Taco seasoning

With soccer and school underway, I've been serving a steady rotation of some family favorites - tacos, grilled salmon, and spaghetti are three of those easy meals that everybody around here loves.  With all the tacos lately, it was time to make a new batch of taco seasoning.

I originally posted a link to this on one of my rants about hidden msg in food but I thought I'd share the whole recipe.  You can tweak it for your family's tastes.  I don't find it to be spicy (even with the red pepper flakes) but feel free to add a little less or more of a particular ingredient.  I was out of garlic powder and left it out this time.  This amount usually lasts me a few months and I sprinkle it over ground turkey or beef for tacos but it's also come in handy for enchilada casseroles and other dishes.  It's way cheaper than buying packets of taco seasoning and I think it tastes better too!

Taco Seasoning (from foodrenegade.com)
Makes about 1 cup

1/4 c. + 1 T chili powder
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp onion powder
1 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 T + 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 T + 2 tsp sea salt
1 T + 2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients together, place in a glass jar and store with your spices.

Still summer!

My kids have been back to school for a week now and we're getting into soccer and our fall routine, but it's definitely still summer in southern California1  While I daydream about pumpkin desserts and look at crock pot recipes on Pinterest, the reality is that I'm still cooking like summer - grilling and eating a lot of salads.

Here's one of our favorite recent salad dinners.  I doubled the chicken and marinade and used the grilled chicken for two different meals.  It's really versatile and my kids love it this way.  You can grill or roast the chicken and if you want a gluten free version of this recipe, white rice is a decent substitution for the orzo.

Lemon Orzo Salad with Chicken and Asparagus

2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup orzo
8-12 asparagus spears
2 cups packed fresh spinach
juice of 2 lemons (divided)
1/3 cup feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Make the chicken marinade:  Combine yogurt, coriander, cumin, garlic salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a large ziplock bag.  Add chicken breasts and massage to completely coat.  Refrigerate for 2 hours (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 415 degrees.  Toss the asparagus with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 10-15 minutes or until crisp tender.  Chop into 1 inch pieces.
Chop fresh spinach and put in a large bowl.  Cook the orzo according to package instructions.  Drain and stir it together with the fresh spinach (it'll wilt the spinach slightly).  Add the asparagus to the bowl.

Grill or roast the chicken breasts until cooked through (I put mine on the same pan as the asparagus when the asparagus was done and then roasted it at 450 for about 15 minutes).  Slice into thin slices.  Toss with the orzo and vegetables.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and toss.  Add more lemon juice or a drizzle of olive oil if it seems dry.

Sprinkle feta on top and serve warm.

The rest of the summer in photos

The time since my last post is the longest I've ever gone on this blog.  Even when I've had babies, worked a ton, and been out of town or the country for long stretches, I've managed to post.  I don't have a great excuse just that I was soaking up every minute of summer and I didn't take my laptop anywhere with me this year.  So, here's a little recap of what's happened since my last post.  In photos.  It was hard to choose but this should give you an idea!  And now that the kids are back to school and a somewhat "normal" schedule is in place, I hope to be back to posting recipes and pictures more often!  If you're still here, thank you!

Middle turned 5 years old!

We had an amazing visit with these ladies

Such fun memories and friendships - I'm so glad they came to visit.

Then, we travelled to Kauai for almost 3 weeks.  Little swam every day, even with pneumonia.

We met lots of God's creatures, including this sea cucumber that Middle loved so much she cried when we returned him to his ocean home.

It was astonishingly beautiful - even a walk down the road had this type of backdrop

I didn't take enough pictures but I have great memories of the time spent with siblings, parents, and cousins.

Big grew up right before my eyes into this tall, confident (tan!) almost 8 year old

Lots of island and tide pool exploring.  

"In the waves, and the water"

We tried stand up Paddle boarding which soon led to Big's desire to surf

Almost every morning it was this beautiful and I sat and watched my kids in their element

Middle snorkeling with Daddy

Big finally surfing.  She was a natural and loved every minute out on the water.

It's not so sad to come home from vacation when you have visitors waiting for you!

More fun girl time with our Seattle friends

One more of sweet AJ!

Peaches for breakfast

Before the peach ice cream happened, I made this delicious peach breakfast for my husband.  The girls don't love cooked fruit (even apple pie, much to my husband's dismay) so they weren't big fans but that meant more for us!  This is like a "dutch baby" or dutch pancake recipe and is really easy to pull together.  Other kinds of fresh fruit would probably work as well but the peach was delightful.

Peach Oven Pancake (serves 4-6)

2 T unsalted butter
1 cup peach slices (peeled)
4 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place butter in a 10 or 11 inch cast iron or oven proof skillet and place the skillet in the oven until the butter is melted.

Remove pan from the oven and place sliced peaches in a single layer in the pan.

Prepare the batter by placing the eggs, flour, sugar, vanilla, and milk in a blender and blending until smooth.  Pour the batter into the skillet over the peaches.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until pancake is puffed and golden brown.  Cut into slices and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve with maple syrup on the side.

Woodranch Copycat Coleslaw

I love how you can find online "copycat" recipes of restaurant favorites.  They're not always accurate or as good, but this coleslaw recipe was a hit.  I served it with the chicken fajita stuffed peppers and I found out that Little LOVES coleslaw.  She'll eat and eat it - for breakfast, lunch, whatever.  She and I fought over the leftovers of this recipe (well, I was so proud of her for eating cabbage that I let her win).

Woodranch Coleslaw (6 side dish servings)

1 (16oz) package refrigerated coleslaw (with carrots)
1.5 cups shredded red cabbage
3/4 cup finely sliced celery
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
1 T water
1 T sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/3 c. vegetable oil
pepper to taste
1 cup dry roasted peanuts.

In a large bowl, combine all vegetables.  In a small bowl, whisk together everything else except the peanuts.  Toss the cabbage mixture with the dressing.  Refrigerate until serving.  Sprinkle with peanuts and toss again when you're ready to serve.

Peaches!

It's July!  So hard to believe that a month of summer vacation is already gone.  We've been having a blast.  Here are some photos from our 4th of July weekend:

One of the summer treats we have all been enjoying is fresh peaches.  We've been eating loads of them every week and I finally got around to making peach ice cream.  It's not a true custard (no eggs or heavy cream) but it was creamy and delicious.

Peach Ice Cream (makes 1.5 quarts)

1.5 lbs ripe peaches
1/2-2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1.5 T fresh lemon juice
2 cups half and half

Your ingredients all need to be cold to go into the ice cream maker.  You can either peel and chop the peaches and refrigerate until cold, or you can make the ice cream custard and refrigerate it all together.

Peel and chop peaches.  Place 2/3 of the peaches in a blender with the vanilla, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of the peaches and your own taste preferences).  Blend until smooth.  Add the half and half.

Take the other 1/3 of your peaches and add another 1/4-1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice.  Mash them up (I used a potato masher).

Put the mixture from the blender into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker.  Stir in the mashed peaches.  Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers

I love making different kinds of stuffed peppers but my husband and kids aren't always fans.  Recently, I came up with the idea of doing fajitas this way - bell peppers are part of fajitas and it seemed like  a natural combination.  For those of you with negative associations with stuffed peppers bear with me - I also made stuffed chiles.  One of our favorite restaurants in Pasadena is Cafe Verde and they have these amazing stuffed pasilla chiles on their menu and I've also wanted to recreate those for awhile.  As you can see below, I started with half peppers, and half chiles.  I think the key to getting the filling warmed through is to cut the peppers like the chiles - lengthwise instead of just cutting the top off.  When you pick your peppers and chiles at the store, you want to look for ones that seem like they'll lay flat and have a good concave opening for stuffing.

Since this was an original recipe and the first time I made it, the amounts of ingredients are approximate.  If it looks too rice-y or not chees-y enough, add ingredients as you like.  I used the Near East Spanish Rice (it's GF) and a packet of fajita seasoning from Sprouts.  The Lawry's packet or the Border Grill sauces will work fine too.  If you don't like cilantro with your fajitas, you can leave it out.  To make sure your chiles aren't too spicy, remove the seeds and membranes.

Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers (serves 4)

4 bell peppers or pasilla (Anaheim or Poblano) chiles (or a combination)

1 lb chicken breast tenders

Fajita seasoning for chicken

1-2 cups Spanish Rice (cooked and prepared according to package)

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1-2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mexican blend - cheddar or jack would work fine)

Salsa, guacamole, sour cream (optional - for serving)

Preheat oven to 375.  Cut your peppers and/or chiles in half lengthwise (from the stem to the base) and remove seeds and membranes.  Place open side up in a lightly oiled baking pan (or two) without crowding the pan. 

In a large skillet, cook chicken breast tenders over medium heat with the fajita seasoning (look at instructions on the seasoning packet - you may need to add olive oil or a little water).  Once it's just cooked through, remove from skillet and dice.  Set aside.  Prepare your spanish rice and also set aside.

Stir together cooked chicken, 1-2 cups cooked rice, onion, cilantro, and 1 cup of cheese.  Spoon filling into the peppers, not packing too tightly and not heaping too high.  Top each pepper with more cheese.  

Pour about an inch of hot, boiling water in the bottom of your pans and cover the pans with foil. The steam will help to soften the chiles / peppers.  Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes, uncovering the last 10 minutes to make sure the cheese is melted.  Serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream for topping.