Today, my daughter asked me if I was going to put “Lucy” on the blog.  At first, I thought…no, I wasn’t really planning on including her, but then I realized how much a part of our family “Lucy” really is.  So…

Meet Lucy!

That’s right.  Lucy is our Labrador Retriever.  She is almost 10 years old and has been with us about 9 years and 2 months.  Lucy was a rescue dog that we adopted when Savannah was about 10 months old.  I have to admit that when we first got her…she was not my favorite.  She chewed everything that she could find for about the first 3 years of her life with us. 

However, now I could not imagine life without her.  She is a great dog.  She still chews, but it is not anywhere near as bad as her puppy years.  When we leave our house, she always greets us with such excitement, and she always has something in her mouth from the recycle bucket that she is bringing to us.  It is like she is bringing us a “gift” to welcome us home!

We recently had a tragedy in our life that actually made me appreciate her even more.  We had a second Labrador that became very sick and had to be put down, “Buck.”  It was a very emotional time for the entire family especially my daughter.  She was very attached to her dog and still misses him very much. 

We also have 2 cats - “Twaila” (left) and “Mittens” (right).  “Twaila” was a birthday gift from our neighbor in 2008, and “Mittens” was one of her kittens.   “Twaila” is our wonderer.  She usually just comes around for food and a little loving, and then she leaves.  She was never very fond of us keeping “Mittens” so she just leaves.   “Mittens” is our very playful and mischievous cat.  Right now, our trouble is keeping her from digging in our garden. 

That is it for our animals right now.  The animals are just one of the joys of living in the country, and they are a very fun part of our life here at the Holman house.

Swagbucks...Another PayPal Card!

I was able to redeem another $5.00 PayPal gift card with Swagbucks this past weekend.  I reached my 700 points and was able to redeem it for a gift card that will arrive in my PayPal account within the next 7-14 days.  It is so easy because all I had to do was...nothing really!  I just use Swagbucks as my home page search engine, and they reward me randomly with various amounts of Swagbucks.

This past weeks was a great week for earning Swagbucks because they increased the earnings for the week.  They are all the time running special ways to earn extra points.  You can also take a daily poll to earn a Swagbuck, and you can search their special offers section and earn a couple of Swagbucks.  You can also earn Swagbucks for referring other people and for shopping online.  The Swagbucks add up quickly, and you soon are earning a prize.  The Amazon.com gift cards are a good deal, but I like my $5.00 PayPal cards because with PayPal I can use the money to spend it anywhere.  We use our Swagbucks as extra "fun money" that is easy to earn.  If you are interested in signing up for Swagbucks, just click the picture link above, and it will get you started.  Have a great time swagging!

Just for fun! Blast from the Past...

This weekend the whole family went to garage sales around Stillwater. We had so much fun. At one of the sales, the lady said to fill up a box for $5. We began looking through the tables and tables of items that she had to offer and filled up a pretty nice box including an IPOD, kids books, craft items, bread tin, kitchen trinkets, a heavy duty roasting pan with lid, some tools, and the most fun of all....an early 90's laptop computer. It came with Windows 3.1 disks and Microsoft Works.

We took the "computer" home and turned it on. It powered up, but that was about it. The Windows was not loaded on the computer yet, and we just could not figure out how to get it going.  Today, I decided to get it back out and try again. I fiddled around until I was able to figure out how to use the DOS prompts. I was actually able to reload the Windows 3.1.  It took forever! The one program (Windows 3.1) consisted of 6 different 3.5 floppy disks. (note: I complain about some of the programs that I have to load on my computer taking 5 minutes). Let's just say, I waited a little longer than that.

I was able to get the computer fully loaded and give it a test run. Talk about blast from the past - "antique."  This is a complete non-color screen laptop computer that has what we would consider now...not even the basics. It only has 4 MB of memory, but it is upgradeable! (My laptop that I have now has 2 GB Memory and is considered outdated!)  It is supposedly internet capable with dail-up because it comes with an old Juno dail-up disk.  It did have Mine Sweeper and Solitaire though.

Although today's computers do so much  more, it was really fun to dive into this computer to figure out something "new."  Boy, computers have really come a long way!

What's for Dinner? - Chicken Taco Salad also called Chicken Taco Loco

Here is part 2 of the Restaurant Style Chicken Taco Salad aka Taco Loco. 

One of my husband’s favorite meals has always been eating a Chicken Taco Salad from our favorite authentic Mexican restaurant.  One day, he said I should try to make my own.  I searched and searched online for a recipe that sounded anything like what I thought our chicken taco salad should have in it.  I found nothing!  So, I started the trial and error process.  After a couple of tries, we finally had it right!  At the end of the post, you can view a You Tube How-To video that we posted to show the process of making the salad bowl.  

Chicken Taco Salad

For the Chicken:

Ingredients

2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

½ and 1tsp. Cumin

½ tsp. Onion powder

½ tsp. Garlic powder

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. Light on the chili powder

Dash of red pepper

Salt and pepper

2-4 Tbsp. salsa

Boil 2-3 pounds of chicken breast meat.  You can use whatever chicken you have on-hand.  We just prefer chicken breast for this meal.  Add 2 Tbsp. of salsa and ½ tsp. cumin to the chicken while it is boiling. 

After the chicken is completely cooked (approximately 20-30 minutes), shred the chicken.  Place the chicken in a large skillet with some of the chicken broth from boiling the meat to keep it moist.  Stir in additional 1 Tbsp. salsa, ¼ tsp. cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder, 1/8 tsp. chili powder, and a dash of red pepper.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.  Allow the meat to simmer for about 3-4 minutes.  Taste the meat at this point to make sure it has enough taste to your liking and add more seasoning if you feel it is necessary.  Quick note:  The measurements I listed are all approximates because I usually just use the dump and pour method and never measure exactly how much I put in. I always try the meat to make sure there is enough seasoning and add to it accordingly.  

For the Fried Taco Salad Bowls:

Ingredients:

5-6 Tortillas (according to the number of people you will be feeding)

Oil for frying

You can use either homemade tortillas (see previous post) or the store bought ones.  Heat your fryer to 400°.  You will need a small metal bowl, something to hold the bowl down to form the taco bowl, and tongs to remove the hot metal bowl and to flip the salad bowl over to cook both sides. 

Place one tortilla in the hot oil and immediately place the small metal bowl in the middle and use a large metal spoon to push the bowl into the middle of the tortilla to form a bowl shape.  Hold the bowl down for several seconds until the tortilla is set.  Carefully remove the metal bowl and continue to cook the tortilla.  Use the tongs to flip the tortilla and cook the upper part of the tortilla for about 30 seconds.  When the tortilla bowl is golden brown, remove it from the oil and place it on a paper towel to drain.  Continue this process until all the bowls are cooked.  You can place the already cooked shells in the oven on 175-200° to keep them warm.
 I also need to note that my husband gets all the credit for coming up with this easy way to make the taco salad bowls!

Taco Salad Toppings:

Shredded lettuce

Salsa

Shredded Cheese

Tomato slices

Sour cream

Melted White American Cheese (made with 7-8 slices of white American cheese and 1/8 c. milk melted in the microwave)

Pico de Gallo (optional)

Guacamole (optional)

Constructing the Salad:

Take one salad bowl.  Place about a tablespoon of melted cheese in the bottom of the bowl.  Add a spoonful of the chicken and put another tablespoon of melted cheese on top.  Top with shredded lettuce, a dollop of sour cream, and one slice of tomato.  You can add any other ingredients that you like on your salad!  Serve with refried beans, Mexican rice, chips, salsa, and a Pepsi!  Enjoy.

What's for Dinner? - Homemade Tortillas

One of the things that my family really enjoys is good food, and I LOVE to cook.  One of my favorite past times is trying to figure out how to re-create some of our favorite restaurant recipes.  Over time, I have learned some things that work and some that don't.  Every now and then, my husband will say..."I wish you knew how to make..."  To me that issues a challenge, and I love a challenge just about as much as cooking.

From time to time, I will be posting various recipes in the "What's for Dinner?" part of my blog.  I will be posting recipes that I have tried that my family really enjoys.  Some are restaurant "copy-cat" recipes that I have tweaked and changed until they fit our "restaurant" standard.  I have to say that some of these recipes have come about through much trial and error.  We have had some not-so-great trials that have had a lot of "tweaking!" 

The next few days, I will be posting various recipes in honor of Cinco de Mayo, the celebration of Mexican Independence Day!  We like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at our house because it is a great excuse to make some really good food!  The ultimate goal of this next two-part recipe entry is Restaurant Style Chicken Taco Salad also called Chicken Taco Loco.  Part one is making homemade tortillas.  Part two will follow with the recipe and directions for creating the fried taco salad bowls as well as the preparation for the salad portion. 


Part 1 Making Homemade Tortillas
I found that homemade tortillas are both cheaper and taste much better than the store bought ones.  Here is the recipe:

Homemade Tortillas

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon shortening or lard
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 to 1 cup boiling water

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening to resemble cornmeal.  I use my finger to break the shortening through the flour.  

Add water slowly, mixing with your hands to make a soft dough. You may not need all the water.  

Knead a few minutes on floured surface or in the bowl until smooth and elastic. Covered for 10 minutes.  

Pinch off a golf ball size of dough and kneed into a ball shape. Roll out into size and thickness you prefer.  

Cook on top of stove over medium heat using a cast iron grill or heavy skillet until top is slightly bubbly then turning on opposite side for a minute or two.  

Keep stacked and warm inside of a DAMP kitchen towel

Tips for making the tortillas:

1. Make sure you allow the dough to sit after the first kneading (about 10 minutes).  This allows the baking powder to activate.  If you do not allow it to sit, you will not have the light softness in the finished product.  
2. The dough should be warm and soft when you begin working with rolling it out.  If it is too dry and stiff, add a very small amount of hot water and work it in until you have a soft, workable dough.  
3. Make sure you roll the dough in your hands into a fairly smooth ball before you begin rolling it out.  This will produce a more rounded tortilla when you roll it out.
4. When rolling the dough, make sure you have adequate flour on the surface or it will stick, or when you remove it to cook, it will stick and tear.  I also try to have a couple of tortillas rolled out and ready when I begin cooking them.  As you finish rolling them out, do not stack them directly on top of one another (stack them in a stair step pattern).  Make sure there is a little flour in between.  
5. When I am rolling the dough, I roll in one direction and then turn the dough a quarter of a turn (either clock-wise or counter clock-wise).  This helps in forming a more round shape.  However, they are tasty whether they are perfectly round or not.  
6. I use a cast 12" cast iron skillet.  However, I have used a regular stainless steel heavy bottomed skillet and achieved great results also.  Try to knock off any excess flour on the tortilla before cooking or the flour will burn.  If you have a build up of flour in your skillet that is burning, use a damp paper towel to quickly swipe it out.  
7. It will begin to bubble on the top (about 45-60 seconds depending on the heat of your pan).  After a there are several bubble on the surface, flip the tortilla and cook for about 30-45 seconds on the other side.  When you remove the tortilla, place it in a damp kitchen towel and close it up.  This is the secret to getting the tortillas softened.  They actually "steam" to softness because as you continually add tortillas a continuous heat is kept up.  The damp towel allows for adampness that in turn softens the tortilla.  

That is it!  You will get 10-14 tortillas depending upon the size of tortilla that you make.  You can make any size tortilla from your dough just vary the amount of dough accordingly.  I make 6-8 inch tortillas for my kiddos and the 10-12 inch tortillas for the adults. These tortillas are great for fajitas, Chicken Taco Salad (which will be the next recipe installment), or for just dipping in re-fried beans.  Make and enjoy!

What's for Dinner? - Easy Guacamole

One of my favorite toppings for just about any Mexican dish is guacamole, and it is very easy to make (pictured at left is Savannah making guacamole).  I have tried several recipe variations and here is what I have found is the best...so far. 

Easy Guacamole

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

1 Tbsp. salsa

1 garlic clove, minced or ½ tsp. minced garlic

Salt to taste (This will vary according to personal preference.)

Directions:

1.  Place the peeled avocado in a bowl and use a fork to mash the avocado until it is fairly smooth. 

2.  Place the remaining ingredients in the bowl and mix thoroughly. 

3.  Transfer the guacamole to a small bowl and serve immediately.

There are of course a couple of different options that you can take into consideration.  First, I use a lot of "fresh" garlic in my cooking.  It has a much better flavor than the powdered kind.  In the past, I would purchase the garlic cloves, peel them, and use the garlic press to have fresh minced garlic.  However, I have found that it is much easier and cheaper to buy a jar of garlic.  I purchased an 8 ounce jar of minced garlic at Dollar Tree for a dollar.  1/2 teaspoon equals one clove of garlic.  So, there are roughly 96 cloves of garlic in one jar.  

When choosing a ripe avocado, pick one that has a slight give to it when lightly squeezed.   If you are buying a couple of days in advance of preparing your guacamole, you should purchase a firmer avocado and allow it to sit on the counter to ripen.  


Another time save:  If you have a food processor, you can place all the ingredients in the food processor, cover, and process until smooth. 

Finally, guacamole does turn dark when exposed to the air so you may want to wait to make the guacamole until closer to time to eat.  If you do make it early and notice a darkening to the guacamole, stir it again and it will mix in the darkness some.  It will also turn dark if stored in the refrigerator, but that does not mean it has gone bad.  However, the fresher the guacamole, the better. 

Swagbucks...want to earn free prizes!

Have you ever heard of Swagbucks.com?

A few months ago, I signed up with Swagbucks.com.  It is a search engine that you can earn prizes while you are searching the internet.  I joined Swagbucks in August of 2009 and since then, I have earned $20 in Amazon gift cards, $5 in PayPal gift cards, and $5 in Alice.com gift cards.  It is really easy.  You just sign up for Swagbucks and use their search engine which is powered by Google.com and Ask.com.  As you search, you will be randomly rewarded with various amounts of Swagbucks that are instantly credited to your account.  You can save your points for a variety of prizes listed on their website.  You can earn extra Swagbucks by referring friends to the program.  There are also various other ways to earn Swagbucks that you will find on their site.

If you are interested in signing up, just click on the below referral link picture.  It will take you to the Swagbucks site to sign up. 

Grabbin' Great Deals

Yesterday was the Annual Glencoe, Oklahoma city-wide Garage Sales.  Glencoe is a small town located about 8 miles from our house.   Last year at this time, we had never been to Glencoe….until….the city-wide garage sales.  We drove around the small town last year and found several great garage sales, you know the kinds that have great cheap prices on things that you need. 

For example, we really needed a glass pitcher last year.  I had broken the one that we had…again…and we were in need of a tea pitcher.  We found one for 25¢ as well as several other good deals that weekend. 

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I was washing dishes and broke the tea pitcher….again.  I cannot begin to count the number of glass pitchers I have gone through since our marriage.  While some people can keep their pitchers around for years, mine do good to last a year.

So, one of my main searches at the sales was for a glass pitcher.  At the second sale, there it was! A glass pitcher for 50¢!  Maybe this one will last?

We also found a nice aquarium with pump/filter, heater, light, rocks, and tank decoration included, and it all worked…for $3.00.  Now our crawdads and tadpoles have a new home. 

I bought a size 3 iron skillet for 50¢.  It is the perfect size for making an egg for a sandwich. 

A lovely straw hat, 15¢. A 25¢ Tupperware bowl.  A 25¢microwave bacon fryer.

JJ got a cool Star Trek glass for 25¢ and an unopened Star Wars Pez dispenser for 10¢.  Of course, the candy was gone before we got home!

Savannah found a perfect condition Mariposa Barbie and a Nori Mermadia Barbie for 25¢ each.  She also bought a Barbie car at Ruby’s Flea Market in Glencoe for $2.

We found some great deals on things we needed (as well as some that we didn’t), but most of all, we had a lot of fun.  Great deals are fun to find!  

Meet Savannah!

Savannah is my beautiful 9 year old daughter (soon to be 10).  She is getting ready to complete fourth grade.

She is my "right-hand" lady.  She is so very helpful to me.  She helps me cook, clean, teach her brother...She even likes to do mending.  When there is a hole in anything...she is right on top of sewing it up!

Savannah loves the outdoors and she loves her animals.  One of her favorite chores is taking care of her dog, Lucy, and her cats, Mittens and Twaila.  Each day she feeds and waters her animals and always takes time to give them a hug.  Her eyes truly light up when she is with her favorite pals.

Savannah has a little of her mother in her.  She likes to cook and create things.  She especially likes to cook her brother's favorite breakfast for him (fried balogna, eggs, and toast with jelly and butter). Recently, she decided to get a little creative and make him a Pacman breakfast.  The egg was Pacman, the balogna was a ghost, the extra balogna pieces were the pellets, and the jelly-butter toast pieces were the power pellets.  She was very proud of her special breakfast she created for her brother.  She really enjoys creating from her VERY active imagination!

Meet JJ!

JJ is my wonderful 7 year old son.  JJ is just finishing up first grade.  We have about 4 more weeks, and we will complete the school year.  He is quite a boy, and he is ALL boy!

One of his favorite things right now is crawdad hunting.  We live about 5 miles out in the country in a little farm house, and we are surrounded by fenced-in pasture area.  Back behind our little barn is a small creek.  During the spring, there is an area of run off that stays about 1-2 feet deep.  It is a haven for the tadpoles, frogs, and crawdads.  Surrounded by weeds, blackberry bushes, and a small spindly tree, you find this crawdad and tadpole hole. 

Several times a day right now, you will find JJ out there scooping up water and looking for crawdads.  We even have a couple of “pet” crawdads that are living in a pan in the garage. 

He also loves to catch the frogs.  He is a great frog spotter.  He can see those beady eyes sticking up around the edge of the pond even when they are hidden in the weeds.  Yesterday, he caught a baby frog that was lurking on the edge of the pond.    It was only about 1 ¼ inches long and ½ an inch wide.   Of course, he does "catch-and-release" his finds (with the exception of our couple of crawdads living in the garage).

JJ and Daddy Crawdad Hunting-April 2010