Share a Spoon: Cinco de Mayo Style

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Share a Spoon Warm the HeartCinco de Mayo Tribute 

 Making Mexican food is so much fun.  It's all fresh ingredients, which I love.  I made guacamole and easy quesadillas yesterday, and everyone was thrilled.

Here's what you will need:

2-3 Avocados

1 garlic clove

1/4 small red onion minced 

1 jalepeno

2 limes

1 small tomato

kosher salt

1 tsp fresh chopped cilantro

Cut avocados in half and remove pits.  In a large bowl, scoop entire flesh of the avocados into the bowl whole.  Use a spoon and just go around the hard shell of the avocado.  Squeeze the juice of two limes over the avocados.  Add a little salt.  Seed the tomato by squeezing out all the juice and then chop and add to the bowl.  Seed the jalepeno and chop.  Add to the bowl. Mince the red onion and add.  Grate the garlic and add chopped cilantro.  Now take two forks and mash everything together.  I like a chunky guacamole so I don't take it too far.  If you like yours creamier, you can certainly pulse it in the food processor. (pictured to left)

 My daughter likes fresh salsa so we threw two tomatos, a clove of garlic, 1/4 red onion, fresh jalepeno and a bit of cilantro in the food processor and pulsed a bit. (pictured to right)

For the quesadillas you will need:

Soft taco sized flour tortillas

olive oil

Cooked Chicken breast chopped (I used a Rotissery chicken I picked up at the deli)

shredded cheeses (I used a shredded blend and I shredded pepper/jack as well)

Salsa

In a non-stick skillet or on  a griddle heat to medium/low.  Brush one side of the tortilla with olive oil.  Place the oiled side onto the skillet or griddle.  Add cheese to half of the tortilla.  Top the cheese with chicken and salsa.  Then top with the other cheese.  Flip the side without toppings over.  Please reference pictures.

Brown nicely on both sides.  Make sure to adjust your heat lower if the outside browns too quickly.  You want the cheese to melt nice and gooey.  

I serve these with sour cream, salsa and guacamole as pictured to the right.

So there you have it.  Quick quesadillas, homemade guacamole and I even threw in a quick salsa too.  Happy eating Smackers!

Join me in Sharing a Spoon this week won't you?  Link below!

Love!

My Play Pretend Imaginary Grown Up Friends

Many people say that blog friends are not real friends.  I beg to differ.  I have met some of the kindest, most generous people of my life through blogging.  My life is better for it.  The have brought a sense of community, comfort and support that I didn't have otherwise.

When I was asked to join a Blackberry chat group last fall with some of them, I jumped at the chance to be more connected.  I really had no idea how much joy that would bring to my everyday life.  I believe that all things happen for a reason, and that people come into our lives when we need them most.  Conversely, we are placed in others paths when they need us.

I leaned on my BB chat friends when we received the news we were getting a surprise gift from the stork.  If you are new and don't know that story, you can read it here.  These friends supported me.  They loved me.  They helped me prepare in two short weeks for the arrival of our new bundle of joy.


It's high time I thanked them proper for all their love and support.  They basically threw me a baby shower, bloggy style.  Along with a few others who are not in the BB chat group.


Look at how lucky I am:

The great Duckalicious sent me a Ducky Blanket that she made!  I will treasure it always!  Daffy is a true and kind friend with a great big heart!  She sent me a gift card as well to help with diapers and such.  Love you Duck!

This is a huge box of clothes that my Cheesy buddy QuesoBonito from it ain't easy being cheesy sent me.  Her little precious Presley sent Khylee so many cute things.  Khylee is the best dressed little monkey princess ever!  We love and appreciate Alicia and Presley sharing their super cute styles with us!

See the K under the Princess crown?  It is all embellished with Rhinestones.  Whoa-Mummy sent this bling to us all the way from Australia!  She is such a doll!  I love her and miss her desperately when she is away from the blogosphere.  Thank you Alex, you know how much I love things that sparkle!

This was hand painted and made with love by That One Mom from the Only Parent Chronicles.  It's hard to see because of the flash, but it has all her birth stats.  Time.  Weight.  Length.  Date.  It's very pretty and girly, and we LOVE it!  I can't wait for her to come and visit.  Yes, that's right.  My real life friend that I met through blogging is coming to meet the baby!

Look at those tu-tus!  Aren't they cute?  I received a box full of couture baby diggs from Lee, formerly the Hot Flash Queen.  Today you can find her writing serious wine reviews at Roadtrips for Wine.  There were so many cute things in this box, I played with all of them for hours!

This basket arrived unexpectedly from the one and only Tracie over at Stir Fry Awesomeness!  Isn't it darling?   Everything matched.  Outfit, socks, blanket...it is just darling!  Thanks Trac!  Love ya!


I also received a very generous gift card from June over a 3! A Charm!  I cannot even begin to tell you how much all of this means to me!


Thanks so much to everyone for sharing your love and generosity with my family.  We love and appreciate all you have done and continue to do for us!


Thanks to my baby sister for throwing me a baby shower at home too!  Love you Buff!


Tomorrow is Share a Spoon!  In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we are Mexican themed this week.  But feel free to share any of your recipes!  I will be sharing homemade guacamole that is to die for and easy quesadillas!

I wear my sunglasses at night

We had a big weekend here at Casa di Romano.  We celebrated Kooper's birthday.  Kooper invited a friend to spend the night and go to the movies.  BDC and I loaded up four boys and the baby and went to take in a Real 3D version of The Clash of The Titans.

The boys sat at the top of the theater, far away from me and BDC who sat near the bottom in case we had to take out the baby.  They felt so grown up.  Their kids packs in hand, glasses on, and essentially no parents hovering.

BDC and I sat together sharing our popcorn.  For those of you who haven't been to a new Real 3D movie, I highly recommend.  The old 3D sucked.  You know the crappy movies where at suspenseful parts something would fly out of the screen at you.  This is not that 3D!  It's all growed up.  Anyfastflyingobject, during the previews there is an announcement to put your glasses on now.  I am drinking my Diet Coke, eating popcorn, enjoying the preview for the new Shrek 3D flick and BDC leans over and whispers, "Hey does the screen look all fucked up to you?"

I look at him and think to myself, "Yeah, real funny jackass."  He has his sunglasses on.  But I looked and his face was grimaced a bit and I realize that he isn't being funny, he's just a jackass.  I say out loud..."Uh...dear, you are wearing your sunglasses!"  We both started laughing so hard we almost fell out of our seats.  Enough to get some dirty looks and a "shhhhh...." from the crowd.

Afterward, we came on home and had a little impromptu gathering with my sister and her hubby.  His birthday was Sunday.  BDC and BIL proceeded to indulge in Liquid Truth, play Rock Band and hang with the boys.  Sis and I went to the store while the boys were playing then came back and set her up a blog!  Woot!

That's right, my baby sister is going to blog now too.  If you want to check it out she will post her first post tomorrow.  Go follow her, you won't be disappointed. 

OH...and big news!  We have a winner over at the LIB blog!  I am so happy for our winner!  Go check it out and leave the winner some congrats!

Share a Spoon Warm the Heart Debut

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Welcome Smackers!  I am thrilled to present and host Share a Spoon, Warm the Heart with you!  There really isn't any better way for you to show someone you care about them then sharing a meal.  It's personal, it's intimate.

First I am going to share my two must have tools in the kitchen.  I could not live without a food processor.  Seriously.  It saves so much time intensive labor.  Everyone needs to get one if they don't have one already!  It will make your experience in the kitchen a breeze.  The second must have is a good set of knives.  SHARP knives.

We had rigatoni last night so I am going to share my red sauce with you.  This is a family favorite.  I use this sauce as the base for most of my Italian dishes.  You can freeze this.  I don't ever buy jarred or canned spaghetti sauce.  Ever.  I control the salt, the preservatives, everything.

What you will need:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 medium onions chopped

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

2 teaspoons dried oregano

3 cloves of garlic grated

2 cans of tomato paste

2 large cans of crushed tomatoes

Italian flat leaf parsley

Fresh Basil

Kosher salt

1-2 teaspoons Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Quick note about the tomato paste and the crushed tomatoes.  When shopping for these items pay attention to the labels.  I usually pay a little more for both to make sure the only thing in the can is TOMATO.  It's usually 15-20 cents more a can.  But I pay the premium to not have citric acid, "natural flavors", high fructose corn syrup, etc.  What the hell is natural flavors anyway?  That's just me though.

Directions:

In a large sauce pan over medium/high heat coat the entire bottom of the pan with olive oil.  It's a lot of olive oil.  Probably 1/2 cup, give or take.  Add the two medium chopped onions(roughly 1 1/2 cups).  Sweat the onions for 2-3 minutes.  Add the salt(to taste it's about a tablespoon for me) and 2 teaspoons of oregano.  Stir well.  Add the grated carrots. (I grate my carrots in the food processor, if you don't have a food processor grate them on the small side of the cheese grater.) Let this cook, and stir often until the carrots have softened completely.  About 5-7 minutes.  Turn the heat down to medium.  Add the red pepper(optional) and grate the garlic into the pan.  Stir well.  Add the two small cans of tomato paste.  Fill those cans with water and add to the mixture.  Add the two large cans of crushed tomatoes.  Stir well and reduce the heat.  Let cook for 15 minutes.  Add the chopped flat leaf parsley and basil.  I add a full bunch of flat leaf parsley and basil.  Turn the pot off and let the sauce rest.  Do not keep the pot on anything higher than warm, the basil will turn black if you do.

Last night I made the above a meat sauce by adding a package of fresh turkey Italian  sausage.  There were 5 links in the package about 1.3 pounds.  I added the sausage before the tomato paste and tomatoes and just cooked it until browned.  Then completed the red sauce as described above.  We used half of the sauce last night for a family of seven.  I froze the other half in a rubber maid container. 

The last picture of the sauce in the pot I took didn't turn out.  But here is what the finished plate looks like.  I served the sauce over rigatoni.  You can use any pasta you want.  I wouldn't suggest angel hair as this is a hearty red sauce.

I served a side salad.  My boys eat all those carrots, tomatoes, onions and fresh spices and they have no idea that is all in there.  AND it's good for them.  I also use whole grain pasta.  I clip coupons for the pasta and always buy it Buy One Get One Free.  (That makes the pasta literally pennies per serving!)

You can keep this sauce in the freezer for up to 2 months.  Thaw it out in a sauce pan.  Just add a bit of olive oil to the bottom of the pan and defrost over medium heat.

Please email me any questions!  I am here to help!

Thanks for sharing a meal with me Smackers!  Now it's your turn.  Link with me next week won't you!

Bon Appetito!

Sharing is Caring!

I am a self proclaimed FOODIE.  I love food.   I think I have said that before several times over.  I love The Food Network.  I love to cook.

I also love to write.  Everyone always says you should write about what you know.  I KNOW FOOD.

I think everyone knows that I also have a very close knit group of friends that I chat with on Blackberry Messenger.  They are my support group.  Sometimes they save my sanity.  Sometimes they save me from myself.

Most of us in the group have children with some sort of disorder.  ADD, ADHD, PDD-NOS, ODD and some others.  Raising children with these types of challenges presents some daily obstacles that as a mom can really wear you down.  Add those challenges to meal time and it's often a recipe for Scrambled Mom served with a side of tears.

While chatting this week about our challenges with meals we batted around an idea of starting a blog carnival or meme.  A recipe swap or share.  I have been thinking about it ever since.  Chatting with the girls about ideas.  The more we chat the more I like the idea.

Additionally, I have committed to and signed the petition with Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution.  We watched every episode and I was very moved.  My son Kooper was also moved.  He watched Jaime show the children in West Virginia how chicken nuggets were made, and more over, WHAT they were made from and he vowed to never eat them again!  WIN!

We have struggled with weight in our home, as most of you know.  I contribute on LIB site with Dual Mom and my BB chat gals.  We will be starting a new challenge over there on Saturday and the current challenge ends FRIDAY!  I will continue to post healthy recipes there as I have been, as will the rest of the group.

However, here, on Thursday, I will be starting a new feature.  I am really excited to start sharing my recipes with you.  I have been cooking for a very long time.  It's a creative outlet for me, much like my blog.  So what would be better than meshing the two together.  I have developed my own recipes.  I seldom ever use a recipe as it is written.  I like to play with flavors, spices, and I am not afraid to omit things I don't like and add those that I do.  I have catered events, cooked for a few, cooked for A LOT, and mostly, I cook for my family and friends.

I am even more excited about you all sharing your recipes.  Sharing your tips.  Your tricks.  I will share where I hide vegetables so my kids will eat them.  You tell me how you get those whole grains in.   We will have themed weeks, holiday shares, it's wide open.

So, pull up a chair at my table on Thursday and let's Share a Spoon!

GWA: Slippery When Wet

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Unleash the Attitude and share your Gratitude!  

Dear Diaper Makers,

Thank you so much for making disposable diapers.  There is no way I could clean out cloth diapers.  It really just isn't possible for someone with a stomach that does somersaults at the gross to use cloth.  However, would it be too much to ask to make OVERNIGHT diapers for the teeny tiny?  You tease me with the promise of them yet there aren't any for newborns.  I realize that there aren't THAT many newborns sleeping long enough to require them, but mine does!  She sleeps for 10-12 hours every night.  I NEED OVERNIGHT diapers.  She was soaked completely from head to toe this morning.  I am NOT putting those plastic covers on her.  Those are not comfortable for sleeping. 

Sincerely,

Tired of washing sheets daily

Dear Pollen,
Thank you so much for feeding the bees and making it possible for me to enjoy that sweet nectar honey!  Oh how I love peanut butter and honey sandwiches!  Do you think though that you could move along now?  My blue truck looks GREEN because your yellow loveliness is coating it.  My head is pounding because of you.  I am getting hives.  Itching in places it ain't normal to itch!  And the nose bleeds?  GACK!  So, thanks for the sticky sweet goodness, but you can have the rest.
Sincerely,
Allergy med resistant Momma

Alrighty Smackers!  Link up!  Leave some LOVE!  Don't be the subject of my letter next week! 

Twinkle Twinkle Little Song

M

Monday evening we all went out to dinner as a family.  Kenna and her boyfriend wanted to take us all out to eat.  So we rounded up the troops and headed out.

Dinner was uneventful (which is a good thing with two ADHD boys and a newborn). We went to a buffet style restaurant and the boys were thrilled.  They enjoy having an infinite amount of choices.  I am not really sure why they want choices, they eat the same thing ALL THE TIME.  It doesn't matter where we go.  What choices are available.  Chicken strips, french fries and pizza are always on their menus.

We have to take two cars now whenever the whole family goes anywhere.  My Jeep just doesn't hold all of us.  Hell, we need a conversion van or some other gas guzzling BUS in order to cart the BRADYBUNCH whole fam damily around these days.  On the way to dinner Kamden rode with Kenna and her beau.  On the way home Kooper swapped places with him.

When we arrived back at Casa di Romano, BDC took the car seat inside and asked Kamden to hold the bottle up for the baby while he helped me get the monstrous contraption Cadillac Stroller out of my truck.  When we walked inside we found Kamden holding the baby, feeding her and singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  It was the sweetest moment, and I was stuck without my camera.


All three of the boys have become quite attached to their baby.  She apparently belongs to them.  She is in so much trouble when she get older.  Three MUCH older brothers?  She doesn't stand a chance of ever having a boyfriend.  I do understand their attachment though.  Just look....

(See that blanket?  All cross stitched?  It's a DUCK, from my BFF Duckalicious)

I will be posting more about that and other things I have received from my bestest bloggy buddies this weekend!!

(

(Khylee often looks like a rocker baby or either she is signing ILUVYOU with her fingers in her mouth.) 

(

(She LOVES her swing, and so does her Mommy!  It has batteries so it never stops.  It plays music, has a mobile and possibly saved my life.  HIGHLY recommend every new mom get a cradle swing.)

There is no way to resist that face!  All the boys at Casa di Romano are smitten.  Yep!  She has them all wrapped!  That's one lucky little girl!!!

Happy Hump Day Smackers!  LOVE!