Chorizo ROCKS!!

chorizo-breakfastSpicy breakfast?? MMM-HMM!! Something that’ll wake ya up? Chorizo and potatoes~YUM!

I get this handmade chorizo down at the local Hispanic market and it is sooooo yummy!!! I have never had anything better! I buy it all the time. One thing I did learn from the butcher is to let it dry! So I do! I just leave it on a plate in the fridge for a couple of days. Makes it more chorizo-y.

Before you coochorizok it, take the skin off of it. I think it’s pig belly, which sounds kind of nasty, but if it works and we want authentic….??? Pig Belly it is!! (just take it off and DON”T LOOK!!)

Now, chorizo is not your regular kind of sausage. It isn’t stiff and crumbly like pork sausage, it’s more juicy, spicy and falling apart. (If you leave the pig belly casing on, you can also grill it which is really tasty!!)

I wanted to add it to some fried potatoes so I cut up about 3 pounds of potatoes (big family) into little cubes and started frying them in a pan (big pan) with just a little bit of oil and onion. Don’t use too many spices since the chorizo is spicy enough. A little salt and pepper will do.potatoes

Then after the onions and potatoes cook for about 5 minutes,  add about a pound (again, big family) of the chorizo and make sure it’s broken up so it can cook along with the potatoes. Put a lid on the pan so the potatoes can kind of steam. Check and stir about every 5-7 minutes. Potatoes should take about 13-15 minutes to cook with the lid on. Chorizo doesn’t take long to cook since it’s a juicy type sausage.

When the potatoes are soft, take the lid off and raise the heat a notch to put a little crust on them. Let it cook for a minute or two, flip everything over and give it another minute or so and there ya go!! Breakfast!! (or dinner)

Serve it up with some scrambled eggs and corn tortillas. YUM!!

Bubba’s(don’t tell him I said that)Birthday

bubsbrowniecakeYesterday was my little one’s 11th birthday! He’s so cool. He doesn’t like cake so we opted for a brownie! (my other son always wants CHEESECAKE!!) I just bought some Ghiradelli chocolate brownie mix and we dolled it up with frosting and sprinkles. Not your ordinary sprinkles, but some fancy-schmancy sprinkles like coconut-chocolate, peanutty-chocolate and minty-chocolate! It was awesome!
I have never seen a birthday cake/brownie go so fast!! The kids loved it!! we also had some sparkler candles and the b-day party was totally cool!

He and his friends really enjoyed the day!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM(BUBBA)!!!

Now For Those Onion Rings!!

onion-rings22-3 sweet onions (Vidalia anyone??)

flour

salt

pepper

buttermilk

oil for frying

slice the onions about 3/8″ and separate the rings

dredge(cool word) the onion rings into flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.

Dip the floury onion rings into buttermilk to completely coat them and then dip them into flour again that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.

Fry them in oil for about 1-2 minutes then flip them over to the other side. They cook really fast (but not as fast as fried pickles!!!)

How about some dippin sauce????

A tsp of Dijon mustard and 2 tbsp of honey added to a cup of sour cream makes an awesome honey-mustard dippin sauce!!

Add some of that honey to BBQ sauce for a great tasting Honey Barbecue Sauce.

Enjoy!!

Fruit Dipping Sauce~MMMM!

Have you ever had folks stop by on a lazy Saturday afternoon and you had nothing to feed them?? You really want to be a good host, but let’s face it….it’s a lazy Saturday afternoon!! Well, here is something I do a lot for my guests….an easy fruity tray! (now, this is a snack, NOT a meal, Girlfriend’s gotta eat!)

Summer fruit like strawberries, melon, kiwi banana, cantaloupe, pears, etc can be cut up into bite sizes pieces and used for dipping into a fruity sauce. This fruity sauce is really easy!(Is this a sauce or a dip?? Don’t know but it’s GOOD!!)

½ cup sour cream (lite or fat-free if you are watching your waistline)
¼ cup strawberry preserves, jam or jelly (again, lite if your concerned about that waistline)
[You can also use different jellies for different flavors, like apricot if you like apricots or orange marmalade or something like that, I don't think grape would go over too well, but hey! Who knows?!?]
1 ½ cups thawed whipped topping (did anyone say lite??)

Mix the sour cream with the jelly and then fold (y’all know what fold is? Fold in is like folding clothes, you scoop and fold and scoop and fold, gently, not mixing) in the whipped cream and chill until you are ready to dig in!! Great fruit dipping sauce!

If you happen to cut up some peaches, apples, bananas or pears, you can dip them in lemon juice to keep them from browning. Brown fruit is definitely not on the menu!

Summer Smoothie!! YUM!

This is my favorite smoothie to make for me and the kids. They love it and so do I!! I have one of the greatest inventions ever made….a VitaMix blender. (Kinda sounds like a vite-meata-vege-min from my fav red head Lucy!) This smoothie maker is so cool, you don’t even have to lop the tops off of strawberries, you just throw them in there! That’s getting pretty healthy for me!!

One thing for sure……take the rind off of the oranges! Leave the white part (the pith), but remove the rind, that’s what you clean furniture with!!

You can see a Vita Mix here. They ROCK!!!mango smoothie

Pineapple Mango Orange Juice Smoothie

2 Oranges

1 Mango

½ Fresh Pineapple or 20 oz canned pineapple

Honey or another sweetener

Ice

Cut the peel off of the oranges (keep the white part on, it’s supposed to be good for you!). Cut them in half and put them in the blender. Peel the mango and cut it away from the pit. I use a mango pitter, it’s much easier!!

Peel the pineapple and slice off about half of it and put the mango and pineapple in the blender with the oranges. You can also use canned pineapple if you want. Add the ice to the top of blender and blend! If you like it thinner, add a little water. If you like it slushier, add some more ice! YUM!!

To sweeten up your smoothie add a little honey (or another sweetener) to taste. I like mine straight up!

P.S. This will make enough for the whole family! About 32-40 oz.