Roswell Adventures

   My husband and I love cabbage prepared all kinds of ways. Recently, as I was planning our dinner, I decided to buy some bacon, because...well...bacon. After I cooked the bacon then added the onions to the leftover bacon fat, the smell took me back to German potato salad. So, I grabbed my dad's old recipe, and our dinner was transformed. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but just picture chunks of cabbage with diced onion and bacon. Cabbage with Hot Bacon Dressing ~3-4 cups cabbage, chopped in large squares 2 slices thick bacon, diced                      1 cup onion, diced fat from bacon                                          1/4 c vinegar 2 Tbsp water    ...

 Sometimes you just need a refreshing drink...and sometimes you are attending a conference and need that drink to be a "mocktail." In preparation for the 2021 NACADA Virtual Region 6 and Region 10 Conference , my husband (who makes killer mojitos) created this drink for me. It's name pays homage to where we live - Roswell, NM - home (or close to it) of the 1947 UFO crash. Crash City Faux-jitos 6 sprigs of mint (more of less, depending on size of leaves and how minty you like your drink) 1/3 cup sugar   3 limes (see notes for picking out good ones) 3 cups cold club soda Rinse mint leaves and pull from stem. Add to a pitcher. Crush with muddler, wooden spoon, or whatever seems appropriate from your gadget drawer. Wash limes and cut into eighths (approximately). Add about half of lime slices to pitcher. Continue "muddling".  Add in sugar - more muddling.  Add in the rest of the limes (unless you want to keep a small slice out for garnish). Keep muddling until you h...

I learned about Lazy Tacos from a Facebook page for New Mexico recipes, and I knew I had to try them. I watched a couple of videos and checked out more than a couple of recipes. Although I was frustrated that the recipes listed spices with no quantities, I decided to go for it. And...it worked! However, just like the other recipes, I don't have quantities to share with you. This is what I can tell you -  Start with a pound of ground beef (we use grass-fed beef, which is very lean). Mix in: Salt  Pepper Garlic powder Onion powder Cumin Of course, you can add in other spices - even your favorite taco seasoning.  Lay your corn tortillas out on a large cutting board and spread a thin layer of ground beef across a little less than half of it. This is close to 2 tablespoons.   Heat vegetable oil up in a large skillet - about 1/2 inch should do it. As for how hot you want the oil, you want the tortillas to bubble nicely, but if they spatter and pop, your oil may be too hot....

 Chuck and I recently bought a cooking blender. We probably never would have spent the money, but I hosted an online Pampered Chef party and got a really good deal. We love soups, so that was one of the points behind our purchase. We also love green sauce, and since we are getting to the end of the chile-roasting season, we bought a bushel of medium green chiles yesterday, and I decided to put the cooking blender to work today. It is cooking right now, and it smells amazing. I used my basic recipe, scaled to fit the cooking blender. I used to use extra green chiles so I wouldn't need to use flour for thickening, but we have been buying hotter chiles, so this time I decided to add some carrot and then some corn starch to help with the thickening. Keep in mind you will want to adapt the recipe to suit your heat preferences, but here is what I did today:   Green Chile Sauce (Cooking Blender) 3 cups water 1 cup chopped carrot 1 1/3 cups chopped onion 2 cups roasted diced green chi...

 I remember when I first got this recipe from a colleague at Sabino High School. I told Chuck about it - and he was significantly less excited than I was. In fact, due to his reticence, I postponed trying this for several months before deciding it was time. We are both very glad I did! This soup is fast, easy, and delicious. No simmering for hours. In fact, the most time-consuming aspect is peeling and cubing the squash, a task that could easily be completed ahead of time.  As I recently purchased a cooking blender and had used it to make cauliflower soup, I decided to adapt my recipe to this new tool. Here are both recipes - the original and the one I adapted. Both are fabulous. Enjoy! Golden Squash Soup (Original) 5 medium leeks (white portion only…can use some light green) or one large leek 3 cans (14 oz) chicken broth 2 tablespoons butter 1 ½ lbs Butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (approx 4 cups) ¼ teaspoon dried thyme ¼ teaspoon gr...

 Lentil Tacos   Ingredients: 1 cup finely chopped onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon dried oregano 2 1/2 cups chicken broth 1 cup salsa 12 taco shells 1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce 1 cup chopped fresh tomato 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 6 tablespoons sour cream Directions: 1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly. 2. Stir in salsa. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream

 In making the move to eating fewer grain-based meals, we have started utilizing almond flour. I found this recipe on the Wholesome Yum page and really like it - for the ease of making them as well as for the taste. These biscuits are very tender and don't hold up well to being sliced open. Instead I make them a bit thinner. We usually will break off a bite - but when I made green chile sausage gravy, we used them whole and doused them in the gravy. Included below is the recipe I use (only slightly different from the original) as well as the Old Bay Cheddar variation. How easy are they? You mix the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients (pictures are of Old Bay Cheddar biscuits)... Mix together. Put them on the baking sheet (medium cookie scoop with a release trigger makes quick work of this)...     ...and bake them.    Easy Almond Flour Biscuits 2 c blanched almond flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp sea salt 2 large eggs, beaten 1/3 c butter, melted & coo...