sour cream
Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley (or any other dried herbs you prefer) to taste.

Wash and rinse the cauliflower and cut into small pieces. Place in a pot with a steamer basket at the bottom and enough water to reach the bottom of the basket. If you don't have a steamer basket place the cauliflower in a pot with about an inch of water. Cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the cauliflower in an oven proof bowl and add the butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley. (You can also add your favorite cheese.) Mash like you would potatoes. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the top has browned. Serve as a side dish with your favorite meal. Enjoy!

Lasagna

Marinara sauce (see my ground beef marinara sauce recipe)
1 box lasagna pasta
Bechamel sauce (see my bechamel sauce recipe)
4 cups mozzarella cheese grated

Set oven at 375. Cook lasagna; drain and rinse so that it cools and you can handle it. Take your lasagna pan and coat the bottom with marinara sauce, layer with the pasta. Start with a horizontal layer. Coat the layer of pasta with bechamel sauce, layer with pasta vertically, coat the pasta with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. (alternating the pasta horizontally and vertically helps it stay together)
Add a layer of pasta and coat with bechamel sauce; keep repeating until you fill the pan. Add a final layer of mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes.
Serve with garlic bread and Enjoy!

Bechamel Sauce

This is a great sauce and can be used on anything like pasta and as a start to the Mac 'n cheese recipe.

4 cups milk
2 cup mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 handful chopped spinach (optional - you can use fresh; rinsed or frozen)
dried parsley, salt & pepper to taste

Heat a large saucepan to medium heat, add the butter and as soon as it starts melting add the flour.  With a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pan mixing the flour and butter together, add the nutmeg and parsley. Start adding the milk half a cup at a time, mixing and scraping the bottom of the pan - you don't want any lumps. You can also use a whisk. As soon as it starts to thicken add more milk until all of the milk has been added. Let simmer until it thickens, you will know that it's ready when the milk stays on the back of the spoon. Add the cheeses, spinach and stir. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
Add this to your favorite cooked pasta, but I'm going to use it in the lasagna. Enjoy!

How do I chop onions?

I love chopping onions and unlike almost everyone I know onions don't make me cry. There are a lot of myths and wives tales on why onions make you cry, but I don't believe them. I think that it's in how you chop the onion and determines whether the onion "juices" get in the air and in your eyes.

Take 1 large onion, a good sharp knife and a cutting board.
Peel the onion, cut the ends and make 1 light cut down the side of the onion to remove the skin. Cut the onion in half and place with the cut side down. This keeps the onion "juices" down on the cutting board.

Cut the onion across.

Turn the onion and start chopping it across the cuts you've already made.

This cuts the onion evenly so you can impress your friends. Make salsa or add to all your favorite dishes.

Ground beef marinara sauce

1 large onion chopped
4 garlic cloves chopped
2-3 bay leaves (remove once the sauce is done)
2 tablespoons oregano
3 lbs ground beef (pick the one lowest in fat)
3 - 28oz canned diced tomatoes
2 cans tomatoe sauce
olive oil
salt, parsley and pepper to taste

If you are a vegetarian don't add the beef.

Take a medium size pot, coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil and add the onion; let it cook thoroughly. Add the garlic, bay leaves, and oregano; cook for about a minute. Add the ground beef and salt, parsley and pepper. (don't add too much now, once all the flavors mesh together you can taste it and add more if needed)
Break up the ground beef either with a spoon or with the potatoe masher. Allow the ground beef to brown.
Add the tomatoes and tomatoe sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 3 hours. Taste and add more salt or pepper as needed and remove the bay leaves.
Serve with your favorite pasta.

If this is too much sauce for you; you can make half the sauce.
1 -2 lbs ground beef
2 - 28oz canned diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoe sauce

Or you can freeze it. Let the sauce cool and divide into freezer proof container and store in the freezer. You can then enjoy the sauce whenever you have a craving for a quick pasta dish.
You can also share this with your friends, I'm sure they would love that!  Enjoy!

Lemon Tilapia fish with asparagus and brown rice

4-6 Tilapia fish fillets
2 bunches of asparagus
1 lemon
olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste

Wash and trim the asparagus. How do you know how much to cut off the end? Bend towards the end and the part that you should cut off will snap. Do this with one and line up the rest of the asparagus using the first one as a guide and cut with a sharp knife all at once.
Place skillet on the stove over medium heat, once heated thoroughly add olive oil to coat the bottom. Toss in the asparagus, chop the garlic and add to the skillet. Let cook for about 5 minutes. Cut the lemon into slices, set aside. Place the tilapia fish over the asparagus, add salt & pepper to taste. Place the lemon slices over the fish and cover for 7-10 minutes.

Make brown rice (see my brown rice recipe). I added some roasted chiles stuffed with Jack cheese. Enjoy!

Mac n cheese

So my sister just sent me a facebook message, she wants to make Mac n cheese, but doesn't know how. Here's my recipe, sorry no picture.

1 16oz package elbow macaroni
4 cups milk
1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
2 cup cheddar cheese, grated (sharp or mild, I prefer sharp)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
nonstick cooking spray

Cook macaroni as you would normally cook pasta. Heat a large saucepan to medium heat, add the butter and as soon as it starts melting add the flour.  With a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pan mixing the flour and butter together, add the nutmeg. Start adding the milk half a cup at a time, mixing and scraping the bottom of the pan - you don't want any lumps. As soon as it starts to thicken add more milk until all of the milk has been added. Let simmer until it thickens, you will know that it's ready when the milk stays on the back of the spoon. Add the cheeses and stir. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. (the cheeses are a bit salty) Add the macaroni and stir.

Take a baking dish and spray with the nonstick cooking spray. Pour the macaroni in the baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until it browns on top. Enjoy!

Twice Baked Potatoes

4-6 russet potatoes (scrubbed and rinsed)

Butter

Sour cream

¼ cup milk

½ cup shredded Jack cheese (or your favorite cheese)

Bacon (optional - we had leftover bacon from breakfast that I crumbled up)

Salt, pepper, parsley

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Once you have washed the potatoes pierce them with a knife a couple of times. Place the potatoes in the oven and bake until tender, about 45 minutes.

Once the potatoes are done wait for them to cool for about 10 minutes so they are easier to handle, but don’t let them cool off too much they are easier to work with when they are still warm.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, scoop out the flesh and place in a bowl; leaving very little flesh on the skin. Place the potato skins on a baking sheet.

Now you are going to make mashed potatoes. Add the butter, milk, sour cream, cheese, bacon, salt, pepper, and parsley to the potatoes in the bowl. Mash thoroughly.

Take each potato skin and fill with the potatoes, placing them back on the baking sheet and return to the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

(This is where I would have placed a picture of the potatoes after they came out of the oven, but we ate them before I could take the picture)

Serve topped with sour cream as an appetizer or as a side dish. Enjoy!

Roasted Salsa

Tomatoes (you can use as many or as few as you want)

Jalapeño or Serrano chiles ( I usually add 2-3 chiles per tomato depending on how spicy you want it)

1-2 garlic cloves

¼ of a medium onion

1 handful of cilantro

Wash tomatoes and chiles. Heat a pan, place a piece of aluminum foil in the pan covering the bottom. (Roasting chiles in a pan is a bit messy, so I place a piece of aluminum foil over the pan making cleaning it easy.) Turn the tomatoes and chiles over several times until roasted. Place tomatoes, chiles, garlic, onion and cilantro in the blender. Add salt and puree to desired consistency. Serve with your favorite dish or with beans and chips. Enjoy!

Pesto

A couple handfuls of:

Basil (cut the leaves from the stem and wash, toss out the stems)

Nuts (pine nuts are normally used, but I didn’t have any on hand today; so I used walnuts, you can also use almonds)

4-6 garlic cloves (you can add more or less depending on your love of garlic, we love garlic)

Juice of 1 lemon

6oz parmesan cheese (fresh or whatever you have in the cupboard will do)

1 cup olive oil

Pepper to taste

Salt (you can hold off on adding salt until the end the cheese is plenty salty and you may not need it)

Toss everything into a blender or food processor and blend until desired consistency. You may need to add a bit more olive oil, taste for salt and add if needed. Serve with your favorite bread or toss it with pasta, or grilled chicken. Enjoy!

Tilapia fish and Vegetables grilled in aluminum foil

This recipe is great on a warm summer night, you can also prepare ahead for camping or tailgating.

4 Tilapia fish filets

4 carrots

1 medium onion

2 broccoli bunches

2 zucchinis

(You can add whatever vegetables you like, potatoes, peppers, cauliflower…this is what I had in my fridge)

Minced garlic

Butter

Salt & pepper

Aluminum foil

Olive oil

Wash, rinse and chop all vegetables, set aside. Cut a good size piece of aluminum foil, add a little bit of olive oil in the center, make a layer with the carrots (and potatoes if using, you want your hardest vegetables on the bottom) and place the fish on top of the carrots; season to taste. Add the onion, broccoli, zucchini, minced garlic and a small amount of butter.

Cut another piece of aluminum foil and place on top, you are now going to fold over both the top and bottom pieces of foil on all four sides, creating a pocket. Make sure it is tightly sealed. Repeat with the remaining fish and vegetables to make 4 packets.

Heat your grill on high, raduceheat to medium and place the foil packets on the grill. (You can also cook at 375 degrees in your oven) Cook for 15-20 minutes and remove from heat. Place on a plate in the foil, cut open (be careful as there is a lot of hot steam). Enjoy!

Tilapia Fish, Spinach and Brown Rice

1 cup brown rice

4 Tilapia fish filets

1-2 spinach bunches

2 tomatoes

1 medium onion

1 jalapeño chile

2 garlic cloves

½ cup flour

1 egg

1 bouillon cube

Salt & pepper

Rinse brown rice until the water runs clear and drain.  Chop half the onion and 1 garlic clove. Heat a skillet with enough olive oil to coat the bottom, add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic. Once the onion is fully cooked add the rice and the bouillon cube and allow to brown for about 3 minutes. Add 2 ½ cups water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Allow to cook for 30 minutes, undisturbed. At the end of the 30 minutes turn off the heat and let sit until ready to serve or if you prefer you can fluff it up at this time.

While the rice is cooking chop the rest of the onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, garlic. Heat a skillet and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the skillet – add the onion, tomatoes, jalapeño and garlic. Rinse spinach thoroughly, I like to place it a bowl full of water and wash it to remove all of the dirt, drain and set aside.

In a bowl prepare an egg wash for the Tilapia, beat the egg and add your favorite spices. In a separate bowl add the flour; you can add spices to the flour as well. Heat a skillet and coat the bottom of the skillet with vegetable oil. Dip the Tilapia in the egg wash and then lightly turn it over in the flour, you don’t want too much flour just enough to create a light crunchy coating. Place the Tilapia in the skillet, repeat with each piece of fish. Let the fish cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until browned, fish cooks really fast. You may need to use a spatula and a spoon to turn the fish over as it is really tender and falls apart easily.

By now the onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, garlic should be cooked thoroughly, add salt and pepper to taste and toss in the spinach. Cover the skillet and let cook for about 1 minute and turn off the heat.

Serve the fish, rice and spinach together. Enjoy!

Chile Colorado

This is a quick version of the chile colorado my grandma used to make.

3 lbs. country style pork rib meat

3 dried chiles pasilla
10 dried chiles de arbol (these are spicy so add to your liking)

4 garlic cloves

½ large onion

1 handful of walnuts (or peanuts or even a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter)

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1 – 28oz can of cooked tomatoes

1 handful cilantro

Salt & pepper to taste

You can find all these chiles at your regular supermarket or at any Mexican market.

Cut meat into small bite size pieces. Set skillet on high heat and wait for it to be hot, brown the meat for about 10 minutes or until it is crispy. Lower the temperature to simmer and cover, let cook for about an hour.

In the meantime, heat a small saucepan with a little bit of olive oil and fry the chiles, garlic, onion, walnuts (if you are using peanut butter there is not need to fry this, just add it to the blender), and sesame seeds. I like to do them one at a time. Place them all in a blender with the tomatoes, salt, pepper and cilantro.

Once the meat is thoroughly cooked add the chile sauce and heat thoroughly.

Serve with corn tortillas and refried beans. Enjoy!

Chicken and vegetables with soy sauce and rice

2 large chicken breasts

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 medium onion

4 garlic cloves

6 Japanese chili pods (optional, they don’t add too much spice unless you eat them)

2 cups broccoli

2 cups bean sprouts

2 cups Napa cabbage

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Soy sauce

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Chop carrots, celery, onions, and garlic.

Heat a large skillet, add the oil and let warm up; add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. (you may not want to add too much salt as the soy sauce is already salty)

Let the chicken brown about 5 – 7 minutes. While the chicken is browning, cut up and wash the broccoli and cabbage; set aside. Rinse and drain the bean sprouts.
Start on the rice.

Add the carrots, celery, onions, garlic and chili pods to the skillet and stir. Let cook for about 5 minutes until the carrots are a bit tender. Add the broccoli; allow to cook for about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage, bean sprouts, and the soy sauce to taste; cover the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 5 -7 more minutes. Taste and if needed add more salt.

Rice

(This took me a long time to learn, it’s very simple; but I always wanted to make it better so I was ruining it by doing too much with it. Follow these directions, it is very easy)

1 cup rice

2 cups water

Rinse rice until the water runs clear. Place rice in a pan with the water and turn on heat to medium high. Once the water is boiling cover and reduce the heat to simmer. Allow to cook for 15 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the rice sit covered until ready to serve.
Enjoy!

Aguachile Shrimp Ceviche

4 lbs Shrimp - peeled, cleaned and devained, rinse thoroughly
1 large red onion - thinly sliced
4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
10 serrano chiles - finely chopped (give or take a few depending on how spicy you want it)
Salt & pepper to taste
Tostadas

Place all ingredients in a bowl making sure there is enough lemon juice to cover the shrimp. Place in the refrigerator for an hour and the shrimp turns pink. Serve over tostada - Enjoy!

Marinated Pork loin

5 lb pork loin (plenty for dinner and leftovers)

Marinade

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbls salt

1 tbls pepper

2 tbls dried parsley

2 tbls apple cider vinegar

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup brown sugar

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Place pork loin in a bowl and pierce with a knife at random, rub marinade all over pork loin and into knife slits. Marinade overnight.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees

Sear pork loin in a cast iron skillet - Heat the skillet; make sure it is really hot. Coat the bottom of the skillet with olive oil and place the pork loin in the skillet; let it brown on each side. Searing it seals in the juices. Place the skillet in the oven for 1 ½ hours, internal temperature should read 160 degrees. Let sit for about 10 minutes then slice. Enjoy!

Huevos (Eggs) Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros

Corn tortillas – 2 per person

Eggs – 2 per person

3 tomatoes

1 medium onion

1-2 Serrano peppers (depending on how much heat you want)

Olive oil

Refried Beans (homemade or store bought)

Make the salsa

Chop the tomatoes, onion and Serrano pepper, sauté in a pan with a little bit of olive oil until tender; add salt and pepper to taste.  Turn off the heat and set aside.

If using store bought beans, heat them thoroughly.

Using a non-stick skillet add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet

Lightly fry the tortillas in the oil, just long enough for them to soften up; turn over once

Place the tortillas on a plate and spread the refried beans over the tortillas

Cook the eggs to your preference in the skillet (I prefer over medium, which is the traditional style), place over the beans and top with the salsa. Enjoy!

Pork chops with red and gold potatoes

Pork chops with bone in - I usually make 1 per person and a few others for leftovers
Season with salt, pepper, dried parsley, fresh lemon juice and any other grilling seasoning you like.
Grill 7 - 10 minutes per side (pork should always be cooked thoroughly)

Red and Gold small potatoes about 2 lbs.,washed, rinsed and quartered (so they cook faster)
In a pot add olive oil, enough to coat the bottom pan
Add 2 cloves chopped garlic
A pat of butter
Add potatoes
Sea salt, pepper and parsley flakes
Cook at medium heat uncovered for about 10 minutes and covered for about 10 minutes more or until tender

Serve pork chops with potatoes - Enjoy!

Spring Mix Salad with Balsamic Dressing

This is a favorite at our house, we make it for dinner and have leftovers for lunch.

Store bought spring mix salad
Sliced red onion
Crumbled feta cheese
Walnuts

Balsamic dressing
2 parts olive oil
2 parts balsamic vinegar
1 part dijon mustard (I buy the store brand, nothing fancy)
salt and pepper to taste
Place in a jar and shake

Serve dressing over salad and toss - Enjoy!

Lemon drop Martini - My favorite

Lemon Drop Martini

On the weekends it is very nice to sit back relax and have a nice drink, Vodka is my liquor of choice.

Place in a shaker
Ice
2 parts Vodka
1 part simple syrup (1 part water, 1 part sugar - heat until sugar is dissolved about 2-3 minutes, you can make this ahead and keep for about a week in the fridge)
1 part lemon juice (fresh squeezed tastes best, but you can also use bottled lemon juice)
Shake and serve in a martini glass - Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Tacos

Grilled Chicken Tacos
2 lbs. chicken breast, marinated - lemon, salt, pepper, dried parsley
sour cream
salsa (whatever you prefer, I will post a separate entry for salsa at a later date)
corn or flour tortillas
lettuce or cabbage

Grill the chicken and cut up into bite size pieces (you can also cook it stove stop on a skillet with a bit of olive oil)
cut up and wash the lettuce or cabbage
sour cream - add a bit of milk, salt and pepper and whisk until runny consistency (you know the kind that is drizzled over your tacos at a Mexican food place)
warm the tortillas in a pan (not in the microwave)

Fix your tacos, place the tortilla on your plate, add the chicken, lettuce, sour cream, salsa - Enjoy!

What am I doing?

Hi, I am a normal mom (if there is such a thing); I am married have two kids and have a full time job. I sometimes find it hard to balance everything, but I always manage to make dinner every night and pack lunches for the next day.
I have friends and co-workers who know that I enjoy cooking for my family and will ask me what I made for dinner the night before. I share what I cooked and will tell them "it's easy, I just threw this and that together and made dinner".  I have been asked to teach them how to cook and I some day plan to do that - when I have time. For now this blog, I hope will serve that purpose.
I know that there are several (hundreds) websites dedicated to cooking and tv shows with celebrity chefs; there are blogs about everyday cooking - but really, really are any of these for real people like you and me? I don't think so; most recipes require you to have a full blown pantry and hours and hours of time to prepare. I am not a chef or a cook; but based on friend's comments and feedback I am doing alright and can find my way around the kitchen.
I am not promising to blog daily, but I will try to at least do this when I have something new to post.
Claudia