Freezer-ish Tacos for Lunch!

Last weekend, we decided to make tacos. Tacos have three great things going for them. (1) They are very easy to make. (2) They allow everyone to have their own flavor mix. (3) They are toddler-help friendly. Remembering that my kid will eat anything he helps to make, you can see how tacos make a great, fast, easy dinner. 

My husband made up the ground beef mix, and somehow he made far too much. I think he made a whole pound of meat. Needless to say, we did not need that much. So I decided to freeze the left overs, as I had heard that taco meat was a good food to have around in the freezer. I had been skeptical. WHY keep pre-cooked taco meat in the freezer when it takes about 10 minutes to make fresh?

I'll tell you why. 

Lunch.

Today, I stood in front of my stupid refrigerator trying to figure out what to make for lunch, when it hit me that I not only had frozen taco meat but also 4 remaining taco shells, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and shredded mexican cheese! I don't know why this made me giddy, but it did. 

I pulled out the remaining meat, noticed I still had 1/2 pound (way too much for just me and the toddler), broke it up and put 1/2 of it back. I transferred what I was going to use to a bowl and threw it in the microwave for a minute and a half. While doing that, I threw the taco shells in the oven to crisp them a bit (as they had been stored in plastic), cut up some lettuce and tomato, put everything in small bowls, and set up or table for taco making.

Lunch was quite a success. A little messy, but quite a success. I could see myself making up an extra large batch of taco meat in the future to have on hand, perhaps storing in smaller portions to have for lunch.

Here's my recipe for the taco meat:

however much you want of very lean ground beef (we use Laura's Organic but whatever--just make sure it isn't fatty)

a small onion for every pound of meat, diced

Chili Powder

Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt

Spray a nonstick pan with just a little cooking spray. Toss in onions and cook until they begin to soften. Add the meat, and sprinkle the whole thing with chili powder and krazy salt. We tend to start off easy and add more seasoning as we think is necessary, but everyone has their own beliefs on what is too spicy, so use your judgement. Cook through and use whatever you need that night. Freeze the rest in servings you need for your family (I would probably do 1/4 lb (ish) servings in the future, as that makes lunch easier and dinner can just be 2 servings.

You can use this meat for tacos, taco salad, enchiladas, or whatever you want it in. It's yummy. And it freezes great. 

Cookbooks that will make you fat but you won't care because YUM

I have a lot of cook books. Having lived through omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan phases in my life, I have accumulated an awesome array of cookbooks, some of which I have never opened, and some of which include recipes so loved that they will automatically open to the right page. 

Now, it is well known to my friends that my two favorite treats in the whole world are pie and muffins. And it is less well known that my husband's two favorite things in the whole world are ice cream and breakfast. It doesn't matter what time that man wakes up, he eats breakfast. Awake at noon? Pancakes it is. He repeats "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" but I think he doesn't get that it means you're supposed to eat when you wake up, not that you're supposed to make waffles.  I love him anyway, and I gladly eat the breakfast when he makes it, so it's all good.

Soon after we were married, I discovered the most amazing boxed set of books there ever was. It was made for our household. It was incredible! It was:

Williams-Sonoma Boxed Set: Ice Cream, Pie and Tart, Muffins, and Breakfast

I have no link. They don't make it anymore. But you can get the individual books, which is good. 

I admit it. I have been having a love affair with these cook books since we bought them. We don't use the books all the time. Our ice cream maker and thus the Ice Cream book got the most use early in our marriage, until I gained 30 pounds and had no idea where they came from. Then we put that one away for a while. Each of the other books has one or two recipes that we can't live without. I am sure that we will eventually make nearly everything in the books. We have yet to come across a bad recipe in one of these books. Really.

Why am I talking about this now? Well, I just had leftover home fries for lunch and I couldn't stop thinking about them. From the Breakfast cookbook, these home fries have potatoes, green and red peppers, onions, and a spice mix that is to die for. The cayenne pepper really gives them kick. When he feels up to it, Adam makes up a huge batch and serves them topped with a fried egg or two. The best thing about the potatoes is that they make everything else you eat taste that much better too. Home fries with egg? Best egg ever. Home fries with bacon? Best bacon ever. Even the coffee is suddenly spectacular when augmented with the deliciousness of these home fries. It's my favorite recipe from that book. 

My second favorite is the German Apple Pancake recipe. It's definitely a once-in-a-while, maybe even once-a-year recipe. We tend to save it for the first week of Honeycrisp apples at the farmer's market--a special occasion breakfast. My God is it delicious. There are never any leftovers. 

Now in addition to the home fries making me think about these books, I also recently made a batch of Jam-Filled Muffins from the Muffin book. Oh yes, you read that right Jam-Filled Muffins. Because the only thing better than a muffin with jam on it is a muffin with jam in it. To counter the sweetness of the jam, the muffin recipe includes sour cream. You end with the perfect combination of sweet and sour and YUM. The recipe makes only 12, and in our case, they are gone after a day and a half. I have never met a person who didn't like these muffins. 

Next to the jam-filled muffins, the orange cranberry ones are also fantastic. In fact, I buy extra cranberries during cranberry season and freeze them so that I can have them throughout the winter. Really.

And now that I'm thinking about the books and the fact that I am getting sick of winter fruit, I am wondering if I should get down my Pie & Tart book and make an end-of-winter apple pie, just for the heck of it. Because the Apple Pie recipe? Also a major Yum. 

Now, I am about to share a recipe and I know I shouldn't but I love you all very much and you should make these. Besides, my friend Amy begged me to. Also, I just raved about the books so if W-S doesn't like it, well I guess I'll just remove it :)

Jam Filled Muffins

2 c All Purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
6 T unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1t vanilla extract
1/4 t almond extract
10 oz sour cream
about 1/2 cup jelly or jam 

Preheat to 375. Grease 12 standard muffin cups with cooking spray or butter

In a bowl, stir together dry ingredients

In another bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients except the jam. I have discovered that you really want to whisk this a lot, until it gets really foamy, or else your batter will be too thick.  Add the wet to the dry. Batter will be pretty lumpy and thick even with the extra whisking.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling only 1/3 of the way full. Drop a heaping teaspoon of jam into the center, and then cover with more batter until it is level with the rim of the cup.

Bake until golden, dry, and springy, 25-30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then unmold the muffins. Serve warm or cool.

Eating at the (National) Mall

Yesterday, the weather in the DC area was beautiful, my husband was home from his week-long work trip to California and Arizona, and we decided that we'd take the kiddo to the Air & Space Museum. For a moment, we vacillated between the one in DC and the one closer to us in Virginia, but we decided that the one in DC is free (you pay $15 to park at the VA one) and, with the weather as gorgeous as it was, it would be nice to just walk around the Mall for a bit.

We managed to avoid the IMF/World Bank protests on our way in, and found a parking spot in front of the Museum of Natural History, which is a bit of a walk from Air & Space but not too bad. We discussed for a moment where we should eat (it was 2:00 and we hadn't had lunch yet) and decided that Air & Space would be fine. We had heard that the cafeteria had converted to a McDonald's but we also remembered there being a sit-down restaurant which we both had fond memories of, and we thought we'd eat there.

We were sorely disappointed. McDonald's actually has taken over the entire cafeteria and restaurant space at the Air & Space museum, so there is no longer a sit-down restaurant. the only saving grace is that they had a couple of options from a pizza chain (that I assume they own) and a few options from Boston Market. The only kid's options were from McDonald's. We ordered a cheeseburger happy meal for the kid (with apples, though they did not appear to offer juice or milk; I might have been wrong about that and I was too flustered, hot, and pregnant to remember to ask). I ordered the 1/4 chicken white meat from Boston Market, and my husband had a carver sandwich. It cost us a total of $24 for the three meals. I'm really not kidding. $24!!! And with NO options. The sandwich was just a sandwich, with no sides. The chicken came with corn and potatoes with no options for anything else. We ate our food as if out of obligation and swore to research food options before our next foray into the city.

This is what I know so far, from my own more recent experiences, some research to make sure some of my older experiences weren't now out of date, and a few other things that I have come across. 

I also can't believe how long this is getting, but I will press on for the sake of my (albeit small) readership. :-D

First of all, just because it is a cafeteria does not make it bad. Some places actually have great options and great kid's options as well. 

The Natural History Museum, which as I mentioned we were parked in front of, actually has a fantastic cafeteria that we have been to since the renovation of the museum a few years ago. In fact, we might have actually gone there if we weren't looking to have a sit-down meal. The museum actually has three places to eat--a small sandwich place, an ice cream stand, and the Atrium Cafe, which is the big cafeteria. There, you can get pizza, sandwiches, soups, salads, and rotisserie chicken. There are different stands for each type of food, so if your family wants different items, you'll have to split up and meet back up. It's a minor annoyance but worth it for the food. The sandwiches are delicious and unusual (and BIG! Two can share), and they have dessert options that include sweets and fruit, and drink options that include juices and bottled water, so you don't feel like you're stuck in HFCS hell. Most of the stands have a kid's meal option, so for instance, you can get a small piece of pizza, a piece of fruit and a drink and have a fairly happy kid as long as he doesn't see the cake on the way out.

The American History museum has a very similar cafeteria plan, with again, a smaller place to eat on the first floor and massive cafeteria on the ground floor. As I recall, the food is pretty much almost exactly the same as at the Natural History museum.

I have not been there yet, but I have heard great things about the cafeteria at the National Museum of the American Indian. Supposedly, the food helps to expand the museum experience by offering native (or native-ish) fare. If you have been, please let me know more. (the plus for this one is that if you happen to be at Air & Space and get hungry, it is the closest museum to the A&S).

If you want a sit-down place, go to the National Gallery of Art. It's been a while since I'd been there so I had to make sure it was still there (the restaurant, not the gallery). While there is a cafeteria on the ground floor between the east and west wings, by far the best food is at the Garden Cafe in the West building on the Ground Floor. They often have a buffet with menu options as well. It's pricey, but truthfully, if you're going to pay for lunch you may as well pay for a good lunch. I have extremely fond memories of this place. They actually have their menu on the web. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the various vendors. I'm pregnant so a hot dog is not the best option for me on a 90 degree day, but sometimes the best lunch can be found from a hot dog vendor. Grab a few, pull up a spot of grass (if you can find one) and have a picnic. That said, if you're driving in from Virginia, stop at the Spout Run exit on the GW parkway and go grab some sandwiches from the Italian Store on your way in. You'll just have to eat them before you hit a museum.

If you happen to be on the Capitol Building side of the Mall, and don't mind a bit of a walk, head over to Union Station. It's probably got the most options for both sit-down and fast food. And if you're the type who wants something familiar, they even have an Uno's that overlooks the great hall; great for the view, standard for the fare. 

I do hope this helps you plan your own trip. I certainly will be planning more carefully next time!

This Week in Food

Although my efforts to have a week of mostly chicken were thwarted by a son who made it perfectly clear that he was not going to go for it, we did have a pretty decent week of eating so far. We did have the roast chicken on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday was perogies with applesauce and baked corn with red peppers (yum!) Wednesday was the day when the chicken plan was thwarted, and we ordered Chinese Food. I managed, however, to keep our order to $20--$17 plus tip--so I felt a little less guilty about that, and there are enough leftovers for a lunch for us tomorrow. Tonight I heated up onion beef muffin cups, to which my son responded, "Oooh! Meat Muffins!" along with the tomato and avocado salad that I had previously planned for yesterday.

Since I did make the broth for the soup, I might just freeze it and use it in recipes. I have plenty of freezer bags and can probably store them in 1-cup portions. Actually I might use the baby food trays and freeze them in smaller portions for more efficient use. I still have a chicken breast left, and I may just make it into chicken salad for myself. I can understand someone getting sick of chicken, and I didn't want to force it on the kiddo on a week when he's already confused about where his dad is.

Coming soon, I expect to post some recipes. I have a great idea for a Farmer's Market Salad and cannot wait for May so I can make it! Here's the idea (and it's based on a salad dressing recipe from one of the Market merchants but I think I improved on it!)

The dressing (from the Crackpot Gourmet web site)
2 t Kiss of Kerala Jam from the Crackpot Gourmet, or 2 t Strawberry jam and a sprinkle of fresh black pepper
1T balsamic vinegar
3T olive oil
Whisk together

The salad:
Baby spinach or other good baby greens
fresh sliced strawberries
goat cheese
sugar-glazed almonds (bought or made)
Fresh grated salt & pepper

Now it may be that I'm just pregnant, but that sounds like utter heaven to me. And if the vendors don't change from last year, I should be able to get nearly all of the ingredients from the market in the same week, sometime at the end of May! Hooray!

Thwarted!

My efforts to not order in or eat out have been thwarted by a toddler!

Me: Micah, we're going to have soup tonight!

Micah: Um.. how bout... egg roll!

Well you can't just mention chinese food to a pregnant woman and expect me to NOT want to just go right along with the suggestion!

Chinese food it is. Tomorrow, though, we will have soup.

Planning Meals for Two (or, well, One and a Half)

Aah Spring. A time when the Farmer's Market will soon start, CSAs begin delivering, and my husband goes on travel for weeks at a time. *sigh*

This week, and every other week until the end of May, I'll be home with the toddler and no husband. I had somehow forgotten about this when I portioned out our last set of freezer meals. So what to do? Cook every night? Use freezer meals and eat them as leftovers? The way they are portioned out, they do not necessarily make two meals for one adult and one toddler. 

Last week, I succumbed to my food frustration and ordered a large amount of Chinese food, which we then had for several meals. That's not particularly healthful or inexpensive, so something must be done.

Last night, we did have a roast chicken (made in my Pampered Chef covered baker, and let me tell you, it came out SO well). It looks like I have remaining 2 chicken legs, 2 wings a breast, and a thigh. I also did some shopping yesterday, so I have some food in the house for some small meals. Here's the plan. Adam gets home on Friday though I am not sure when, so Friday will stay up in the air.  I hope it goes well:

Monday: leftover roast chicken (1 leg +1 wing each) with broccoli

Tuesday: potato & onion perogies (store bought) with corn

Wednesday: chicken salad sandwiches (made from the left over breast) and tomato & avocado salad

Thursday: chicken carcass soup (that should kill off the end of the chicken!)

Friday: Unplanned. Have to find out when husband gets home. This might turn into a dinner out.

Saturday: Freezer Meal: tilapia with peppers with a veggie & rice

Sunday: Shopping Day! Whatever's on sale :)

Here's hoping this goes well! 

Great Kids Menus: The Tortilla Factory

Last week, on a day when I could not bear to cook or even eat something out of the freezer, we decided to visit the Tortilla Factory in Herndon, VA. It's a pretty famous place that I have only been to a few times. We had taken the kiddo before but it was back when he was young enough to eat of of our plates. So I wasn't sure what to expect from the Kid's Menu. 

I was pleasantly surprised, actually. There were three Standard American meals on the kid's menu. But there were nearly twice as many meals that were smaller versions of items available for adults. The Standard American options were the ubiquitous Burger or Chicken Nuggets with the addition of the somewhat-less-ubiquitous Hot Dog. 

But that's where the boring ended. There were 5 Mexican/Southwestern options on the kid's menu:

1. Beef Taco, Mexican Rice and Refried Beans
   
2. Cheese Enchilada, Mexican Rice and Refried Beans
   
3. Beef Enchilada, Mexican Rice and Refried Beans
   
4. Chicken Enchilada, Mexican Rice and Refried Beans
   
5. Quesadilla (did not come with rice or beans)
   

My son declared that he did not want any meat, so that left us with Cheese Enchilada or Quesadilla. Now, I realize that a Quesadilla is basically a Southwestern Grilled Cheese Sandwich, but I figured he'd also share some of my food, so I allowed it. 

What came out was the cutest and yet biggest Quesadilla that I have ever seen. Big? Take the biggest oversized tortilla you've ever seen and fold it in half. Cute? It was cut into a dozen or so little triangles, just ready for a toddler to pick up without mom having to spend time cutting. I appreciated the simplicity. He appreciated the cheese.

Micah also did eat some of my pork tamale, though he really wasn't very interested in meat at all that night. Hey, we all have our daily preferences, right? He ate every drop of the quesadilla, without once stopping to demand dessert instead (something he has been doing a lot recently). I haven't seen my kid clean a plate in a very long time.

As for the adult menu, it's so vast and delicious looking that Adam and I took much longer than usual to make our decisions. Everything was fantastic, and they were very accomodating of Adam's legume allergy (they let him have double rice instead of rice & beans). The service was a bit slow, but I was feeling forgiving since the food was so good. It has been fast in the past, and it was a busy night.

The Tortilla Factory also has a folk song night on Tuesdays every week. I keep meaning to check it out, but I think I'll have to wait until Adam is not on travel; it's a bit late for Micah though he'd probably love the music. 

Here's your link. If you live in the area, check it out!