Tostada Anyone?

As promised my easy-peasy ground beef tostada recipe...
Courtesy of the very elderly insane man selling 30 tortillas for .70 cents.

A quick stop at the farmers market for a tomato, a green pepper, and a head of radishes ($1.50)...

I love the Manor Farmer's market.
We've lived here long enough that I know the 5-6 vendors at our local market. Often times we trade produce or they pass along over ripe for free. It's all very Oregon trail-esque without Laura dying of typhoid and I've yet to break a wagon wheel.
I was going to just make veggie black bean tostadas but I was already in town and I've been forcing my vegetarian tendency on D as of late so I felt he deserved some grease laden ground beef. The Manor Grocery is another one of my favorite places in Manor (this isn't saying much considering that there isn't much else actually in Manor).
It's the type of grocery store where a can of diced tomatoes is 2.99 but a 1lb of ground beef from Jim Bob down the road is 1.50. Fresh bacon 2.15 and homemade spicy sausage 2.29.
It's awesome.
Fresh jalapenos .50 a lb and cilantro .10 a bundle.
Jar of baby food 3.00. haha...
you get the idea.


At the grocery I picked up some ground beef and cilantro (mine died in the one freeze we've had) and as of yet I'm not raising cows.


Back in the 3 Forks garden I collected an onion, some garlic, and some butter lettuce.
Then I diced everything up all nice and pretty like.
While out in the garden I found the following items...
that stupid lizard.
a superhero.
my high heel.
a granola bar.
and 3 headbands.



This is the point in the story where I realize that it is nearing 8:30pm.
This is not good. D will be home within 30 minutes.
O is currently in some odd form of dress. (read: he has mittens on his feet and a head bannd around his "nweck-wess").
No lunches have been assembled, much less breakfasts and sippy cups.
This is what I lovingly refer to as K8's speedy gonzales mode.
I then remember mid way though tubby time that I haven't even browned the beef yet.
After telling the Monster NOT to slip, fall, and crack open his skull I run to the kitchen and start the ground beef...


Back to the the tub. The Monster actually made it 3 minutes without an injury.
New world record.
Now to stir the beef, and assemble lunches.
I may or may not have stopped to soak in some crap TV.
And because all of us here at the ranch are super environmental and tree hugging green peeps the Monster air dried all natural by running naked from one end of the house to the other.

See that lettuce?
I grew that.
Yep, yep I suuure did.


I had some leftover corn and black bean salad which I had mixed with sour cream, onion, radishes, cumin, and cayenne so I pulled that out of the fridge...
and found an ice cold beer with my name on it.


As I zip up the lunch boxes, lay out our clothes for the next morning ( I must do this or else I end up wearing the most random outfits and often forget essential parts of my wardrobe), and begin to assemble the tostadas I hear the roar of D's car headin up the road.

Look how yummy and greasy it looks!


D even asked for seconds.


All in all it's been interesting getting back into the work routine.
I am thankful for the time to catch up on my sleep but I am even more thankful to be back at work. I really do love the work that I do and even though it ca be stressful and social work pay it makes me a better person and a better Mom to my Monster.

Lo sabías el setet dinero la maize el tortilla?

As you know my job sometimes takes me to parts of Austin that I wouldn't normally visit.
Parts of Austin where I stick out like a sore thumb. (side note: I HATE that expression. It is just plain silly). The upside to sometimes looking completely out of place and probably in a teeny bit of danger is that sometimes I stumble upon hidden treasures (and no, I am not referring to the trash in the gutters or a crack house). This happened to me yesterday...

I am waaay out in the middle of no where when I am called back into town to see a client. Naturally, in true K8 fashion, I manage to get incredibly lost. What do I do one might ask.
Well, I wander...
around and around and around.

This apartment is clearly masked in Harry Potter magic. I have now found every other stinking apartment number except the one I need. My heels are caked in mud, I'm freezing cold (it was only in the 70's yesterday...hate me and see if I care), and I am bordering on running late for a scheduled meeting. Never mind that I haven't had lunch and I am doing the potty dance. I finally decide to stop into this little grocery, where I know I will have to speak in K8's version of Spanish (think English with the letter O added on the end of every word and la or el added to the front of every word). Thank you American school system for neglecting to teach me something that may have actually been useful because, geez, I sure do use that old long division on a daily basis and I am regularly asked to sing the preposition song.

In I go to the little bodega and I say:
"Hola, excusi moi. Do you Lo sabías el apartmento el numbero ...?"
Old, old man that I'm not sure is actually still alive shrugs, points to a huge (think about 30) freshly made corn tortillas and replies "setent. You buy".
After much shaking of my head and bobbing of his head along with a long explaination to me (of which I only picked up the words (caliente, tortillas, el, la, ad gracias) I left with 30 warm corn tortillas for .70 cents.
I also eventually found that stupid apartment.

Flash forward to my kitchen hours later.
I made wraps for lunch, breakfast tacos, peanut butter quesdillas for the Monster, and yet I still have a stupidly large stack of corn tortillas.

For those of you that don't know, fresh tortillas don't taste so yummily after a bit, so ya kinda need to use them.Then in a moment of inspiration it occurred to me:
" I shall make tostadas"!

I heated up some peanut oil and started frying...
and frying...
and frying....
and, guess what?
I did some more frying!

Drained them on paper towels, let them cools, and bagged em up.


Stay tuned for K8's Eats Friday Beefy Bean Tostadas!

Rice Spinach Herb Bake

This is what happens when you blanch spinach.
take a picture.
dice 2 cloves garlic and one small onion.
take a picture.
shred 1 c. cheese.
take a picture.
pull out the salt, pepper, worchestshire, and bouquet garni herb blend.
take a picture.

AND NEVER TAKE OFF THE FREAKING CAMERA LENS CAP!

Every Thanksgiving I make a STUPIDLY large amount of broth and freeze it.
This :
a) annoys D to the nth degree
b) gives us yummy non store bought, salty broth all year
c) is very "green" and a great way to NOT waste any part of the birdy that died for our t-day feast d) takes up all of my freezer (hence why D is uber annoyed with me).

So with some of that broth I started the morning by cooking up a pot of rice.
I then had rice and peas for lunch.
Odd, I know, but I've eaten it since middle school. Being home schooled usually meant I was on my own for lunch. So I rotated between (are you ready for this???) ditalini pasta with shredded cheddar and tabasco sauce, rice, peas, and parmesean, and tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, and hot sauce. Wow, I am weird.

So after taking a brief intermission to watch Wall-E and work on the 9 million more thank you cards I have to finish, I combined all those ingredients that I I documented via capped lens into a lovely antique dish.
Looks kinda yummy, no?

Then I plated it up.
Along with some herb dinner rolls.
It is finally cool enough here to bake without feeling as if you are actually inside the oven.
And I got to use one of the cookbooks I got as a wedding gift!
Now to settle down to a quiet, peaceful diner with my 3yo...
Hahahaha, just kidding.
It was more like having a dinner in a room with the Marx Brothers.

Onion focaccia and a DELISH simple salad

The idea for this dish began when I opened my fridge and saw this:


"Oh my!" Said I, "That is a very sad looking fridge"!
"We REALLY need to go to the grocery or win the lottery or rob a bank or sell the Monster to Angelina and Brad. What shall I make with errr, nothing?"
As most of you know, I DESPISE raw onion. I don't mind it sauteed and brown and caramelized...but raw is instant repulsion. To cheer up the sad K8 at the state of her barren fridge D takes a big ole bite of raw onion and then kisses her.
Isn't he sweet?
No, he was icky at that moment.
This caused D to have a hysterical fit of laughter and I refused to kiss him for like 6 seconds.

So I had an idea.
An onion themed dinner.
The garden is still producing like mad sooo...who cares if the fridge is bare?

I headed to the garden and pulled a rather HUGE onion and sliced it up...

I was at Target the other day and they had big packs of mushrooms for a dollar each.
I bought all of them.
Needless to say, we've had rice and mushrooms with peas, stuffed mushrooms, mushroom egg breakfast burritos, mushroom risotto, mushroom Swiss quiche, and now....
onion focaccia and mushroom and sun-dried tomato flat bread.
I added a side salad... due to the stupid amount of tomatoes that I now have. Not to mention my peppers and my lettuce.

I then sliced up more and more mushrooms and sauteed them up...

Earlier in the day, I had started the dough recipe in the bread machine.
It's a classic, normal, ole, pizza bread machine dough.
BUT.
I use beer instead of water, and I added oregano, basil, and thyme from the garden as well as some garlic...
mmmm.....
I then rolled it out on the AWESOME bread stone from binl and sinl, M and J....
luuurve said baking stone.
mwah!

After putting the dough in the oven for a quick pre-bake I turn around to grab the wet laundry and head to hang them out on the line.
I then see this...
camera still in hand, how can I resist??

Those be some snazzy looking gams...

After a slight pre-bake of about 10 minutes I load up the two doughs.
mushrooms (duh) and sun dried tomato.
At this point, 3 Forks Ranch smells amazing...
This is the point in the story when I discover my high heeled Monster removing all the ornaments from the tree and "cweaning" them in the tree water.
But, hey~ at least the house smells good.
And then I went and put the Monster up for sale on Craigslist.

Following my Craigslist post of "offer: free holy living terror that loves chicken nuggets, popcorn, Cinderella, Buzz Light Year, and doing everything he shouldn't all while being stupidly adorable and insanely hysterical".... I topped the second dough with the onions and sprinkled with course salt and Parmesan cheese.



Then I popped back in the oven.
And popped a bottle of wine.
And made a sippy cup.
And gave the holy living terror a chicken nugget.
His reply:
"Oh mommmy, is sooo beautiful".



Next up, assemble salad.
Easy peasy
(get it?...peasy...peas?...there are peas on the salad.)
hehehehehe!
I crack myself up.


As I heard D's car roar into the drive I topped the salad with his favorite ranch dressing and some of Little O's croutons. I swear I picked the ones that hadn't be half chewed on.
Took the laundry off the line, swept the kitchen, picked up 396736745867 million blocks.
(btw, WHY! WHY! do people invent REALLY painful and annoying toys for children?)
Is a mystery.
Then I remembered the focaccia!
Oh Blast! (that is probably a nice version of what I actually said).
For those of you that know me...I have kinda a bad mouth.
oops.



Luckily...
It was perfect, crunchy, and tasty.
I drizzled a tad of the AMAZING Olive Oil my parents got me from California when they went on vaca. It is similar to an olive oil of the month club.
I LOVE it.
If you've never had a REALLY great (and often expensive) bottle of olive oil then you are greatly missing out. It's so spicy and smooth you can literally drink it.


Buzz says "Hey Daddy, those my cwackers (croutons)! You shware now! I said now!"
Buzz then used his karate chop action in order to attempt to take Daddy out.
Needless to say it ended in the appearance of the tickle monster who got the best of Buzz.



The End.

How to Make Your Monster Eat a Carrot.

Welcome to yet another non-wedding blog.

Also, welcome to the never ending drama of trying to get my 3yo Monster to eat something other than chicken nuggets, croutons, and fruit snacks.
Oh my! Let's not forget the amazingly healthy "op-corn" that he so loves.

My Monster is a mover. The kid NEVER (even pre-walking) liked to sit in the high-chair.
I find this ironic because D spent a solid week rebuilding my childhood high chair.
Little O likes to eat things that he can carry with him and subsequently discard in a) my high heels, the seams of the couch, and all over the coffee table.
Casondra and D are both cringing at the thought of this.

Side note: he now knows how to open the freezer. So far today I have discovered half a piece of bread, a ritz cracker, and two carrots. Does he think I won't figure out that he doesn't want to eat them? Ah yes, this takes me back to a young and almost sweet, little adorable K8 who thought that by taking her glass of milk into the bathroom with her and dumping it down the drain would trick her parents into thinking that she did drink it. Little K8's fatal flaw...she forgot to rinse out the sink.

Just the way I sneak fruit into his milk/yogurt smoothies I have discovered that you can put just about anything into muffin form and my Monster will eat it.

Here is my latest edition of hidden healthier than processed frozen chicken nuggets muffins:

Start with 1 c. oatmeal (yeah! see? healthy!)...
Also, please notice two new wedding gift in the background.
OOOOh! Yeaaah!

Next up pour yourself 1 c. of buttermilk.
Personally, I NEVER have buttermilk in stock because er, I hate to bake.
So... I make my own. Simply dump about 1T. lemon juice into 1c. milk, let sit for about 2 minutes, stir, and voila!
buttermilk (kinda).

Following this step I was told several times that "my name is da mommy/ so what's your name/my name is Oldiber/That's right"!
(It scares me how much he imitates me at this age. If he starts shaving his legs then I know we're in trouble).
I headed to the fridge for some fresh eggies and whipped them vigourously while listening to the Monster sing "Mommies got da eggies/sgusting".
Clearly, he hates eggies.
Also, notice new whisk wedding gift!

Now into that 1 c. of oats that are super healthy and make my Monster grow strong, tall, and smart, and rich, and handsome (shall I keep going?)...
add your 1 c. of buttermilk and let that sit for 5 minutes.

A mommie can do a heck of a lot in 5 minutes...

take out the trash.
open a wedding gift... (spatulas!)
pick up Barbies high heels, Little Mermaids hair brush, and 945349673 "tato" head parts.
decorate the front porch with some more pumpkins.
download a new cheesey country song.
answer the question "what's that?" 495793485646 million times.

Head back into the kitchen for the "mommies a-cookin-yeeeeah!".
Combine 1 c. flour ( I used wheat for further healthiness), 1 1/2t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda,
a TON of cinnamon, a touch of allspice, and pinch of nutmeg.
Have fun with the spices. I dare ya.

Here is what your soakin oats should look like about now...
NIIIICE and mushy.
Sounds delish, no?
I had to let mine soak a little longer than 5 minutes due to a...um...scenario involving a "butter-jessie sammie" and some long blonde hair.
grrrr....
Pretty sure the Monster more than forgot where his mouth was last located.



Now plop in 1/3c. brown sugar (packed).
Listen to the Monster sing "Under-da-seeeea" while going "swimmin with da ariel/crab/fwonder". I dare you NOT to laugh as you scrub jelly out of blonde hair.




Add the whisked eggs into the sugar/flour/oat/buttermilk combo.
Make sure to do this quickily because you left a naked Monster running around in guest room.
For anyone with boys you know this scenario could go very terribly at any moment.




This is my favorite part because:
a) I nearly bleed to death trying to shred leftover baby carrots (remember D hates carrots and a girl can only eat so many).
b) I snuck several carrots into the Monster Muffins!
Oh yes, super Mom is kitchen dancing at her geniuosity.



I used some super cute muffin cups (because I am a dork and I luuuurve fall).
I always spray them lightly as it seems to really help.
Just a random tip.
At this point I realize that D will be home soon and I haven't even started dinner.
ugh and double merde.
My lazy go-to recipe:
stir fried rice.
perfecto!


Fill the adult muffin cups.
Fill the Monster muffin cups.
Lick the spoon and the bowl (hey, no one was home to witness me eating raw eggs and let us not forget that I have been eating cookies dough since I can remember).
Don't lie, it IS the BEST part of baking.

I told you the muffin cups were cute...

Wait about 15 minutes (8 for the mini's).
I suggest you do dishes or have a cold beer.
Remove Monster Muffins from the oven.
Curse the Texas heat for making your house a massive oven and vow to never use the oven again.
Try to explain to the Monster that the "cookies" are hot and that he has to wait a second.
Remind self that 3yo Monster has no idea what a second is.
Put two into the freezer so that the Monster will actually eat your creation.

Give the oddest eater alive 2 frozen Monster Muffins, collapse on couch and giggle as he shoves one entire muffin into that mouth and proclaims... "dewishious/nother one".
Now clean up all the crumbs he just sprayed all over.

You'd think I hate being a Mommy but not at all. I adore every single, stinking second (and trust me sometimes it really stinks...like literally).

French Onion Soup and a Story

I had a very terrible 6th grade year.
This is not the blog to go into that but, trust me, I did.
I've always been more than a tad quirky and hadn't really embraced that about myself yet.
I was also extremely academically bored, bored, bored.
My parents made the decision to homeschool me starting at 7th grade.
I made the transition very well.
Most likely because I'm very self disciplined, love to read, and, even though I am bubbly and love people, I am very good on my own.
My parents didn't buy one of those set home school curriculum's (because, and I agree, what then is the point) but rather they built a curriculum's around my current interest and incorporated all aspects of learning into that topic.
I've heard it called holistic learning and other call that Montessori style. Whatever.

My Mom and I have a relationship that is different from mother/daughter relationships of the days of old.
I would define us more as friends at this point in our lives. Sometimes it even feels that it borders on having a boyfriend (only prettier). The connection and bond is so deep and strong that we sometimes bicker and fight the way a couple does.
I know there are other bloggers and friends out there that know exactly what I'm feelin and sayin.
We have highs and lows and fights and make up conversations.
We have to apologize for saying things we don't mean and remind ourselves that our relationship is unique and stronger and deeper than we even realize.

So, today, after a fairly frustrating phone call with my Mom, I was distracting my grumpiness by planning dinner and wrapping Little O's birthday gifts.
I found a recipe for French Onion soup.
I hate onions.
I can sometimes tolerate them mixed in and nice and golden brown but overwhelming onion: I HATE. Don't even get me started on raw onions.
D likes onions and I wanted to make him something fun and new.
(Little O and I eat before D gets home from work so I usually make two different dinners).

As I was thinking about French Onion soup I was taken back...waaaay back....to 7th grade.
My first year of homeschooling.
My Mom had me studying French and I was taking French classes at the local University.
Mom being the holistic teacher that she is had me study the history of the Eiffel Tower and write an essay on it. We watched French films (not just films in French), studied French History, French art, and French cooking.
As part of the assignment she had me learn to make French Onion soup.
What I didn't realize then was that she wasn't just teaching me about France.
She was teaching me to look at the big picture and learn that all of life is interwoven.
I love you Mom and our lives are interwoven.
Please accept my apology.

I made French Onion Soup tonight...

Start with about 3-4 T. butter in the pan with all the yummy brown bits from fryin up sausage for tomorrow breakfast...


Then get a REALLY large onion and sing the Veggie Tales song six times in a row.
Also be sure to hot glue your finger to a ball jar and some lovely ribbon.
Try not to say bad words.
Text your brother cause you miss him.
Eat two pickles and then remember your onion on the counter.



Slice that nice, large onion into rings.
Cry.
From the onion not because of that little rolly polly baby on the TV commercial.
I don't know what you're talking about. It is SO from the onion.
Hug your 2yo that will be 3 tomorrow at 3:50pm.
It is STILL the onion.




Let it soften and golden up for about 15 minutes on low heat...
While you begin the mad cleaning that will continue until the birthday party on Sunday...
Also, remove the Barbie high heel from your Monsters nose.
(Yes, this happened. again).




Add 4-6 cloves of garlic...
Your house should now smell completely amazing.
Check FB and add 9 hundred and 1 things to the list of things to do before you get married.
One of those being: find time to shower and possibly do some crunches.




Next up I added about 4 cups of broth (beef, chicken, or veggie) and 2T vinegar (I was out of white wine). I let this simmer slowly for about 30 minutes.
Not gonna lie, during that 30 minutes I was completely unproductive and cuddled on the couch with the Monster. I am trying to soak up all the Oliver cuddles I can before he is playing football with the NFL, winning a Pulitzer, and deep sea exploring.




Then I popped in 2T red wine, 1 t. Worcestershire, s&p (just a tad), 1/2t paprika, thyme, and bouquet garni (homemade). If you want the recipe I'd love to share. Or if you want some just ask and I'll make some for you.
To top it off I threw in a bay leaf.

Bring to a lovely boil...



I then did the usual routine of lunches, laundry (how does Casondra stay on top of laundry??? It's a mystery.), diaper bag, work stuff in order, clothes laid out, juices made, aaand tubby time!

Then I sliced up some homemade Parmesan, black pepper bread.



slathered it with butter and cheese
and toasted the heck out it...




Ladle up some into you favorite bowls that make you smile every time you see them.
go check on the tubby time situation.
ask how old are you going to be...
get the answer "I be fwee".
giggle.
pick up 4 million foam letters, one boat, 3 buckets, one piece of broccoli (???), several Mr. Potato head parts, and remove one very wet naked baby from the tubby.




Serve your fiance a dinner that you'd never have known how to make if wasn't for your mother...
er, and also do the stupid dishes.