I’m sad to report that this Taco Tuesday was not among the best. I was winging it and managed to save it in the end, but it wasn’t easy.

I didn’t keep very good track of the water needed, since I just watched the beans to ensure they were cooked all the way. Below is a rough estimate of you’ll need for the lentils, but feel free to customize it however you want.

4 oz lentils
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 white onion chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1  stalk of celery chopped
1 medium size zucchini chopped
1 handful of spinach
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste

I decided to use Cotija cheese and corn tortillas.

For the lentils, begin by sauteing the garlic for a few minutes, and then add your onion and saute for another few minutes. Add your lentils, and add 2 cups of water to start. You will gradually add more as they cook. Add your spices. You could use half a packet of taco seasoning instead if you wish. Put the lid on and let it cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. While it’s cooking, you can chop your celery and zucchini. After 30 minutes, take a look. You will most likely need to add more water. I suggest adding water in 1/2 cup increments. Add your celery now. Put the lid on and let it cook for another 20 minutes.

Take a look and see how they’re doing, most likely they are almost done. Add the zucchini and really stir it in there, so it can get all that flavor. Next, add a big handful of spinach, turn the heat down to low, and stir that in very well. You’re done with the lentils!

This is where my plan went awry. I normally heat corn tortillas in the microwave with a damp paper towel, so that’s what I did. Then I added the filling and the cotija crumbles, aaaaaaand it was boring. It tasted good, but it was missing something. Hot sauce?! Yes, a little hot sauce helped but something was still not quite right.

My husband got home later in the evening, so I offered him a plate of boring tacos. I decided that this was an opportunity to try again. I heated the tortillas on the stove top this time, and I melted the cotjia right on the tortilla. Then, I added the lentils, and lastly, a little hot sauce. The verdict? And I quote, “that melted cheese is money, babe.” I think by crisping the tortillas and melting the cheese, I got the texture I was missing before.

There you have it, what to do and what not to do in this week’s Taco Tuesday…on Wednesday.

xo

For this delicious, but crazy spicy recipe you’ll need:

• 2 Zucchinis
• 1 Pasilla Chile
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 1 cup of Corn
• 1 cup of Pinto Beans
• 1 can of Chipotle Peppers (7 oz)
• 1/2 cup of Crema
• 2 Limes
• Cotija
• Sea Salt
• Tortillas

Makes 6 tacos

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, begin slicing the zucchini and red onion, and then place on to a baking sheet. Remove the stem and seeds from the Pasilla and just cut it in half. Rub some olive oil on the skin of the pepper, and then drizzle some olive oil over the zucchini and onion as well. It took about 20 minutes to roast the veggies, but I feel like I could have done less time for the zucchini, so just keep an eye on it once they have been in the oven for 15 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, make the creamy chipotle sauce in your food processor. I dumped the entire can of chipotles into the food processor, a decision that I regretted after tasting the sauce, although delicious and smokey, crazy spicy. Consider yourself warned. I’d suggest using half the can, 1/2 cup of crema, and the juice from one lime. If you feel like that isn’t spicy enough, then by all means, go to town and throw the rest of the can in there.

This is the point when I realized I had frozen corn and that it would be a lovely addition to the tacos. I simply thawed some corn and browned it a smidge on the stove top. I also realized that I had a can of pinto beans, so you can guess what happened next…I heated the beans on the stove top.

Okay, it should be about time to pull the veggies out of the oven. Turn off the oven and put the tortillas on the middle rack of the oven to warm them. Now, go ahead and put the onion and zucchini in a bowl and add the corn too. Let the chiles sit for a bit, until they are cool enough to handle, and pull the skin off, and then slice. Add the chiles to the bowl with a dash of salt, and toss everything together. Pull the tortillas out and put them into a tortilla warmer, or in a towel to keep them warm.

Everything is ready, so it’s time assemble and eat. I did a layer of beans, layer of veggies, creamy chipotle sauce, and then some cotija. Garnish the plate with a lime wedge or two and enjoy.

Happy Tuesday!

xo

As you all know, I like to plan. It makes my life easier when I have control over a few things because let’s face it, you can’t control everything. On Sundays, I enjoy going through my pantry, fridge and freezer to see what I have and think up what I could do with these items. Some days this task is easy, some days it’s hard. Some days the ingredients practically tell me how to use them up, and some days they don’t. When it’s tough, I go to the internet for ideas and inspiration.

WORK FROM THE BOTTOM UP, DINNER MENU FIRST:

I like to begin with deciding on dinners first. My goal is to cook at least four times a week. Four is good, five is better, and three is likely. Knowing this helps me from overbuying and wasting food. If you know that you are going to have a busy week and you’ll only cook twice, only buy enough for two dinners. You can always go to the market if you really need something, and then you don’t waste food and money. After taking stock and visiting my Pinterest board, I know what I’m making for dinners and can create my grocery list.

*Side note, in looking at your menu for the week, think about how these things will translate for lunches. For example, re-heating tacos don’t really work for lunch in your typical office kitchen, so I make sure to buy enough lettuce to create a taco salad for the next day.

Once dinners and lunches are covered, I think about breakfast. For me breakfast consists of a smoothie, coffee, and an egg. For my husband, oatmeal and orange juice. Add those items to your list. Now is the time to jot down any other necessities, such as toiletries or cleaning products. There it is, your list, in all its glory.

COUPONING, LAZY GIRL STYLE:

This is the part where I go to my coupon envelopes to see if I have anything that will save us a few bucks. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. The thing I have learned about couponing is that it can be easy to clip coupons because they sound good, but if the coupon is for something you don’t normally buy, it’s not worth it. I clip coupons once a week and stash them in an envelope. After I make my list, I see what I can use for this shopping trip, and I go through and toss anything that has expired.

Another way that I coupon is through Safeway’s Just For You program. Safeway is the closest grocery store to me, and convenience is king when it comes to chores like grocery shopping. I simply log into my account, and review all of the personalized deals, store specials, and manufacturer coupons. I click away on what I need, and it automatically loads them to my card. It is super easy, and it’s pretty silly not to do it. Super dorky fact, I have the app on my phone too (see image above). Oh, and I accumulate gas rewards points. After grocery shopping today, I received a $0.90/gallon discount. I know, super dorky. I like saving money, can’t help it.

In all this process takes me about an hour. Within this hour, I am able to make my evenings easier, so I have more time to spend with my hubby and pets, and I keep our dinners interesting, so we don’t eat the same things over and over. I’m sure that this isn’t for everyone, but it works for me, so I wanted to share.

xo

It was a sunny, warm day here, so I decided to do everything in my power to not use the oven or stove. Enter shrimp with mango & avocado tacos. Mission accomplished. I wanted to make ceviche tacos but I didn’t have raw shrimp, and I ended up working late, so I didn’t really have the time either. This is my “short on time” version.

I had cooked shrimp and red cabbage in the fridge, and mango, avocado, tomato, onion, lemon and lime in my fruit bowl. I chopped up all of the ingredients, squeezed in the juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime, and added a dash of sea salt. I let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill and allow the flavors to come together.

• 6 oz cooked shrimp (tails removed and cut into small chunks)
• 1 large ripe mango
• 1 large avocado
• 1 small vine tomato
• 1/2 small white onion
• 1/2 bag shredded red cabbage
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• Sea salt
• Chili powder
• 12 corn tortillas

To put them together lay down a layer of shredded red cabbage, a couple scoops of the shrimp/mango/avocado mixture, a dash of chili powder, and you’re done. This made 6 tacos with a generous helping of leftovers, which I used to make a salad for my lunch. My regrets–not having cilantro and not heating the tortillas on the grill. I think those two things would’ve made these tacos stellar. They were still pretty delicious though. Give them a try and let me know your take on this recipe.

xo

Using some leftover potatoes from breakfast over the weekend, and a few gems from the fridge, I created a tasty meal for Taco Tuesday. I had high hopes for this meal, but once I started cooking, the meal got away from me. I forgot to take photos, I overcooked the eggs, and meant to add avocado. I thought about not posting it because it’s not the prettiest meal I have ever plated, BUT it was so yummy, I decided to go ahead and do it.

Let me tell you what you’re looking at here. We had corn tortillas with melted extra sharp cheddar cheese, potatoes seasoned with cumin and sea salt, topped with over hard eggs. For the side, we had black beans spooned over sautéed onion, spinach and beets seasoned with minced garlic. To eat the tacos, we simply folded the tortilla –with all of its deliciousness inside– in half and ate it like a normal taco. My husband spooned some of the beans and veggies into the taco too…brilliant.

Okay, my inspiration…the leftover potatoes. I didn’t want them to go to waste and it was time for a Taco Tuesday post, so there you have it.

*I added some olive oil, cumin and sea salt, and then I mashed it to create a little potato patty. I popped it in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes to crisp it up.

*While the potatoes are crisping, prep your veggies and start heating some oil and garlic in a pan over medium heat. Once the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant, add the beets and sauté for about 15 minutes. I say, add whatever veggies you have here. You can’t go wrong (says the vegetarian). This is also a good time to heat up your beans on the stovetop and season them up. It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to heat leftover beans or canned beans.

*Add a little olive oil to a pan over medium heat, put two tortillas in the pan at a time, and then sprinkle on some cheese to get it melted. Now is a good time to make your eggs. Making an over hard egg takes about 5 minutes (cook 2-3 minutes on each side). While the egg is cooking, and the cheese is starting to melt, add some of the potatoes and let it all cook for another couple minutes to allow the cheese and potatoes meld together nicely. Your egg should be ready to flip now.  Pull the tortillas off the pan and place them on to a plate where they can stay warm. Top the tortilla concoction with half of your over hard egg.

*That’s it! Add some hot sauce to your tacos, serve the veggies and beans. Enjoy!

xo

I actually received this recipe from my cousin, Melissa, and thanks to her, we had a delicious dinner last night.

Here is a pic of Meli’s version, and the chef herself.

My neighbor once made me tacos with fried potatoes inside and they were to die for, so it got me thinking…what’s good with fried potatoes? A fried egg! This, my friends, is what I call breakfast for dinner, tacos style. Keep in mind that I’m not a food blogger and that I totally made this recipe up. I got the seal of approval from my husband and I enjoyed them, but there’s always room for improvement, so please give it a shot and share your thoughts.

I began by boiling the potatoes for about 10 minutes, and then I drained the water and moved them to a hot frying pan with olive oil. I regret not tossing the potatoes in some seasoning prior to putting them into the hot frying pan. I’d suggest a dash of cumin and some salt and pepper. It will take a good 25 minutes to get the potatoes nice and crispy. I put the lid on to the trap the heat and create some steam, softening the potatoes a little more. I checked on them, gave them a good stir and added salt a couple times in the 25 minutes they were cooking.

While the potatoes did their thing, I chopped the green onion, shredded some pepper jack cheese, and sliced the avocado. In the final 10 minutes, I heated up some canned black beans (I know, shame on me…I didn’t have time to cook whole beans last night though). I always add a little cumin and salt to the black beans, but do whatever works for you. Once the potatoes were done, I moved them into a bowl and used that hot frying pan for cooking the tacos. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and coat it, put in a tortilla, add some cheese to one side, then put some potatoes on top of the cheese. Add a sprinkle of cheese to the other side and let it melt a bit, then pull the tortilla over, creating a taco.  Once you have two tacos completed, fry an egg, and then start on the next two tacos. I made four tacos total, two for each of us, and then served a generous scoop of beans, and added a fried egg on top of the beans. Finish it off with green onion, avocado on the side and the hot sauce of your choice. I think sour cream would have been really incredible too, but I didn’t have any, so maybe next time.

Again, please give it a shot, and let me know what you think.

Happy Tuesday!

xo

As promised, here is the recipe for the pinto bean stew I made in the crockpot on Sunday. You can find the original recipe here at Eating Well. I would only make a few changes to this recipe, starting with the addition of cheese to the dumplings because, well, why not? I used medium cheddar because that’s what I had in the fridge, but would have preferred sharp cheddar. Next time I will double the jalapeño in the dumplings, but I like spicy food, so if you order a 4 at Thai restaurants too, double it. I really enjoyed the crunch of the radish in this dish, so next time I might dice the radish to maximize the bites with delicious radish crunch. And, last but certainly not least, add some hot sauce. Tapatio with beans is a kind of a no brainer.

Prep was a breeze. Really, you just need to chop some veggies and measure out the ingredients, and then put it into the crockpot.

This is what it will look like, once it’s all in the crockpot.

The dumplings were very easy too, and once you whisk the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk, this is what the dough should look like. This took maybe 10 minutes, if that.

Take some generous scoops of dumpling dough and drop them into the crockpot. At this point, everything needs to continue cooking for one more hour.

In the final 5-10 minutes, chop your radishes and cilantro. And then, feast!

Happy Friday to all, on this very gloomy and rainy day in the PNW.

xo