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:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Breakfast Tacos w/ Avocado/tomatillo salsa

[Seriously. The. BEST. Flavor. You. Will. Ever. Taste.] 

The amazing marriage of chorizo & egg with the avocado/tomatillo salsa is amazing. It's hands down our favorite breakfast. But in the summer, we'll grab a zuccinni from the garden & saute it with the chorizo for a delicious dinner...OR...dice up a potato, partially boil it & add to the pan with the (cooked) chorizo. 

If you have a tomatillo or 2, cilantro, serrano & an avocado. then get ready...That's all you need for the salsa. 

If you keep chorizo on hand, then dreamy breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners or appetizers await. 


Have I convinced you? ah geez....

Directions:

Brown 4 oz of chorizo

Drain it on a paper towel, and it needs it...

Add the partner of choice to the filling,

-scrambled eggs

-diced, partially boiled potato

-diced zuccinni 

Here, I've added scrambled eggs...

Now for the avocado salsa..


-Tomatillo (2-3)
-Cilantro (small handful - 1/4 C chopped)
-Serrano (1/2 - 2 however hot you like it)
-Garlic (1/2 clove)
-Avocado (1 whole, beautifully ripened)

...Is that cumin? Quite possibly...that's cause this was me sneaking a pic of Mike's cooking... ;)

Grab a fresh corn tortilla, we're about to make tacos...

Confession: this pic was taken when we didn't have an avocado in the house. The salsa is still amazing even without the avocado. Don't let that stop you! 

Serve with beans...refried black beans, 
our favorite with it & top with crumbly, queso fresco. Yummo!

Grilled Chicken w/ Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette

Chicken prep:
1 lb boneless skinless Chicken Thighs - - seasoned with salt & pepper, grilled on both sides, thoroughly...topped with sliced whole milk mozzarella, returned to the grill to melt cheese. Let rest on cutting board, then slice the chicken, keeping the cheese in tact.  


Lemon/Parsley Vinaigrette:

1 Lemon, cut in half 

a Handful of Flat-leaf Parsley

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 garlic clove
scant 1 tsp of kosher salt (meaning, just under 1 tsp)
**Add all ingredients to a mini-chopper or blender & pulse until emulsified.


Accompaniments:
Bundle of Asparagus - - tossed in extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper, GRILLED
Crusty Bread - - lightly buttered, sliced in half, GRILLED face down
Handful of Arugula - - between the chicken & pasta or beans

1 lb of pasta - - tossed in 4T butter, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, salt & pepper
16 oz of white northern beans - - drained & served cold on the bottom of the dish

Favorite Products

When people first dive into mexican cooking there can be a bit of a learning curve with ingredients...names & where to purchase them. 

Thankfully, before kids, my husband & I spent our first years married seeking out where to buy these interesting, delicious ingredients. 

This is just a small corner in the world of mexican products...

Cacique is a great brand available at most stores, especially Walmart

Quick Notes: 

Mexican Crema: similar to sour cream, watered down with heavy cream

Mexican Cheeses: 

Queso Fresco: fresh cheese, like a mild feta

Cotija: a stinky, aged cheese. Like a mexican blue cheese

Quesadilla or Oaxaca cheese: a melty white cheese

Chorizo

Queso Fundido Burger

By, Rick Bayless

For an amazing variation of the traditional grilled burger, you've got to try this. 

Seriously...Holy moly...talk about flavor EXPLOSION.

Queso Fundido Burger

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 fresh medium poblano chiles
1 medium onion, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
8 ounces chorizo, cooked
1 to 2 canned chipotle chiles den adobo, finely minced, seeded if you wish
8 thick slices Monterey Jack cheese
4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

Roast the poblanos over an open flame or 4 inches below a broiler, turning regularly until blistered and blackened all over, about 5 minutes for an open flame, 10 minutes for the broiler.  Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool.  Rub off the blackened skin and pull out the stems and seed pods.  Cut into 1/4-inch strips.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions, stirring frequently until it begins to brown, 7 to 8 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and poblano and cook for 2 minutes.  Season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.  Scrape the rajas into a bowl and cover to keep warm.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, cooked chorizo, chipotles and 1 1/2  teaspoon salt.  Mix until well combined.  Divide the meat into 4 equal portions and form the patties.

Heat a gas grill to medium-high, or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the charcoal is covered with white ash (and about medium hot); bank the coals to one side. 

Place the hamburger patties on the grill and cook for a total of 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare.  Lay one piece of cheese on top of each burger, top with the warm rajas and then another piece of cheese.  Close the lid and continue cooking until the cheese has melted about 1 minute.  Remove from the grill and place on a toasted bun.  Serve immediately.

Voila! ...or better yet, QUE RICO!!! 

Beef & Potato Tacos

The first time I had beef & potato in many dishes was in northern Mexico on a work project trip with our church. An amazing piece of this trip....the ladies from the church we were working with cooked all of our meals. There's a flavor that was burned into my brain & this is a flavor I LOVE. They put potatoes in everything. Fast forward 8 years, still savoring & remembering the flavor, I fell in love with a little family owned mexican restaurant right by campus in college who made the same filling. It was a small, hole in the way place that was immaculate, serving everyone on mismatched dishes & the family got to know me. We would talk & I would listen to them singing worship music in spanish as they cooked. It wasn't just the flavors. I liked being there & something about it brought back memories of that trip to Mexico. I loved all of those things, but I think it also just came down to that Beef & Potato taco....

Ingredients: 

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3-4 small potatoes. Idaho or Yukon Gold or 1-2 large. In 1/2 inch dices

10 shakes of cumin

5 shakes of chili powder

salt & pepper to taste

12 fresh, white corn tortillas

Brown the beef & onion until fully cooked

Meanwhile, add the diced potato to cool, salted water & bring to a boil

After the potatoes have cooked for a few minutes, add them directly to the beef

The potatoes should not be fully cooked. They'll finish with the beef

Gently fold the potatoes into the beef, so that they don't break apart

Add about 4 serving-spoon-fulls of water to the beef & potato 

(Somewhere between a 1/3-1/2 C) 

Cover & turn heat way down low to just let the water simmer & steam the potatoes

Now, moving on to the taco shells...

Heat canola or vegetable oil to 350º in a shallow pan

Using tongs, start frying the first side of the corn tortilla

Use the tongs to begin shaping the tortilla into the shape of a crispy taco shell

Carefully turn to fly the other side, while maintaining the shape with the tongs

Use the end of a wooden spoon to gently help continue shaping the shell. You can also use it to hold as it fries in the oil

Remove to a paper towel lined sheet pan

Before you plate your food....take the lid off of the filling & mash the beef/potato mixture a bit. Check the seasoning in case it needs more salt & pepper....


...and...

PLATE your dinner!

Gently, fill your taco shell with the filling

If it breaks, don't worry, just stand it on some beans. A nice, wonderful glue...