Taco Salads and Randy Jackson's Awful Shirt

Tonight we made Taco Salads. Nothing special, really. Adam and I don't make our own taco seasoning, but I really want to...so next time, we will. I promise. Now that I've written it, we have to!

I have two favorite parts of this meal. First is the salsa, and we'll get to that in a minute. Second is the pretty sweet Tortilla Bowl Makers. Adam used to make our taco bowls using an upside down baking dish, and it was a pain. So, I got him these for Christmas, and our lives have changed. These work so great, and we can make two at a time...he was only making 1 at a time before because we only had one baking dish that was an ideal size for the bowls.

Okay, so before I get to the salsa that we put on top of the taco salad...how can anyone take Randy Jackson seriously with the shirt he was wearing tonight? He looked like such a clown.

So since the salsa was the most awesome part of our dinner, I'll tell you how we made it. I don't use exact amounts but here is what I do:

Awesome Fresh Salsa
- 2-3 tomatoes
- About half of a large red onion
- A couple cloves of garlic
- Handful of fresh cilantro, to taste
- 1 lime
- Salt to taste
- 1 jalapeno, ribs & seeds removed (optional)

Put tomatoes in boiling water for about 15 seconds. Take them out and let them cool. I usually put them on ice to speed it up. This makes peeling the tomatoes easier, which you should do next.

Peel tomatoes.

Chop up the tomatoes as small as you like.

Chop the red onion. I usually have about the same amount of onion as I do tomato.

Mince the garlic.

Chop the cilantro.

Mince the jalapeno

Boil some more water.

Put garlic and onion in a strainer and pour the boiling water over it.

Mix the onion, jalapeno, tomato, garlic and cilantro in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of a lime over the mixture. If the lime is super juicy, only use half of it. Enjoy!

Bubbled-up Pizza Deliciousness

One of my favorite things that my mom made growing up is called "Bubbled-up Pizza." It was always such a treat when she made it. I didn't really start cooking until college, and I remember one night, I just wanted some Bubbled-up Pizza.

A quick call to my mom and a trip to the grocery store, and I was on my way. A little piece of home, when my mama was so far away. By far away, I mean she was only 30 minutes. Hey! I had a little separation anxiety...which I'm becoming familiar with now as Lucy has recently developed it. Only she's 8 months and I was 20...years old.

I don't go by a recipe when I make this. I go by what I have on hand, or what kind of pizza mood I'm in. You can really throw anything into the sauce mix - that's the best part.

Here is what I generally do--and you can be flexible to include what you really like on your pizza:

Bubbled-up pizza
- 2-3 cans of biscuits (the normal sized ones that come in sets of four--not the jumbo ones)
- 1 Pound of sausage, crumbled
- Pepperoni, chopped (however much you want)
- 1 Onion, diced/chopped
- 1 Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 2 cups of shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese

These are the basic ingredients. I usually add mushrooms, but I know everyone doesn't like them. Sometimes I add other meats too, like bacon or ham and sometimes green pepper...really whatever you like on your pizza, just chop it up and throw it in there.

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Spray pan with non-stick spray.

For a 13x9 pan, I'd use about 3 cans of biscuits. Tear the biscuits into thirds or fourths and throw them in the pan. Don't press them, just spread them out evenly in the pan.

Brown the sausage and onion (if you use onion). Chop up the pepperoni into little pieces...probably like fourths or fifths, I'd say. Pour the jar of spaghetti sauce into the sausage mixture and also add the pepperoni. Add a handful of cheese to the sauce mixture, and mix well.

Pour the sauce mixture over the biscuits and top with the remainder of cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown and the biscuits are done. Mmmm so good.

Shrimp with Spicy Garlic Sauce and Too Many Noodles

Tonight we made Shrimp with Spicy Garlic Sauce with pasta. Too much pasta.

The flavor of the shrimp was really great - it was sweet, yet spicy. The sesame oil, which has pretty strong flavor in general, was not overwhelming, which I find it can be in many dishes.

I don't have a ton to say about this tonight, because I think we just added too much pasta. We were trying to stretch it out so we both had leftovers tomorrow. Not only did we fail (only one of us has leftovers) the massive amount of noodles drowned the flavor of the shrimp.

We will totally make this again though. I think it'd be good with some veggies added in - maybe some bok choy...mmmm. Now I want bok choy. Happy Monday.

Shrimp with Spicy Garlic Sauce
- 1 1/2 pounds uncooked large shrimp
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons chili sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 gloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
- 1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced

P.S. Now that I posted the ingredients, I also see that we didn't have enough shrimp. We only made it with about 12 oz. Next time we'll make this right. I promise.

Baby Food Makin'

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I love relaxing and spending the day with family. We started out the day by going to church and visiting my Grandma Mary - that's how pretty much every Sunday starts out for us. Then Adam headed to a kickball game, and Lucy & I came home.

For dinner, Adam and I had leftovers. We made fajitas out of the flank steak from Thursday and the pineapple salsa from last night. Simple.

Lucy was running low on food, so tonight, we made her some food to freeze. We make the majority of Lucy's baby food. We're not really against jarred food, but we have fun making it ourselves and enjoy knowing exactly what goes in it. Tonight we made her some mixed veggies (pictured) and also carrots, green beans, and chicken.

Baby food is super simple to make, and it freezes so well. We just steam fruit, veggies, or meat, then add some liquid, and purée it. It really can't get any easier. We've bought mostly fresh fruits and veggies, though we've also used frozen. Tonight we used frozen green beans and mixed veggies.

Lucy doesn't seem to be too picky - she likes ANYTHING orange - butternut squash, carrots, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, etc. (Maybe it's because I craved orange flavors while I was pregnant. I couldn't get enough orange juice, orange soda, or oranges - I was positive my child wouldn't have scurvy.) The one food we've found that she really doesn't love is peas, though she will eat them if they are mixed with something else. She takes back after me and my mom, I'm sure. Three generations of women that hate peas.