Rainbow Unicorn Swap

Remembering back when I was 10, I loved unicorns and rainbows. So I designed a fun little unicorn with rainbow ribbons for my girl scout troop. The girls are going to a huge event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of girl scouts. All the girls will have cute little things that they made to trade with other girls called, "swaps". My troop will have the unicorns and a couple other swaps. The girls are so excited for this and can't wait to see what other girls made. 


For pattern go to craftsy

Sue's Crock pot Chili Chicken Tortilla

         yumminess in a pot. Thank you Sue.

• package of fresh corn tortillas (i use them whole or you can tear....)
• can cream of chicken soup
• can of mild chopped chilis 
• cooked chicken 
• 2C shredded cheese
• 1 cup of milk

Then start layering the ingredients in your crockpot....I try to end with tortillas/cheese on top.

Pour milk over top

cook on low for about 2 hours....

If you want to do in the oven....just bake in a casserole dish for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees just till everything is hot 

mango salsa

A sweet and savory recipe from my mom.

• mango
• avocado
• can rinsed black beans
• cilantro diced
• red onion diced
• olive oil
• apple cider vinegar
• salt/pepper
• a little onion powder

breakfast for the whole family

I got this recipe from a friend who got it from a friend and so on. It has been modified and modified some more, I'm sure. What I love about this type of cooking: it's not exact, make it to your liking. To me the proportions I am recommending make for a sausage bread pudding with perfect texture. My family all agrees that this will be breakfast at our next camping trip.

• 1 pkg mild Italian sausage
• loaf of sliced sourdough bread
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 5 jumbo eggs
• 2 cups milk
• salt pepper

the night before…

• spray 9" x 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray
• lightly butter bread and cut into cubes, place in dish
• Cook sausage and drain
• Arrange sausage over bread cubes
• Sprinkle cheese
• Beat eggs and milk, salt pepper to taste
• pour over sausage, cheese and bread
• Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight

in the morning…

• Bake uncovered at 350 for 35-45 minutes

Capirotada

My daughter's friend came over this morning telling us about the most delicious breakfast she had. I found this recipe at muy bueno cookbook. I like this version of the recipe because she explains the significance to lent too.

Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)

by muybuenocookbook on March 8, 2011

Today is Ash Wednesday, and so begins Lent. Lent is the 40-day (excluding Sundays) season that precedes Easter. On Ash Wednesday and all Fridays throughout Lent, most people fast and abstain from eating meat.

The most popular food we eat during Lent is capirotada. Capirotada is a Mexican bread pudding made with cinnamon, piloncillo, cloves, raisins, bread, and cheese. I can smell and taste the sweet warm melted cheese as I type this. Yes, you read it right…cheese. The combination of these ingredients is sure to awaken your taste buds.

While working in our family’s neighborhood grocery store (Soza’s Grocery) friends and neighbors would share their capirotada dish. I remember some were quite interesting with the addition of peanuts, coconut, bananas, and sprinkles. I politely tried their recipe as they stood there waiting for my reaction. I couldn’t possibly tell them I didn’t like it, besides that, my mother would have killed me if I uttered an unkind word to one of our neighbors or customers. Instead I just stood there and thanked them. We are such creatures of habit, and any capirotada that didn’t taste like our recipe just didn’t cut it for me.

Both my mom and grandma used the most basic of ingredients to make this old world and traditional dish.

Many Mexican and Mexican-American families view this dish as a reminder of the suffering of Christ on the cross. The ingredients in this recipe carry a rich and symbolic representation. The bread is for the Body of Christ, the syrup is his blood, the cloves are the nails on the cross, the cinnamon sticks symbolize the wooden cross, and the melted cheese stands for the Holy Shroud.

This is our heavenly family recipe. Try very hard not to eat the entire dish of capirotada at one sitting. Sabroso!

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

4 bolillo rolls or French rolls

4 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 piloncillo cones (Mexican brown sugar)

4 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

3 cups cheese (Longhorn Cheddar or Colby), shredded

1 cup raisins

4 tablespoons butter or spay butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut rolls in ½ inch slices and butter both sides, layer on a baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes on each side, until lightly toasted and dry. Remove and cool.

Combine water, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, and cloves in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, creating a syrup. Simmer syrup uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep, covered for 2 hours. Pour through a strainer and discard cinnamon sticks and cloves. Set syrup aside.

Spray 8 x 10 ½” baking dish with non-stick spray, layer ingredients in the following order: a third of the toasted bread, third of the raisins, third of the cheese, and 1 1/2 cups syrup evenly over cheese. Wait 15 minutes and layer another third of the bread, raisins, cheese, and 1 1/2 cups syrup evenly over cheese. Let soak for another 15 minutes, and again top with the remaining bread, raisins, cheese, and syrup evenly over bread. Before baking let set for another 15 minutes.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with nonstick spray and bake 40 minutes, uncover and bake until cheese is golden brown about 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve warm.

Photography by Jeanine Thurston

Slumber Party

My daughter is 8 years old already. Since she is such a big girl we decided she could have her first slumber party! Check out the invites, inspired by www.tinyprints.com

cousin Kerry : Turkey Burgers

No one will ever know how simple and healthy these burgers are. They look just like a burger and taste great!


Just mix ground turkey with butternut squash and cook on frying pan.


TIP: Use more ground turkey than butternut squash or they will be soggy.

TIP: Add a little worcester for  "real meat" flavor