Hot in the Mexican Night

My father had a friend over from his work. She's one of the sous chefs for this post. Her name is Laura Acosta and she is from Juarez, Mexico. She showed us how to make lots of delicious foods.

Salsa
2-3 roma tomatoes
1-4 jalapenos (however spicy you like it)
1 onion
salt

Place tomatoes, jalapenos and quartered onion in a pan over medium heat. Move them around until browned. Remover and cut stem off jalapenos and tomatoes. Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until desired consistency. Add salt to your taste.

*Optional- we also added a little fresh cilantro from our garden*

 

 

 

 

Guacamole
1 avocado
tomato
onion
jalapeno
salt

Remove avocado from shell. Mix with tomato, onion, jalapeno and salt to taste. (we used the same tomato, onion and jalapeno that we cooked for the salsa).

 

Vegetable Taco Filling
bell peppers (any color)
onion
mushrooms
garlic salt

Slice peppers, onion and mushrooms. Cook in medium heat pan for a few minutes until cooked but still crispy. Season with garlic salt.

 

Beef Taco Filling
ground beef
onion
garlic
ancho chili powder
cayenne pepper
black pepper

Dice onion and mince garlic. Cook in skillet with beef until beef is cooked all the way. Season to your liking.

Churros
We used this recipe from all recipes.

Laura brought us some dulce de leche which we had with the churros. Yum!

 

Here is one veggie taco and one beef taco. 

 

Here are the churros with the dulce de leche sauce on them.

Shrimp Scampi with Seasoned Steak and Grilled Potatoes

I've actually ate these potatoes for a long time, and I don't know why I haven't posted them on my blog sooner. Anyway, I paired them with steak and shrimp and we've got a great meal! Here's how to make it.

For the shrimp I marinaded it in fresh lemon juice, butter and chesapeake bay seasoning. I grilled it for about 10-12 minutes until the shrimp were cooked through.

For the steak I marinaded it in a montreal steak seasoning and worchestire sauce. I grilled it at 500 degrees for 4 minutes, flipped, 4 more minutes, flipped and then 1 last minute.

For the potatoes I washed them and cooked them in the microwave for just a couple minutes. Then I sliced them and brushed them with a mixture of melted butter and garlic salt. I grilled them for a couple minutes then flipped then grilled for a couple more minutes until they were browned and cooked.

Chinese in the making

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a very long time. I haven't been feeling good a lot, so that's the reason why. But I'm feeling better now and ready to get back to cooking. 

Today I made chicken, rice, asparagus and pineapple with cream sauce. I don't really have a recipe for it because I made it up as I went.

For the chicken I breaded it in flour (seasoned with salt and pepper) then egg and then panko bread crumbs. I fried it in some hot oil and then finished cooking it in the oven.

For the asparagus I sauteed it in a hot pan with some spicy sauce we had in the fridge. I tasted it and it was really spicy so I put a little bit of sour cream in it. I also added some chopped fresh pineapple.

For the rice I put the rice and water in the rice cooker.

For the cream sauce I put some sour cream and pineapple with a tiny bit of milk in a blender until it was mostly smooth.

Apple Pie

Happy Pi Day! To celebrate the mathematical symbol Pi, I made an apple pie today. This is my first apple pie I've ever made.  

I used this recipe for the pie crust. I used this recipe for the apple pie.

 

Owen vs. Mom 2. Ingredient- Bananas

So, this episode was bananas and I had a pretty good time. For once, mom made a very good dish and it came down to just one thing. It came down to the creativity. Mom made a crepe, which is very hard to do. And I made something that nobody's made before- a stuffed pancake. We both made a side- me eggs and sausage. Her- a hash brown. I won.

Peanut Butter Cookies

So, this is one of my very favorite posts because this has been going on for generations in my family. I'm the 5th generation to make this recipe. It is my great great grandmothers recipe. Now it's going to be even more famous because it's on my blog. Now more people are going to make it. Now, let's go to the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup sugar 
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda mixed in a small amount of warm water
1 tsp baking powder 
3 cups flour





Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In mixer, beat sugar, brown sugar, shortening and peanut butter, scraping down the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and beat. Add salt, baking soda (in warm water), baking powder and flour and mix just until combined. Finish by hand if necessary. Using a 1/4 cup, roll dough into ball. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake in oven for 12-18 minutes, depending on size of cookie and your oven.

The Cheesy Post

So this is not only a good post but this is a special post because it's 2 of my mothers favorite foods- lobster and mac n cheese, put together. Also it's my first seafood recipe, if you don't count fish as seafood.

My mom said this is the best lobster mac n cheese that she has ever tasted!

I got the recipe from my Food Network magazine (March 2013).

Lobster Mac N Cheese

8 oz pasta
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk, heated
1 bay leaf
pinch of nutmeg
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 oz cooked lobster

Cook pasta in salted boiling water.

Cook lobster and remove meat.









Melt butter in saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Add bay leaf, nutmeg and 1 tsp salt. Cook, whisking occasionally, for 8 minutes until thickened. Remove bay leaf and stir in 3 1/2 cups cheese until melted. Add cooked pasta and enough of the pasta water to create a loose sauce. Add lobster.

Butter dish. Pour pasta into dish, top with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and a few lobster pieces. Broil until melted and golden.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Mousse and Vanilla Frosting

 So, this is the first time that I'm doing a post with a recipe that I've already make. In this instance, the chocolate mousse.

Vanilla Cake
2 sticks butter at room temp
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temp
1 tbsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with liners.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together.
3. Beat butter and sugar in bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Add in flour mixture and milk, alternating.
4. Fill cupcake cups 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Mousse recipe can be found earlier in the blog.

 

Vanilla Frosting
2 sticks butter, room temp
Pinch of salt
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter and salt until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar until smooth.
2. Add the vanilla and increase mixer to medium high speed and beat until thick.
3. Add milk a little at a time and beat until the consistency you want.

Homemade Pizza

Sometimes we use different styles of cooking. This one was Italian. Homemade pizza.

 

We topped the pizza with onions, green pepper, mushrooms, cooked italian turkey sausage, sauce and cheese.