Serendipitous Cinco de Mayo

On Sunday we had twenty family members at our house for dinner!  More on that in the next post.  As I was planning dinner, I decided on a Mexican theme with crock pot recipes that could cook while we were at church.  On Saturday night I realized that I was missing an important ingredient.  I headed to the store about 10 PM and found myself in line behind a man with 15 kinds of Ben & Jerry ice cream and two barely 21 year olds buying liquor.  I felt a little out of place with my extra large bag of pinto beans.  As I pondered "which one of these doesn't belong," I heard one of the guys mention Cinco de Mayo.  I realized that I had accidentally planned the perfect Cinco de Mayo dinner!  To make things even more festive, Marianne donated a package of brightly colored, striped napkins and Jenny brought an ice cream sundae bar for dessert!

The next time you plan a fiesta of your own, you might want to try three of my favorite recipes.  Two of them are from our niece Holly and one is from our friend Jody whose family, sadly, has moved to Los Altos.  All three are easy, fairly healthy recipes that you can prepare in advance.

Homemade Refried Beans (not really refried, but delicious!)

4 cups raw pinto beans, rinsed
1 large onion chopped
2 t salt
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t cumin
(can use taco seasoning in place of spices)
1-2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Place beans and onion in crock pot and fill with water.  Cook all day (6-8 hours on high).  When water has cooked out (beans come to top with a little water) add spices.  Blend hot beans in small batches until as smooth as you like.  Put beans back into crock pot and sprinkle cheese on top.  Turn crock pot on low.  Serve as a bean dip with chips or as a side dish or with tacos.

Holly Tacos (renamed by my kids)

4 large chicken breasts
(1 pkg taco seasoning or)
2 t minced onion
1 t salt
1 t chili powder
1/2 t cornstarch
1/2 t minced garlic
1/4 t oregano
1/2 t cumin
2 cups salsa

Put chicken, spices and salsa in crock pot all day.  1 hour before serving, scoop out extra liquid so that tacos won't be drippy.  Shred meat with fork and add 1 cup sour cream.

Serve with warm flour tortillas, lettuce, olives and cheese.  You can also use the meat to make a great (gluten-free)  taco salad.

Jody's Black Bean Dip (a favorite of my Mom's)

3 tomatoes, chopped
3 avocados, chopped
1 can corn, drained (or use frozen)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can black eyed peas, drained
1/2 bunch of cilantro chopped
salt and pepper to taste
approx 1/2 bottle Italian dressing

Mix together.  Refrigerate and let it set for several hours.  Serve with tortilla chips.  You can double this for a crowd.

¡Viva México!

Thanksgiving 2013

We had 18 people at our house for Thanksgiving.  My sister's family joined us and we were all especially excited because my brother David and his wife Annie flew in from Texas.  Sadly, my dad and Carolyn weren't able to make it because Carolyn was recovering from back surgery.

I thought it would be fun to list our menu and links to a few recipes. Annie & David even brought their baking supplies to make an apple pie!

Appetizers

• baked brie
• crackers
• turkey (shaped) vegetable platter
• hummus
• bean dip
• chips

Dinner

• turkey
• stuffing
• roasted garlic mashed potatoes
• scalloped potatoes
• green beans with almonds
• yams
• mandarin orange jello salad

Dessert

• pumpkin pie
• apple pie
• chocolate cream pie
• banana cream pie
• pecan caramel pie (bake in ramekins for GF folks)
• ice cream
• whipped cream

After our delicious meal, we took a walk to the park!  Here are a few of us along the way.

It was a lovely day except for one thing.  Lavender learned how to climb out of her crib and she's been doing it ever since.  I don't have the luxury of shutting the door and letting her cry because she sleeps in our walk-in closet (which doesn't have a door!)  She just climbs into our bed in the middle of the night and thinks it's a great arrangement.  Not! Then she got sick, so I haven't had the heart (or energy) to keep taking her back and insist she stay put.  As soon as she is better, we will be undertaking operation "stay in your own bed all night long."

Pretending to sleep after laying down with her bears.