Stuffed Sopapillas w/ Steak & Potato

Oh auntie...she could have a waiting room filled with people waiting for her delicious, wonderful food. I learn so much from her & had a blast capturing her step by steps. I think it was exactly a year ago that I took the kids to her house on a Saturday, while I would be rehearsing & having church. She sent me away with two of these stuffed Sopapillas in foil & I've wanted them ever since. Now I need to try to make them myself & I think you should too. 

You've got to start with tortilla dough...(click HERE for measurements)...and the filling...for now, refer to my beef & potato filling. Auntie's was steak, but I missed that part. 

Here it goes!!! 

Prepare the dough on the tortilla instructions until you're at this step.

cover them & keep them warm & moist

set filling aside to be coolish as you add it to the dough

make a disc out of the ball of dough

Roll starting in the middle of the disc, lightly up. 

Turn a 6th, lightly roll up, turn a 6th, lightly roll up etc.

Place filling in the center

Fold over bottom & top

Fold over sides

Place seem side down

Place darlings under a towel to stay warm & moist

Have family off to the side playing Light Sabers 

Place in oil seem side down

Whoops. Flipped to early & beginning to come apart.

Totally gonna taste good anyway, You know it!

Good assembly line going...

That's green chile in the back. Going on top at the finish.

Yes. The pile is building.

Sophia (age 4) ran by, smashed this one & ran off.

Still gonna be delish. 

Building....

Happy Birthday Art! 

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The rest of the party...

there's AUNTIE!

 My beautiful sis-in-law Jen..

Art (Bompa) & Jackson! 

 CHEESE!

Best part...Phia painting nails. Like everyone's nails...

...including Micah's. 

"ooooh! Powish!" 

Jen's amazing carrot cake..

Happy Birthday to YOU! 

xo

Grilled Quesadillas w/ shrimp, sweet corn & Jalapeño Pesto...by Bobby Flay

Jalapeño Pesto 6 jalapeño chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped [warning: it's mega hot - use less if necessary] 2 c. fresh cilantro leaves 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 T. pine nuts ½ c. olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Combine the jalapeños, cilantro, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and process until smooth.  With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil and blend until emulsified.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Quesadillas 3 ears corn (or 3 c. corn kernels) 12  6 inch corn tortillas 2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese 1 c. grated white cheddar cheese 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced into rounds 2 T. finely chopped fresh thyme leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper Olive oil 16 shrimp, shelled and deveined

Directions:

Brush shrimp w/ olive oil, salt and pepper, & fry in non-stick skillet just until pink.

Sauté the sweet onion slices until softened.

Mix onions, corn, cheeses and thyme. 

Divide evenly to top 8 tortillas. 

Stack one on top of another and top with remaining 4 tortillas.   

Grill both sides in hot non-stick skillet until cheeses are melted & tortillas are browned and crisp.

Cut into quarters.  

Top each quarter with 1 T. jalapeno pesto and a grilled shrimp. A Bobby Flay recipe.

Lunch can be FUN!

I have a kindergartener this year! <SNIFF>

I can't believe it. He's a darling, smart, sweet boy. 

I also have a creative, tough, wild girlie & then spunky, hilarious (naughty) littlest monkey... 

Between school & life schedules, I've already been packing them lunches for years.

And...I LUV making their lunches fun. 

It's an chance for me to give them some extra love during their day. I hope when they open their lunches, they smile & know that I'm thinking of them. 

And if we should live life to the fullest & food should be enjoyed & is already an art form...then lets make lunches great this year! 

Oh...but listen. These  lunches are not getting cranked out of our kitchen every day. These are special fun lunches. I've pulled them out on their birthdays, on a rough morning to snap someone out of a meltdown. And, if they come out randomly, the kids get wildly excited. 

My next issue: I've never sent these in a lunch box. These have gone right to a fridge...I'll learn about how to do it successfully this year & share them with you.

Click HERE to see some ideas on www.bentolunch.net 

Here are some of our favorites from last year:

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WALL-E 

JACKSON & SOPHIA...they shared this in a big tray

Wow Wow Wubbzy

I am challenging myself this year to build in the extra time it takes to be creative, spread my love & build memories for my darlings. Will you take up my challenge too?  

Helpful hints: 

• Use peanut butter as glue
• Use a paring knife to cut different cheeses & lunch meats for more contrasts
• Sneak veggies in [don't worry mine will never be fooled into eating them. Ever.]

Gnocchi w/ Shrimp in Tomato-Wine Sauce

The first time I had gnocchi was at a friend's house for homecoming my senior year of high school. Our little group of friends loved going there for dinner. His mom & dad would prepare a feast for all of us, light candles & create the most special dinners for us. We loved  the time & energy they would put into the food & atmosphere. From a parenting standpoint, how awesome is that? I want to create an atmosphere for my kids & their friends to want to hang out. Momma Perez will be handing their little friends hot tortillas. :)


So..back to homecoming. This was the first time I had Gnocchi...those soft, doughy dumplings are right up my alley. 


[I'm wild about carbs, might die without them]


Since then I've ordered them at restaurants but I've always wanted to make them & tonight was the perfect time. We were out of food, but had these ingredients & of course, all I ever want & think of is Mexican...So I was wondering around the kitchen thinking about what we did have & this delicious dish was created. 


At one point I thought it was a disaster & I actually felt awkward & like Curious George making Gnocchi, but the dough is so forgiving. I almost gave up in the middle, but they turned out great. Don't be discouraged if you feel like a total wreck the first time you make these little darlings.


Whenever I get a wild hair for something, I go to: www.allrecipes.com


I found the Gnocchi instructions here.

THE GNOCCHI:

Ingredients:

2 Potatoes

2 Cups Flour

1 Egg (beaten)

Directions: 

Wash & peel 2 potatoes

Cut potatoes in 1/2, long ways.

Then into 6's.

Start with the potatoes in cold, salted water

Bring it to a boil & cook for 15 minutes or until fork-tender & soft enough to mash

Mash the potatoes

Add 1 Cup of mashed potatoes with the egg & flour

Kneed on well floured surface

Take small sections & roll into long, skinny, "snakes"

Keep rolling, gotta get it skinnier..

Cut "snake" into 1/2, then 1/4's.

Then the 1/4's into 1/3's...

I'm not sure what I was doing here..but I always see chefs roll the gnocchi on the fork, so I tried something like it

Drop them into well-salted, boiling water & cook until the little dumplings float.

Remove from the pot & place directly onto the serving plate or bowl & top it with any sauce. I have included my quick tomato-wine sauce w/ shrimp below...

Tomato in White Wine Sauce: 

1. Dice 1/4 White onion in olive oil, add 1 clove garlic & cook for 30 seconds.

2. Pour 1/3 C white wine to the cooked onion & garlic. Bring it to a boil & cook the alcohol out of the wine. 

3. Add 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes & 5 large basil leaves, rolled & cut into thin chiffonades. 
4. Simmer 30+ minutes. Just minutes before eating, add shrimp to the pan. Add a splash of stock, maybe another splash of wine...season with salt. 

Serve w/: Crusty bread, the wine you cooked with & double the sauce if you want enough to soak it up with the yummy bread or of course for left overs.