Aye Un Amigo En Mi

We celebrated the 4th Annual Gringo Fiesta, last night.
Usually, this glorious made up holiday kicks off around the 18th of February, but due to the fact that around the 18th of February I couldn't keep any solid food down, well....a big feast didn't sound so great. And cooking? Hahahahaha! Out of the question.

Rather than cancel, we postponed for a month, and I am so glad we did!

My friends did most of the work this year, which made el party easy cheesy for me and I only threw up once during the party. Viva la Gringo Fiesta!

I love love love this tradition! We always have our "regulars" over, and then mix it up and introduce a few newbies to the goodness of the Willy House Party. Fun fun times.
And now for what you've all been waiting for :

The Menu:

Main Dish: (prepared a la crockpot style by the lazy hostess)
Lime and Chili Shredded Pork (this recipe can easily be halved...and probably even quartered, although I'm not really sure why you would want to make so little...)
4 Pork Tenderloins
2 cans diced (or chopped) green chilies
4 TBS Caldo de Pollo
juice and pulp of 2-3 fresh limes
2 tsp minced garlic
1 jalapeno (Whole. Remove and discard before shredding the meat)

Dump everything into crockpot and let that sucker slow cook on low for 6-7 hours.
1 hour before dinner, remove jalapeno and shred the meat with a knife and fork. It will fall apart very easily.

Carnitas are traditionally served after baking or frying in a pan so they get a little crispy, but these were just right so we left well enough alone.

Serve with Tortillas, Cilantro Lime Rice, and Black Beans
toppings (brought by friends): cheese, sour cream, guac, salsa, and http://meandmyapron.blogspot.com/2011/01/salsa-de-tomatillo.html

Appetizers a la Kasey and Tia:
Kasey's Mango Salsa, green salsa, guac, homemade jalapeno gouda, guacamole deviled eggs, and a lot of chips and olives.

Beverages a la Kasey: Dr. Pepper and Brazillian Lime Punch (recipe coming soon)

Desserts a la Ruthy, Tia, Kasey, and Tanya: key lime bars, lime bundt cake, butterscotch cookies, lime finger jello, and strawberry spring delight, which, thanks to Ruthy's facebook page is the only thing from the evening that I have a photo of!

I totally forgot to take out my camera last night, but basically, we sat outside, we ate, we talked, we ate more, then we talked about how much we ate, we ate dessert, then we packed up the leftovers to eat later. It was a great, casual evening. Big thanks to the Meadows, Glovers, Jefferys, Murrays, and McMurrins for a fun night of friendship and feasting. Thanks for doing all the work, guys!

And let's not forget to express our gratitude for the real reason we celebrate this great holiday:
The END of winter. Wahoooooooo!

We made it, guys.

Aife Aife Aife…Arted! Gringo Fiesta III

Gringo Fiesta III was a spicy success.

Can you stand to look at how excited I was?

Gringo Fiesta kicked off on February 18th.

This is officially the greatest made up holiday ever created.
And I don't just say that because I made it up

Friends came over. ...Although, a few of you managed to evade the camera for the second year in a row. And I can't imaging why, since I am such an incredibly gifted photo taker and all ;)

But seriously, you'd better get in there next time, so that when y'all become rich and famous, I can have some proof that we are friends.)

Tomatillo Salsa was consumed in massive quantities. You should make some. It is excellent...and dare I say, better than the tomatillo salsa at Pollo de Feliz. And if you went to Pollo Feliz and took a good look at the folks dining there, well then you would believe me when I tell you that Pollo Feliz knows how to get their salsa on. The dude in front of us in line was actually giddy with delight when he placed his order. He looked back at us and with fingers wiggling impatiently in front of him (like a child does when you take too long to unwrap a popcicle for them), he clapped extatically, "Ooooh, I'm so ready for this. You just can't go wrong with the chicken at Pollo Feliz." I stepped up to the counter next and said, "I want whatever that guy ordered."
When I tasted their tomatillo salsa, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Granted, I had just ran 15 miles in the snow and was totally starving, but whatever. It was delicious.

And thanks to Kasey and Jimmie, we now have the recipe. Make it. Eat it. Enjoy.

Mustaches appeared.

and luckily, there were no hair fires at this gathering...although the guys sort of do look like they'd been "burning" something. Just sayin'...

But I'm guessing it was along the lines of heartburn from all the spicy goodness we put in our faces.

We did it. We ate Mexican Food for 10 days straight.
Here's the menu:
(These are in no particular order after Day 1)

1) Shredded beef (for tacos, burritos, whatev), black beans and tomatillo salsa
Directions:
Sear a chuck roast in a frying pan for a few minutes on high heat. Before adding the roast, I threw 2 TBS of olive oil, 2-3 tsp of minced garlic and 2 TBS of Caldo De Pollo into the pan.
Transport roast to crockpot on Low.
Add 2 cups beef broth, 1 bay leaf, 2 jalapenos halved and seeded (I left a few in for a slight kick), 1TBS lime juice, and 1 small can of diced green chilies. Slow cook for 7 hours or until the roast shreds easily with a fork. It helps tenderize the meat if you flip the roast over in the liquid after about 2-3 hours. Drain excess liquid and serve with black beans.

We also ate Kasey's delicious Chipotle Chicken Salad,

2) SantaFe CPK pizzas with black beans, avocado, and cilantro lime chicken,

3) Fish Tacos with mango topping
Place boneless tilapia fillets on a sheet of foil and sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt. Place one butter pat (thin) on each fillet, and give each a healthy squirt of lime juice. Fold and close the foil around the fish so it makes a large loose envelope.
Grill on medium hi for 6-8 minutes, or until the fish is flakey.
Mango topping: dice 2 roma tomatoes,1 mango, 1/4 red onion and half of a peeled cucumber. mix with 1 tbs olive oil, lime juice, minced garlic, and a LOT of fresh cilantro. Spoon over fish, or serve with fish in warmed corn tortillas with avocado slices and more limes. Mmmmm limes....

4) 7 layer burritos
Ground beef, tomatoes, spanish rice, cheese, refried beans, Fold into Abuela's tortillas that have been cooked fresh on the griddle. Spray the burrito with canola oil spray, and sear the burrito on the hot griddle to crisp up the edges and melt all the contents inside. Serve with an avocado topping (whip together avocado, sour cream, a dash of garlic salt and a squirt of lemon juice).

5) Chicken Tortas and pina coladas
a torta is a sandwich with a shredded beef, chicken, or pork filling, onions (we leave them out), cheese, and avocado slices on grilled bread...and by "grilled" I mean the bun is opened, slathered with butter (or brushed with that melty butter stuff like what they put on your popcorn at the movies) and placed face down on a hot griddle. We stuffed our tortas with pepper jack cheese, avocado and leftover shredded beef from the first night.
The pina coladas were a big hit with the girls, as were the sugar rimmed glasses (thanks for the mix, Missie!)

6) Fajita Quesadillas and berry margaritas
We used cilantro lime chicken (I grilled and extra breast on pizza night), black beans, sauteed red pepper, and pepper jack cheese.
The berry margaritas were from a mix (thanks, Missie!) and we mixed it with sprite.

7) Taquitos (yep. the frozen kind. I had school that night. it counts.)
We like the El Monterey chicken and cheese taquitos and we eat them with (and only with) Tostitos Restaurant Style medium salsa (thank you darcie for bringing both of these into my life).

8) One Dish Mexican Casserole (---now, my neice jordan's fave!)
This recipe comes from Ashley and Joseph Danes, who were friends of ours when we lived in Boise. When Aaron had his blood clots, they brought us this dinner the night we came home from the hospital. Yes. It's a casserole, and we freaking love it. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.

9) Taco Salad with pita chips and salsa crema dressing.
This recipe is adapted from a Body For Life recipe.
Brown ground turkey and seasonw with McCormick taco seasoning according to the packet directions. serve with hearts of romaine, kidney or pinto beans, avocados, cheese, tomatoes, whole wheat pita chips and salsa crema.

salsa crema: wisk together equal parts softened cream cheese and fat free sour cream. Add 1 tsp seasoning from the taco packet, and enough salsa to thin the mixture into a dressing. Delish.

homemade pita chips: use a pizza cutter to slice whole wheat pita bread into trianglar (like you would slice a pizza) "chips". Spray/brush with water and sprinkle with coarse ground sea salt. Broil on Low until slightly crispy. Beware of overcooking, they'll be gross if they crisp for too long. Leave them in the broiler just long enough to dry them into chips. 2 minutes. (hahaha "twoo minutes.") This is the BEST substitute for tortilla chips on a salad. So much more flavor. Yummy.

10) Carne Con Chile
This recipe comes from Elena Grover. It's one of our favorites, especially because it freezes so beautifully. We eat it most often diced zucchini or yellow squash in it, served over spanish rice (and the leftover rice was used up in the 7 layer burritos).
Sautee 1 1/2 c jasmine rice in 1 tbs butter. Cook until the rice is sort of translucent color and it smells very fragrant. Add 2 c chicken broth (made with caldo de pollo is best) and 1 cup of pureed salsa (I use a mini prep and blend until it is a thin liquid). Lookout when adding the broth to the pot...it will bubble and sizzle a lot because of the butter...don't get burned. Add 1 tsp minced garlic. Cover, reduce heat to med low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. I've found that with the jasmine rice, I need an extra 1/4 cup of water or broth for cooking.
Add corn, cilantro, dash cumin, and a dash of curry. Enjoy!


So keep your eyes open throughout the year for really good recipes. Gringo Fiesta is a celebration of all foods from south o' the border. So send me your recipes, or start preparing to host your own Gringo Fiesta celebration next year. We're starting a movement.



And check it out....GringoFiesta (yes, one word...FB apparently thinks we're racist and doesn't like the word Gringo, so it's all one word) is now on facebook. Become a fan! When the Gringo Fiesta movement takes off, I want to be recognized as the founder: just a hungry girl that doesn't like winter. Also you should become a fan because it is cool.

I also really love that this has become a tradition for our family. Growing up, I loved that my parents had silly little traditions that we did every year. Like arond the last week of April, when the straberry stands are open, we'd buy a flat of strawberries, smash them, add a mountain of sugar and have strawberry waffles topped with whipped cream for dinner. And sometimes, a whipped cream fight would break out. (Mom-didn't you find 10 year old whipped cream stains inside the cabinets when you remodeled?)

Now, I can't resist making strawberry waffles (topped with 1/2 a can of reddi whip) every Spring when the fresh strawberries arrive in the market.

I hope my kids will remember (and continue) Gringo Fiesta nights when they are older.
Ole Gringos!

"An Early Spring it will be!"

Happy Groundhog Day!
Can you stand the excitement of the townspeople in the video when they hold up the groundhog? This is what they've turned to for entertainment. Winter has driven them to madness.


Dear Punxsutawney Phil,
I've changed my mind. I think you're alright, after all.
Sorry I killed your sister.

Excited for Spring,
Meg

We've been suffering from Cabin Fever, here in the Willy House, as well. I've made a list of a few things I do to fight the Winter Blues:
-Run
y'all saw the Winter Warrior video...it's pretty acurate.
I meet up with 4 other girls once a week after our kids are in bed and go for a night run. We wear thermals, hats, gloves, jackets, etc. and run 5-7 miles with our headlamps and reflective gear lighting the way. It's a blast. We jam to good tunes, talk about food, and solve the worlds problems while we run in the dark.
Yes. We stick together, and we all carry pepper spray.

-Every day is a party
Really. Our most recent party was a Tangled Party (Reese and Quincy's choice). There were Tangled plates, Tangled cups, Tangled napkins, Tangled dolls, Tangled dresses, balloons, and a heart shaped confetti cake with rainbow chip sprinkled frosting. Why? Just because.

-Host
I love playing hostess. Book club, baby showers, or dinner with my little family. Any excuse is good enough to pull out the pretty dishes, clean the house up a little extra, dress up, or serve dessert. I recently hosted a baby shower (that I have yet to blog about) and made some fun decorations for it. I can't wait to use them again for Easter.
Winter survival means that I always say YES to playing hostess.

Did anyone else think of cupcakes both times they read the word Hostess? just me?

-Anticipate
Having something fun scheduled on the calendar is a winter must have. Looking forward to something fun is a great distraction from being cold in ugly weather. I like to stay busy. "Cease to be idle..."

-Purchase Flowers
I find it 100% worth the money to keep a $5 bouquet of fresh tulips or other bright colored flowers in my kitchen all winter long.

-Play Games
We play games at the table after dinner every Sunday night
Have you played Farkle? I sat at my parent's table for hours over the weekend laughing while we played this mindless dice game. Love it. AND I should add that I scored 6000 on one roll, I did. (lady.)

-Watch Movies
When we are snowed in, Redbox is a lifesaver. I also swap movies around with friends (because it's free) and the kids love having "new" movies to watch on the weekend. I also love having a movie date with Aaron or a girls night out to look forward to.

-Serve
This is pretty much a guaranteed way to cheer up. Making other people happy makes me feel happy, and it doesn't take much to brighten someone's day. An unexpected phone call, a thank you card, goodies, dinner to a sick friend, flowers, shoveling snow, saying thank you, babysitting. Simple things-a package of pens for your friend who can never find one, cleaning up a mess that you didn't make, a note or email telling someone you appreciate them. Emails take what, 2 mintues? less? Great way to fight the doom and gloom of winter.

-Read
This can also be found under the "great ways to avoid doing anything else" list. Once I start a good book, I can't put it down until it is finishes. I'm soooo not a one-chapter-a-day reader.
I put together a book club last year and I loooooove the girls in it. We have a lot of fun, eat delicious food, and unlike so me book clubs I've attended, we actually read and talk about the books. A few books we've read recently are:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Help by Kathryn Stockett--loved it!
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

I'm currently reading Perilous by my friend Tamara Hart Heiner
The girls and I just started reading The Doll People by Ann Martin

-Cook
I love to cook, but thinking of what to make for dinner can be a monotonous task that adds to the dullness of dark and dreary winter afternoons. Planning ahead and creating menus with new and interesting recipes brings the joy and excitement back into cooking meals for my family. I'm very behind on posts, but I plan to have a massive recipe post, eventually. I love to eat, so knowing I am going to eat something really good, paired with the satisfaction of making it from scratch makes me very happy.

-Bake
similar to above. Who doesn't love fresh bread? I recenly made some citrus blueberry muffins that were gone gone in less than 24 hrs.

This would be a good place to plug in...
-Exercise
since we're eating plenty of delicious junk food. I get together once a week with my friend, Darcie and do workout videos. We have fun, the kids play, we laugh, talk, dance, and get fit. It's a great setup...expecially since it is too cold to take the kids outside right now, and having a workout buddy holds us accountable to actually do the workout!

-Purge
Closets need emptying. Often. I feel so refreshed once the kids and I have tackled a messy toy basket or sorted through closets.

-Groove
Spontaneous dance parties in our house happen regularly. Particularly when laundry is being folded...becuase when laundry gets me down, I can always count on Duffy to "yeah yeah yeah" us through our chores. Go ahead. Sing it. You know you want to. "You got me begging you for mercy..."

-Craft
I feel the need to get my craft ON today. Creativity takes time, and time is the one thing we've got goin' for us on a long winter day. The girls and I are going to make some valentines today.

-Laugh
If you're not one of those people who finds humor in everything, well first of all, I'm sorry.
But don't worry, because there is a never ending supply of stupid and/or inappropriate people on youtube just waiting to help you out.
Here's my latest favorite:

she makes me laugh every time!
My brother, Mark, just introduced me to Tosh.0 over the weekend.
My face hurts from laughing so hard.
I need to get a good laugh in, every day....yeah, even if it is at the expense of others.
I'm not above that.

-Celebrate
Gringo Fiesta is only 16 days away, and I need to create a menu. If you have good recipes from south of the border, send them to me, por favor.

What some simple things YOU do to chase the Winter Blues away?

Adios Winter! Gringo Fiesta II

Did I really not blog even ONCE about Gringo Fiesta II?
How did this happen?
We had a lovely 10 day Feasting of all things capable of sending you on an urgent run for the potty, where you might exclaim "Fire in the Hole" upon your arrival.

But we are seasoned Gringo Fiesta participants and therefore have built up a nice tolerance for the massive amounts of guac, salsa, jalapenos, beans and onions that were consumed over the past week and a half. The kickoff party was at our house with The Meadows and the Glovers (since Tia is "Mexican" and all). We laughed so hard that night, I wonder if she hid a little something something in the Tres Leches cake she brought.

Maybe it was my Sangria.
Either way, it was a fun night. I can't believe I didn't take any photos. 10 days later, the "Closing Ceremonies" were hosted by the Meadows, because about 3/4 into the week and a half of feasting, the girls both came down with ear infections, and I had a sinus infection and some sort of nasty virus that knocked me out for a few days. Kasey stepped up with some rockin' carne asada tacos and they did NOT disappoint.

What we learned:

= awesome.

"Yo Soy Un Hombre Sincero..."

Cinco de Mayo...as if we NEED another excuse to eat Mexican food around here!

Celebrate, we did.

the pony pinata. Usually, pinata's come empty, so you can fill them with treats. This particular pony came STUFFED with paper that was packed SO tight that Aaron had to slice n' dice little holes in it everywhere to pull the paper out and make room for candy. He tried to cut holes in inconspicuous places to keep the pony in tact. If only I'd taken a picture of Aaron fishing paper out of the trap door he cut under the tail...and then shoving Hershey mini's back through the crevice one it was emptied. It was hilarious.
The pony was violated.
Pinatas.
Not just a children's game anymore.
Quincy kept yelling "naughty pony!" every time it was whacked with the stick.
The highlight had to be our friend, Dave taunting and teasing his kid and swinging the pinata out of the way....one too many times. He took a nice beating from his kid right as he reached for the cord. Who's the "sissy" NOW, Dave?!

CANDY!!!

And that's a typical FHE in the Willy House. Spicy food. Candy. A message no one listenst to because of all the candy. Fun Friends. Hitting stuff with a bat.

"El queso está viejo y pútrido. ¿Dónde está el sanitario?"

Hola Gringos!
We are really sick of winter.
The fix?

We are makin' a run for the border and are on an 8 day Mexican Food Marathon.

That's right.
Our good friends 'Hot' and 'Spicy' will be there to escort us through the remainder of February.

We held a Gringo Fiesta last night to kick off our celebration. I pulled out the place mats and napkins that my parents picked up for us when they went to Mexico last year, we had Latin-American music, a virgin Mexican Cantina, a Sombrero, and for extra spice: name tags-so we could tell the difference between Juan and Juanita...or Consuela, Chonchita, Alfonzo, and Pepito-who also joined in on our Gringo fun.

On the menu: I recreated a Cafe Rio Feast!

Before I post the recipes, I feel like I have bragging rights to state first and foremost, that the food last night was just plain awesome and totally kicked Winter's trash. In fact, some of the phrases used to describe the meal by those who tasted it were:

"The food is DIVINE."
"This is even better than her's" ("her" being another mock-up Cafe Rio dinner chef...she's quite the cook, so coming from Aaron, this was a huge compliment to me)
"Five Stars."
"It's so limey."
"Perfection."
"Aw this makes my day, I feel like I'm home."
"Mmmm...it smells GOOD up in here!"
and my favorite line from the evening:
"This is SO good, it makes me want to punch a baby."
Yeah. It was that good.
Have you ever tried these? Two thumbs up and recommended to all:
Ready-to-cook tortillas. 30 secconds on the griddle for each side and BAM. Fresh tortillas. Less than $2 for a package of 20 at Walmart (near the refrigerated bagels and cream cheese). That's slightly less expensive than a package Great Value ready made tortillas, and almost half the cost of Mission or Rosarita...and WAY better! They're my new non-kept secret. No need for tortillas from scratch with these bad boys around.

What DID I make from scratch? Mmm...Mmmm let me show you:
Barbacoa Sweet Pork
Cilantro Lime Rice
Black Beans
Creamy Tomatillo Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Lime Punch
Recipe time...here we go:

Barbacoa Sweet Pork:

1 Pork Loin Roast (I made a friggin HUGE roast last night, so reduce cooking time significantly if you choose to make a little 2-3 pounder)
1 10 oz can red enchilada sauce - I used HOT, but if you are a wimp use Med or Mild
1 tiny can diced green chilies

Put all ingredients in the crockpot on LOW for 9 hours.
After 6 or 7 hours (or basically 2 hours before dinner) shred the pork and add:
1 cup brown sugar
1 can of Dr. Pepper (not diet)
stir and let cook 2 hours until dinner time.

Cilantro Lime Rice:

2 cups uncooked white long grain rice
4 cups water
3 tsp Caldo De Pollo (made by Knorr-it basically chicken bullion...but from the Mexican section-totally worth it)
juice from 1/2 fresh lime
2 tbs butter
1/2 tsp minced garlic
put all ingredients into a covered pot and bring to a boil.
reduce heat to low and let simmer 15 minutes
about 1/2 way through simmering, stir in 1/2 bunch cilantro diced w/o stems and recover the pot.

remove from heat (rice is cooked when all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender)
whisk together:
juice from 1 1/2 fresh limes
2 tsp white sugar
pour over rice and fluff with fork
season with a 1/2 tsp of celery seed and maybe a little garlic salt if you're like me and can't leave it out of anything you love.

Black Beans:

1 lb dry black beans
6 cups water
1-2 TBS Caldo De Pollo
1/2 c salsa
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
juice of 1/2 fresh lime
2-3 TBS diced cilantro
dash garlic salt

Put first 6 ingredients into crockpot and cook on low for about 4-5 hours (black beans take longer to cook than pinto beans, but if you soak them overnight first, they will cook MUCH faster)
I made the beans the night before our Cafe Rio feast, because I only own one crockpot and I knew the pork would monoplize it for the majority of Gringo Feasting Day...After the beans are cooked, transfer to and oven safe covered casserole dish and store in the frig until 1 hour before dinner.
Add remaining 3 ingredients 1 hour before dinner, and heat beans in oven at 350*

Creamy Tomatillo Buttermilk Ranch Dressing:
THIS is a must have. Even if you're NOT making all the other stuff...just make this dressing to serve over a salad and you will have a rockin' dinner. I made it on feasting day, and it was SO much better today with the leftovers, so I recommend preparing this ahead of time, so the dressing can have ample time to soak up all that FLAVAH. I could drink this stuff.

1 packet Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
1 cup mayo (I used light-couldn't tell the diff)
1 cup buttermilk (the real deal-not the homemade 'just add vinegar' kind)
1 bunch cilantro (with stems)
2 fresh tomatillos (crazy mexican tomato/pepper thing from the gooseberry family...looks like a large brussel sprout on the outside, but when you unwrap it, it's more like a very solid, sticky, greeen tomato) peel and quarter (remove any stems).
1 jalepeno. I didn't know how spicy this would be, so I halved the jalepeno, and took out about 60% of the seeds. (remove stem)

Dump all ingredients into a blender and blend the heck out of it. It should be smooth and creamy (no lumps-that's nasty) when it's done. Place in frig for at least 30 min (I recommend overnight) before serving. This dressing should keep fresh for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator if stored in a sealed container. Oh also, it will be BRIGHT green.

Lime Punch:
(shown in the cute little karafe on the left, in the pic with the cheese, lettuce, and other toppings)
1 can frozen limeaid concentrate
3 cans water
1 can Ginger Ale
1 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract is yummy too)
crushed ice
fresh lime slices

Ok so if you want to go REAL Cafe Rio Style and have a salad then you need some tortilla strips (use a pizza cutter and slice up corn tortillas then fry em up in a little veg oil)...or if you're lazy like me, you can use fritos chips..not quite the same, but they give the necessary crunch. Use metal pie tins and put a tortilla, beans, rice, pork, and cheese in the tin, then broil on HI for 4 ish minutes. Remove from oven and add a fat load of lettuce, salsa, guac, tortilla strips and of course the spicy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing. SOOOO YUMMY.
Even Swiper the Fox disguised himself as cactus and tried to sneak into our fiesta. We laughed at the irony that the kids were watching Dora while we ate, bit by the end of the night I think we all were ALL saying, "Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum...Delicioso!"
especially after our turtle fuege brownie sundae desserts:

A few of the other items on the menu this week...
Pinto Bean Soup
Beef Taco Salad
Grilled Lime Chicken Fajitas
Southwestern Breakfast Burritos
Carne Con Chile (and as Elena says, "we're gonna get real Mexican and have them over eggs" instead of rice)
Carnitas with Spanish Rice
Chicken and Black Bean Empanadas

Yesterday as I was cooking, I was singing Depeche Mode "I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough" to my food...I wonder if I'll be singing the same love for spicy food at the end of the week!

Look out Paul and Elena...by March I might be more Mexican than y'all.
Maybe this baby will come out with a tan.