Salsa Verde and Baked Tortilla Chips

25 Oct

After making Salsa Roja a couple nights ago, I had the ingredients to make Salsa Verde, but was out of tortilla chips.  I was going to head to the store because I needed a few things anyway, but decided since I had some corn tortillas still, I would bake tortilla chips with them.  Super easy, fairly fast to do.  Here is how to make both.

Salsa Verde

What you need:

1 lb tomatillos, husks removed (if you aren’t familiar with tomatillos, you can see them in this post, second picture, bottom left)
4 jalapenos, more or less depending on the level of hot you want
1 yellow onion, cut in half
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
juice of 1 lime

How you make it:

You can roast the ingredients 2 ways.  One way is to roast them in the oven, like I did the ingredients for Salsa Roja.  The other way is to roast them on the grill, like I did last night.  Place a piece of aluminum foil on your grill and heat up your grill. Place tomatillos, jalapenos, onion, and garlic on the foil.  Flip the veggies as they start to blacken.  Continue to cook until onions are translucent, and everything has started to blacken.  Remove from grill and allow to cool.  Then, add all of that plus the cilantro and lime juice to your food processor or blender and blend well.  Serve as desired.

Last night we had this with chips, but a lot of times I will put it over chicken in the slow cooker, then shred the cooked chicken for enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos, burritos, etc.

Baked Tortilla Chips

What you need:

Small corn tortillas
Vegetable or olive oil
Sea salt

How you make them:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Cut tortillas into 6 pieces using a pizza cutter.  Spray or brush the foil with the oil.  Lay chips out in a single layer on the pan.  Spray or brush the tops of the chips with oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes.  If you bake 2 pans at a time, rotate the pans in the oven halfway through.  Allow to cool and serve.

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Toddler School – Week 5

23 Oct

This week we did a letter E worksheet.  Let me tell you, it was a little tough to come up with E words that they would recognize or that they wouldn’t things was something else.  In the end, I think it turned out good.

I searched for a while for some new activities to do.  I came across these number printables and figured since we had worked on number recognition somewhat last week, that it would be fitting to work on numbers again this week.  I ended up printing out all the printables available and laminated them, then cut them apart.  This week we only used the numbers with the colored dots on them.  Then, I got colored pom poms at the dollar store, and we used those to put on the colored dots to practice counting.

Then, we did something more crafty, we made butterflies like I had found on Pinterest.  You flatten a coffee filter, then paint it with watercolors.  Once it is dry, you fold it accordion style.  You cut a pipe cleaner in half, then fold that half around the folded coffee filter and twist a couple times.  Bend the ends for the antenna.

This week I decided to start keeping the activity materials together in gallon size zipper bags, much like busy bags.  I will have a post coming up talking about busy bags, the ones I have made, and some ideas for new ones.

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Salsa Roja

23 Oct

I have been making a lot of Roasted Corn Salsa, but since I don’t have corn, I decided to use some of my Mexican veggie pack ingredients to make some Salsa Roja.  I’ve made it a few times before, but I have been working on finding the perfect method.  I have been very close on the taste I want, but I came across this recipe for Salsa Roja and decided to give it a try, but on a much smaller scale than the recipe calls for.

 

Salsa Roja

What you need:

4 tomatoes
1 small onion
4 jalapenos (more or less depending on how hot you want)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cilantro
juice of one lime

How you make it:

Cut tomatoes in half, onions in fourths.  Remove caps from jalapenos and cut in half.  Remove seeds if desired, this reduces some of the heat of the jalapenos.  Line a baking sheet with foil and add tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, and garlic, cut sides up. Roast in oven at 375 F for about 30 minutes, or until onions look translucent.

Allow to cool, then add to a blender or food processor.  Add cilantro, salt, and lime juice to blender or food processor.  Blend well.  Serve as desired.

 

I found this made about 2 1/2 cups of salsa and was a little hot for my tastes, but my husband enjoyed it.

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Bountiful Baskets – 10/22/2011

22 Oct

Lots of goodies this week!  I got the conventional basket for $15 and a Halloween cookie kit for $10.

LOTS of sweet potatoes. I will probably make Oven Baked Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries, maybe a sweet potato pie, and I will have to look for something else to make.  I also need to decide what to do with the mushrooms and mushrooms, maybe a Zucchini Pie.  The celery I may chop and freeze to have for Thanksgiving to make bread & celery dressing.


The cookie kit had 20 cookies in 4 different shapes, with 4 colors of frosting.  The girls had a lot of fun decorating these today.

 

Note: The amount of food may vary from another basket because of volunteering and because of variances in how the ends of produce cases are distributed after everything has been distributed evenly.

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Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake

21 Oct

I was not feeling up to cooking much earlier this week, so tonight was time to do some catch up.  I had gotten Mexican grey squash in my Mexican pack, and still had some yellow squash to use, so since the grey squash is similar to zucchini, I found this recipe for Easy Chessy Zucchini Bake.    I think it turned out pretty good, I think the grey squash made it a little watery, but over all good.  I think next time I will put some mozzarella on top with the Parmesan.  I used grated Parmesan on top, but I think it might have been better with both grated Parmesan and shredded mozzarella.

 

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake

What you need:

2-3 zucchinis, sliced or cut in half moon slices
2-3 yellow squash, sliced or cut in half moon slices
1/2 bunch green onion, diced
1 Tbsp Italian blend seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Toss together the zucchini, yellow squash, green onion, seasoning, and mozzarella cheese.  Spray an 8×8 baking dish, and place the zucchini mixture in the dish.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese (here is where I would also put mozzarella cheese on top, probably about 1/4 cup).  Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until zucchini and yellow squash are tender and cheese is browned.

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Guaca-, Guaca-, -mole, -mole!!

21 Oct

Let me explain the title first.  A while back, I was introduced to this video.  I don’t know if it was a commercial Bounty did outside the US or what, but the song is catchy, and K sings it whenever I make guacamole.

I have been waiting all week for my avocados to ripen, and tonight, they finally were.   We are all big fans of guacamole in this house, and this batch was perfect.

Guacamole

What you need:

5 avocados
1/2 bunch green onion
2 jalapeno peppers, tops and seeds removed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
juice of 1 lime
sea salt

How to make it:

Coarsely chop all the ingredients and add to a food processor or blender.  Blend as desired.

I left mine a little chunky, but mostly pureed.  It was a beautiful green color and full of flavor.  It made about 2 cups of guacamole.


(So, is the guacamole song still stuck in your head?)

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Staples Rewards on Batteries

19 Oct

Do you do Staples Rewards?  I do, so that I get money back for recycling my ink cartridges, plus I usually get nice deals on buying ink there.  Recently, I had earned $50 in rewards, which I was able to use toward the purchase of my new laptop.  It’s worth looking into as there is no cost to join.

Now through 10/29/11, Staples is giving 100% back in Staples Rewards on certain packs of AA and AAA batteries.  So, you may want to check you local Staples ad to see if your store is participating in this.  Yes, I know they aren’t technically free because you buy them, then have rewards to use in store instead of cash, but this is a case where you get more for your money.  I will most likely use the rewards from my battery purchase to buy printer ink.  So, for the price of printer ink, I get the printer ink plus 2 packages of batteries.  We seem to go through AA batteries so fast in this house, a lot of our toys and gadgets need them.  In fact, we were completely out of AA batteries this week, so this promotion was perfectly timed.

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Spaghetti Squash

18 Oct

I love this time of year when squash becomes available and is cheap.  One of our favorites is spaghetti squash.  The reason it is called spaghetti squash, is that after you roast it, you can take a fork and pull it away from the peel, and it looks like spaghetti noodles.  It is usually a long, yellow oval-shaped squash.  Here is how to prepare one.

First, cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and innards.  Below shows the before on the left, after on the right.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the squash cut side down on the baking sheet.  Use a fork to pierce some holes in the outer peel of the squash.  Bake in 400 F oven for 30-35 minutes, or until you can easily put a fork in the outer peel. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.  Use a fork to pull the flesh away from the peel, which will be stringy.

You will get a nice bowl of squash, which you can do a variety of things with.  You can serve it with your favorite pasta sauce to make it a meal on its own.  I usually use it as a side, so I mix in melted butter, salt and pepper, although with this one I used garlic salt, and it was delicious.

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Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

17 Oct

I wish this dish wasn’t so time-consuming, because I would make them a lot more!  There is just something about grape leaves and the filling that makes this so delicious.  Normally, I use bottled lemon juice, but this time I still had lemons from Bountiful Baskets from the previous week.  Also, I used fresh garlic over the jarred garlic I would normally use.  It was a nice change to make it with fresh ingredients.


Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

What you need:

1 jar (16 oz) grape leaves, drained and rinsed

Filling:
1 lb lean lamb or beef, coarsely ground or chopped
1 cup raw long grain rice
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp dried dill weed
1 tsp allspice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon

Broth:
2 cups basic chicken stock or canned broth
juice of 1 lemon

How to Make it:

Mix all ingredients for filling. Pick out the smallest leaves in the jar and set aside. Cut of the stems of the remaining grape leaves.  Using a 2-quart, heavy-lidded pot, create a single layer of the smaller leaves.

Spread leaf on counter with the vein side facing you.   Place about 2 Tbsp of filling in the center of the leaf.

Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold the sides over to secure the filling, then roll away from you toward the tip of the leave, creating a small cylinder.

Size should be about 3″ long by 1″ wide. Do not wrap too tightly as rice needs room for expansion during cooking.

Place the stuffed leaves in pot up against each other rather tightly so they do not come undone.

Multiple layers of stuffed leaves may be needed, so place layer of the smaller, unrolled leaves in between each layer. Top with remaining unrolled leaves.  This jar of grape leaves and the amount of filling allowed for 24 stuffed leaves (2 layers of 12 stuffed leaves), with 2 leaves on bottom, 2 leaves in between the 2 layers, and 2 leaves on top.  Mix the chicken stock and lemon juice, and pour over the leaves in the pot.  Cover and bring to a light simmer.  Cook for 1 hour. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.  Do not remove lid or leaves will darken. Serve warm.

 

Printable Recipe:

Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

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Toddler School – Week 4

16 Oct

Last week we weren’t able to meet because my friend’s kids were sick.  So, even though this week is Fall Break for the older kids, we got together and had the older kids do some of their own activities and do some activities with the younger kids.

I needed to do some prep work still for the activities, so first the kids all colored the D worksheet I made.  Again, this is to introduce the letter for recognition and simple words that start with that letter.  For the older kids, we had them also write their names and write uppercase and lowercase Ds.  Next, I had gotten some foam pumpkins and various Halloween foam stickers in the dollar section at Target a few weeks back, so I got those out for them all to decorate.

Next, we divided up the older kids and the younger kids.  For the older kids, I picked out pipe cleaners in colors the corresponded to the bead colors that I have.   Then, I put a piece of tape at the top of each pipe cleaner and put a number.  Then, I had them sit and put beads on the pipe cleaners, they had to match the color and put as many beads as the number on the tape.  They both did really well with this.

While the older kids did this, the younger kids got to play with a sensory tub.  I had purchased some foam puzzles at the dollar store, 2 with numbers 0 – 9, 2 with the uppercase alphabet, and 2 with the lowercase alphabet.  I took the numbers out of the puzzle and put them in a plastic bin, then put egg noodles in to bury the numbers.  So, they had to dig through the noodles to find the numbers and put them in the puzzle.  They had a lot of fun playing with the noodles and finding the numbers.  We did work on recognizing the numbers as well.

The younger kids were pretty much done at that point, it was enough activities for them for one day.  The older kids wanted to try out the noodles in the tub, so I got out the uppercase and lowercase letter puzzles and hid those letters for them.

Next week, we’ll do the letter E, and I’m on the hunt for some new activities!

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