Posole

Now I may  only be 1/8 Mexican but I think I thrown down a pretty mean Posole!  I've been craving it since I last had it at Christmas time and Cinco De Mayo seemed like the perfect excuse to make it.  I normally don't "do" soups in this heat.  The thought of eating something steaming hot when its 97 outside makes my butt get swampy just thinking about it......but I decided this was worth an exception.

Here's what you'll need

Start by making your red sauce.  I've heard some people will use canned sauce or even enchilada sauce for a shortcut.....but I just can't bring myself to do it!  Once you see how easy making your own is and how much better it tastes you'll see why.

This is your basic red sauce.  The same stuff I use for making tamales. Start by taking the stems off the dried chiles and dumping out some of the seeds.  Place them on a baking sheet and warm them for about 3-5 minutes until you can smell them, but be sure not to burn them!

Then place them in a pot of hot water....enough to cover them.  Put the lid on and let them sit and soften for abut 30 mins.  After they are nice and soft place them in your food processor along with the salt, garlic, & cumin.  Thin it out to the right consistency with the soaking liquid.

Don't do what I did and try to shove it all in your mini processor because your too lazy to dig around for the big one.  Then you make big messes like this and it looks like your poor appliance is bleeding profusely.  Sorry little guy.

Then strain your sauce through a sieve.  No matter how long you blend it you will never get the skins of the peppers to totally break down so your left with little chunks that are funky and get all caught up in your grill.  It will leave you with a nice smooth sauce like this...

 Set your sauce aside for now and get to work on some juicy piggy!  Dice your pork shoulder as small as you can.  I know that can be hard to do with raw meat....and for gods sake don't cut yourself!  Just try to make it as close to the size of the hominy as you possibly can.  That way you can get both on your spoon and you don't have giant stew sized chunks of pork.

Brown the meat in your soup pot and take it out.

In the porky goodnesss that's left in the pan, saute your onions and bell peppers.  Once they start to soften add your pork back in along with your stock, hominy, and red sauce.  Bring to  boil then let it simmer until the pork becomes tender and the hominy softens.  Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Eat it with TONS of cilantro, citrus juice (I prefer lemon) and green onions mixed in.  Delish!

This makes a ton of soup, but if you going through the work of making it you might as well make alot!  And it freezes beautifully.



Red Sauce

16 dried chiles  (New Mexico, Ca etc)  usually ends up being about 5oz
2 tsp.Cumin
1 tsp. salt
4 garlic cloves

Rip of the stems and dump the seeds out of the chiles.  Warm in a 350 oven for 3-5 minutes until you can smell them but they don't burn.  Put in a pot of hot water, cover and let sit for 30 mins to soften.

After they soften, blend them with the salt, cumin, and garlic.  Add some of the soaking liquid until you get the desired consistency  Anywhere between 2 to 21/2 cups.  Strain the sauce through a sieve to get out all the pepper skins


Posole

2 # Pork shoulder roast diced small
1 Large diced onion
1 Large diced bell pepper
(2) 1# cans of hominy
Red sauce
10-12 C. Chicken broth

Brown the pork and then remove from pan and set aside.  In the same pan saute onion and bell pepper until soft and translucent.  Add pork back in along with the hominy, red sauce, and chicken broth.  Bring it to a boil then let simmer until the pork is tender and the hominy softens.  Adjust seasonings.

Low Carb Burrito Bowls

I'm currently back on the LC wagon trying to get myself slimmed down for my trip to Vegas in a month.  Vegas, much like Halloween, is an excuse to slut it up with your wardrobe and nobody really thinks less of you.  Short, tight dresses aren't normally my "thang" so I need to shed a few lubs beforehand and low carb does it the quickest for me.

The thing I really like about LC is you get to eat so many things that are such no nos on other diets....you feel sorta....naughty. haha ;)  Any diet that lets me eat bacon and guacamole is the diet for me!  These burrito bowls are so good you really don't feel like your dieting at all. And with Cinco De Mayo just a few days away you can still celebrate and stick to your diet at the same time....and celebrations are what kill me normally!  If I feel like I'm missing out I'll cheat.  Pair these bowls with  a 'Poor Girls Skinny Margarita and you won't even feel the urge to cheat!

Start by making your low carb mexican rice

A head of cauliflower, garlic, half an onion, and an 8oz can tomato sauce

And because I'm losing my mind I forgot to add beef stock and cilantro in the picture

Grate the cauliflower and dice the onion.  Start sauteing them in a large pan. After the onion is starting to soften add in the minced garlic (about 3 cloves) and......

Pour in the entire 8oz can of tomato sauce and your beef stock.  I probably used somewhere between 1/4- 1/2 c. of stock...depending on the size of your head of cauliflower.  Let it all bubble together and let the liquids reduce.  See how much liquid is in the above picture?  In the end it will look more like this....

Season with salt and stir in chopped cilantro.  Mmmmm


The rest is really up to you.  I had leftover steak that I cubed up and reheated with butter and garlic in a frying pan. You could use machaca, shredded chicken....whatever creams your twinky!  Then pile on the toppings

I used sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheddar, and green onions.

Sure there's still a few carbs.....it isn't carb free, but you get all the flavors of a delicious burrito without all the guilt! And to me that's what it's all about!  Think about it compared to a bowl with with rice.  A cup of white rice has 45 carbs!  If you had 2 tbs each of the guac, sour cream , and salsa,  this bowl had about 8-10 carbs in it.  That's pretty darn good

Cinco De Mayo Door Decor

Keeping with my goal to have a wreath for every holiday....ok....so this isn't  much of a ''wreath'' per say, but it goes on the door so close enough!

I found a red, black, and light grey striped rug at Dollar Tree that instantly made me think of a poncho.  So I bought it and colored in the grey stripes with green marker to make it more colorful.

Next, cut out a bottle type shape out of cardboard. 

Fold your rug over the sides near the "neck" and hot glue it down

I also bought a package of cut out from the dollar store.  I glued cardboard pieces onto the back of the sombrero to give it support, then glued that to the neck of the board.

I hot glued a pop tab onto the back as my hanger

Then I just glued on a foam mustache, the guitar cut out, and some maracas.  Done

Yep.  It's cheesy, but what can I say?  I like cheese.
 

York Peppermint Cookies

My boy has been having a rough couple of days at work and I thought he was in desperate need of a small pick me up.  So I thought a freshly baked batch of cookies would be a nice surprise for him to wake up to.  And for the record....he wakes up for work at 11PM so cookies are totally allowed at that time!

I went with the York Peppermint Patty pieces because...well....they were near the register when I was leaving work. Haha I like when life makes decisions for you.  Otherwise I would have been in severe anguish trying to decided what flavor of cookie to make him.  I'm totally one of those people who has a clear set opinion and decision on the big things in life.....but the small things will stress me out to the point of shit cramps.  Asking me where I want to eat is the all-time worst question ever to ask a non decision maker like me.
Anyways.....

York Peppermint Cookies it is!  All I did was use my old standby M&M Cookie recipe and swap out the M&Ms for the York Pieces.  With all the cool flavors they have now like Almond Joy Pieces you can come up with whatever flavor cookie you like! 

Start by creaming together your shortening and sugar.  You could certainly use butter if you prefer but I almost always use butter flavored shortening when I bake.  I love that you get the flavor of butter but the convenience of shortening for a lazy....errr....I prefer impatient, girl like me.  I hate having to remember to pull out butter earlier in the day to get it to the right temperature.  Then, since I have forgotten and I want to bake NOW I try to speed it up in the microwave and over melt it and that makes for a crappy cookie!  OR it could go the completely  other way.  I could remember to pull out the butter but since I live in AZ (also known as the Swamp Ass State)  it gets melty after sitting on the counter for more than 10 mins.  Using shortening takes all the pressure off!  And it gives a texture that I absolutely love!

Really cream it together well.  I know I mentioned this in another post but I think it's important enough to bring up again.  I used to just barely mix the two together, but that is allllll wrong! You want your mixer to run for a few minutes.  Let it get nice and fluffy.  You're looking for whatever your creaming to get lighter.  No matter how the color is starting off depending on your ingredients.....brownish.....yellowish...... you want it to get alot lighter in color....and fluffy.....don't forget fluffy!

Did you get that it should be fluffy?

Then mix in your eggs and vanilla.  Mix the dry ingredients together and then add it to your wet ingredients and mix well.  Add in your "Pieces" and just barely stir in so they don't get broken up.  You can reserve some if you want to stick them on top for presentation.  You can makes these as either drop cookies or you can roll them into balls.

I prefer to roll them.  Bake at 350 for 9 mins.  I guess if you want to get technical you COULD cook them longer, but I have a strict personal 9 minute rule.  I never bake any cookie past 9 minutes....or maybe 10.  I like a soft cookie...sometimes even gooey! Mmmmm.  But if you are a crunchy girl you could cook these up to 11, 12 minutes.

Candy Cookies

2 1/2 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1 C. Butter Flavored Shortening
2 Eggs
2 Tsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 C. Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 1/2 C. Candy of choice

Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add in eggs and vanilla.  Combine all dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients.  Mix well.  Carefully stir in candy as to not break them up.  Reserve some to press on top if you wish.  Drop by spoonfuls or roll into balls.  Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes.

I always make my cookies on the small side.  A sort of 2.5 biter for the average sized chick mouth.  A guy could probably inhale 2 at once.  I yield about 36 smaller cookies.  I HATE how recipes always tell you that you will get 72......because who the hell EVER DOES?  Seriously??? You have to be making some Barbie sized cookies to get 72 out of one batch!

Incorporating Your Pet Into Your Wedding

Meet Mo Mo

 

Mo Mo is the love of my life....next to my husband of course....but she did come first.  In fact when we were newly dating he used to get jealous and say I gave her more attention.  Then he moved in and discovered the love that is Mo.  Can't blame him really....he'd never had a pet before so he didn't know the love of a child. 

Now they are two peas in a pod.

Considering how in love we both are with her, it would seem wrong to not have her included in our big day.  Like I said in a previous post, in my delusional dream world she would have jingled down the aisle as a flower girl.  But you know that phrase about herding cats?  Yep.... that phrase exists for a reason.  Homegirl can't be told what to do!  She do what she want!

Years ago I tried to train her to walk on a leash but she would just lay down.  So I tried following the directions that said to just hook the leash on and let them walk freely or lay and sleep with it on just to get them gradually used to it without you holding the other end.   Well that didn't work out either.  Mo  is a mostly indoor cat.  She goes outside to go to the bathroom and sun herself for a few minutes and then comes inside.  Somehow within the span of an hour she lost the crap out of that leash!  I searched EVERYWHERE!  It was hot pink and glittery ....not exactly discreet.  I searched the entire backyard and up and down the street.  She's no dummy....she made sure that thing would never be found.  Mo Mo had spoken.

Anyways, so her walking down the aisle was not an option but she still needed to be represented.  So here are the things that I came up with

On my bouquet I had a little silver kitty charm (and a cupcake....but that's another story)  We also had a little stuffed kitty that looked like her.  I had one of my flower girls carry her down the aisle

I painted a little ceramic bobble head that we hid on a table of decorations as you walked into the reception

Also hidden amongst the candy buffet

A picture frame on the bar

And a Mo Mo mask that I made for the photo props basket

I missed her so much that when Tim and I ran home to change really quick before the after party the first thing I did was run in and kiss her.  Hubby snapped this picture of us.

What can I say?  I guess we're crazy cat people

Wedding I Spy Game

No matter how well timed your reception may be, and I do have to say my DJ did an impeccable job  of moving things along, there is the inevitable lull.  Whether it's because your waiting to hit the buffet line, you don't feel like doing the cha cha slide, or the only person you know at your table just went to the bathroom (been there!), I wanted to add something on each table that would be interactive.  Even if it just gave the guests something to read for a minute. 

So I decided to do an I Spy game.  At the very top it reads....

Use your camera, look around

Hunt for the pictures that need to be found

Shoot away, complete the list

Find the moments we may have missed 

It really served two purposes.  It also got people to take pictures of things we wanted to see.  I put general things like "An artistic shot of your dinner" and "Something sparkly"  but I also had some personalized ones like "Look for the hidden Mo Mo references"  

Mo Mo is our beloved Kitty.  We tried to incorporate her into the wedding as much as we could without actually having our baby there (although in my dream world she would have walked down the aisle with me)

I have to admit one of the main reasons I added that line in was because I felt like I put alot of work into giving her a nod so damn it I wanted people to notice!  Is that too much for a crazy bride to ask?  I didn't think so!  Haha

I printed the lists onto cardstock and then matted them on a contrasting piece of cardstock.  I placed one at each table.

Along with that I put a photo share card at each place setting.  I created a shutterfly account and printed the information (ID and password)  onto business cards that I made using Vistaprint.  You could also just use an email address and have them send the pictures to it if you want to take an easier route.  I wanted to create an account so they could see what other people left as well.  This way they could send the pictures from the game or any pictures from the whole night. =)

 

It was fun to get peoples pictures and see it from different points of view

Mexican Smothered Chicken

For all my wonderful and devoted readers out there.......can you sense the sarcasm?  Seeing as how at this point my only 2 followers of this blog are 2 of my sisters.  I guess I couldn't even hook the 3rd one haha  ;)  Anyways, for all my wonderful and devoted readers out there, I give to you a three in one recipe post!  Sort of like going to the bathroom and checking your facebook...it really makes it worth your time!


Chicken Marinade

1 C. Teriyaki glaze
2 C. Water
1/2 C. Tequila
3 Cloves minced garlic

Marinade chicken overnight.  On this particular day I marinated it for about 30 hours and it was delish!  This is enough marinade for about 6 pieces of chicken.  I actually started off with 4 chicken breasts but I pounded them out thin and then cut the large ones in half so I ended up with 6 in the end.
I have a "thing" about thick white meat.  It sorta skeeves me out.  I feel like I'm eating chickeny, proteiny string cheese.  Bleh!  So I almost always pound my chicken out since these days we inject them with so many damn hormones they all seem to have DDs!

Grill it up and this would be an amazing dinner as is! The chicken becomes so juicy and tender and you can actually taste the hint of tequila.

But like I said, this is a 3 in 1 recipe so.....

Grill your chicken until almost done but just a little under since it will be going back into the oven.  This brings us to.....

Recipe #2

1 C. Mayo
1 C. Sour Cream
1C. Thick & Chunky Salsa
1 Tb. Dill
1 tsp. Cumin
2 Tb. Tabasco  (I like a kick but you could use less)

You can use this sauce cold by itself as a dip that I refer to as "Zippy Dip"  Great with veggies or potato chips.  If using it as a dip I suggest making it ahead of time an letting it sit in the fridge.  It thickens up for optimum  "dipability." 

Place your parcooked chicken in a baking dish.  Smother your chicken (thus the name) with every drop of this sauce!  No skimping allowed! Top each piece of chicken with shredded cheddar.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until the sauce it bubbly, the cheese is melty, and the chicken is cookie?  Cookied?.....Cooked.

Here it is straight out of the oven

When I serve it I add extra sauce from the pan on top.  And you know what else is divine?  Having this chicken with spanish rice with some of the sauce mixed into it.  Freakin uh-mazing!

It's cool how different the sauce becomes once it's heated.  It gets darker and more orange in color and the flavor just completely changes.

I hope you try at least one of these recipe alone or put em all together for this (not so) Mexican Smothered Chicken