Slow and Steady

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sunday Summary: Home Run in the Kitchen

  All happiness depends 
on a leisurely breakfast. 
~John Gunther

So while this blog post will focus on how flipp'n awesome I was in the kitchen today, I can't go without sharing with you a summary of the last few days. No I haven't worked out, yes I know that is not shocking anyone, but we'll talk more work out stuff in another post. First I have to tell you that my oldest graduated from preschool and he looked fabulous! I used to think "graduating" from pre-school or kindergarten was lame, but man did my son feel accomplished and it is certainly setting the tone for him as he prepares for elementary school so I guess these types of things aren't so bad.

Friday night my extended family gathered at a local winery to celebrate my cousin's 30th birthday. Why it didn't occur to us to get a huge family photo is beyond me. We did snap this one and it is a glimpse of what life would be like if I lived back home. I only live 15 minutes away, but when you come from a "small" town kind of place, anything outside of city limits is "far" and there is a tendency to get left out of the Saturday coffee invites or last minute drinks. It is only 15 minutes people! Ok, well 15 minutes plus trying to nail down a sitter, but still.

We were in town on Thursday night to see our nieces last softball game, my hubby sponsored her team. We ran into 2 aunts, 2 cousins and boat load of kids at the pizza parlor. Small towns equal impromptu family reunions.

Ok, on to my greatness in the kitchen with a nod to Pinterest, My Recipes and Farmer's Market:

Zucchini Puffs
Zucchini Puffs-light crispy outside, fluffy inside. I found several recipes on Pinterest all boasting tater tot like texture and I found that they were more fluffy and strata or quiche esque on the inside, but light and crispy on the outside. I made this for breakfast this morning hoping not to let my excess of zucchini's go to waste this week. I adapted what I read and did the following:

1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
(squeeze all the liquid out-used 4 medium zucchini)
1/4 cup (heaping) of finely chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup (heaping) of crushed saltine crackers
1/4 shredded parmesean
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste

fills 12 mini muffin cups, I sprayed with non-stick olive oil spray

400 degree over for 18 minutes


I would absolutely make these again and would likely serve them at a brunch or gathering, because they are so good, other people must try them.

Oatmeal Banana chocolate chip cookies

This recipe is straight from My Recipes and the only adaptation I made was to make a few in a mini muffin tin which took the same amount of time and dipped the tops in melted semi-sweet chocolate and froze them to harden the tops. So good with a cup of decaf in the afternoon

Farm Fresh Fried-Taquitos
2 inches of canola oil (can use any kind for frying)
Corn Tortillas for rolling (microwave for 25 seconds to soften enough for rolling)
sauteed in 1 tsp of olive oil:
1 tsp minced garlic
2 medium zucchini, chopped

Once the zucchini was semi cooked add
1/4 cup canned corn, can use fresh if desired
2 cups of spinach, cook spinach to desired texture

***I am so bummed I didn't take a picture of the sautee before I used it, it was beautiful***

I spooned this mixture into corn tortillas, sprinkled lightly with jack cheese (can't be too full or it will ooze into oil) then fried until golden brown about 1 minute then roll over for another minute. We served it with homemade guacamole, light sour cream and queso fresco.

Farm Fresh Fried-Enchiladas
Use leftover sautee from above and roll into corn tortillas filled with enough jack cheese to be ooey gooey and drizzle a little red enchilada sauce inside. I like to layer some sauce at the bottom of a 9x9 pan, put the rolled enchiladas in the cover them with more sauce and topped with cheese and a sprinkle of cilantro for an added fresh kick. (For my authentic enchilada makers, no I do not fry my sauce or tortillas in this recipe so I can same time on prep, if you know your way around enchiladas, adapt to your liking)
Why I Kick A$$: My yummy food speaks for itself.
The Big Picture: Enchiladas are delicious, even when I don't go all the way authentic like mom and cook the sauce and tortillas.
Thankful Three:
  1. For a relaxing Sunday
  2. For delicious confidence boosting home cooked food
  3. For waking up motivated to be Susie Homemaker today

1 comment:

AmandaB said...

I can't wait to try those taquitos, and the zucchini puffs look yummy too!