Easy Breezy Monday night Taquitos

I like Mondays to be enjoyed at home, as the post weekend blues can set in. I love simplicity and yummeness.
I buy whole cooked chicken from the deli at any local grocery store. This chicken can provide a multiple of dinners and lunches throughout the week.
This week I tried something new based on wanting something new. To my suprise it turned out delic.
This can be made for 1 or 20 people (depending on how much ingrediants you have)
This is my recipe for 2 people, but by all means alter to fit your needs.
Preheat over to 350;

Ingrediants:
-1 package 10 small flour tortillas
-1 container cream cheese (whipped, generic, or expensive)
-6 green onions
-about 1 cup verde sauce (not entirely sure on measurement, I kept pouring until it looked good)
-about 1 cup shredded cheese (not entirely sure on measurement, I kept pouring until it looked good)
1-2 cups fined chopped chicken
Sprinkle of chilli powder
Optional-red onion, jalapeno, red pepper flakes, corn or anything else you think will taste good in these

Directions:
place onions, verde sauce, shredded cheese and chicken and chilli powder (and optional ingredients) in a mixing bowl, stir well.
Lay out 1 tortilla at a time, spread cream cheese down the middle and a little dab on each side (the cream cheese will act as a glue and hold the tortilla in place)
spoon the chicken-mix down the center of the tortilla. Roll tortillas to mini burritos.
Place on a non stick cooking sheet.
Bake for 12-16 minutes.

add your fave dipping sauce, sour cream, salsa or ranch.

Credits-Epicurious, Taco Time and John.

This is delicious paired with a salad, spanish rice or by itself.
These can also be deep fried or pan fried, but baked is the best.
These provide plenty of left overs, so Here is your Tuesday lunch as well.
Hope you enjoy, and Happy Monday.

Sunday Meatballs with Love

Part of my prepping routing is making a large quantity of something that can be frozen or refrigerated and stored until neeed. Sunday Meatballs can contain any version of meat that your heart desires. This time for me it contained :
1 lb of spicy ground sausage
1 lb lean ground beef
1-2 eggs
Stale bread
Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup of milk
Optional
sliced or diced onion
fresh herbs: Cilantro, Parsley, Sage
garlic cloves

Credits-While I swear I got this recipe from my Mom I have no evidence to prove this.

In a large mixing bowl peel crusts of stale bread into small pieces (discard or munch on middle pieces) , pour milk over and let soak in the bottom of the bowl while putting the rest of the ingredients together. combine beef and sausage, crack egg(s) over meat, pour bread crumbs over (about 1/4-1/2 cup) (optional ingredients here) let sit in fridge for 15-20 minutes. Turn on oven to 350. Take from fridge and mix together, with your hands.... yes with your hands.
Once you feel you have mixed enough roll into balls (Size of your desire) and place on non-stick cooking sheet bake for 10-12 minutes flip and bake for another 10-12 minutes.

Set aside what you plan on eating and freeze the extras.

Story about cooking meatballs:
One of the most favorite episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond. Deborah wanted to cook for Ray as good as his Mom did so she asked for the recipe, her mother in law alters the recipe and gives it to Deborah (to make it taste disgusting). She cooks it and confesses I dont know what I did wrong. Ray's Mom says you didnt cook them with love. This puts Deborah in tears, saying I did cook them with love. Ultimatly Deborah discovers the recipe was altered and gets the real recipe. My lesson here is to always cook your food with love. Love for the flavor, love for the effort, and love of life.


Sunday Meatballs with love brought to you by me, my Mom and Everybody loves Raymond

Just an everyday gal

This is dedicated to My Mom, who suggested I do this. From time to time I forget how good journal ling makes me feel. This will be my adventures in food making, and enjoying food out and about. I love food, well most of it. What I don't partake in is any type of under-water animal aka Seafood. Shocking right? You must be thinking to yourself, she just hasn't had it cooked right. Or She would love Aunt Betsy's smoked crawdads... right? No you are wrong. I don't like 3 parts of seafood: smell, texture and the fact that every "monster inside me" episode I have seen somehow relates back to the underwater animals. Let me emphasize, in my short lifetime I have had access to some of the finest underwater animals, and I dont like them. I would even go as far as to say my parents are underwater animals connoisseur. I also dont partake in eating mushrooms or olives, as mushrooms remind me of slugs, and olives make me think of eyeballs. If they are small enough in my food that I cannot see or taste either I am fine with that. Additionally, my idea of "hunting" is at the grocery store meat section. Have you ever been at Fred Meyers meat section on a Sunday, it is truly an olympic event. I could not kill an animal in its habitat, and certainly couldnt after I saw his eyes. I am not saying hunting is wrong, its just wrong for me.

I love spending Sundays prepping for the week, so as the week comes it is not overly stressful doing things just to get through it. Last year I lost 22 lbs by eating at home, reducing the amount of caffine, and counting calories. No secrets, no pills, revising how I eat. I would like to also share that my husband is as skinny as a twig and can put down alot of calories and never let it show. So my "diet" has to make sure he is full and happy.

Eating, for the most part is about survival, eating enough calories to equal what you are burning or less. This is not the funnest thing in the world, especially for a foodie. But I have found the tricks to it. Put less on your plate. Stop eating before you feel full. Eat slowly, enjoy and savor every last ounce of a bite. Eat alot of fruits and veggies. Limit soda, and juices. Drink LOTS of Water, even if its flavored water. Dont eat while doing other things (working, watching tv) you will not pay attention to what is going in your mouth and eat more than you need/want.

Prepping for the week. Carefully measure (cups, ounces whatever) what you anticipate eating. Place the items in snack bags or tupperware containers. Add up how many calories you anticipate on eating througout the week. Every day will be very different as different events happen each day. Some days you can "cheat" if you are better on other days. Have goals if you do this for health reasons. Small goals and large goals. Reward yourself at the small goals.

Please stay tuned for recipes and resteraunt reviews.
-Heidi