Tag Archives: tortillas

Chimichanga! As fun to eat, as it is to say!

In a skillet put browned ground beef (or brown it!), leftover burrito filling use it up!), corn (frozen), red pepper diced. Using up lots of bits from previous meals.
Add lime juice and cilantro. About a half a lime’s worth and cilantro to taste. (This is from an organic tube of cilantro in olive oil)
Add chopped tomato and refried beans (leftovers in this case).
Thing 1 took this “action” shot of one of my tricks. I’m snipping red pepper strips with my kitchen scissors. Easy peasy!
Since this is “to taste” I added a bit more red pepper and corn.
Turn off heat. Let mixture sit for a few minutes. The flavours will just keep blending beautifully. This is a good time to melt your butter.
Yes. Butter! (About 1/3 cup. Melted. To be brushed on the wrapped Chimichangas.
Gluten free tortillas, Traditional and a single smaller leftover tortilla from Burrito night. Perfect size for Thing 2.
See? Much smaller! Just right for a teeny tummy.
Once they are wrapped and the seem side is down, brush with the melted butter.
It looks so sinful, doesn’t it?
The butter will coat the tortillas and make a nice crispy Chimichanga, without deep frying. A little brush of butter goes a long way! (and as you can clearly see a lot just rolls down to the sheet pan.)
Here is my GF tortilla. It’s pretty stiff. I brushed it a bit first in hopes to soften it, but it didn’t really work.
I managed to fold and roll it up, but you can clearly see where it ripped/
Here are all the Chimichangas. Only mine is buttery at this point. (pre-brushed)
My cracked Chimichanga. Boo hoo!
You can see right inside. I kind of expected to see a big mess.
I baked them at 350 for about 15 minutes, before adding cheese. Then I forgot to take a photo of the cheese, so I pretty much stuck my face, hands and camera into a 350 degree oven to get a shot.
The lengths I will go to for you sweet readers! Ai yi yi!
Melted cheese on a crispy Chimichanga.
Mmmm.
I like the lacy cheese crisps.
Comparrison: GF vs. Gluten full.
I want this one soooo bad!
Or this one.
Here is Thing 1’s plate.
Here is Thing 1 digging in.
My Gluten free Chimichanga.
*OM*
*Nom*
*NOM*

*Bonus! How to fill and fold a Chimichanga for leak-free baking!

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**Bonus bonus! “Homemade” Guacamole with Rick Bayless “Frontera” enhancement.

Perfectly ripened avocados & Frontera Guacamole mix.
It seems to want to get to know the avocados better.
B’okay! I’ll add avocados! (2)
No preservatives. FYI.
Ingredient list is short. That’s great!
I love a perfect avocado. It always feels like a little win.
Mmmm! You are so perfect. I’m gonna mush you now!
Beautiful mess.
Three avocados (because I’m a rebel) and the mix.
The finished product.
Chimichanga condiments.

***Thing Bonus! The reasons I do the things I do.

Someone had an epic playdate earlier and needed a pre-fiesta siesta. D’awww. BB is such a good body guard. Never shuts her eyes!
Happy Things make me happy.
Thing 1 loved the naturally occurring cheese “crisps”. Yum!
And that’s how we do “Tex-Mex Week” at Chez Peady!

I hope you enjoyed seeing our “Tex-Mex Week” as much as we enjoyed documenting it.

 

Do you ever pick a theme and explore it with your kiddos? What kinds of things does your family do to learn about different cultures, countries or cuisines?

If you decide to have a Tex-Mex week – or another theme week, I’d love to hear all about it!

Here’s to a happy and stress-free week! (What?!? I hear that’s *totally* a thing!)

MYO Pizza: Tex-Mex Week Edition (aka Mexican Pizza)

Friday was Mexican Pizza day on the “Tex-Mex Week” menu and it was awesome!

First of all, here is another meal where everyone gets to express their creativity or, depending on personality type, maintain creative control. This ensures everyone eats and everyone likes what they eat or at the very least everyone is responsible for their liking and/or not liking of what they make. Shall I over explain some more?

Secondly, I was extremely pleased to find La Tortilla Factory tortillas at Pete’s Frootique (I *love* Pete’s!) and then blissfully happy to find a gluten free tortilla made by the same company. There may or may not have been happy dancing in the bread aisle. (Who’s to say? It’s a mystery, really. Well maybe that nice lady who smiled as I danced saw, but I can’t be totally sure, but I digress…)

Thirdly, we took our time getting around to making them and it was really relaxing because there wasn’t a whole lot of prep for anything. The crusts were easy (tortillas). The cheese was pre-shredded (nacho cheese blend, fyi). The sauce was from a jar (Mrs. Renfrew’s Medium Salsa). The tomatoes were speedily sliced. Dicing the red pepper is always fun anyway, so it was enjoyable to make that happy little dice of red pepper “confetti”. The most effort came from slicing a jalapeño which was fun to show the Things because I could explain how most of the heat came from the seeds and pith while I removed them. (The seeds and pith, not the Things!) Oh! I did slice the red onion excruciatingly thinly, but that was really more about entertaining myself than anything else. (In other news, I have mad knife skills, yo! You could practically see through the slices!)

Fourthly, (yeah I’m going with that) the pizzas turned out to be some of the yummiest on record at Chez Peady. Here, have a look!

 

Jalapeños. Cut in two.
Uh oh! Now we’re getting jalapeño business Mr. Jalapeño! Here are all the seeds and pith. You can tell I removed a lot!
Sliced jalapeño.
Perfect red pepper from Pete’s!
Vine tomatoes.
Freshness is always a great pizza topping.
Tomato (vine). Perfect.
Why are red peppers always so happy?
Strips and dice.
Nacho cheese. (It’s mine. Silly!)
Inexplicably happy-making find.
Here’s a La Tortilla Factory Olive Oil tortilla with 12 g of fibre.
Pizza night’s are great nights to use up leftovers. This is burrito filling.
Delicious. Not too hot. Not too chunky. Worked great as sauce for the pizzas.
Trying a different brand.
Looks good.
Thing testers!
SQUEE!
Interesting.
GLUTEN FREE!
Not pretty. Not soft. Not perfect. But! Gluten free pizza crust!
Size comparison.
Red onions are cool, aren’t they?
I think so.
So purple!
Can you see me through that?!
Big ol’ mess of onions!
You know it’s been a choppily chop chop kind of meal when…
Frozen corn. Always on hand for moments such as these.
Thing 1’s pizza. See the jalapeños?
Nice job, Thing 1!
Thing 2’s pizza is smiling. On purpose.
Even happier when done!
Thing 1 is very specific about his pizza eating.
Thing 2 loved hers.
MINE!! Mine all mine and I’m not sharing!
Daddy-O’s.
In they go.
It’s getting hot in here.
The risks I will take for you readers! HOT!
Done!
Mmmmm!
Can’t you almost taste it?
I try to make my food pretty. Also, even. Don’t judge.
Ba ba ba ba… ba ba baa…
Have mercy!
Thing 2 chose this as his “treat”. Yup.
Hee hee hee hee. Yes. I believe those were his exact words.
Ghost Peppers are HOT!
See? Fire? Hot!
Shock at his mother’s lack of judgement.

 

 

Bonus: All about Pete!

Huevos Rancheros – It’s like Brinner in a sombrero!

Last night was Huevos Rancheros night on the “Tex-Mex Week” menu and it went even better than expected.

Breakfast for dinner, or “Brinner”, is always a popular meal at Chez Peady and it (conveniently) seems to fall, most often, mid-week, which is exactly when I need the break – and I mean I need a break, fast (Hah!) – of a simple supper. Since it is Tex-Mex Week, and on a Wednesday, Huevos Rancheros was the logical choice!

Now there are a lot of really fancy ways* to make this extremely simple dish, but remember that break I needed… yes, I had places to go and people to see. In fact there was an especially good reason for me to choose a simple and speedy approach to last night’s dinner. There  was a thing at a place with some stuff** and well, I had to be there – on time!

Once again, the goal was to offer a delicious, healthy meal that everyone would enjoy. Since we have one tomato lover and one tomato tolerator, I decided to make the components separately and allow each diner to customize Brinner to his or her liking. This is what works best for my family, generally speaking, but especially on an evening when I am pressed for time. The last thing I want is to have to have a discussion about trying new things, when all I really am trying to do is bolt. (Should I wait here for all the parenting awards? Or…?)

Not surprisingly, Thing 1 and Thing 2 tried everything, anyway. Thing 1 *loves* this meal. There were lots of spicy, bold flavours and that’s what he enjoys. Thing 2 tried the Chorizo and decided it was a tad too hot for her taste, but piled on lots of fresh tomato. So, it’s really just another case of “To each, his/her own”. In the end, everyone was full, happy, and I wasn’t too late for my thing.

Here is what it all looked like!

Eggs. Obviously.
Delicious Chorizo Sausage from Pete’s Frootique in Bedford, N.S.
I baked them at 400 degrees until done.
Delicious Salsa from Texas.
There is something wrong with these eggs! Wait. No. These are Roma tomatoes! Whew!
Sliced Romas ready to be added to the creations at the dinner table.
You know what they say? If you want to make Huevos Rancheros, you’re gonna have to break a few eggs! Or something like that.
Eggs meet fork. Break them all up, but not too crazy fluffy. Add a shot of cream. Yes. Cream.
Seasoning is crucial. Freshly cracked black pepper, onion powder (I know. I know.), and a little heat. This is Fajita seasoning.
Essential to either add or bring to the table. Red pepper flakes and Chipotle Tabasco. (Scrumptious!)
Scrambled huevos! Easy peasy on a busy night.
Which one is ready to use? Can you tell?
This one is *nearly* ready, but not quite. The nice green colour where the stem was, though? That is the sign of a beautiful Avocado.
The darker skinned one was perfection!
This is how you slice and serve a perfect Avocado. Just run your knife gently down the length and then scoop out with a tablespoon
See? Isn’t that easy? No avocado fingers, either. Which, really, I was conflicted about.
The Chorizo turned out great! I know lots of people would cook it a different way, but this worked for me.
This is the spread. There were warmed tortillas folded into triangles on the tortilla eaters’ plates with their eggs.
I sliced the Chorizo so everyone could take as little or as much as they’d like. Thing 2 took three slices and then smoke came out of her ears and she whistled – cartoon style – and then she offered two slices to Daddy-O!
Here is *my* portion of Huevos Rancheros. Lots of Chipotle Tabasco and Red Pepper flakes. Muy caliente! Note, I am tortilla-less.
Mine was awful! Can you tell? Please excuse me, while I lick my blog.
Thing 1 loved his and made a brinner burrito, of sorts.
Another hit!
Thing 2 is not a big fan of eggs, but she likes “scrambled”. Her brinner burrito was filled with avocado and tomatoes!
Orange Juice is the perfect beverage for this meal.
At Chez Peady, BB is always invited.

 

Huevos Rancheros Wednesday was wonderful!

Have you ever had Huevos Rancheros? Do you enjoy breakfast for dinner? Do you call it “Brinner”? What is your go-to breakfast for dinner? What would be on your ideal breakfast for dinner menu?

 

*Like this, this, this or this!

**I had to be at an event at Thing 2’s school at 7 to hear a talk given by a person who has helped Thing 1 immensely. I was *not* going to miss it!

Fajita Fiesta! (in pictures) (mostly)

It’s “Tex-Mex Week” at Chez Peady and so far, it’s been muy perfecto.

We started our week with Cinco de Mayo (Isn’t that timely?) on Monday.

It was “Fajitas ‘n’ Fixin’s” night. Always a hit!

Here’s a little peek at our dinner!

Everything begins with a Spanish onion and green pepper sautéed in some EVOO. This immediately starts the “mmm”s and “What’s on the menu?”s from Thing 1 & Thing 2.
Time to make some “Shreddar Cheese”. That’s a nice medium Cheddar. Sometimes we use a Marble Cheddar (Thing 2’s favourite!).
Yummy! Shredded cheese. At this point little hands start arriving to “test” the goods.
Can you blame them? Mmmm. Cheeeesey!
Chicken thighs, lime juice & Tex-Mex seasoning. Cover with foil. Baked at 400 degrees until done (about 30 minutes, give or take.)
Shred the chicken slightly and add back to the sautéed veggies to get everything all yummy.
Note, I keep them together, but separate. This is so those with green pepper aversions can avoid them if need be. At this point a little sprinkle of seasoning is a great idea. Epicure Fajita is great, but you can make your own!
This is my tortilla-less fajita.
These are some of our favourite toppings. Guacamole (Yucatan), Sour Cream, Salsa (Sabra makes a great “Southwest” version), “Shreddar” cheese.
Here are Daddy-O’s fajitas before being dressed.
Here is my meal. I did add a bit of “Shreddar”, too! Scrumptious!

If you take a closer look at my photos, they will reveal last night’s recipe.

Over the next week, I plan on sharing our “Tex-Mex Week” meals and the recipes I use. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m all about the sharing!

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Do you enjoy flavours inspired by Mexico? What is your favourite meal? What is your favourite cuisine?

Hasta Mañana!