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Saucy Mama Breakfast Burritos + a Giveaway

May 17, 2011 By Julie 41 Comments

I can never resist the temptation to join in a good ol’ recipe contest. Saucy Mama recently threw down the gauntlet to me and a handful other talented food bloggers to see who could dream up the best five ingredient recipe using select Saucy Mama condiments. With prizes and bragging rights on the line, I just couldn’t let the opportunity to throw my hat in the ring pass me by.

Let me just say, it is hard to come up with a recipe that only uses five ingredients. I’m the kind of cook that likes to add a dab of this and a dollop of that until I get things just right. Some of my creations are downright embarrassing there are so many additions! But I wasn’t going to let that deter me. I’d been wanting to put together a breakfast burrito for sometime now, and it struck me. Why not add a bit of the southwest dressing to my eggs and see what happens? The result is a simple and satisfying breakfast burrito that whips up in no time flat but tastes like you worked all morning putting it together. Throw a little cheese, bacon, and cilantro into the mixture and you’ll be licking your lips and heading back for another round.

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Asian Pork Salad

April 11, 2011 By Julie 25 Comments

Before I jump into today’s recipe, I need to put a few items on the table. First up, a quick reminder that today is the last day to enter the $100 Visa card giveaway! Be sure to get your name in the hat. I’ll be announcing the winner on this post tomorrow night around 8pm with the help of random.org. And second, starting the week after Easter, I’ll be moving from three posts a week to two. Posts will mainly be published on Tuesday and Friday with an occasional extra post thrown in for good measure. With the growth of Mommie Cooks, it’s become increasingly difficult to keep up a three posts a week schedule and still have time left over to spend with my boys. I love Mommie Cooks, but family time is vital and will always come first. My hope is that dropping down to two days a week will accord me the best of both worlds; spending quality time with my family while still having the ability to participate in a community I’ve come to need and love.

UPDATE: When all was said and done, I had 169 comments to choose from. Thank you so much for all the support, you guys rock! After entering the number into random.org, the winner of the $100 Visa Gift card is…… Comment number 63!! PattyPro, congrats! I’ll be in touch through email to get your information. 🙂

Enough announcements; I’m pretty sure you’re itching to cook up a little Asian salad. I know I sure am.

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Family Friendly Fridays: Chicken Fajitas

April 1, 2011 By Julie 26 Comments

Having resided in Dallas, Texas for six years before moving to North Carolina, I can most definitely appreciate great TexMex fare. With so many enticing options to grab a pleasing plate of authentic grub right at your fingertips, it’s hard to know where to go first. I definitely have my favorites: Mi Cocina (Margarita anyone?), Via Real (their chicken Monterey is UNREAL) and Blue Mesa Grill ( Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips. Enough said.) to name a few. But if a sizzling fresh plate of fajitas is what you crave, then Joe T. Garcia’s in Fort Worth is your place. Best darn fajitas I’ve every put my mouth to. Period. Let me break it down and show what I mean. The dinner menu is a total of three items. Chicken Fajitas, beef fajitas, and a family sized dinner with enchiladas, tacos, and cheese nachos. That’s it. You better believe they do ’em right.

Missing these beauties the way I do, I had to try and recreate my own “go-to” fajita platter. Joe T’s is a pretty big commute these days and we’re not planning to move back anytime soon. I’m sure my version doesn’t do the original justice, but it still fills that ever present craving I always seem to have for a pepper and onion loaded, guacamole topped, cheese and salsa filled, flippin’ delicious chicken fajita. Oh, and remember that salsa verde we whipped up a couple days ago? Throw a spoonful or two on these beauties and watch them sing.

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Veggie Ricotta Pasta

March 30, 2011 By Julie 36 Comments

Whether the temperature outside registers it or not, it’s officially springtime across the country. Down here in the South the beginnings of foliage are starting to show and the first flowers of the season are in full bloom.

Spring is my favorite time of year. I love watching life blossom back into view and bring the promise of warmer days. Leaves make themselves visible, flowers open their petals to drink in the springtime sunshine and birds start to look for the perfect nesting area to expand their family. I feel as though we wake up a bit too. We shed our extra layers, spend more time outside enjoying the warming days, and begin to put away our hearty soups and stews in exchange for lighter fare.

This dish was inspired by my adoration of the changing season. With fresh basil, spinach, and tomatoes all present and swirled around the pleasurable taste of ricotta cheese, a bite of this meal makes me instantly blithe to say goodbye to winter and hello to the warmer months ahead.

There are only a few steps involved in making this pasta; another reason I find a smile creeping onto my face when I make it. Start off by dropping in a smattering of ingredients and spices. Think garlic, white wine, lemon juice, and chicken broth to name a few.

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Salsa Verde

March 28, 2011 By Julie 33 Comments

Our family ~~is addicted to~~ loves salsa. Take my kids to a Mexican restaurant and we might as well save the money on the meals because they’ll scrape the dishes of salsa clean and ask for more before the drinks even arrive at the table. My husband practically inhales the stuff. And for him, the hotter the better. He’s the one asking for the “muy caliente” batch sitting in the back of the kitchen. You know the one; it’s usually deemed to have a little too much kick for American Gringos. Well not my husband. He relishes in the deliciousness of a good salsa induced sweat.

It can be said that salsa is the Mexican version of ketchup and I believe it. It tastes good on (and in!) just about everything. Give me a bowl of salsa, some chips and a beer and I’m as happy as a girl can be. Recently, I’ve really been getting into salsa verde. It has a real “limey” flavor that you just don’t get from regular salsa. And the best part about about this green nectar of the Gods is how truly easy it is to make.

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17 Bean White Chicken Chili

March 21, 2011 By Julie 24 Comments

Have you ever bought one of those packs of beans from the grocery store? You know the ones, they have 17 different flavors of legume in the assortment and a recipe for the same old soup on the back every time you pick it up.

Well, I just so happened to have one such bag gracing the inside of my pantry a few weeks back that was bellowing at me to eat it. Being the adventuresome food blogger that I am, I decided to veer away from the bean sack’s dinner plans and instead attempt to create a dish of my own. It would be a chili dish. And while I was at it, I resolved to make it a chicken based chili. And if I was going to use chicken, why not take it one step further and make the base be something other than tomatoes. I was on fire; the inspirational juices were flowing like a glass of cool water on a hot summer day.

I threw in a little of this, and a bit of that. The steam was rising and the water was bubbling. All I needed was my witches hat, a wart and a good cackle, and I would have been concocting one seriously wicked witches brew. When the smoke cleared and the spoon was laid to rest, what remained was one seriously delicious white chicken chili.

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