That Taco Thing

Ben loves this recipe. I love it too. It used to be that I would make a 9x13 pan of it for dinner, and all of it would be gone before the leftovers hit the fridge. We've grown wise to that, though, and now we try to make it last at LEAST until lunch the next day, which is successful. Sometimes.

Now, again, I cannot take the credit for coming up with this recipe. It has been adapted from a blog called Emily Bites (which you can read HERE), and Emily had adapted it from another blog called Healthy-Licious.

Here's what you need:

1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, diced*
1 cup salsa*
1- 15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1- 15 ounce can of red beans, drained and rinsed*
2 to 3 cups of tortilla chips*
2 TBSP shredded cheddar cheese*

*You may have noticed that these ingredients are not terribly specific, and I'll tell you why: I've tried dozens of different combinations, and all of them are delicious. Want to use a white onion? A spanish onion? vidalia? GO FOR IT!! Want to use pinto beans? pink beans? kidney beans? Give 'em a try! Got an extra pepper in the fridge? Throw that in there too! This recipe can handle a little variation- have fun!

Here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 350

Saute the onion until it's translucent



brown the turkey



add the beans

add the salsa, stir so that everything is evenly coated



line the bottom of a 9X13 pan with tortilla chips

spread the mixture over the chips



sprinkle the top with cheese (NOTE: I said 2 tablespoons, but I usually use as much as it takes to cover the top...)



Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese has bubbled.



ENJOY!!

Delicious Pumpkin Pancakes

Autumn is (finally) here in New York City, and for me, that means that it is time for pumpkin everything. Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread- at this time of year, I feel that everything that CAN have pumpkin in it, SHOULD have pumpkin in it. Hence these delicious little beauties...



Now, I can't take all the credit here. I adapted this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, but I made a few adjustments, including halving the recipe, as I do not have any children or cowboys to feed. You can check out the original on The Pioneer Woman's blog, HERE.

PUMPKIN PANCAKES:


The Dry:

-1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
-1/2 Teaspoon Salt
-1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
-2 Tablespoons Sugar
-Pumpkin Pie Spice

The Wet:

-1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
-1 Egg
-1 1/2 cups Milk
-2 Teaspoons Vanilla

The Optional:

-Maple Syrup
-Caramel Sauce
-Whipped Cream (I used Reddi Whip, directly from the can, but Ree Drummond has a delicious-looking recipe for homemade maple-pecan whipped cream)


What To Do:

1.) In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Set Aside.

2.) In another bowl, combine pumpkin puree, egg, milk, and vanilla.

3.) Gradually add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring as you go.

4.) Add a dash of pumpkin pie spice, and stir everything together.

5.) Heat your skillet. I used my cast iron skillet, which is AMAZING for making pancakes. However, I would not recommend exceeding a 'low' heat with cast iron, as it gets super hot super quickly, and we don't wanna burn these little guys. If you're not using cast iron, go ahead and heat your skillet anywhere between 'low' and 'medium low.' Make sure and grease your skillet with butter, oil, or PAM, whichever floats your boat.

6.) Drop the batter onto the heated surface. I followed the Pioneer Woman's lead and made silver dollar pancakes, in which case you need about a tablespoon of batter per pancake, but this batter will certainly make large pancakes too. Once pancakes have begun to bubble, flip to the other side and continue cooking until the pancakes are no longer goopy in the middle.

7.) SERVE 'EM UP! With syrup, caramel sauce, whipped cream, or whatever else sounds delicious.

I SHOULD NOTE that Ben and I were able to use one batch of these pancakes to gorge ourselves silly with pumpkin deliciousness 2 mornings in a row, so I would imagine that one batch of this size will serve 3 to 4 normal humans.

I SHOULD ALSO NOTE that these guys freeze really well- wait until they have cooled and arrange them in a freezer-safe container, placing waxed paper between each layer of pancakes. They taste just as good once they have been reheated!


ENJOY!!

Gateway To The Weekend

My mother and my aunt visited this weekend.



We walked approximately one zillion miles. Through Central Park, to Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Rockafeller Center, the Toys R Us ferris wheel in the DREADED Times Square, and we made not one, but TWO trips to Chinatown. Canal street was quite an experience for the pair of them- the bartering, the sneaky opening and closing of the drawers and cupboards- they got some Christmas shopping done. And then some.

My mother was puzzled by my expression when they left on Monday morning, wishing Ben and I a relaxing evening now that we had the apartment back to ourselves. I laughed and cried "Are you kidding?? No sleep till Thursday!!"

That's hyperbole, of course. I HAVE slept between now and then. Quite a lot, actually. But with my classes set up the way that they are, I usually do not arrive home until some time between 9:30 and 10, and my old lady sleep requirements allow me very little time to work on chores, homework, or decompression before the only thing I want is to be asleep. How glamorous. Perhaps I should have said something like "No WORK till Thursday!" Although that, too, would have been a lie. I'll have to think about it.

Tonight after work, I won't be taking my usual green line train home. I am going to the West Side Y to pick up my packet for this weekend's race- the Fit For All 5k. I probably WILL run home after this one, unless there is lots of SWAG to be had...but only time will tell. I'm still on a high from my excellent 10k time two weeks ago, so hopefully I won't disappoint with my time from this race.

That's all for now. Enjoy your Thursday!! It means that Friday is almost here, and that we've almost made it through the whole week- just a little bit longer!!!