Tip #37: "Make Taquitos and Burritos!"

Sunny's Sunday Select - late...I'm sorry! Little man was sick last night, but is better now.

Here's another recipe from Rachael Ray. Last summer when I was low in daycare and pregnant with Kathryne, I watched this show during Kristofer's nap and Sunny bought me one of her books. Although, like I've said, the ingredients are pricey at times, I just swap them out for other things...enjoy! This reminded me of authentic Mexican take-out I had with my friend a month ago - yummy!

Poquito and Grande: Taquitos and Burritos

Taquitos
2 C. shredded chicken (cook a whole chicken the day before)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
Salt & Pepper
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles
Cilantro & Parsley
Oil for frying
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Dipping Sauce
1 T. EVOO (or vegetable oil)
1 red onion (or white) chopped
1 tsp. sugar
1 T. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
pinch cinnamon
Salt & pepper
1 can (28 oz) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

Burritos
3 T. EVOO (or vegetable oil)
1 1/2 lb ground pork (or turkey)
1 small zucchini, grated
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 T. hot chipolte in adobo......puree the leftovers and put in ice-cube trays for later use!
salt
1 lg. (19 oz) can black beans
Pepper
8 (8 in.) flour tortillas
2 C. cheddar cheese
1/2 head lettuce

To make the taquitos:
Season the chicken w/ cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir in chilies, cilantro & parsley. Dish into corn tortillas. (Can bake for 12 mintutes)

To make dipping sauce:
In saucepan w/ oil add onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes to soften. Season w/ sugar, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper and stir in roasted tomatoes. Simmer.

To make burritos:
Coook pork in skillet until brown and add zucchini, garlic, chipolte in adobo and salt. Cook until meat is done.

Beans: Mash in a skillet and heat until crusted around the edges...add salt & pepper.

Soften tortillas in microwave and pile beans, cheese, pork, and lettuce - roll and serve!

This seems like a lot, but it can be done in 1/2 hour if you have each thing cooking on a different burner!

Tip #36 From Mrs. Sunny

"Bad luck only makes you stronger :) ..."

Looking back two years ago when we moved into our current home, here is what went wrong in the first 6 months which is funny now:

1. Front rotted tree fell down (luckily not on the house!)
2. Leak from the sink light (replaced the roof this summer)
3. Clogged sink (Called Mr. Rooter)
4. Dishwasher broke (my fault - the bottom sprayer fell on the heater on the bottom...oops)
5. Sump pump went out - basement wet
6. Garage door stopped working (replaced motor)

These are probably some of the main reasons why I'm thrifty with my money...who knows what will go next...like in the last week...

1. Clogged sink again! (Didn't call Mr. Rooter this time - always find someone you know and trust!)
2. And our sump pump again went out...basement wet

But, we made it through the week!

Extra Tip: "Pour boiling water down your sink once a week to prevent clogging" - Mr. Rooter never told me that! And I have vowed not to use my sink disposal anymore, apparently it takes a lot of water for those to work well!

Alright, I'm done venting and thinking about all the money we have thrown at people the past two years!

Hope everyone survived all the rain the past two days...hang in there! :)

Tip #35 From Mrs. Sunny

"Praise, praise, praise your children!"

I'm excited to tell everyone that Kristofer has been in underwear for 3 days now! We tried this 6 months ago when he said he wanted to wear underwear but that lasted 1 day and I knew he wasn't ready.

This time it all started when I called the booster seat at our kitchen table a "baby chair". He sometimes still sat in it because he thought it was fun. But after calling it a baby chair, he said "I'm not a baby". I replied, "You're right. Kristofer is a big boy and big boys sit on potties as well!" And then he told me he wanted to wear underwear! Yes, that's how short the conversation was - he just up and decided!

I know this has come sooner than I thought because he has a wonderful friend at daycare (My daycare) that was just potty trained. The past few weeks I've asked if he wanted to sit on the potty, too and he said, "No, I'm just watching". So this friend was a great example and we are on our way to having ONE child in diapers! I'm really excited!

Now we are not accident free, that's for sure. But he definitely does not want a diaper on. I've only put them on at night, but this morning he was dry when he woke up!

So keep praising your children, whether it's for potty training or everyday exciting moments.

Sunny's Sunday Select: Provencal Tuna Melt
(Originally a Rachael Ray recipe, but I changed it up a bit...her ingredients are soo expensive! :)

3 cans tuna
3 T. oil
1/2-1 onion (depending on taste)
Basil, Rosemary, seasoning to taste
4 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice (or bottled lemon juice)

Butter your favorite sandwich bread, top with tuna and favorite cheese.

Set on a pan and put in your oven on BROIL.

Watch closely, in about 3 minutes the top will be crisp (and in 4 minutes it will be burnt...I know by experience!).

Flip the sandwiches and put in for another 3 minutes!

Enjoy your toasted sandwiches! It should make about 5 sandwiches!

Tip #34 From Mrs. Sunny

It's Sunny's Sunday Select: "Make Baked Pork Chops With Parmesan Sage Crust"

Ingredients -

1-1/2 cups Italian Flavored Breadcrumbs (Or toasted bread w/ seasoning) 1 cup grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese 1 tablespoon Dried Rubbed Sage 1 teaspoon Cumin 1 teaspoon grated Lemon Peel 2 Large Eggs 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour ½ teaspoon Salt ½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper 4 Bone-in Center-Cut Pork Loin Chops (each about 1 inch thick- or whatever's in your freezer!) 2 tablespoons Butter 2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. 2. Add Italian flavored breadcrumbs, grated fresh parmesan cheese, dried rubbed sage, cumin, and grated lemon peel in glass pie plate. 3. Stir to combine. 4. Add eggs to medium bowl, whisk with fork until well beaten. 5. Place flour in shallow bowl or on plate. 6. Season flour with salt and pepper. 7. Dredge pork chops in flour. Shake off excess flour. 8. Dip chops in egg, then breadcrumbs. 9. Add butter and olive oil to heavy ovenproof skillet. Heat over medium high heat. 10. Add breaded pork chops to hot skill. Cook 2 minutes per side until well browned. 13. Place skillet in preheated oven. 14. Bake 20-25 minutes, until pork chops are crispy on the outside. Voila! Okay, so I haven't made it today, yet. I'll have an updated picture tonight! And the detergent worked wonderfully! Considering it cleaned my cloth diapers, it should clean your underwear! :) Here's the website I found my recipe: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm The recipe called for 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha, and I put in 1/2 of a bar...oops. A little extra soap won't hurt...let me know if you try this!

Tip #33 From Mrs. Sunny

"Make homemade laundry detergent!"

I finally did it ladies and gentleman! I finally got a bucket and all the ingredients, but then my bucket got used at our "rental" house (which, pray, is selling at the end of the month...pray a lot! :) and I had to clean it out. And then to find the time...but today, the kids refused to take a nap, so they both fell asleep at 5:00 and I cleaned the jeep (waaay over-due) and then I made the soap, finally!

Okay, enough of the babbling...

Grate 1 bar of Ivory soap or 1/2 bar Fels Naptha
Add to 6 Cups water on the stove
Heat until the soap melts












Stir in 1 Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Super Soda (NOT BAKING SODA)
and stir in 1/2 Cup 20 Mule Team Borax until dissolved













So here's the ingredients....and they're dissolving!
I used Fels Naptha and the water was yellow.

Remove from heat
Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket
Add the soap mixture & stir

Add 1 Gallon (4 qts to a gallon!) + 6 Cups water and stir

Cover with a lid and let set for 24 hours!

Use 1/2 Cup per load when finished!

I need to look up the website I got this from and attach is later...good luck trying everyone!

Sunny's Sunday Select

Ginger Chicken

In a zip-lock bag put:
Chicken legs
Ginger (to your liking)
Soy Sauce

Let sit in fridge for 2 hours
Brown in skillet
Bake at 350 until not pink

I was supposed to serve this with Fried Rice to finish off the Asian meal, but decided to use a left-over pasta salad!

Sorry I couldn't get my picture uploaded, yet! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!