OMG So Many Days

I am really sorry it's been so long since my last post.  I'd blame being extra busy, but really I'm just extra lazy.  I discovered the SyFy original series Eureka on Netflix, so my days have included a lot of guilty television watching.

Why do I love tv shows with terrible special effects so much?

On the up side, since it's been so long, I have a couple of recipes for you guys.

Day 10:  I think that was a Tuesday.
Derek had dinner plans, I had a kickass kickboxing class.  When I got home (after a quick run through the shower) I threw some Trader Joes Mini Beef Tacos in the oven.  Next time you're at TJ's, buy some.

A solid reason to shop at Trader Joes

So, I should really be supervised in the kitchen after a workout.  Left to my own devices, I will end up eating something like this for dinner (and snacking on stuff while I put this meal together)

It's not blurry, it's just that the human
eye isn't designed to focus on so much
deliciousness, lest our brains explode.

So, TJ's Mini Beef Tacos (dipped in salsa), carrots with TJ's Cilantro and Jalapeno Hummus (another awesome TJ's product), cheese, pickles, leftover jicama slaw, and some turkey dried cherry pasta salad from D'Amico and Sons.  Is it any wonder I work out and then don't lose weight?

Don't answer that.

Day 11, we made an extra easy meal out of Chorizo Tacos.  Basically, brown up some chorizo (I browned it a little too much, which was unfortunate), top with onion, spinach, cilantro, cheese, and maybe a little lime juice.  Shove in your taco-hole.

I'm trying a (boring) thing where I take
a simple picture of 1 taco.

I can't remember what we had on the side since it was so long ago.  Couldn't have been that great, I guess, since I really have no idea.  Chorizo is pretty darn great, though.

Day 12: Buffalo Chicken Taco Day

I love Buffalo Chicken Tacos.  We made them for the first time last year during Magic Month (a nickname for 30DOT that I just came up with.  What do you guys think?)

I don't get home until late on Thursdays, and this past one happened to be even later than usual.  Buffalo chicken tacos are perfect for that kind of night, because the whole meal was ready in under half an hour.  Rachel Ray would be so proud of me.  Also, I love buffalo chicken. 

Here's a picture:

Did I mention that I love
 Buffalo chicken tacos?

And here's how to go from in-your-brain to on-your-plate in under 30:

Ingredients:

Buffalo Chicken Tacos:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
Part of a bottle of Franks Hot Sauce
2 celery stalks, diced
Baby spinach, torn
Ranch dressing
Store bought hard shells


Glazed Carrots:
1 bag baby carrots (or whats left of a bag after you ate some last night with hummus)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
black pepper



Instructions:

1. Add the chicken breasts and 1-2 cups water to a pan with a lid.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat.  Cook, covered, 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven for the taco shells according to package instructions, dice celery, wash cutting board.
3. Add the carrots, butter, sugar, salt, and water to another pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 6 minutes. Then remove cover, increase heat to high, and cook (stirring often) until glaze has reduced, 4-5 minutes.
4. When the timer from the chicken poaching says there's about as much time left as it takes the shells to bake, put the shells in the oven.
5. When the chicken is finished, move them from the pan to a plate.  Dump the water out.  Shred the chicken with 2 forks and return to pan over medium heat.  Add Franks Hot Sauce and stir over heat until the chicken is your favorite shade of orange.
6. Don't forget to take the shells out of the oven!!
7. When the carrots are finished, grind black pepper over them, stir, and transfer to a bowl. 
8. Fill shells with goodies, put tasty carrots on the side.  Pat yourself on the back, because dinner is READY.

Day 13: Dinner with my parents.

They were in town.  They don't participate in 30DOT, but they certainly participated like champs this weekend!  Friday night we went to Pepitos on Chicago and Lake.  They know how to feed their customers.  I had 1 chicken and 1 pork taco with rice and beans on the side.  Something that I really love about Pepitos is that they put diced pickles on their tacos.  As a pickle lover, it's such a great surprise to find little bits of pickle in stuff.  Also, we don't get over there very often (mostly we just forget about it), so in between trips to Pepitos I forget about the pickles.  That means I get to be delighted by them every time!

It's dark in there!

Day 14:  Dessert Tacos, part 2

Saturday I did some stuff with Mom and Dad, went for a run around a lake (like ya do), watched some Eureka (of course), and found myself without dinner plans. Derek had a thing, and so did my parents.  So I had a salad from Kowalski's for dinner (those guys sure know how to make a salad) and invited the 'rents over for dessert tacos.


Ok, so a few days ago, I woke up thinking "I wonder what would happen if I added cocoa powder to the masa when we make tortillas."  Yesterday, I finally got around to finding out.  It took a couple of tries, but I think I got the hang of it.

There are leftovers in the fridge right now.
Maybe I should go make sure they're still good.

So, here's the much anticipated Chocolate Tortilla Recipe:

I only needed 4 tortillas, so I didn't make a very big batch.  This would be simple to multiply (unless you're terrible at fractions).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup masa
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 dash salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup water


Directions:

1. mix together first 4 ingredients.  Then add water and vanilla and stir (I like to stir with my hand) until dough is formed.
2. form dough into 4 equal balls.  One at a time, press them (using a tortilla press and waxed paper) into tortillas.
3. Cook each tortilla in a dry pan over high heat 1-2 minutes per side.  It's a little harder to tell if they're done, since they don't really brown since they're already, you know...brown.
4. After each tortilla is cooked, put in one of those round plastic tortilla warmer things like from restaurants lined with a paper towel.

I filled mine with diced strawberries, diced banana, blackberries, fresh whipped cream, caramel sauce, and chopped walnuts.  They were super delicious.  Whipping cream fresh probably helped.

Aside: I'm happy that I learned how to whip cream. It's easy, tasty, and impressive to others.

Ok, so I think we've reached the end of the Longest Blog Post Ever.  Thanks, everyone, for sticking with me until the end of it.  I'd like to promise that I won't wait this long between posts any more, but I wont, because that would probably be a lie.