Beef and Kale Tacos with Homemade Tortillas

I've missed posting my cooking adventures.  I still am exploring and cooking new and interesting things as always.  Trying to stay away from processed foods and slowly moving my family to an organic diet.

I have a list of a few meals that are always my 'go to' meals that I know my family love and will eat without much complaint.  So if I've been experimenting and my family needs something simple I put one of my 'go to meals' in my menu plan.

My family loves tacos.  I often make my own Mexican rice and my homemade re-fried beans.  Today however, I had a busy day and had not soaked the pinto beans and I'm out of rice, waiting for an organic order to come in.

I have found a fantastic and EASY tortilla recipe.  I've used it numerous times and really love it.  The tortillas are super easy to roll out and cook up fast.  

Today I used coconut oil in the recipe.  I melted it and added the 3 tablespoons and returned the unused melted oil to my jar.  Coconut oil can melt and return to solid with out compromising the integrity of the oil.

 I do suggest that you roll out the tortillas one at a time as you cook them.  One time I rolled them all, stacked them and then had to re-roll it all as they all stuck together and I could not get them apart.  Roll them thin and stretch them if you need to.  Be sure to have a hot pan.  You will see them bubble up nice and fast.  I never worry about a nice round shape.  We really love these.  The recipe makes 8 nice size tortillas.

And in my quest to get as many veggies in my family as possible.  I cooked up the grass fed ground beef and added a plethora of organic veggies, including; kale, celery, onions, garlic, mushrooms and carrots.  This not only gets more vegetables into my family, but it saves on having a big meal of meat and as a result, makes the meal go further.  I also to not believe in hiding the vegetables.  I want my kids to know what they are eating and be aware that they do like all sorts of vegetables.

I garnished the tacos with lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado and Greek yogurt.  Super super fantastic and yummy.  Yes, Greek yogurt.  I stopped buying sour cream.  Greek yogurt is a better choice and my kids are fine with it. 

We had cut carrots and cucumber on the side.  Everyone loved dinner and we have lots of leftovers for lunch this week.

Layered Nachos

My sister in law, her husband
one of their daughters
came for dinner last week
we always do something low key
and I was craving nachos

I cooked up and seasoned
some ground beef
cut up a ton of fresh vegetables
shredded some cheese
and bought my favorite nacho chips

I use a deeper pan
start with the chips
sprinkle the veggies
the meat and the cheese


do a second layer
with more vegetables
meat and cheese


a third layer
to finish off the dish


I baked this until
the cheese was melted
on all layers
then topped it with cilantro


I made some pico de gallo
and some homemade guacamole
put out some extra chips
to catch the goodness
that falls off the baked chips


such a yummy meal
to have once in a blue moon

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes
you may not think
healthy
so I wanted to try

I was making enough
to also bless a family
so it was a large batch
these veggies
yes every single one
was included in the
sloppy joe mix

just the mix

not the salad
can you tell from
the picture at the start?

This is when
I love my food processor
so handy
here are those veggies again
I sauteed them
in a bit of grapeseed oil

I added about
3 pounds of uncooked ground beef
and a can of crushed tomatoes

mixing everything together
I also added
ketchup
mustard
a bit of brown sugar
BBQ Sauce
salt and pepper
I didn't measure
I guessed
sorry about that

I cooked this for
a good long time
minimum of an hour
to ensure the beef
is cooked all the way
I simmered it for at least
2 hours to meld the flavours

the kids and I
had this for lunch
and we all had it for dinner
it was yum
my husband found it
a little sweet
but took it to work
and ate it all
my kids loved it
it was a very easy
meal to double
you could top it
with cheese
pickles
anything you want

Spaghetti Squash Throw Together

I had received
a Spaghetti Squash
from my sister
we enjoy spaghetti squash
but I wasn't sure
what I wanted to do with it
so I threw somethings together
and had an amazing meal
AMAZING

I started with
2 carrots
small head of broccoli
one onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of grapeseed oil
pepper
roasted for 30 min at 400
stirring once or twice
if you have
never roasted vegetables
you really must try it
they are so good


I cooked up some hamburger
added a 398ml can of diced tomatoes
one teaspoon-ish curry powder
a few large tablespoons of Ricotta cheese


I decided to add
a few handfuls of spinach
to wilt down


cooked 1/2 a spaghetti squash
in the microwave
for about 8 minutes
use a fork
to remove the squash
add the the roast veggies


then add the meat mixture
and about a cup of
shredded mozzarella cheese
mix it all up
dump it into
a casserole dish



then add some more cheese
mozzarella and Parmesan
it's extra yummy
girly thought it
might need more carrots


bake in the already hot oven
basically just until
the cheese melts
I turned it to broil
for just a few minutes
to brown it up a bit


this was so so YUMMY
it didn't need any
extra seasoning
and it was easy


we all loved it
well, I say all
as in those of us
who actually tried it
girly
she wouldn't try it
but she's been
on a dinner strike
for about 2 weeks
she ends up spending
most of dinner
in a timeout


the little girl's dinner
is waiting in the fridge
we'll see how she
likes it for breakfast
I purposely gave them
a small lunch
of just popcorn
and no afternoon snack
I'm really not worried
just annoyed
it's good food!

Dad's Chili

Rainy
Windy
Cold
what is better
than Chili
on a day like today
and of course
nothing is better
than my Dad's Chili


I'm sure my joy
for cooking is from my Dad
actually I know it is
my mom
she greatly dislikes cooking
there is always
one or more dishes
that you can just never
make as good as you
remember it being
when you were growing up
this is one of those
it's simple
I've tried
but it just never
never tastes as good
as when Dad makes it

I'm very excited
that he made me
a very large
amount of chili
to freeze
YAY

Hashbrown Casserole

I love a good hashbrown Casserole
I find it very homey
comforting

I cut up 1/2 a large onion
4 large cloves of garlic
and with some ground beef
I threw it all in a skillet
(I like the work skillet)

Lily came to visit
she wanted to make sure
that she wasn't missing anything
she is so darn cute

I chopped up
some zucchini
some celery
and some beans
I didn't cook them
but left them raw
so they would add some crunch
after the casserole cooked

I used a small bag of shredded hashbrowns
a can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk
about a cup of sour cream
and mixed the meat mixture
the cut raw veggies
all together

I then topped it with
some sharp Cheddar cheese
some crispy fried onions
some crushed up croutons
and some seasoning salt
I cooked it at 350
until it bubbled

This was okay
not great
I needed to spice it up
the beef while cooking
and the hashbrowns while mixing
We used hot sauce
you need to use your imagination
it can be a fantastic family meal

Lily made sure to come back
to ensure we ate it up
and didn't leave her any

Diego of course
was looking for some dinner
girly is an animal lover like her momma
she tries to feed the animals at dinner
every night
they all love her

we had some fantastic entertainment with dinner
I made sure to document it
so I could share it

We have had some dog issues
and not had the best of luck
mostly because
I'm not a seasoned dog owner
I didn't know how to choose a dog
to fit our family
I've worked with an amazing trainer
for about 2 years
today she came to meet
Chance, an American bulldog
we are hoping to rescue
we have him for a week
My trainer Jill
she has been so patient and understanding
encouraging and kind
she has given so much of her time
to help me
to make me a better dog owner
Jill has given her seal
of approval on Chance
now we just need to decide

so far he has been amazing
and fits in well with our family
we are enjoying him
and of course the girly loves him to bits
and is forever sitting on him
and following him around

As I type this
Chance is snoring
VERY loudly
on the floor beside me
makes me giggle