It’s funny because even though I’m a Mom, I never think of myself on Mother’s day or how I will be celebrated.  Instead I think of my beautiful Mother whom I absolutely adore.  I try and shower her with gifts and I always plan a meal for her.  The thing is, she’s a vegetarian. Creating a dessert is the easy part of the planning for the day.  It’s the main meal that I always have to mull over.  She especially loves Mexican food (go figure,) and trying to make something slightly different than the basic vegetarian staples (enchiladas, chilaquiles, chile rellenos) is always an exercise.

Last week I was in Orlando, Florida, working on a job and found myself in this ultra swanky hotel.  At around 4:30 in the afternoon my tummy was rumbling so I made my way down to the restaurant only to find out dinner service did not start till 6p.m.  Well honey, there was no way I could hold off that long.  The all knowing maître d’ told me there was a great bar further down the hall and they served yummy appetizers and food that would keep my stomach in happy company.  I walked down the hall and found a large group of people hanging out having drinks and noshing.  I squeezed my way between two stools lined up against the bar and caught the cashiers attention.  We locked eyes and I said “I’ll have the tacos, and some sparkling water.” Next thing I knew the most gorgeous tacos were plated in front of me. They were served on a slightly puffy tortilla and jammed with shredded beef, leafy greens and a combo of avocado and  chile cream sauce.  I was either starving or those were the best tacos I had had in a LONG time because I nearly inhaled them.

Yesterday I was shopping at Walmart and ran into a package of tortillas that looked just like the tortillas I had in Orlando.  I examined the package (La Tortilla Factory) more closely and thought this was the casing to those delicious tacos.  I instantly thought I want to make some for my Mom…. I want her to try these tortillas.  I know, I’ll make her tacos for Mother’s day with almost everything those tacos had, minus the meat, and I will substitute it with baby bella mushrooms instead.  She is going to be one happy MOMMA camper. Happy Mother’s Day to all the lovely hard working Mothers.  It’s your day.

Ingredients for tacos de hongos:

• 4 – tablespoons butter
• 1 – onion (thinly sliced)
• 1 – 8 oz box of baby bella mushroom (rinsed and cut into 4’s)
• 3 – heaping tablespoons Mayonesa with lime (I used McCormick)
• 1 – ripe avocado
• 1 – small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 – package yellow corn tortillas (I used  La Tortilla Factory- hand made style)
• leafy green lettuce
• crumbled queso fresco

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan over a medium flame add 2 tablespoons of butter, and allow it to melt coating the pan.
2. Add onions to pan and saute for about 20 minutes, or until onions are all browned and caramelized, mixing often. 
3. Remove onions from pan and set in a dish.
4. In the same frying pan over a medium high flame add in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, allow to melt.
5. Add chopped mushrooms to butter and saute for 10 minutes. Mixing often 
6. Remove mushrooms from pan and set to the side.
7. Let’s make the sauces: In a small bowl add in 1 tablespoon of mayonesa and avocado. Mash avocado and mayo together until creamy.
8. In a separate bowl add 2 tablespoons mayo, and 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from chipotle peppers. Mix until well combined.
9. Heat tortillas over open flame until slightly charred on each side.
10. Fill the center with a teaspoon of caramelized onions and a about 6 mushroom pieces. Then top with leafy greens, queso freso, avocado cream, and adobo cream. 
11. Enjoy!

Here is a photo of my Mom and me. I love that we both have serious afro’s happening.  The luck of having curly hair.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Whole Foods Market. The recipe and opinions are 100% my own. 

There is no other way to describe this drink other than “Mmmmm, that’s good.” Those were the first words out of my fiances mouth as I poured him a tall sip. Let me rewind a little and tell you the back story. It starts with Muscat grapes. Have you ever tried a Muscat grape? The Muscat Grape is a pink seedless grape, with a very sweet and rich flavor. These grapes come all the way from Chile and range in color from light green to deeply blushed with pink (the ripest and best), with a softer succulent texture. Basically they are a dreamy grape that need to be adored. The tricky part is they are only available for a short time at Whole Foods Market in my lovely California, from now thru late mid-April. Okay, with those facts in mind I know that I am only able to appreciate their beautiful-ness for a short period of time. SO, the other day I was at Whole Foods Market buying some mangos and a pile of cheese when I spotted the muscat grapes. I made a serious bee-line for them and started to stock up. My fiance says “What? Why are you buying so many grapes?” I come back at him with “Well my Tia Brilla is in town and what if she wants grapes, and maybe we can freeze some and have as a healthy late night snack, and they taste great in salads, and I’ve been wanting to make agua de uvas.” He shook his head, and gave me a look like I was CRAZY! Until he tried them himself of course. Isn’t it always like that? I definitely threw some in the freezer, add a few to a salad I made over the weekend, served my Tia Brilla some during her visit, and made a big jug of agua de uvas y sandía. YUM! I highly suggest you stock up now, before it’s way too late.

Ingredients for grape and watermelon water:

• 2 – pounds muscat grapes (seedless) (stem removed)
• 8 – cups of chopped up watermelon (peeling removed)
• 6 – cups water
• 1/2 – cup sugar
• 2 – limes (juiced)

Directions:

1. Place grapes in blender with 1 cup water. You may have to do this step several times depending on the size of your blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour grape blend through sieve and allow all liquid to pass through and fall into a pitcher. This step will collect all the skin from the grapes. You may have to scrape the inside of the sieve with a spoon to allow any remaining liquid to pass through. 
4. Next blend all the watermelon. Again add a cup of water to the blender and this time add in the sugar. Blend till smooth.
5. Pour watermelon blend through the sieve and allow it to fall into the same pitcher as the grape blend.
6. Add in remaining water and lime juice. Mix to combine.
7. Chill in fridge until super cold.
8. Serve and enjoy!

 Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Mama Francesca Cheese. However all opinions and the recipe are 100% my own.

I think I have confessed here on my blog before that my family and I split ways when it comes to Italian food. For some reason they need to be coaxed into eating it. I have decided to stop this crazy nonsense of me sacrificing the flavors I love for them to be happy, when in reality they absolutely love it. Instead I am going full force ahead and serving everyday meals laced with Italian flavors. For instance, I have been serving bubbly cheesy garlic bread fresh out of the oven with our dinners at night, and NO ONE can resist it, especially me. I can’t just say it is the inviting warmth of the hot bread, I have to give credit to the incredible parmesan cheese I’ve been using: Mama Francesca. The premium cheese has really taken a front and center spot in my home since discovering it at Walmart a few weeks ago. Did I mention the price point can’t be beat for a cheese of this caliber? It taste great and is being used at least twice a week, not only by me but by my fiance too (and he’s a tough sell.) I have even managed to work the lovely Mama Francesca parmesan into my homemade salad dressings. Okay, it’s  become a permanent fixture on my grocery list and I don’t foresee it coming down. When you find something this good, you just can’t imagine living without it.

I’m really looking forward to the new Mama Francesca “The Tereztto” which will be  launching in Wal-Mart on 4/21/2014! Another way for me to keep making my meals feel more Italian!

Ingredients:

• 1 – loaf french bread
• 3 – tablespoons butter (room temperature)
• 2 – tablespoons mayo
• 3 – tablespoons Mama Francesca Parmesan cheese
• 2 – tablespoons minced garlic

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Take loaf of french bread and slice it down the middle (creating to long slices of bread.) 
3. Place butter, mayo, parmesan cheese, and minced garlic in a bowl.  Mix to combine.
4. Evenly spread butter/parm mixture on each slice of bread.
5. Place slices of bread on a cookie sheet.
6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
7. Then place under the broiler for 3 minutes or until golden brown. 
8. Cut and enjoy with a hearty meal.

That’s pretty. I always have a desire to make or eat a trifle, but until recently I did not own a trifle bowl. I needed to correct that fast……

My fiance took it upon himself to start looking up places for me to buy a trifle bowl.  Every place was either online with shipping or out of the way, then he checked Walmart, not only is it close by but it was priced so nicely ($6. 97) I went out and bought it straight away.

As my grubby hands placed my new trifle bowl in the cart, I said to my son “We can’t leave here with out buying ingredients to fill this beautiful vessel to the rim.” I then asked “Do you want to make an Easter Trifle? We can decorate it with the new blue raspberry peeps, and a chocolate bunny.” My son looked at me and said excitedly “Can we get jellybeans too?” Me, being a pleased new owner of a trifle bowl, I said “Of course we can!” Then we ran like little kids do across Walmart to the Easter candy section and picked out our prized treats. The blue raspberry peeps didn’t make it all the way home, my son had to have them in the car, luckily I bought an extra pack of regular blue peeps.

Ingredients for Easter lemon cake trifle:

• 1 – 6 ounce box of strawberry jello mix
• 1 1/2 – cups boiling hot water
• 1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 – box Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake mix (bake according to box instructions. Use egg, water, and vegetable oil)
• 1 – box pink bunny peeps
• 1 – large container cool whip
• 1 – box of blue raspberry peeps / or blue peeps
• 1 – bag Starburst jellybeans
• 1 – Lindt chocolate bunny

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl add in jello mix and hot boiling water. Mix with a fork or whisk until all jello is dissolved.
2. Pour sweetened condensed milk into jello mixture. Mix to combine.
3. Pour creamy jello mixture into the bottom on the trifle bowl. 
4. Place in fridge.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
6. Mix cake batter according to box (add in egg, water and oil) and bake. 
7. Allow cake to cool. Remove from pan and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. 
8. Remove trifle bowl from fridge and start building your trifle. By alternating between the cubed cake and a bunny peep. 
9. Then fill the entire center with cake cubes. 
10. Spread a nice thick layer of cool whip on top of cake.
11. Then place another layer of cake on top of the cool whip. 
12. Top with another layer of cool whip filling the trifle to the rim.
13. Then decorate the top with blue raspberry peeps, jellybeans, and a chocolate bunny.
14. Place back in the fridge till ready to eat.
15. Enjoy!

I woke up to some great news this morning. Walmart released a statement letting the world know that they will now carry a new awesome organic line called Wild Oats in their stores. Can you believe the world’s largest retailer is bringing an organic line to the people at a 25% cheaper price point (compared to other organic lines?)  I love it. This just means more people will be able to eat organic, or people who wanted to eat organic in the past but couldn’t afford it might be able to now. Heck, this organic line may even reach a new demographic of people who had never even considered eating organic, and might go that route now, teaching the country to eat better and live better. This is seriously a beautiful thing and makes me so proud to see my beloved Walmart taking steps everyday to make the organic world more readily available to people.

• Wild Oats Marketplace Organic™, which adheres to USDA guidelines for organic certification and includes everything from canned vegetables to a full range of spices such as paprika, curry powder and ground cinnamon.
• Walmart will carry a broad variety of Wild Oats Marketplace Organic™ categories – from salsa and pasta sauce to quinoa and chicken broth.

I am headed to Walmart now to buy Wild Oats Marketplace Organic™ products and put them to good use. Seeing that round  USDA seal for organic certification is pure joy.

         Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Mama Francesca Cheese. However all opinions and the recipe are 100% my own.

I never seem to tire of cheese.  The thought of cheese excites me.  It makes me want to plan an entire meal around it or just slice it up with a cracker.  I run the gamut on the types I like and usually will hunt high and low for a specialty cheese.  Come on, does this really need explaining?  My logo to this blog is a little mouse.  That didn’t happen on accident.  I say it loud and proud,  “I’m a cheese girl!”

You can only imagine my utter delight when I happened to come across the premium Mama Francesca Cheese (available in a variety of flavors) at my local Walmart.  I nearly jumped for joy.  I adore parmesan cheese and it can sometimes be a little bit of a pain to find a nice one at an everyday market that’s affordable.  For some reason most people only think of parmesan cheese as a spaghetti topper, and forget to explore all the other wonderful things you can do with it.  I like to mix it into my mashed potatoes or make it into a pesto or encrust my chicken in it and fry it to a crisp, or simply make parmesan crisps out of it for soup or salad.  It doesn’t matter what you do it, as long as you buy it and eat it right away.

Ingredients for parmesan crisps and creamy zucchini soup:

• 5 – tablespoons Mama Francesca cheese ( I used Perfetto flavor)
• 1 – tablespoon olive oil 
  
• 6 – garlic cloves
• 1/3 – cup leeks (chopped)
• 9 – zucchini (chopped in rounds)
• 1 – tablespoon dried basil
• 1 – teaspoon chile flakes (the kind you use on pizza)
• 1 – teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 1/2 – teaspoon black pepper
• 1 – bay leaf
• 4 – cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3/4 – cup 1/2 and 1/2

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Line a cookie sheet with a baking mat.
3. Pour 1/2 tablespoons of Mama Francesca cheese into little circle on the mat. Make sure they do not touch. 
4. Bake the cheese for 5 to 6 minutes or until golden crisp. 
5. Set to the side to cool on baking sheet until ready to use.
6. In a large pan over a medium flame add in olive oil and allow to get hot.
7. Add in leeks and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.
8. Cut zucchini into rounds. I used a variety of zucchini. 
9. Then add in zucchini, dried basil, chile flakes, Lawry’s, black pepper, and bay leaf. Mix to combine. Continue to saute for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the center of the zucchini starts to become translucent.
10. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil.
11. Boil the zucchini until fork tender for about 10 to 15 minutes.
12. Then remove bay leaf from soup.
13. Working in batches, pour 1/3 of the zucchini soup into a blender with 1/2 and 1/2. Blend until completely smooth/pureed.
14. Pour smooth/pureed zucchini mixture into a bowl, and continue with the rest of the zucchini soup until all is pureed.
15. Serve in a bowl hot and top with parmesan crisp and EAT IT!

       This video is sponsored by The Idaho Potato Commission. However all opinions and the recipe are 100% my own.

Welcome to MARCH!  I love the month of March not only because it’s my birthday          month, but it is also National Nutrition Month.  As I slip into another year of age, I am happy to be more aware of what I feed my body.  Good nutrition = healthy living = great energy = baked fries.  Yes, baked fries are king!  Make them, bake them, watch my video and EAT THEM NOW!

Ingredients for Lemon Lime Chipotle French Fries:

• 4 –  Idaho Potatoes (russet)
• 1 1/2 – tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 – lemon (juiced)
• 1/2 – lime (juiced)
• 1 – tablespoon garlic (minced)
• 1/2 – teaspoon black pepper
• 1 – teaspoon Lawry’s
• 1/2 to 1 – teaspoon chipotle pepper (depending on how spicy you like your fries)

Watch the video for directions!

A special THANK YOU to the Idaho Potato Commission, Mando Lopez and Tony Molina!