Cafe Rio for the poor

We've been watching our pennies lately which makes it difficult to spend money on going out to eat.  There's only so much you can do with chicken and rice and I even made Jon go get the propane refilled because I needed another way to cook and add flavor.  We grilled for 3 days straight and it was delicious.  It came time again to throw something else into the mix yesterday so I decided to throw some chicken in the crock pot with some green enchilada sauce that we happened to have on hand.  I added a few fresh garlic cloves, some cumin, and some red chili powder.  I shredded it about 2 hours before we ate and busied myself making the pico de gallo and guacamole.  I also whipped up some cilantro, lime rice.

Not only was it lovely to eat, it was lovely to look at!  It wasn't quite the same as Cafe Rio but it was a good loose interpretation of the real thing and was very satisfying!

The magic word is not always magic.

On Valentine's, I was quite the domestique.  I dipped strawberries in chocolate, made about a thousand heart-shaped sugar cookies, and cooked a salmon dinner for my family.

I picked Jon up from school and even though he'd probably would have preferred to relax at home after an exhausting day at school, he humored our little guy and took Jonah for a walk around the neighborhood while I cooked dinner.

Sophie saw the chocolate covered strawberries lying on the counter to dry and immediately started begging for one.  I told her they weren't ready yet and she would have to wait until after dinner.  With them gone and me left with Sophie, I turned on some cartoons for her and ran out to the superfluous fridge in the garage for some supplies.  Upon my return, I turned to say something to Sophie and there she stood, strawberry in hand, chocolate covering her face.  I'm pretty sure I was only gone for about 20 seconds.  I said, "Sophie, I said no strawberries!  What are you doing? (I'm not mad, I'm more surprised at her ability to reach up and cleanly swipe a strawberry off a counter that's a good foot taller than she)" and her reply was, "Mom, I said please!"  I couldn't help but laugh.  There was no evidence of a chair being moved or a struggle involved in reaching the biggest strawberry of the batch.

Some of our other Valentine's activities included making cards for Grandpa & Mimi Green and eating pink, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Yesterday was Jon's birthday.  It was hard to make it special since it was Sunday and most of our day was spent in church and preparing food for dinner.  I took Jon out on Saturday, instead, for lunch and then a relaxing couple's pedicure!  Obviously this was something I planned without Jon's knowledge and I knew he'd be worried about it if I told him what we were doing so I kept it a secret until we got there.  He ended up enjoying it and found it relaxing, just as I told him it would be.  Really it's just a glorified foot massage, right?

I made his favorite cake for dessert last night and was very pleased with the result. I've graduated from cake from a box and frosting from a container.  I made the most amazing chocolate cake from Barefoot Contessa and added some homemade coconut and pecan frosting.  I made it into 4 layers so that I could add a couple layers of dark chocolate frosting to the inside, which really made the cake even more moist and delicious.

The kids sang to Jon last night before bed and it was the most precious and special thing to hear.  I think that topped any birthday present we could have gotten him.  They certainly love their daddy.


Chocolate Cake (To Die For) 

Ingredients
nocoupons

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (instead of coffee I used my mother-in-law's chicorée, you could also use postum) 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.


Coconut and Pecan Frosting
  
Ingredients

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup flaked coconut

Directions 

 

In a large saucepan combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, margarine and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut. Spread on cake while still warm. 

 

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.  I love you.  You are my best friend and I'm so happy to be with you for eternity!

A Real Burger

One of our favorite meals is homemade burgers.  We've employed the "smash" technique to cook the burgers.  Shape the ground beef into a ball and throw it on the frying pan.  Let it brown and create a crust on the bottom side.  Flip after a few minutes and smash down with your spatula.  Delicious.

We threw sauteed mushrooms, red onions, homemade guacamole, cheese, and bacon on them.  We usually use some sort of ciabatta bread or something other than a plain hamburger bun.  I'm still looking for the perfect bun recipe.

What's for dinner?

Jonah is a picky eater. I'm not sure if he's any worse than other 2 year old but it sure seems to show more on him. He's very tall, but also very skinny. To paint a picture for you, he has an outie (belly button) simply because he doesn't have enough fat on his belly for it to go IN anywhere.

He has his normal menu items--things I know I can count on actually hitting his stomach: hot dogs, chicken nuggets, noodles, quesadillas, etc. So tonight when we went to get burgers from 5 Guys Burgers & Fries, we decided to play it safe and give him some fries and just make a hot dog for him at home. Why pay for something we know he won't eat? So when we got home, that's what we did.

Here's what Jonah had for dinner tonight:
1 hot dog
3 Babybel mini cheeses
1 string cheese (do you think maybe he likes cheese?)
a few fries
1 Oreo

Don't judge me. If the kid eats, it makes me happy enough. I hardly care what it is! :)

He won't eat ice cream but he'll eat DEODORANT?

Yesterday, I found my adorable son at the table, quietly enjoying a snack. Only, the snack wasn't your conventional snack--no fruit snacks, crackers, or cheese this time. This time Jonah was sucking on his father's deodorant. Oh yes!! For some strange reason Jonah refuses to eat ice cream or drink chocolate milk but he'll suck on Old Spice "Swagger" flavored deodorant.

I guess I'll have to write Haagen Dazs and ask them to start making "Swagger" flavored ice cream.

Resolution Jeopardized?

Jon and I have started Weight Watchers. I have about 30 pounds to shed after having Sophie and Jon has some sympathy weight to get rid of too. We have done really well these last 2 weeks and have already lost weight! Jon has lost about 7 lbs and I've lost about 5.

My birthday is tomorrow and we have a tradition of going to PF Chang's for my birthday dinner (it's the only time we can sort of justify it). We usually eat all 3 courses, ending with the Great Wall of Chocolate--my most favorite dessert! So last night I was looking up the different parts of the meal and calculating the "Points", when to my horror, I discovered the terrifying amount of calories and fat in this chocolate wonder. Can you take a guess?

Let me tell you:

CALORIES - 2237 (oh gosh!)
FAT - 90 grams (are you kidding me???)

Well, my heart almost stopped thinking that I might not be able to enjoy this traditional indulgence. But something stopped my panic attack--another menu item. They also have a Great Wall of Chocolate MINI Dessert. Hallelujah! My year will not be a complete disappointment!

THREAT NEUTRALIZED!

We'll keep you posted on our weight loss efforts. I plan on being more swimsuit ready than I have ever been!