Perfect Oven Fried Chicken

Fried chicken is a good thing but here is a way to do it that is healthier and fool proof. I almost never did it, partly because the chicken sometimes wouldn't cook all the way through leaving it kind of raw in the middle. After reading through some recipes I found a solution that makes oven fried chicken super easy.

The trick is to boil the chicken in low-fat or fat-free milk (or even lactose free milk), leaving it moist and completely cooked through before you bread and oven fry it. If you are lactose intolerant, it's still possible to eat dairy foods, the key is to learn what works best for you.

The end result is delicious, soft and moist on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside.

We had my mother-in-law and two sister-in-laws and kids over for Sunday dinner so this is kind of a big recipe but feel free to adjust accordingly.

We served it with oven potatoes and large salad.

Perfect Oven Fried Chicken
Feeds about 6-8 people

4lbs chicken drum sticks with the skin on (about 16-20 drumsticks)
3-4 cups milk (low-fat, fat-free, or lactose free)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (or garlic or onion salt or some combination of the two)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (you can substitute dry herbs but will only use only 2 teaspoons of dried herbs)
2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano
2 tablespoons thyme

2 eggs
1/4 cup water

1 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese

cooking spray

1. Put chicken and milk is a large pot and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
2. Remove chicken is strainer and allow to fully dry.
3. Mix together the flour, salts, pepper, and fresh herbs. (Feel free to substitute or play with different herb combinations. These just happen to be the herbs that are growing on our back porch these days.)
5. In a separate bowl or shallow dish, mix together the two eggs and water.
6. In a third bowl, mix the bread crumbs together with the Parmesan cheese.
7. Pass each chicken drum stick in the flour mixture, then the eggs mixture, and then the bread crumb mixture.This breads the chicken and makes the nice crispy outside layer.
8. Spray the outside of the chicken with cooking spray, place on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 30 minutes rotating chicken after 15 minutes.

This post was written while participating in my partnership with the National Dairy Council, and as always my opinions are my own.

Crock Pot Shoyu Chicken Recipe

Serves 6-8
(Printable Version)

3 lbs chicken (thighs and drumsticks)
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 cloves garlic 
3-4 inches of ginger (peeled)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons corn starch diluted in 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
cilantro for garnish

Mix the soy sauce and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Using a food processer chop the garlic and ginger together. Add the chopped garlic and ginger to the soy sauce and brown sugar and mix well. Rub the soy sauce, sugar, garlic,ginger mixture on the chicken pieces and place the chicken in a large crock pot. Pour the chicken broth and the diluted corn starch on top of the chicken. Drizzle with honey. Cook for 6 hours on high. Use chopped cilantro for garnish and serve with rice.

Sundays are my crock pot days. I know, it's totally Mormon of me. It is awfully nice having dinner ready when we come back from church and I love the smell of warm food, specially shoyu chicken, when we walk in the door.

As with most meats cooked in the crock pot shoyu chicken becomes crazy moist the longer it's in there practically falling off the bones when it's done. My kids are total carnivores and meat that's been cooked in the crock pot is their favorite. It's so easy for them to just remove pieces themselves without having us to cut up their meat for them. They are both at that point where feeling independent is a big deal. 

Maria's favorite way to eat shoyu chicken is wrapped in roasted Korean seaweed (also known as Maria and mom crack at our house) with rice and broccoli. 

 

She makes the cutest little rolls and the biggest mess. I don't complain because if she's chowing down on chicken, brown rice, seaweed, and brocoli I should just be grateful and put up with rice getting stuck under my feet.

Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe?

Tri-Tip Salad | Day 21 of 31 Days of Salad

When we moved to Bahia 5 months ago we decided that we would visit one new place every Saturday. Also, Saturdays are a total win because that's when our local butcher gets fresh meat. So on Saturdays we usually eat red meat and we usually go on some adventure. It's a nice combination.

Usually we have meat with rice and beans and a salad on the side, but by the time the weekend rolls around I'm in the mood for something else as the main dish. This is why I like making tri-tip salad because it's a meal, a full on meal. No rice and beans needed. It's a meal that gives us plenty of fuel to then go and explore.

Today we explored a new waterfall and took two of Enzo's friends for the ride. Christian used Enzo's goggles to try and find Baby Maria's lost earring. No luck. But he did find $2.00 which he used wisely on popsicles on the way home.

Basically this was our Saturday:

Tri-Tip salad. Waterfall. Friends. Playing in the waterfall with friends in the pouring rain. Car not being able to go uphill because of the rain. Me and kids getting out of the car and cheering Christian on as he tried to get the car out of the mud hill. Popsicles that paint your tongue. Baby Maria having no regard for sanitation whatsoever. 

On that note can I show you how to make a really hearty salad?

Tri-Tip salad

(printable version)

Preparing the Meat

1 lb. Tri-Trip cut into fillets

4 limes, halved

6 cloves of garlic

salt

2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Squeeze the lime juice into a big bowl/pot and add the garlic. Smash the garlic with a mortar and spread the lime juice and the garlic around in the bowl. Save the lime peels.

 

2. Rub salt on both sides of the fillet. Repeat with all of the fillets. 

3. Add the salted fillets to the pot along with the lime peels and mix with your hands to make sure all of the fillets are coated with lime juice and garlic.

4. In a large hot frying pan add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and. Add half of the fillets. Cook the fillets on each side for about 2-4 minutes until brown. Then cover the pan and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until the meat is done. Add more oil to the pan if needed. Repeat with the remaining fillets. When the meat is cooked put on a plate and reserve. Keep the juices in the frying pan, you will use it later to sauté the onions.

1 head of lettuce, washed

1 cup bean sprouts

2 large red onions, thinly sliced

1 lb. tri-tip cooked and cut into thin slices

4 hardboiled eggs cut into slices

2 tomatoes, washed and sliced

gorgonzola cheese to taste

Using the hot oil in the frying pan from the meat, sauté the onions and reserve. Then assemble the salad in a shallow round pan. First put the lettuce, then spread the bean sprouts on top. Add the sautéed onions along with the juices in the pan to the salad. This will serve to dress the salad. Add the tri-tip strips on top then layer the eggs, and tomatoes. Finish with a touch of gorgonzola cheese to taste. Serve immediately.

Day 1- Green Papaya Salad
Day 2- Avocado and Mango Salad
Day 3- Eggplant Vinaigrette
Day 4- White and Green Salad: Escarole, Pear, Avocado
Day 5- Salpicao
Day 6- Grated Raw Beet Salad
Day 7- Poppyseed Salad Dressing
Day 8- Orange, Honey, & Coconut Dessert Salad
Day 9- Quail Egg Salad
Day 10-Radish Salad
Day 11-Apple, Parmesan, and Pesto Salad
Day 12-BLT Quinoa Salad
Day 13-Poke Salad
Day 14-Spinach Salad
Day 15-Simple Tropical Fruit Salad

Day 16-Chinese Chicken Salad
Day 17-Brazilian Fruit Salad
Day 18-Cold Cabbage Salad
Day 19-Four Bean Salad
Day 20-Italian Potato Salad

Pulled Pork Fried Rice

I've been craving fried rice. More specifically I've been craving that fried rice above, the one I made way back when I had a cast iron skillet and a crock pot. The fried rice is made with left over pulled pork. In my world pulled pork is made in a crock pot. I have no crock pot in Brazil but if you have a crock pot in your side of the world then you should make this recipe. It's a really good recipe and I'm not just saying that because I made it, believe it or not I'm kind of shy about the food I cook.

But I did make this! And I wrote the recipe down! And now I want to make it again but first I need to figure out how to make pulled pork via another method that does not require a crock pot. Any suggestions? If you tell me I should make it Hawaiian style in an imu I'll just have to roll my eyes because that is seriously more work than I can dream of though I would have enough left over pulled pork to make fried rice for a very long time, no doubt. Oh well, at least the recipe is now documented and when I return to the land of kitchen-appliances-a-plenty I'll make this again, unless of couse you have a pressure cooker recipe for pulled pork. If that's the case I may end up loving you forever.

Pulled Pork Fried Rice

(printable version)

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 bunches green onions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• ½ lbs cooked pulled pork
• 2 carrots, shredded
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1. In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce to combine.
3. Add eggs to wok and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook, without stirring, until almost set, 1 minute, then fold in thirds with a spatula. Transfer cooked eggs to a work surface and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
4. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and swirl to coat. Add garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and cook, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
5. Add pulled pork,carrots, peas, and rice and stir to combine. Add cooked egg, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 1 minute. Let cook, undisturbed, until warm, about 1 minute.
6. Top with scallion greens and serve.

Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Basil

No matter how much I try to improvise or be creative, I always go back to whole chickens for an easy family dinner. In my life the definition of easy is completely correlated to how much prep time a meal takes. Making a whole chicken involves little prep time. It takes a while to bake but I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about how much actual time I physically have to be in the kitchen, because the more time I am inside the kitchen the more time baby Maria is outside of the kitchen trying to open up the baby gate that separates her from the pot of boiling water on the stove, or the chicken that's inside the hot oven.

One of these days, if I give her enough time, that baby gate will swing open and Maria will demand total domination of the kitchen.

So I have to work fast.

Lately I've been using a lot of recipes from the new cook book Deliciously Organic by Carrie Vitt. I'm surprised by how little prep time her recipes involve. Carrie is a mom, so I guess that explains some (or all) of why that is. I met Carrie at Food Blogger Camp back in January and I liked her immediately. Even though she's a very strong advocate and a real life example of the benefits of using organic and unprocessed ingredients in her cooking, she is not preachy at all. At least not in the sense where you feel inadequate if you're not buying organic everything.

Organic everything is expensive, and Carrie understands that. Her philosophy is that every little bit helps. That's what I do, I buy what I can. Chicken, for example, I only buy organic. It's an expense I'm willing to fork out for my own mental sanity. I hate thinking about excessive hormones in meat. Yuck!

A couple weeks ago I made a variation of Carrie's butterflied chicken.
Mine had a lemony-basil kick to it.

Bacon Jam without Coffee

Martha Stewart in all her Martha glory came up with (Christian believes she actually doesn't come up with anything, what do you think?) a bacon jam recipe for the December issue of Everyday Food. Her version called for coffee but since drinking coffee would mean eternal damnation (kidding! Mormons don't really believe that we believe this) I decided to make my bacon jam with herbal tea, Sweet & Spicy from Good Earth, a local tea factory, to be exact.

One truth about Mormons is that we tend to have a lot of kids. Christian's mom had 6 and her mom had 10. It makes life so resourceful, let me tell you. Last week my issue of Everyday Food disappeared. I am blaming it on Baby Maria and her urge to stick things, like my debit card, in the heating vent slots. I am in no way attributing it to my poor organizational skills and the fact that it could very well be under the pile of clothes I have yet to put away. Does it matter? No because Christian has 578 people in his family and one of them is bound to come to my rescue.

As soon as I wrote a frantic facebook update...

Christian's cousin's wife typed up the entire recipe in the comments section. Christian's cousin's wife has 5 kids, and she goes to school, and her husband is a lawyer.  AND she still took the time to type up the entire bacon jam recipe for me even though most people would just make some cruel comment about how bacon jam is weird. If that's not family I don't know what is.

Thanks cous'!

For all you skeptics bacon jam is not weird, it's exquisitely full of flavor and crunch. It's delicious and  I served it on top of brie cheese for our recipe exchange party last Saturday and it was a hit. If you want Martha's recipe with coffee you can get the Everyday Food mag for this month or wait till next month when she posts the recipe on her site. If you want my variation made with herbal tea here it is.

Bacon Jam without Coffee

(printable version)

• 1 lbs bacon, cut crosswise into 1" pieces 
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced small  
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar 
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 
• 3/4 cup Sweet & Spicy tea from Good Earth

1. Cook bacon over med-high heat until fat is rendered and slightly browned.
2. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and add onions, cook until onions are translucent. Add vinegar, brown sugar, syrup, and tea and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet.
4. Add bacon and stir to combine.
5. Transfer mixture to 6qt slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered until liquid is syrupy--about 4 hours.
6. Transfer to food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped.
7. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers up to 4 weeks.

Just in case you want more extended family stories paired with bacon you can read my article that I wrote for the Santa Cruz Sentinel where I retold the story of Christian's oldest bro and his encounter with bacon for the first time. It's my favorite family story.

Speaking of family we're surrounded by family in Hawaii.

We arrived well.

We're jet laged.

Will post pics of the kids in paradise soon-ish

xoxo

ps. I also did read all the comments from yesterdays posts. I wish I could of packed you in my suitcase. You would of been worth the extra charge for checking in luggage. We were counting on not checking in anything and just doing carry ons. They made us check in two bags. Jerks.

-----------------------------

post-edit:

This post was entered in the Foodbuzz BACONALIA challenge and is an entry for a chance to win

Chinese chicken salad {project food blog challenge number 2}

Or should I say Er? Is that how you even say the number two in Chinese? If you're Chinese and you're rolling your eyes I'll take that as a no. If you're Chinese and you read the recipe below developed by Ina Garten (something tells me she's not Chinese) and you roll your eyes again I'll take that as a hint that this recipe is not authentic. I get it.

It's just that I love the taste and texture of Chinese food but have never made it before. I don't use sesame seed and soy sauce much in my cooking.

But I should.
Because it gives such a nice flavor
And it's not so exotic that my picky Enzo won't touch it.

Challenge number two for Project Food Blog is to make a classic dish from another culture. I had to find something new but also something that my family would eat. Ina Garten's Chinese chicken salad did the job.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

For Father's Day.

Just a thought.

We love quiche around here, ok, let me rephrase that....

Christian and I love quiche around here. I am always trying to get Enzo to eat it but he won't eat anything that has vegetables in it (I swear I'm working on it) so spinach quiche, or quiche with mushrooms, or better yet spinach and mushroom quiche will just make him throw up. Appetizing thought, no?

So I made a quiche that has ham and cheese, That's it. Just creamy gouda and smoked ham. No onions. No green thing. No soft mushrooms. And I think it was the best quiche I have ever made. Don't tell Enzo I'm disclousing this info, he'll throw it in my face the next time we argue about his food choices.

Anyway, I'm thinking of making this quiche again for Father's Day. The only problem is that we're already doing a huge BBQ for lunch. Maybe eating ham, eggs, and cheese pre-BBQ is a little over the top. 

Or maybe it's just perfect.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

Pastry

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup salted butter
• 4 tablespoons cold water

Filling

• 1/2 cup sliced ham
• 1 cup shredded Gouda
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat 425*
2. Make Pastry. Mix all ingredients in a food processor and blend until a firm ball of dough forms. Let chill  in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. While the pastry dough is in the fridge make the filling. Beat eggs slightly in a large bowl with whisk. Beat in heavy cream. Add the ham, cheese, salt, and pepper and mix lightly.
4. Press the pastry dough on a 11 inch round pan.
5. Pour the filling into the pan.
6. Bake for 15 minutes.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 300* and bake for 30 minutes longer.
8. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Observations:

I finally figured out how to get the texture I wanted with quiche once I realized that I needed to turn down the heat after 15 minutes. It really makes a huge difference. This recipe is very creamy, but firm. The gouda gives a smooth touch. You could substitute the gouda for another kind of cheese like swiss or a mexican blend.

Enjoy!

Fusion Beef

Here is beef with a kick.

Some good 'ol teriyaki beef with a touch of siggi's.

whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

What, you think I'm joking?

I'm serious.

Try adding some orange and ginger siggi's to some warm soy sauce smelling, garlic tasting beef.

The yogurt will make a nice mild sauce and the pieces of crystalized orange and ginger will make for a pleasant surprise.

I love me some fusion

and some beef

and some Icelandic yogurt that costs a million dollars (worth every penny).

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Everyone has a favorite type of sandwich. My husband likes eggs in all of his. My mom likes olives. My son likes butter and jelly. I'm a fan of warm over-the-the-top melted cheese sandwiches. A couple weeks ago when it was chilly and everyone was cranky for a very good reason, I'm sure, I decided to make some melted cheese and ham sandwiches in the oven. This is the ultimate comfort food.

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwich

• 12 slices whole wheat white bread
• 2 cups alfredo sauce
• cream cheese
• 8 slices chedder cheese
• 8 slices thick cut ham
• freshly grated romano cheese

1. preheat oven to 350*
2. Place the Alfredo sauce on a large casserole pan with the slices of bread. Make sure the bread absorbs the sauce well.
3. On a medium casserole pan layer a slice of bread, cream cheese, a slice of chedder cheese, a slice of ham and another slice of bread. Repeat a second time and add romano cheese on top. 
4. There is enough to make 4 large sandwiches.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese if fully melted. 
6. serve warm.

enjoy!

Mayo and Mustard Chicken with Veggies {sometimes things just turn out alright}

 

• 8 chicken breasts
• 4 sweet potatoes
• 16 asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons of your favorite mustard

1. preheat oven to 350*
2. peel sweet potatoes and cut into medium sized cubes
3. Place the chicken on a medium sized casserole pan.
4. In a medium sized mixing bowl mix the sweet potatoes with mayo and mustard.
5. Place the seasoned sweet potatoes on top of the chicken and layer the asparagus on top.
6. drizzle with olive oil and salt.
7. Bake for 30-45 minutes until chicken is done.

For the past month I have been going from one (1lbs) of Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate bar to the next, often needing 2-3 a week to keep up with my mood. Feeding 6 people is not easy especially when you're so tiered but so far this week has turned out alright.

I finally took the time to come up with a weekly menu. In the past this was a no brainer and every Sunday night after Enzo was asleep I would spend a couple hours pouring over my cookbooks and the internet to decide a weekly menu. But now when Enzo is alseep Maria is awake and I feel like I never have enough time (I hate the phrase "I never have enough time" I hate it, hate it, hate it) to sit down and actually plan the way I used to. However, this week I forced myself to do it. At one point everyone left the house leaving baby and I to ourselves, and then she slept, and then I decided to not do the dishes or the laundry or a million other things and I just sat and read recipes and planed a doable menu that so far has worked out.

I've been using the Made in Napa Valley  spicy apple mustard with ginger and cinnamon. It seems like they are all out on their website (WHAAAAT?!). I've recently started experimenting with different mustards and this oe is for sure my favorite, time to ration...

Spicy apple with ginger and cinnamon sounded good with sweet potatoes so that's the veggie that I used but try experimenting with different vegetables.

Menu of the week

I only plan dinner and hope that there is enough left overs for lunch as well. It needs to feed 5 people and has to be something that my 3 year old will at least try.

Saurday- Mayo and Mustard Chicken with Veggies

Sunday- White bean soup with salami and French baguette

Monday- Lentils, rice, and potato salad with peas.

Tuesday- Chicken stroganoffe and green salad

Wednesday- goat cheese, grilled eggplants, and grape tomato quiche with steamed green beans

Thursday- Pasta with pesto and peas

Friday- Grilled salmon sandwiches

Desserts- I (Christian actually) usually make 2-3 desserts a week. On Sunday he made chocolate eclairs, on Monday he made snicker-doodles  and yesterday he made pumpkin pie. No matter how much I slave over on the stove top Christian had this family wrapped around his finger tips with his baking skills.

ps. I am so glad we are finally getting our cooking groove back on. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and quesadillas were grossing me out.

Indoor Pulled Pork

Hello blog. It's been such a long long time. My life has gone from crazy to crazy-chaos. In the last couple of months I went from feeding 3 people to now feeding 6 people with complicated eating habits.

My mom works at a factory from 6:00am-2:30pm. She takes her own lunch every day, so I have to keep her in mind when I cook. I have to keep my picky 3 year old in mind and my 17 year old sister who is skinny beyond belief and desperately needs some fat on her bones, in mind. I think of myself because I could literally have 10 meals a day and still be hungry. I blame it on nursing. My husband is easy, but he's just not around that much these days to help.

Cooking has gone from fun to work. blagh. Oh well, it is what it is and no matter what we gotta eat whether I like to cook these days or not.

My friend Mariko showed me how to make indoor pulled pork this and I love how a) easy it is and b) how many people it can feed and c) how many different things you can do with it.

My favorite was sandwiches.

• 4lbs pork butt
• liquid smoke
• rock salt
• Hawaiian sweet bread
• cream cheese

1. Rub down the pork with liquid smoke and rock salt and place in a crockpot on low for 8 hours, or until the pork pulls apart with a fork.
2. Spread cream cheese on Hawaiian sweet bread and place some pork inside. I buy Hawaiian sweet bread at Costco in California. I'm not sure if you can find it in other states.
3. Serve warm.

Enjoy

Macadamia Nut Chicken

• 8 fillets of 4 ounce chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 cups of Teryaki sauce
  
• 1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 2 cups of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs

1. Marinade chicken in Teryaki sauce in a large mixing bowl for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350*
3. Warm up oil in a frying pan.
   
4. Whisk the eggs with the milk in a small bowl.
5. Mix the panko and the chopped macademia nuts in a shallow plate.
6. Place the flour on another  plate.
7. Coat the chicken in flour then dip it in the milk and egg mixture and then put into the panko mixture.
8. Deep fry each side for approximately 1 minute then place in the preheated oven for an additional 15 minutes so the inside will cook through.

I ate macadamia nut chicken for the first time in Hawaii. It was New Years eve 2008 and my friend Mariko made an elaborate dinner. I've been seriously craving this chicken ever since that first dinner but am way too cheap to buy macadamia nuts in California. This past vacation I brought some back from Hawaii. This recipe is a variation of her recipe. I didn't want to make my own marinade so I took the easy route of using the Teryaki that I already had. If Teryaki isn't your favorite you can experiment with all sorts of different marinades. The nutty flavor of the chopped macadamia with panko is what makes this chicken recipe so delicious. If deep frying freaks you out you can just bake it on a large pan with a bit of olive oil on the bottom and rotate after 10 minutes so both sides get crispy.

Enjoy!

Taco Soup

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup chopped onions

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can salsa

1 can white beans

1 can corn

1. Fry the turkey meat with the chopped onions until cooked.
2. Add the meat to a medium sized pan and add the remaining ingredients.
3. Simmer on low for an hour.
4. Serve warm with cheese on top (avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream,...all good add-ons)
5. Eat with chips.

This is a contemporary Mexican dish. For more Mexican dishes created and re-created visit foodalouge. She's hosting an awesome blog event that features Latin American recipes. This week is Mexico. Next week is El Salvador. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Go to Foodalogue For more details on this virtual food tour.

 I normally don't cook with canned things but my norms are changing and I'm cherishing my canned goods. Life has been hectic and I appreciate meals that take me less than 10 minutes to prepare. I don't mind the time it takes to simmer. I actually enjoy that process. For one, it makes my house smell great and then it makes it seem like I labored long and hard to get the dinner on the table.

We had a dreamy vacation in Hawaii. Then we came back and it was cold. Christian started doing school again full time multiplied by 900. My mom is looking for a job. My kids are crazy. Actually, Enzo is crazy but I try not to single him out so Miss Mellow Maria gets blamed too. 

proof- Enzo has one speed, fast. He runs all day long and yesterday he totally ate it, hence the busted lip.

proof- My baby became a pirate. 

 Like I said my kids are crazy. My life is crazy. I got a job as a Reader which is like a TA (Teaching Assistant) but 3 times less pay. With all the craziness and some very deep sadness I welcome cans to simplify my life. Thanks Melissa for introducing me to taco soups and for comforting me during these hectic days.

Lamb Stew with Green Onions

I've been loving lamb specially lamb stews because they're easy to make and they make my entire house smell good.

I am chronically anemic. It's a real drag and I've been taking iron supplements for years now.  I eat meat but for some reason my body just doesn't absorb all the iron that I need. Any suggestion?

Anyway, I've been trying to eat healthier meats and I think lamb has become my new favorite. The thing about lamb is that they (the huge-o food indurty folks) haven't figured out a way to feed lamb grains and plump them up in inhumane ways so for now all lambs are grass fed. I get my lamb at Costco because it's inexpensive, compared to other places, and the quality is just as good.

If you haven't tried lamb yet or if you're unsure how to cook it I suggest making this stew because all you need to do is throw everything in the crock-pot and it's easy to make variations to this recipe adding ingredients that you like. I made this a couple nights ago after taking care of 2 kids solo all day. So I just added 2 of everything that I had in my fridge. This is what happens when I'm exhausted and can't think complicated things like measurements beyond 2. This is also when I bust out my crock-pot.

Lamb Stew with Green Onions

• 2lbs lamb chopped into cubes
  
• 2 cups diced butternut squash
• 2 large potatoes
• 2 large green onions
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1 large onion chopped
  
• seasonings (use what you like. I used salt, pepper, and ground sumac)

throw everything in the crock-pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir after 3 hours just to get some of the juices from the bottom to the top. Serve warm with rice.

Enjoy!