Taco Tuesday on Sunday Because...TACOS!

School has resumed. While I will miss the more laid back approach to life that summer affords, I relish in the sanity provided by predictable routines. Bedtime is within 30 minute range each night. Wake up is the same (ok, maybe a few minutes off if I hit snooze). School drop off and pick up are at predictable times, with minor adjustments for school activities. But the routines I cherish the most: Breaking bread together. Since my son and I became a family nearly six years ago, we start and end each day with a meal together. Breakfast is sometimes just cereal and fruit and dinner is, well, also sometimes just cereal and fruit. But we sit down together. Sometimes we talk and sometimes we don't. Sometimes we're angry with one another and sometimes we're deeply appreciative. Sometimes the meals are amazing and sometimes we order Plan B pizza. But we begin and end the day together, at the same table, dining on the same foods and sharing an experience.

Tonight was Taco Tuesday on Sunday because, I mean, because tacos what else do you need to hear?

Store bought salsa and taco seasoning is so over-laden with sodium that I have learned to make my own. Not only does this help keep my sodium in check (and, thus, help control my blood pressure) but it also tastes better as I can adjust it to our taste buds. So I wanted to share my recipe with you today. I almost exclusively use Penzey's Spices because they're damn good! And now with their political statements, I definitely try to stick with them as it's important to stick up for what's right in America. So here you go, adjust as you wish:

1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon Chipotle powder
1/2 Tablespoon Ancho Chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
2 1/2 teaspoon smoked cumin
2 teaspoons roasted garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried minced onion (I used kroger brand)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked mexican paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

You can tell we like it spicy and smokey. Adjust to suit your taste buds. I find I use stronger spice combos to offset the reduction in salt.

Brown 1 lb of hamburger or meatleass meat. Drain the grease. Return to heat. Add 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix, a couple tablespoons of water and a couple tablespoons of fresh salsa (or whatever you have, I'll write that recipe down another day). Heat back up and let water evaporate.

The amount of sodium reduced in this recipe compared to a typical store-bought taco packet is incredible! I can't even do the math BUT this recipe basically makes enough seasoning for three lbs of seasoned taco meat at just under 750 mg of sodium (so 250 per lb of taco meat. each one makes at least 8 tacos for 30 mg of sodium each, more or less) compared to one package of McCormack having 190 mg of sodium per taco! My son and I ate three tacos today for a total of 90 mg of sodium. Store bought we would have had almost 600. Boom! There you go y'all! and I swear it tastes so much better!

You won't go back to store bought. I usually will double this recipe and it'll last me several months. Bon apetit, y'all!

Favorite Parts of Summer

Sure, summer time is a more carefree time of year. I adjust my work schedule to accommodate doing fun stuff and random midday lunches with my son. I generally go to work daily in shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt. Often my clients are more relaxed and we get to share vacation stories. Summer, for me, is a wonderful time of year in a carefree kind of way. Truly, I love each season as they bring about different types of enjoyment for me and the carefree-ness of summer just can't be matched by any other season.

One of my favorite parts of summer is preparing for winter. Farmer's markets are in full swing. Tomatoes are at their reddest this time of year and zucchini is abundant! It is great to observe the seasons by what's available at the market. And this week it was zucchini week!

So I made chocolate zucchini bread, of course! I have searched for YEARS for the perfect chocolate zucchini bread that did not rely on chocolate chips for the chocolate component. I wanted a full on chocolate zucchini bread dang it! And I finally found it a few years ago. This is NOT my recipe and I do not alter it so I am going to post the link to the blog where I found it. If you like high calorie, delicious, buttery tasting (though it uses oil not butter) chocolate zucchini bread you are going to want to try this recipe. And then bookmark it because it's a winner!

I have two teenage boys sleeping right now. I tried to wait until they woke up before slicing into it but...I just couldn't! Hope they don't mind. Who am I kidding, they won't even notice as they devour slice after slice, I bet! This recipe makes either two full loaves (though they are a little on the smaller side) or one full loaf and two mini loaves. One of the mini loaves is already marked to head to my mother's as her welcome-home treat upon returning from a week of vacation...if I can keep the boys away from it, that is!

Enjoy!

Best Chocolate Zucchini Bread EVER! 

Rainy Derby Day & Homemade Brownies

It's  an ol' grey, rainy, dreary Derby Day here in Derby City. (A great day for the long shots, I might add!)

My son has a friend over and we were supposed to go to Kentucky Kingdom, but the rain kept us away. Instead, we went to a delicious local pizza place (Derby City Pizza). After returning home the boys settled into building some empire on Minecraft and I turned my attention to labeling soaps for our small business (like us on FaceBook: Soapman & Son). Then, I decided my grandmother would bake brownies! Seeing as this is the house she lived in for 30ish years, that I have her 8x8 baking dish and her love of cooking I decided I, too, MUST bake brownies! FROM SCRATCH! I did not search her recipe box, instead I turned to the Internet.

Here is the link to the food blog I used for the brownie recipe today. It was meh. The flavor was not strong enough, the sugar quantity made it too sweet. Luckily I added some walnuts and chocolate chips to enhance the recipe.

next time I think I'll cut the sugar, add a little more flour and definitely add more cocoa. With that said, based on how quickly the boys devoured their piece I'd say it's got winning (potential) written all over it!

So here you go, enjoy this day, even when it's nasty outside you can make it delightful (and delicious) inside!

bon apetit!
Donald

Quinoa for Two

So often I hear "I can't cook homemade meals for just the two of us" or "just me" or whatever reason keeps people out of the kitchen cooking real food from real ingredients. And it's all rubbish excuses! here is how I make a small batch of quinoa just for my son and me (it's actually just for me, he doesn't like it, but it was my original recipe so now it serves me dinner and two lunches):

1 C Chicken broth (or whatever broth you have)
1/2 C quinoa
1 clove garlic
juice from half a lemon

Bring broth to a boil.
Reduce to low.
Add quinoa.
Add lemon and garlic (minced/grated/finely chopped)

Simmer 10-15 minutes, covered, until broth is absorbed.

You can eat it as is (the chicken broth, garlic and lemon juice are delish on its own), or you can jazz it up a little. Here are links to previous quinoa recipes posted: Quinoa Salad and Friend Quinoa.

That's it. Makes a small batch for a small family. Real food. Real ingredients. Real love.