Magical Pork? Carrots for Dessert??

Hi All,


Chilorio: We ALL loved it!   It was tender, flavorful, citrusy and amazing!  It just disappeared off their plates!  Sorry for the jump right in start.  I'm excited to share with you how this week's "magic" recipe has fared in our house.


Let's start with our most difficult "foodie": Ms J:   I had a bit of PR to do with Ms. J.. I told her "Mommy picked this recipe just for you.. Its Pork, which you love... Orange Juice, which you love... and tortillas, which you love... Your going to love it..."   This pitch is not new to Ms J, she's heard it many times before.   She looks at me sideways akin to the "whatch you talkin' 'bout Willis?" look and says.. "well, i guess i'll give it a try.."    I made a small burrito for both girls, just tortilla, chilorio and a bit of sour cream.   And... They ATE IT!   I paid little attention to them while they ate (or so they thought).. I just went about my business.. Spring in my step.. =)


Verdict:  Ms J: Thumbs Flat.  (for those new to the blog, the kids terminology is below)
               The Rest of Us: Thumbs UP!


Cost:  Inexpensive.. the 3 lb boneless pork shoulder was $7.50 at my local Ralphs. OJ: I keep in the house anyways.  Tortillas:  Leftover from last week.  Sour Cream: Staple item in my frig!


So far, I've used the chilorio in burritos and on nachos.  Thinking about tortas tonight. Then my chilorio will be done for the week. Boo...  


Dessert:  After dinner, Ms J announced that she'd like me to pick up some carrots for her.  While I resisted the urge to check her for a fever, I tentatively asked "why?."   She recounted that she learned at school that to much dessert is bad for you and that veggies are good for you, so she'd rather have second helping of carrots instead of dessert a few nights a week.  I quickly checked her for fever (see J's terminology below) and said "ok, but what if you eat a little more carrots with dinner, then just a little dessert?  Ice Cream is made from milk.."   Smart kid she is, she knew where I was heading.. She smiled sly and said "Milk is good for you too..."  I said "Yup".  I got a huge smile and hug.. "Mom your the best!"   I'll share a secret with you.. My kids are the best.. 


So Next Week"  I'm thinking Italian!  Maybe beef brisket as base protein..  I'm already imagining the possibilities!  Any ideas?


Talk to you soon.
K.I.S.S.  Keep in Simple & Success!
T


Lil'Chef A's eating terminology:  


Thumbs Down:  Any form of fish and if it tastes really and I mean really bad!
Thumbs Up: "Yumm" while shaking her head in agreement and says "Its good"!
Thumbs Flat:  doesn't seem to exist

Ms J's eating terminology: 

Thumbs Down: First (and usually) there is a face like she smelled something horrid, nose crinkled.. eyes looking like they are going to start watering.. and she grunts the equivalent of "no way" and looks for the closest way to spit it out! 

Thumbs Up: Saved for all things fried, fattening, chocolate based and not a vegetable in sight or smell.

Thumbs Flat: This is somewhere in between the nose crinkle and smiling. The face is almost always accompanied by the phrase "It's kinda good". This means, I don't hate it, I don't love it and don't expect me to eat this without some serious bargaining.

Menu Planning: This Week: Chicken

Hi All,

Time for menu planning:  this will be a shortened menu planning, as we are going rv-ing on Friday afternoon (see previous post re need help).. and I have leftover pizza for tonight.  So, this leaves Wednesday and Thursday.  I'm hoping to make only 1 shopping trip to the grocery store this week to get me through till Tuesday when we return.  So, please post either here or on facebook your menu ideas!

My kids love chicken (well sometimes).. Ms J will eat the chicken usually fried in some form.. Lil'Chef A declares every once in a while that she hates chicken.  I don't blame her it's the only thing her sister eats without fussing, so it a staple.

Staples:  So I've been thinking about having regular meal staples.  Usually, I'm so excited about having new recipes that I wouldn't say that we have staples.  Does your family have staples? How often do you rotate?  I'm thinking about incorporating in 4 or 5 staples each month.. maybe 1 or 2 a week?  Might be really good for the budget! 

Sorry, I regress...     Something my picky Ms. J will eat is build your own tacos.  So my chicken has to be either ground or shredded.  Got it!  I'll cook up some baked chicken tenders (breaded with panko breadcrumbs, salt, white pepper, little paprika, little cumin...)  Then I will shred leftovers & put out a bit of lettuce (which they won't touch), tomatoes (ditto on the touching), sour cream, salsa and tortillaland tortillas!  

Thank you for your support!  

T

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Foodie-Mom-on-a-Budget/219392891406455

Need Help with Menu?

Hello All,

I need your help!  I'm going dry RV-ing this weekend in a small camper.  I need menu ideas? There is a refrigerator on board but I'm not sure how big.  Any ideas on quick, easy, low-dirty-dish menu ideas?

Thxs: T

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Foodie Weekend in Santa Monica!

Hi All,

I haven't done much cooking this week.  Last weekend was my anniversary and my hubbie and I went to Santa Monica for the weekend.  We had AMAZING food!  Saturday afternoon, we had a seafood bonanza with our friend Hunter at the Blue Oysterette on Ocean Avenue.   We shared lobster mac-n-cheese, yellowtail ceviche, steamed clams, oysters rockefeller and oysters in the 1/2 shell (6 from east coast, 6 from west coast).

I never realized the difference in taste and texture on Oysters.  Some were soo salty, you feel like you did when you were a kid and drank your first ocean water... but at $3 an oyster.. you don't spit it out, you say to your newly sophisticated self.. "Smile and swallow quickly".  Sorry, I'm a "sweet" oyster girl.. even better, stuff it with something and bake them, as in the oysters rockefeller.

Lobster Mac-n-Cheese:  need I say more.    The ceviche was truly delicious and was probably my favorite!  My opinion on clams.. toss them in some olive oil, garlic and some pasta!  But they were delicious.

So that night, dinner at Boa Steakhouse (which just happened to be adjoined to Blue Oysterette).  The bone-in filet mignon was amazing.  I had mine with Cabernet sauce and I was in heaven!  Mac-n-cheese was a disappointment.. bland, flavorless..   Bok Choy was good.  3 peas were ok.  The steak was the star of the evening and rightfully so!

Next morning was breakfast at Huckleberry's.  I had the Huevos Rancheros.  I order this at every new restaurant.  I think it's a good test of their food.  I mean it's a true test of basics.. Eggs, beans, salsa and a tortilla of some kind.  Huckleberry's was totally bland.  The eggs were fluffy, but the beans, salsa and tortilla were just blah.  No flavor, no nothing... Totally forgettable.

The wonderful food was only eclipsed by the wonderful company.

Till next time.  Follow me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Foodie-Mom-on-a-Budget/219392891406455

T

Pork + Mexican = Magic .... (I hope)

Hi All,

Sorry to all the vegan/vegetarians out there that might stumble across my blog today.. This weeks menu is Ode to the Pig!   One thing about me that I've known my whole life is that I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD!  As far back as I can remember, my mom has mentioned that I was Italian on the outside but mexican on the inside!  

I was watching a new to me program yesterday on public broadcast television (as I do everyday) called Pati's Mexican Table.  She made a dish called "Chilorio"... the link is http://patismexicantable.com/2010/04/chilorio.html.  Amazing sounding and looking, one of those times you wish for Smell-o-vision in HD!   Let me say I love PBS cooking shows.. East meets West with Ming Tsai..  Lidia's Italian Kitchen... Mexico: one plate at a time!!  Love it!

But I regress.. this is foodie mom on a budget and my goal to make one protein and keep it interesting throughout the week.   After Chilorio, then Carnitas by broiling and crisping the meat, Tostadas, Tacos maybe even Enchiladas..  WHoo HOo... I'm only a week behind Cinco De Mayo!

Most important, what's the spin to actually get my kids to eat it??!  Pork, OJ and tortillas!  Three things they actually eat!   I try not to get my hopes up when it comes to what they eat.. Sometimes your so sure they'll love it and they look at you like "Seriously?".   Other times, you just put it on the plate and say a little prayer for a quiet dinner and they actually eat!

Taste test time... Last night I made Tofu "mayo"..  I've got a four letter word for it.... YUCK!  Sorry, I'm trying to like tofu.. but I just cant get past the taste..   I had a master plan to put it in egg salad to slip in a bit more healthy.. didn't even try.. I just sliced the eggs and put them on top of their buttered pasta..   By their measure it was a success, I even got requests for seconds from both of them!   Lesson Learned: KISS.. Keep It Simple & Success!!!  (hahahaha,, I crack myself up)

Hopefully, I'll have some great reactions to share with you tomorrow!  Thank you again for the support.. Please "like" the facebook page and share your comments!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Foodie-Mom-on-a-Budget/219392891406455

K.I.S.S.!
T

Continuing around the world.. destinations: Europe & Asia

Hi All,

I'm continuing to use the ground beef (I know I promised meatballs, but I ran out of time) with spinach, onions and garlic I made on Tuesday.  Tuesday was Indian, Wednesday was Europe and Thursday was Asia.

Europe:  I went to Italy and made Calzones!  They were as delicious as I'd hoped..  I made basic tomato sauce modified from Mario Batali's recipe.  He used Thyme and I used basil and added crushed red pepper flakes!  Added sauce and parmesan cheese to my ground beef until it was moist!  Used refrigerated 9" pie crusts cut in half for 2 calzones.  Put in the meat mixture, egg washed the pinched sides and top.  Sprinkled the top of the crust basil, salt and pepper and baked.  Once baked golden brown, a little sauce on top!

Asia:  What a disaster!  I bought Thai Kitchen Panang Curry Sauce.  I love Panang sauce!  I took a Thai cooking class a few years back and learned to make this sauce.  First, buying anything in a jar vs making it yourself.. not a wise decision..  But the sauce wasn't the problem!  Actually, the taste wasn't the problem either..  I heated some meat mixture,  added the sauce and some rice noodles.. The color was hideous!  The spinach turned the panang sauce green!  It was the ugliest dish I've ever seen!  Next time, no spinach to the meat!

So, I've done Asia, Europe, No America.  I've got So. America or Africa.  Why or?  I'm running out of meat and time!  Tomorrow celebrating Mother's Day with my Mom!  Sunday:  Mother's day: I'm taking the day off!

My most honest food critics are back next week!  Don't have any meal planning ideas as of now.  Send me some ideas, please!   Also, please continue to post comments to the facebook page!  Can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Foodie-Mom-on-a-Budget/219392891406455


Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers, Grandmothers & women who make a difference in our lives!

Talk to you soon.
T

Foodie Mom on a Budget: Around the world in 80 meatballs?

Foodie Mom on a Budget: Around the world in 80 meatballs?: "Hello All, Thank you to my friends and family that have 'liked' the facebook page. Please encourage more friends to 'like' and post your..."

Around the world in 80 meatballs?

Hello All,


Thank you to my friends and family that have "liked" the facebook page.  Please encourage more friends to "like" and post your comments.  I know a large part of this blog is for my own entertainment but I do love cooking, cooking ideas, recipes, etc.  Please lets try to make this blog a bit more interactive.. I hope we all get more out of it that way.


On that note, check out this t-shirt: http://planetmomtshirts.com/benitomemita.html  I had to laugh!  But at $28 a t-shirt, a bit out of the budget!


Around the world in 80 meatballs!  Well, I ran out of time to roll and make all the meatballs, I am a foodie mom of 3.. So, I concocted something truly delicious last night and will use as a base protein for the rest of the week.  This is the key to my "foodie mom philosophy".. make one protein and use it in as many recipes throughout the week as possible.


I went shopping at my local "Whole Foods Market".  I was a little nervous because I am on a budget and they can be expensive.  I went there almost exclusively to check out their meat department.  I was not disappointed.  Beautiful meat, nice looking chickens, kosher chickens which I'm dying to try to see if there is a difference.. But alas I bought 2 pounds of ground beef 22% fat.  Why not just buy the chicken??  Well, my kids don't eat beef in any form.. I'll save the chicken for next week anticipating better results at the dinner table.  


What to do with 2 lbs of beef...  First, I sauteed a medium white onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil.  While that was cooking, I grated 2 large garlic cloves and threw that in when the onion was cooked clear.  When I could smell the garlic, next I crumbled in the 2 lbs of beef (which I had let come to room temp) and browned.  Then I drained most of the fat/oil out and returned to my pan. I put in 1.5 cups of hot beef broth, kosher salt, pepper and cumin to taste and simmered till the broth evaporated.  Just before the broth was gone (I mean you could see the bottom of the pan pretty clearly).. I put in 1/2 cup of spinach. I'm trying to sneak in veggies where I can and finished evaporating the broth.


I let it cool just a bit and put the majority of beef into a separate storage container for the rest of the week.   The remainder, I seasoned with chili powder, cayenne and a bit more cumin as filling for our Mexican (No. America) burrito filling!!


Find of the week!!!  While trolling the deli section of Whole Foods, I found something that I've never seen and will definitely be buying again!  Raw Tortillas! The tortillas are from "Tortilla Land".. "Fresh, Uncooked Tortillas: All Natural: Made with Canola Oil: No Cholesterol (huge concern for my family) and No Saturated Fat"!    You just heat them up in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 sec per side! My house smelled AMAZING!  Definitely pick them up or ask your grocery store to carry them!


Tonight, going to Italy for some calzones!  Going to simmer my beef mixture in some home made tomato sauce and cook in refrigerated pre-made pie crusts!   


Talk to you soon.
T