Twelve: Don’t Want to Taco ‘Bout It

Two weeks ago I officially turned 30! Like I had mentioned before, I wasn’t having a hard time with turning 30 but for some unknown reason a half hour before midnight, I started crying and I couldn’t stop. Though it could have been from the kitchen disaster that this blog post is dedicated to, I’m more sure it was a straight feelings explosion of gratitude for the last 29 years and the incredible people and experiences that have gotten me to this point. I eventually pulled it together and got some sleep in preparation for what turned out to be the best birthday weekend I’ve had in a long time. Shout out to everyone who made the tears and the laughs happen - you da real MVPs.

The week leading up to my birthday I started my same job in a new location. That plus the stress of the mid week ice storm left me with saving most party prep things for the last minute, aside for the multiple Amazon Prime orders I placed throughout the week. On my way home from work Thursday, my last day of work for ten days, I made my stops at Total Wine (my new favorite place) and Stop & Shop where I grocery shopped off of a photo taken of the grocery list that I left at home. This was probably my first real hiccup of the day. I was buying too many things, didn’t cross anything out, and turns out, I forgot to write some things down in the first place. My contributions to the birthday get together I was hosting were mini buffalo chicken tacos, Texas caviar dip, my new go-to Greek inspired 7-layer dip, and a fun bar set up in the dining room. I’d seen a video online for these buffalo chicken tacos that I’d been eyeing for awhile and I thought it was the perfect occasion for them. Boy was I right - they were delightful, but also very, very wrong - they were a disaster.

In order to pull off the tacos, there were lots of steps to follow. I cut corners by using pre made buffalo sauce and rotisserie chicken, anything to work smarter, not harder. I bought larger tortillas that I planned on buying a circle cookie cutter to use to make the tiny shells. Hiccup #2 - couldn’t find said cookie cutter so I was going to have to freehand the mini shells. So while catching up on The Bachelor, I traced a lid that I thought was small enough with a knife until I created 40 small shells. It’s important to know I started with 40 because I certainly didn’t end this way.

I then was turning the soft shells into spicy, crispy shells. You do this by smothering the shells in buffalo sauce, then, according to that video; strategically placing the saucy shells folded on the bottom of a cupcake pan, open side up, and bake in the oven at 350 for 12 minutes until crispy. This is where hiccup #3-43 go down. Not only did I cut the shells too large so that I could only fit 6 shells at a time on the cupcake tin instead of double that, the size also made the shells fall open, more like a flower than a taco. In hindsight, could have made taco bowls or something out of them but was thinking I had so many extra shells to work with I could scrap them and move on (WRONG). So on my second batch, to try and get them to fold into recognizable taco shaped shells, I opted to place a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet and drape the shells over the rack. I go to spray everything down with cooking spray and run out mid coverage so I try to wipe everything down with a paper towel dipped in oil, send that round into the oven and hope for the best. In the meantime, I attempt the cupcake tray again, making another six shells while the 10 or so draped over the cooling rack become perfect little shells in the oven... until I pull them out and realized I didn't oil the cookie sheet down enough. The shells are ripping in half, bottom half stuck like glue to the cookie sheet. Can I chisel them slowly and gently off the cookie sheet with a butter knife? Nope. Do I have to throw out another round? Yup.

At this point, I'm shockingly not panicking about my messed up shells and since I've been enjoying a glass of two of wine or maybe more while cooking and it's 10pm, I know I'll have to wait in the morning to go back to the grocery store anyways and grab some cooking spray. At this point, I already have to go back for an ingredient I missed in the Texas Caviar Dip that I made throughout this shell debacle, and will find out in the morning I left ingredients for the Greek layer dip out on the counter overnight that needed to be refrigerated so those will get added to the grocery list too. A lot of time goes by as I'm picking up my bedroom and I realize that the second round of cupcake tray shells is STILL in the oven. Thankfully didn't set the house on fire but out comes a batch of black, completely inedible shells. Couldn't even call these bad boys "Cajun" or "blackened" because they are so far the point of no return. Into the trash they go too.

So if you're wondering why I'm even sharing this recipe with you if it's such a headache, know that I worked out all the kinks for you! Make sure the shells are small enough to fit on the cupcake sheet, 17 small shells should fit on the tray, not just six. Or if you're making bigger ones, use the cooling rack/cookie sheet method and spray the hell out of it. Cut corners when you can to make your life easier. Use the premade buffalo sauce and rotisserie chicken if you can.

Since this is a post about tacos, I'm also going to share with you some bacon shrimp tacos I learned how to make when I took a cooking class with my mom while I was in Arizona last week! SOOOO good! First buffalo, then bacon.

Recipe Twenty: Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Ingredients

8 flour tortillas cut into mini circles (mine we probably 5 inches in diameter and big)

1+ cup of Buffalo Sauce depending on how saucy you like it

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1 scallion, finely chopped

6 oz cream cheese

Grated mozzarella

Pinch of salt

Ranch dressing (optional)

In medium size bowl, toss the small tortillas in 1/2 cup of buffalo sauce and arrange on the back of a cupcake tray or over the top of a cooling rack. Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 until crispy.

Meanwhile, combine chicken, cream cheese, 1/2 of your chopped scallions, and a pinch of salt in a bowl.

Once cooled, spoon a teaspoon of this mixture into each taco shell. Top with a pinch of mozzarella and arrange on a tray where they all fit and won't knock over and toppings spill out. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 or until cheese is melted. Top with the remainder of your scallions and enjoy!

For the record, got RAVE reviews from friends about these tacos. And yes, that picture shows all that was left for me to make day of the party (minus the test run one that I devoured prior to people showing up).

Recipe Twenty-One: Chipotle Shrimp and Bacon Tacos

Ingredients

12 oz bacon cut into small pieces (makes it easier to cut in small pieces if you throw it in the freezer for a 15 minutes prior to chopping)

1/2 red onion diced

2 lbs large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half, tails removed

3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

12 corn tortillas

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime, juiced

Salt to taste

In large, deep skillet, fry the bacon over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain the bacon fat. Add the onions to the pan with the bacon and cook 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the shrimp and chipotle chiles. Sauté for about 5-6 minutes or until heated through.

Heat tortillas on an ungreased skillet over medium-high heat for 10-15 seconds. Turn and heat for another 5-10 seconds. You could also toss them in the microwave for a few seconds if you prefer.

Fill the heated tortillas with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with cilantro, lime juice and salt.

So delicious and so easy, guys. Love hearing what you try out and what you think!

Enjoy!

- Kela

Eleven: Souper Bowl Sunday

Let's be real. This Sunday's Super Bowl match up isn't the most ideal game to watch for a New York Giants fan however that will not stop me from hanging out with some of my favorite people and eating some of the best game day snacks until I should have stopped eight chicken wings ago. In all honesty, way more excited about the Justin Timberlake halftime show and Pink singing the National Anthem than watching one of the teams I like the least win the biggest game of the year. Whatever - I'm not here to bash either team and may the best one win on Sunday. Add the fact that THE This is Us episode of the century is airing right after to the list of things I'm looking forward to more than the actual game. I'm probably not emotionally prepared for that so won't watch it that night and will save it for a time that I am ready to drown in a puddle of my own tears later on during the week. No spoilers please!

If you're looking for some fabulous game day dips to bring to the parties, scroll on back to Seven: When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip. But for now, I'm sharing with you the easiest, most delicious soup I've made in while - Stuffed Pepper Soup.

Recipe Nineteen: Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed peppers will always remind me of my Grandma. When I was little, when she would make stuffed peppers or stuffed cabbage (galumpkis!), I would only ever eat the stuffing. To this day when she makes a batch of either, she'll give me a call because she put one aside for me - what a gem! Thankfully my palate has grown and I'm no longer anti-vegetables so that wasn't a concern with tonight's dinner. I bought a nice loaf of Italian bread to dunk in the broth and I would highly recommend doing the same. 

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef

6 cups water

2 bell peppers, chopped (I went for one green and one red)

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

2 cups cooked rice (I used long grain and made it easy by buying the Uncle Ben's microwave in a bag in 90 seconds package which equals 2 cups... work smarter, not harder, friends)

In a large pot over medium heat, cook and stir beef until no longer pink. I added salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to the meat while browning. Did I measure? No. Sorry to not be helpful. A couple shakes of each will do. Drain well after cooking or your soup will end up with an oily covering.

Add the peppers, water, beef bouillon, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes and bring to a rolling boil. 

Reduce heat and simmer on low uncovered until peppers are cooked through, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Add cooked rice and continue simmering uncovered for 10 minutes longer. Serve soup into bowls and allow a few minutes to cool so you don't burn your entire mouth from eating piping hot soup.

So easy! So delicious! So pumped to have lunch leftovers for the next few days!

Hope y'all enjoy! 

- Kela

Ten: Oodles of Newdles

Happy New Year, everyone! First blog post of 2018 (one of many, right Kela? Sure). I'm not a big resolutions person because frankly I'm terrible at actually following through with them, but as I typed that I thought that maybe I should make writing more blog posts the goal for 2018. Help keep me accountable? You know what works - asking me for the recipe of things I post on social media. It's how we got here today, well that and the foot of snow going down outside. Oh and the avoidance of taking down the Christmas tree, laundry, etc. that could be getting done today and instead are being put on the backburner so I can spend some time writing. Whatever. Check in tonight to see what I've actually gotten done.

Something BIG is happening in 2018 guys. In a little over a month, this girl turns 30. So far in my last few weeks of my twenties, I've watched the ball drop solo (went to a friend's house and decided to leave at 11pm because I'm actually 29 going on 70), joined a new dating app because I'm sick of the old ones that haven't worked out, won a month of free bagels from Panera, and tried to get into the new season of the Bachelor. I'd say there are a lot of wins in there so maybe 2018 will be my year. As for turning 30, I'm really not that stressed out about it. I know that 30 feels like what should be a major milestone in my life but the reality is that I'm not going to get married or have a kid in the next 6 weeks so there's no point in my wallowing over the fact that I'm not where I thought I would be, even when it seems like everyone else around me is checking off those boxes. Instead I'll be proud of the things I've accomplished in the last 29.9 years and look forward to seeing what's up next for me. I've got a good feeling about you 2018!

Another notable 2018 moment: last night's ramen upgrade. I knew I was in the mood for a noodle bowl of some sort but when browsing through the internet's many, many options, I opted to mix and match a few to get exactly what I wanted. I screen shot a few directions and ingredient lists and headed out to my local grocery store on the day before a blizzard. While everyone else was buying out the store, (why? It's not like we'll never be able to go to the grocery store again. And why is it always bread and milk that go first? I thought we're supposed to hate carbs and drink water) I headed down the international aisle to see what I could find. The recipe called for a few tablespoons each of rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and sriracha and though I was able to find them, it felt a little aggressive to buy three slightly expensive bottles of things to use for one recipe and then let them sit in the fridge until I tossed them. So instead I opted to buy a bottle of Kung Pao stir fry sauce, assuming that the flavor profiles would be pretty close and have the heat kick I was looking for. From there, I picked up some packages of Ramen, broth, and a few veggies, knowing I probably had soy sauce at home (I didn't have a bottle like I thought but instead used packets of soy sauce that you get from Chinese or sushi take-out), that I had baby carrots leftover from a NYE veggie platter, and that there was some leftover chicken that needed a little love or was destined for the trash soon. In total, I spent $6.96 and that includes the extra quart of chicken broth that I bought and the six pack of Ramen even though I only needed 2 - this sets me up to make it again soon with another small price tag. The recipe probably makes abut 4 servings aka $1.74 per serving! Amazing! I highly recommend giving this a shot - you'll love it! Most of my inspirations came from here.

Recipe Eighteen: Easy Ramen

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil (or sesame oil if you have it)
2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons stir fry sauce (or 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of Sriracha)
1 cup shredded carrots (I don't have a box shredder so I just finely chopped into strips)
4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 3oz. packages of Ramen noodles (discard flavor packets)
1/2 cup sliced scallions
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cut into small strips

Instructions
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and simmer until fragrant.

Add soy sauce and cook for one minute, stirring to blend thoroughly and avoid burning.

Add broth and stir fry sauce. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Add carrots and mushrooms and simmer lightly for at least 10-15 minutes. The longer it simmers, the better the depth of flavor so I covered it and went and watched an episode of Easy on Netflix (30ish minutes).

3 minutes prior to serving, add the Ramen noodles to the pot and cook for those same 3 minutes until cooked and tender.

To repurpose the chicken, I heated it in a skillet with a little stir fry sauce so all pieces were lightly coated. Doesn't take more than a few minutes.

Add some chicken to bowl and ladle the soup and noodles over the top. Garnish with scallions.

So easy guys! You can totally do this! I can't wait to hear how yours came out. I do have the means to make another batch or two so I may just be able to share with a few of you. I'm off to indulge in some leftovers. Thanks to those of you who reached out and asked for the recipe! Happy to share.

I genuinely hope that 2018 is your year!

- Kela