Homemade Chips!

How I make taco night extra special??? Homemade chips!!!!

 

 

What you will need:

 

1 large bowl of Warm salt water
1 package of Corn tortillas
Hot oil

 

 

 

Cut your tortillas into 4 equal size pieces

 

 

 

 

 soak for 30 seconds in salt water, they should start to get flexible

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 FRY until they just start to change color!!!!

 

 

 

 Be careful to not overcook.

You don't want burnt chips and these cook very quickly!

 

 

 

 

 

I love showing you guys how easy it is to put an extra special touch on taco Tuesday! Not only do these taste better, but they are a lot cheaper than buying tortilla chips from the store!

 

1 package of tortillas makes about 2 bags worth of chips for 1/4 of the price of 1! (how's that for a delicious bargain?)

 

 

I like to Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with more salt right before serving!

 

 

 

Naan

Homemade bread is something that is very near and dear to my heart. It is a huge  and labor intensive item to make for someone that you love. I feel like my arms will fall off after kneading it all day long. Needless to say, I was craving a slice of warm bread fresh from the oven today but I did NOT want to make it. Thankfully while scrolling around and searching for different recipes I came across a recipe for Naan, a traditional bread found in Asia.  My husband has been DYING to try different flatbreads so I figured "Why not?" and they were SOOOO good! I experimented with cooking times and tweaked the recipe. Here is my version

 

 

What you will need

 

3 1/2 Cups self rising flour

1 1/2 cups greek yogurt

3 garlic cloves , minced

1/2 tablespoon herbs de Provence

Dash of Pepper

2 table spoons of water

 

 

 

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until combined

 

 

 

Transfer to a floured surface and knead for 6 minutes, adding more flour when dough starts to get sticky ( same when flattening)

 

 

 

break into 6-8 small balls of dough and flatten( The thinner the better) set aside

 

brush a grill pan or outdoor grill with olive oil

 

 

 

 

 

 

once dough has rested for 5 minutes, place on the hot grill

 

Brush dough with olive oil and after 2 minutes flip

 

 

The bread will puff up and get slightly Charred around the edges (My husbands favorite part!)

 

 

 

I served with herb olive oil
 which consisted of  1 cup olive oil, chopped rosemary, parsley, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice

Iced coffee

My name is Erin , and I'm a coffee addict.... seriously I am....

But since I am over an hour from the nearest coffee shop and the usual cup of Joe gets boring, I have a few recipes up my sleeve for that extra boost whenever I need it!
Are you ready?

 

What you will need

1 14 Oz can sweetest condensed milk
12 cups brewed coffee

1 glass pitcher

 

 

 

Brew your coffee (I use a gourmet supreme deep and full bodied)

Pour condensed milk into a pitcher

 

 

Pour in coffee

 

 

Stir Well

 

 

 

Refrigerate  or serve over ice if u can't wait!

Enjoy iced coffee any time you want! 

  

Quesadilla sauce

Since I had some chicken left over from earlier, we decided tonight would be quesadilla night! We love to experiment with different flavors and toppings but tonight was just chicken, cheese, salsa and our special quesadilla sauce! Ready for the recipe that will turn your ordinary 'dilla into a flavor explosion?!?!

 

 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

 

1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon pickling liquid out of a jar of jalapeños
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
Dash of salt
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder

 

Mix together add to your normal quesadilla filling!

 

You seriously need to have a quesadilla night soon

 

Getting Healthy

 

 One day I woke up and didn't recognize the woman looking back at me in the mirror. I was overweight, diabetic and it seemed like every doctors appointment there was something else wrong with me.

 

I tried every fad diet out there with NO RESULTS

 

 I knew I needed to make a change, so I did AND I lost 70 pounds! HOW?  I exercised, ate right and after years of being told I could never conceive,  I found out I was expecting a sweet baby. I did great in the beginning, no weigh gain for 6 months BUT by the time it came to give birth I had packed on all of the weight ...again.

 

I am now back on my track of getting healthy. I don't take any medicines of any form, I'm even off of my metformin! But one thing has changed

 

  I have finally learned to love myself. 

 

(That is key!) know I will never be a size 2, that isn't even a goal of mine. I want to be a healthy size for my frame. I've got curves, I want to keep them. So let's stop looking at the size of our jeans and start by trying to better ourselves by what goes in our bodies. The weight will fall off when your eating habits change and you stop stressing about being model thin. We are all perfect in God's eyes, why can't we love ourselves and see ourselves as he does?  I'm a mom, I need to teach my son healthy habits now and be the example he needs, that my friends is motivation enough. Lets be the moms running the bases with our children, not sitting on the sidelines

 

 

So instead of biscuits and gravy, bacon and all of those other artery clogging ideas of deliciousness I opt for fresh fruit in the mornings. This is one of my favorite combos

 

Canary Melon

Papaya

Plum

Pineapple

 

What we don't eat, I dice and freeze for smoothies for a easy snack

 

Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

When making a full meal, I like to have corresponding flavors. Today we enjoyed a delicious Lemon Rosemary chicken and this was our side item

 

Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

 

 

What you Will need

 

6 Red potatoes

6 Garlic cloves, whole

1/3 cup olive oil

salt

pepper

Rosemary

 

 

Start by cutting potatoes to your desired size

 

 

Add olive oil and season to taste

 

 

I prefer to leave the garlic cloves whole, they perfume to potatoes rather than making them overpowering

 

 

Once again I line my pan with foil for easier cleanup and mix everything on the same pan I bake in

( I HATE DOING DISHES)

 

Cover & Bake at 375 until fork tender

Remove foil the last 10 minutes and let potatoes crisp up ever so slightly

 

These are so good and so addicting!

 

Lemon rosemary chicken

 

A common misconception people have is that fancy and healthy both mean difficult to make.

That's NOT TRUE!

Don't believe me? Try this recipe

 

What you will need

1 Whole Chicken

1 Lemon

Rosemary

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

3 Carrots

1/2 onion

 

 

 

 

 

I have heard so many people say that they don't wash their meat when they take it home from the butcher, I am not one of those people. Rinse your chickens! Pat dry with a paper towel

 

Line a baking dish with foil (this makes cleanup a lot easier)

add 3 cut carrots and 1/2 of an onion (sliced) to the dish

(This step keeps the meat of your chicken off of the pan to avoid burning and over cooking)

 

 

 

Cover generously with olive oil, salt and pepper

add the zest of 1 lemon, a drizzle of the juice

and chopped rosemary leaves (I LOVE ROSEMARY, so I went a little heavy)

 

I also added lemon slices around the chicken to perfume it into the meat

 

 

 

 

Tent with Foil

 

 

bake at 350 until the juices run clear

take the foil off the last 10 minutes of cooking time for a delicious crispy skin

 

 

SO GOOD!

 

**TIP**

 

Don't throw the carcass away, save it for a homemade chicken stock