The End of Meh-xican

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Since relocating to North Jersey and away from our beloved taco truck (Looking at you Tacos al Carbon in Hammonton, NJ) and our favorite Mexican restaurants (El Mariachi Loco and Tortilleria Rancho Grande) we have been on the search for great Mexican food. I have to be honest, the search has been rough. I have even adopted the title “Meh-xican” when referring to the food that we’ve sampled throughout the region. There have been a few honorable mentions, or the places that are good enough. They’ve been missing something. Well two things really. Tacos al Pastor and great Salsa Verde.

I’ve tried buying every kind of Salsa Verde. They’ve all failed miserably. Overly lime-ladened, lack of cilantro, and overly watery are our biggest complaints. I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. I was determined to make Salsa Verde that was more reminiscent of what I had found at home in South Jersey. I recalled a conversation I had with one of the waitresses at El Mariachi Loco. She said what made their’s special was the fact they used avocado and a touch of crema.

WHAT? There’s avocado in this? I couldn’t believe it. I’m going to let you in on a secret, I don’t like avocado. I don’t do avocado toast, if it’s on my sandwich I feed it to the dogs. Stop gasping, my mother would cringe if she could see me. I searched and found this killer salsa verde recipe on Peas and Crayons‘ blog. This became the basis of my Salsa Verde Experiment #3 that was a part of our Foodie Staycation (details to follow in a later post).

So here’s my adaption on Peas and Crayons killer recipe. TRUST me this is the good stuff and worth the time. If you want to be vegan or dairy free, totally leave out the crema.

Salsa Verde- makes 2 cups

Prep time- 15 minutes

For best taste refrigerate overnight

6 Tomatillos

1 large Jalapeno pepper**

2 ripe avocados

1-1 1/2 limes

3/4 c well washed cilantro, roughly chopped

1/2 c chopped onion, (whatever you have around will suffice, as long as it is not a Vidalia)

2 garlic cloves smashed

1/2 tsp of salt or a couple of cranks of sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 c Mexican Crema or substitute with sour cream if you can’t find it

Steps:

  1. Remove the husks from the tomatillos, wash to remove the sticky residue that remains from the husks, cut and quarter, place in the basin of your food processor. (I love my Cuisinart 13 Cup Food Processor)
  2. Remove the stem of the pepper and the seeds. Coursely chop and add to the bain of the food processor. ** If you want spicy I suggest getting older jalapenos that you can see a brown vein/lines on the outside. Older peppers mean more spice!
  3. Cut the avocados around the pit and twist to separate the two halves. Remove the pit. Use a spoon to remove the flesh, add to the food processor
  4. Wash and pat dry your cilantro. Check for sand. I find that cilantro from various markets can be extremely sandy. I soak it then rinse it. Coursely chop. I typically cut the cilantro where the leaves end and just toss the tops in. (There was a time I’d remove the leaves but who has time for that?)
  5. Roll the lime on the kitchen counter using pressure. This will increase the amount of juice extracted. Cut the time in half and squeeze into a smaller bowl. Remove the seeds and add to the basin. Start with just one lime you can always add more later. I find squeezing the lime with this little tool extracts more juice!
  6. Chop the onion and add to the basin of the food processor
  7. Smash the clove of garlic with the side of your knife, or simply use the heel of your hand. Peel the garlic and toss it in the food processor.
  8. Add salt, cumin and garlic right to the basin. I prefer sea salt and high quality cumin from Penzeys.
  9. Puree to your desired consistency. Start with 10 pulses, scrape the sides, then pulse 10 more times. Take a taste- you can adjust the time and salt at this point. If you like a thinner salsa, add a little water until it is at your desired consistency.
  10. Pour into a non-reactive container and cover. Refrigerate overnight.
  11. When serving add the crema or sour cream if using. Otherwise enjoy with a quality chip!

If you can’t take the heat, find other ways to cook in the kitchen!

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This past November we moved north. We left a three bedroom, two and a half bath Colonial that was left to my sisters and me when our mom passed. It was a great house. It was admittedly a lot of house for two people. If you’re not familiar with New Jersey real estate, the further north you go the higher the cost of living. So when the greatest daughter in the world and I were moving north, downsizing wasn’t an option, it was a necessity. We live in an adorable 900 square feet 1930’s bungalow. Two bedrooms, one bath. Almost tiny home living. Thankfully we have a basement which now doubles as my daughters playroom/craft room/music room.

Downsizing for space was fine. What I wasn’t prepared for was the lack of central air combined with four 90 degree heat waves we’ve had so far this summer. The house came with a massive window unit but I couldn’t even get it up the stairs. Thankfully I was able to find a portable AC unit. It does a decent job keeping the living room cool, but our tiny kitchen heats up quickly. So this summer I’ve really relied on kitchen countertop appliances.

Now mind you we live in a tiny house. If I kept it, I have to use it. I don’t have the space for an appliance graveyard. These three appliances have made my life easier and MUCH cooler. If you want to avoid the heat, want to change up how you cook or are simply looking at tastier food consider the following:

  • The beloved Instant Pot- I purchased this almost two years ago and the price in the last two years has dropped nearly $50. Sure there are others out there, but I have yet to come up with a recipe that I couldn’t do using this Instant Pot. Tonight it was 90 degrees outside. The kid was tired from camp. I was able to cook 2 ears of corn (could fit plenty more, the most I’ve gotten was 6 in this pot) in minutes. No water boiling, no steaming up the kitchen. We make taco pasta in ten minutes. Dried black beans in 45 minutes. This is a work horse that everyone needs.
  • Air Fryers replace the oven. Seriously who wants to turn on the oven in August? Initially we used this for heating up frozen food. It does so much more. Tonight I just tossed baby potatoes with olive oil and a little dried onion soup mix, tossed it in the air fryer for twenty to thirty minutes (it all depends on how big your chunks of potatoes are).
  • I have to admit my love of my Instant Pot has remained strong, but I have found another love, my Sous Vide by Anova. What is sous vide you ask? It is a precision cooker. You cannot overrcook your food in a sous vide. Today I cooked a London Broil I had marinated for 24 hours. You just pop the meat in the Food Saver bag or a Ziploc bag you’ve removed all air from, throw it in a big pot or a dedicated Sous Vide container . I cooked it for nine hours, removed it from the bag, patted it dry (A MUST WITH SOUS VIDE) and then threw it in a searing cast iron pan with melted butter. You could also throw it on a searing grill. The results? Fork tender steak that hides the fact that it is a relatively cheap cut of meat. The greatest daughter ever moaned throughout dinner. I’ll be sharing recipes in the future! Stay tuned.

Perfectly Imperfect

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Being a mom has made me really tired and really happy.

-Tina Fey

Why this and why now?

I have three weeks left of summer. Not the season, but the freedom it affords me. I probably should have thought about starting this adventure in March so come the end of June (the beginning of freedom season) I would have a plan, a path, a vision. But no, not me. August 1st it is.

The purpose of this blog is to share. Share ideas, celebrate success, laugh at the missteps and how we are all perfectly imperfect.

To my new friends following me, thank you. I can promise nothing here will be perfect. I will NEVER photograph my child’s lunch with perfecty cut out stars and hearts in a bento box that contains carrots carved into woodland creatures. Hey if that’s your thing, awesome, go for it. You do you as you do…that’s not me. To me a successful day is a day where no one cries (including myself), homework is done (in the non-freedom season) and everyone including our small menagerie has been fed.

What’s with the name?

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First and foremost I am a mom. I’m Mom to an amazing ten-and-a-half year old girl whom I jokingly say I gave birth to when she was five and a half almost five years ago.

“Huh? How?” you may ask.

I can’t remember not wanting to be a mom. Sure I had my dolls, but at the age of five I learned that real babies are much more fun when my nephew arrived in the world. I loved babies then, still love them now, but I love other peoples’ babies, you know the ones you can return when they start to cry, poop and projectile vomit. (When they are your own baby people tend to look at you funny when you try to pass them a screaming/puking/pooping child. I know. I’ve given that look to friends with babies.) I have to say I never felt that longing to have a baby.

I started on this journey to being a mom shortly before my 40th birthday. My closest friend in the world had twins with his husband through a serrogate. Then my niece had given birth to a beautiful son. I felt something happen in me. I felt this need to be a mom NOW.

My mom had offered to her support years ago should I decide to become a single mom. I brushed it off joking about maybe if she picks up my bar tab one night, let me see what can happen. My friend Mantelle who always went to Phillies games with us with a kid in tow saw me with her children and told me I needed to be mom. My coworkers/friend Terri said I would make a great mom one day. I mean I had been Aunt Tracy to my nephew and three nieces since I was five, but yet I was terrified to do this alone.

Then one night watching HGTV I had the epiphany I needed. On House Hunters this single woman was pregnant with a child through IVF. She and her sister were looking for a house for her soon to be family of two. Listening to her talk I just started to cry. Who cries watching HGTV? I mean I could see the occassional cry of “Why can’t Chip and Joanna Gaines do homes in NJ?” but House Hunters? Through the tears I started my search. I Googled “adopting foster children NJ.” I started with http://www.adoptuskids.org. Page after page kids from all over the country looking for a family to love them. Eventually I landed on New Jersey’s Division of Children Protection and Permanency’s webpage. This is where I learned about the foster to adopt program. I knew then this is how I was going to be a mom.

Nervously I filled out the form to be included in the first information session they had coming up. I didn’t hesistate but I also didn’t tell anyone I was doing it. I just did it. I tend to over think, but this was not the case this time. Two days later while visiting my friends and their twins in Massachuesetts I got the call inviting me to the foster parent information session.

I cut my trip a day early to make it home in time. I went to the meeting. There were people there like me that just wanted to be a parent, others had been through “the system” and wanted to help now, and then of course there were others that were looking to supplement their income with the financial support the state provides. I believe it was the goal of those involved to remove as many of those in the latter group as possible. We were sent home with paperwork. First phase paperwork. It was no joke.

Within a few days I had my first visit from the recruiter. My house was checked, repairs/suggestions for safety items were made and my paperwork was taken. My second step into the licensing process would begin as soon as I received my own social worker. My captain steering the ship through licensing. She would meet and interview me and give me paperwork to fill out each time she visited. I believe through the licensing phase I was up to 60 pages to fill out about me and what I thought I could offer a child. It was daunting, but again, it was a process and hopefully it thinned out those that were only in it for the money. This was work. I even had to take a class on Saturdays for a month on parenting. The whole process took about six months. Then one day my social worker and now friend Aimee called me to tell me I was officially Licensed2Mom. I even had a child placed with me that day. He was a short term stay, but he was the beginning of my path to motherhood.

Champagne Tastes…Beer Drinker Salary

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Let’s face it, most of us never want to spend more money than necessary. I actually get a charge out of getting THE BEST POSSIBLE deal. Especially with big purchases. Okay, really any purchase. I am NOT a financial wizard by any means. I just have a few tools that help me finagle the web or ways to save with apps that really don’t take much of my time.

Target…oh Target you are my haven. Some people like going to the spa. I like going to Target alone. My new Target even has a Starbucks in it. Seriously this is a genius pairing. The only thing that would make it better is if there was a Mojito bar as well.

  • If you’re not using the REDCARD you are insane. I personally use the debit version. You automatically save 5% on everything.
  • The Target App is another must for the frugal Target shopper. Open the app’s Cartwell section and scan everything as you put it in your cart. In the time I’ve used my Target App I’ve redeemed 480 offers and have a lifetime savings of $429.37. That’s on top of the 5% for using my Redcard.
  • Check for coupons in Cartwheel. The other day they had a deal for a $15 gift card when you spent $50 on certain items. It was a great day to stock up. Also look for deals if you opt to pick up vs shopping in store. If you spent $50 on household items and opted for pick up (therefore eliminitating any spontaneous Target purchases) they emailed you a $15 gift card. I put both of these gift cards in my Target Wallet and save them for another day, like Back to School Shopping Day.

Rakuten, formerly known as Ebates is another simple way to save, especially if you’re an internet shopper. The way it works is Rakuten receives commission from sending shoppers to the store’s website. In return they share part of their commission with you. There is an extension you can add to Chrome and when you’re shopping on the store’s website that offers a Cash Back deal. You receive your payout quarterly and they can just deposit it into your PayPal account. My lifetime’s savings at this point is over $350. PLUS oftentimes instead of opting in for the PayPal payout, you can choose to receive your payment as a gift card and they will increase your payout by 15%.

Honey is another great tool to have on your browser. When you’re shopping online and you go to checkout it will search for working coupon codes and try them all to find you the best deal. One word of caution, when you click on the Honey extension it will cancel the Rakuten offer. My trick is to get the coupon code then log in to Rakuten to get the cash back offer. If a store doesn’t offer a Rakuten deal not to worry, many are joining up with Honey and you can receive rewards in the form of gift cards. So far since joining Honey I’ve received $20 in Amazon gift cards. Obviously Rakuten has better payouts, but the way I look at it is I got $20 in Amazon money while getting coupon codes.

What are some of the ways you’ve found to save? Do you have a favorite app? Feel free to share in the comments below!