Nachooooooooos

Hi people.
In case you haven't guessed, this is a post about nachos.
And why I think I make them better than you.
Okay, maybe not better.
But perhaps different.
I think I know a thing or two about your everyday, non-Mexican restaurant nachos.
This is because I'm picky about them.
The best nachos I remember consuming came from a very special place.
Lagoon.
Yeah, the amusement park known for ripping people off with $7/strip chicken strips.
When I was a kid I saved up my pennies and bought my very own Season pass to Lagoon for a handful of years.
My mom would drop me off in front of the little baby white roller coaster at the top of the park and I would take the long walk to the entrance of the park wearing my close-toed shoes (back then they were required if you wanted to ride the Swings - my favorite ride at the time) and lime green purple heart mini-backpack full of sunscreen, a zip-lock bag, chap stick & lotion, about a dollar in quarters, and a $5 bill.
The sunscreen was for my pale complexion.
The zip-lock was to put all the other contents in when I went on Rattlesnake Rapids (DO NOT TOUCH THE MIDDLE HANDLEBAR! IT SMELLS LIKE THE MOST VILE OF ALL VOMITS!).
The chap stick and lotion was for my weird obsession with not being a dry and pale cracker.
The dollar in quarters was for $.25 water cups - I could get free refills on the cups and I'd usually need about 4 to get me through the day.
And, what you've all been waiting for...the $5 bill would get me one ginormous, heaping plate of the best nachos this side of the border.
These things were piled at least 6 inches high with all the things that one could possibly want in a nacho. Except guacamole. I let my friends eat the weird green goop and all the chips that touched it.
Beef, beans, cheese, sour cream, heaven.
For $5.25 I could get the most delectable item the park had to offer and an ice cold water to wash it down with.
Those Lagoon nachos taught me about life. They taught me that what people need is layers. Oh sweet, sweet layers.

There is nothing worse then diving into a plate of nachos only to discover that they aren't what they seem. The first 5-7 bites are great, and then you find the deception. Below those tasty 7 bites lies a lie. A sad, dry, toppingless lie. One that takes more than one ice cold $.25 water to wash down. A lie that, if told, will leave lips and mouths dry and salty and bitter with disappointment. And no one deserves to be told that lie. No one. Except maybe those people who steal other peoples coats when they are left on campus. Those people deserve a life of being told the Pathetic Nacho lie.

But that's not you. And so today, I'm going to help you. I'm going to teach you how to stop lying to people, and most importantly, to yourself.

How to Make Nachos That Aren't a Pathetic Lie

Step 1: Start with a thin layer.
Like I mentioned, Lagoon nachos taught me that nachos need layers. So you start by laying down a single layer of tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, or whatever oven-safe pan you're using. Spray it down with cooking spray too, unless you want to be scraping cheese off of your pan for the next several years.

What you're seeing on layer one: one single layer of tortilla chips, a layer of grated cheddar cheese, dollops of re-fried black beans, cilantro lime brown rice, and a smattering of taco seasoning.

I realized after this layer that I'd forgotten corn. Add whatever you'd like to this layer.

What I add to my nachos is greatly dependent on what I've got for leftovers. Last night we had tacos that I beefed up with black beans and brown rice. The beef was fully consumed last night and I was left with the beans and rice. I wasn't feeling a beefless taco. Hence this post.

Step 2: Add another thin layer

Rinse and repeat. But with corn this time.

A note about the cheese grating. I like to use the littlest side of my grater. It's not the zester thingamabob. It's just a tiny grater. I don't like thick, un-melted blocks of cheese on my nachos. I like thoroughly melted, slightly crispy cheese on my nachos. Personal preference. Skinnier cheese melts faster. Fact.

Step 3: Give it some heat
Pop the bad boy into the oven, or if you're making this massive helping for one like I am, the toaster oven.

Let's all agree not to talk about how disgusting my toaster oven is, mmkay? Mmkay.
Let it cook at 400 degrees until the cheese on the bottom layer is melty and the beans and corn are warmed through.

Hello nachoooooos.

Step 4: Prep the good stuff

This is a game changer. This is what makes our nachos what nachos should be made of. The 3 Musketeers of the nacho world.

You need salsa for obvious reasons. I mean, chips and salsa? It's what these things were made for.
But oh Sour Cream. Me and sour cream. We're very close. Well, only me and real sour cream. None of that fat free garbage. Blech.
Okay. Lime juice. Let's talk about lime juice. Lime juice and Mexican food are the best of amigos. My husband and I discovered just now much lime juice can take tacos to a whole new level when I was pregnant with my first babe. We haven't turned back, and we've made a place for lime juice in almost every Mexican dish we've made since.

Throw your sour cream and salsa into zip locks and snip the tips off.

Step 5: Reconstruct the Layers

Now's the time to Layer the good stuff into the other good stuff. Like a-so:

New Layer Numero Uno^^

And a splash of that lime juice all over each layer.

There ain't nothing worse than running out of sour cream with half of your nachos left. #firstworldproblems
Now that will never happen to you again. You're welcome.

Step 6: Enjoy some lie-free nachos

1-2-3 Eat Lunch With Me

 

I wrote the title to this post over 13 months ago.
Which means that I did this activity with my oldest son over 13 months ago for the first time.
When I did it that first time I forgot to take pictures, which means I couldn't write this post.
And I didn't do it again with my son again until just a month or so ago - at which time I remembered to take pictures.

So if you see this activity and are thinking, "Wow, this mom does these cool things with her kids all the time. She's so fun with her kids and I'm the worst mom ever," just stop right now because I've done this twice with my kid in over a year. Hardly counts as 'all-of-the-time'.

If you didn't think that at all and you're now thinking that I'm nuts just carry on. I never think those things when I read mommy-blogs. Never. N-E-V-E-R.

Okay, anyway, to the actual post.

At the time I first did this my oldest - then almost 2 1/2 was just getting the hang of numbers. He could count to 20, but he didn't understand numbers in their context as well as he does now - over 3 1/2 years old. I thought it would be a fun way for him to understand what the numbers he knew meant, and encourage him to eat better. He still eats like...a toddler (hot dogs, cereal, plain fruit/veggies, candy) but maybe he ate better the two days I did this. Who knows?

What you'll Need

• The food you are going to feed your kid for lunch
• I like to aim for all the food groups. Cheez-Its are clearly a grain AND a dairy item...Yeah, no excuses. I feed my children crap.
• Toothpicks
• Pen
• Stickers
• I realize you can buy little flag stickers at all sorts of places, but I don't have them and wouldn't normally buy them. I had some rectangle stickers in 4 colors that I folded in half around the toothpick, cut, and wrote numbers on.
• Scissors (see Sticker commentary above).
• Something to put your kids' food on. Unless you put it directly on the table or a tray (hey no judging here! I get pelted with dishware almost every other meal...).

Then you get creative. How can you get 1 cheese stick to be a 3? Cut it up!

Poke your food and serve it up to the kiddos!

You can help them count all of their different options or let them eat the toothpicks until you realize they are actually going to eat the toothpicks and OH MY GOSH STOP EATING THAT YOU WILL HAVE SPLINTERS IN YOUR THROAT. No, that did not happen with my 21 month old. That last sentence was a lie.

This kid came in from grocery shopping with big alligator tears rolling down his face, but this lunch had him cheered up in a Jif (you see what I did there?).

Applesauce Painting

This year is the first year that our oldest understood Halloween a little bit. He was SUPER excited to be a Kangaroo for Halloween and to go Trick-or-Treating. He was still too shy to really actually say trick-or-treat, but he was excited about all his candy.

In perfect Halloween tradition, we picked up some pumpkins to paint and carve the Monday before Halloween. Even though our oldest was on board and loved painting his pumpkin, our 10 month old wasn't sold on being contained in his highchair for the extended period of time we anticipated our festivities. To hold him at bay I decided to mix up something edible and fun to keep him occupied while we perfected our pumpkins.

I simply mixed some food coloring into a few dallops of unsweetened applesauce and voila -> applesauce paints.

And now here are an abundance of adorable pictures of my babes (YWIA) ;)

So happy he gets his own spoon!

Want a bite?

Little goblin hands (eating some shredded cheese with dinner adds a nice touch)

Baby D with his 5 teeth and no hair (stem)

Besties

Our friendly Jack-o-lantern

So much concentration

After we got started and Baby D became greener and greener I got a little worried that he'd be stained green for a while. We usually bathe the boys at night right after dinner, so after our pumpkins and dinner were done D got a rinse-down and then a bath (didn't want to have applesauce and cheese floaters... ew). To my great relief, the green was completely gone by the end of D's splashing frenzy.

What are some things that you like to do to keep your smaller kids entertained while your bigger kids work on projects? Leave your comment below! I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Pumpkin French Toast with Fresh Apple Filling and Cinnamon Whipped Cream

While my sister was in town visiting us last week we threw together an impromtu french toast breakfast.

I was working so I was just going to pull out the griddle for them to warm up while they got things going. Then I just got out a bowl for them. And added the eggs. Then some cinnamon sugar. And some pumpkin pie spice and a lid-ful of vanilla and a swig of milk...and hey, I have some left over pumpkin in the fridge we should use up. The next thing you know we've got full-blown pumpkin french toast sizzlin' on the griddle.

Pumpkin French Toast

Ingredients

• 5 large eggs

• 2 Tbls 2% milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

• 2 Tbls pureed Pumpkin (I used Libby's)

• White Bread*

1. In a wide, shallow bowl combine all but bread with fork. Whisk until all pumpkin is completely combined and there are no chunks.
2. Dredge each side of each slice of bread in mixture and place on hot skillet on medium low heat.
3. Cook one side until brown, flip, and cook other side until brown.
4. Before serving ensure that it's not soggy in the middle. Nothing is worse than soggy french toast.
5. Top with apple filling, cinnamon whipped cream, and a light drizzle of homemade syrup.

*We used about 9 slices and cooked up the rest of the eggs and ate them.

While my sister manned the griddle I moved on to the fresh apple filling. Peeling and slicing 2 medium sized tart apples, tossing in some cinnamon sugar, a small bit of lime juice (I didn't have lemon on hand), and a few large pinches of flour.

Fresh Apple Filling

Ingredients

• 2 medium tart apples, peeled and sliced thinly

• 1 1/2 tsp lime juice

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup flour

1. In a medium-sized bowl add all ingredients and toss to combine.
2. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top and microwave on high for 5-8 minutes or until apples reach desired softness.

We'd purchased some heavy whipping cream the night before to use in a pasta dish and had over half of it leftover so a mixed up some whipped cream. My sister threw in a dash of cinnamon for a nice touch.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 1/2 Tbls powdered sugar

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp vanilla

1. In a medium-sized bowl add all ingredients and mix on high with hand or stand mixer until soft peaks form.
2. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top and microwave on high for 5-8 minutes or until apples reach desired softness. 

To say that this was delicious is an understatement. MAKE THESE TODAY FOR ANY MEAL!

I discovered that I can throw together a pretty mean breakfast with flavors that complement each other. Not too shabby!

What's your favorite fall breakfast food? I can't wait to try some more!

Autumn Sugar Cookies - My First Royal Icing Experience

I have a weakness for the Seasonal/Promotional section at Smith's. It's a problem. Thank heavens we moved away and now I only have a Target Dollar Spot at my disposal ;) I usually only buy things that I would consider a deal and so the majority of any of our holiday decor (which is pretty scant) was probably purchased there.

To that point, something I purchased in the Seasonal section a few years back was a pack of Halloween/Fall cookie cutters (I include fall because honestly, pumpkins are in from mid-September until Thanksgiving, not just Halloween...right? Sounds right to me.).

Even though I've had the cutters for some time now, I hadn't really used them much. I love pumpkin shaped cookies though, so I was determined to get some use out of them this year.

My goal to use them and my desire to try out new things combined and were manifested in my first royal icing experience.

I've been seeing all sorts of things on Facebook and YouTube about royal icing, and though they looked beautiful, I could always hear my mom in my head telling me, "Sure they look beautiful, but that stuff tastes terrible." So I adopted the reasoning and never thought I'd need to play with the decorating medium.

Then the other day I wanted to make sugar cookies so badly (I occasionally get in a baking mood), and so for your reading and viewing pleasure and for my husband and eldest's delight, I decided to take the plunge and try out royal icing.

I didn't want to go into it blindly so I prepared myself with some technique guidance first.

The recipe I chose was one from Sally's Baking Addiction found here.
True to her post, these cookies held their shape amazingly well - as long as the dough was chilled and kept chilled prior to baking. Also, like the post described, the cookies had just the right crispiness on the outside and softness on the inside. I will definitely be making them again in the future.

I also took her advice and used the Cookie Icing recipe she recommended found here.
I could have used a 'real' royal icing recipe with eggs or meringue powder but I only had a few eggs left that I wanted to save for breakfasts, and I wasn't, originally, going to buy any extra ingredients. I liked the recipe but wished I would have added some flavor of some sort to it, as to my inner-head-moms-voice, it wasn't that tasty (though on the cookies it did not taste bad. They were really yummy, actually).

I also wanted some tips and tricks so I watched Julia M Usher's videos on How to Make Royal Icing (used this link more for tips on consistency and coloring), How to Make and Handle Parchment Cones, and Top-Coat, Outlining, and Flooding. I found all three extremely insightful and attempted to apply all of her tips and tricks.

My work space. I hope you will all be patient as I learn about how to take more beautiful pictures :)

What I Needed That I Didn't Have

• Parchment Paper - I thought I could get away with Wax Paper, and I did, until I ran out of Wax Paper.
• Black Icing Color - I needed this but could not find it at Target, which is the closest store to me and once I started roaming I left myself with no time to look at other stores.
• A turkey poker dealio - I don't know what it's called exactly because my brain wouldn't let me hear what she was saying in the video each time she brought it up, but I just used a toothpick.

I eventually decided to fill in the cats with white (ghost cats??). You can see that one poor
kitty needed to have surgery.

What I thought about Royally Icing cookies

Honestly, at the beginning I really enjoyed this whole process. Like I mentioned, I was really in the mood to bake, so this was the perfect fix for me. I'm also a perfectionist so having the ability to make the barrier of thicker icing and flood the rest of the cookie and have it be perfectly smooth was insanely satisfying for me. Also, the handful of people who saw the cookies all oohed-and-aahed at them and that was also satisfying.

BUT by the last several cookies I was OVER it. I was tired, done, sick of being sticky, and licking the icing off the parchment so I didn't have to rinse my wipe-rag for a 1000th time.

Would I try it again? Definitely!

Would I do it frequently or try to be a professional royal ice-r (we're making that a word...)? Absolutely not.

Overall I was extremely pleased at how the cookies turned out and really excited to share them with others. I enjoyed the process to a point and was proud of myself for making great, beautiful cookies.

Who knew that Morgan was a cookie ice-r?

These little guys were too Halloween-y for the original shoot, as I made them in September.