Ground Pork Tacos

Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner!

I made up some yummy ground pork tacos today, because I love any excuse to chow down on tacos and margaritas! 

This recipe originally came about in one of those weeknight what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-make-for-dinner panics.

These flavorful tacos come together in a flash.  And since they’re not spicy, they’re also super kid-friendly!  Spice lovers can add hot sauce, though it’s really not necessary.  I like to let the paprika flavor come through and blend with the corn salsa!

They’re perfect for a busy weeknight or the beginning of your Cinco de Mayo bash!  Just don’t forget the margaritas.

Petosky & Pine Artisan Soap #Giveaway

*Disclosure: I received product to sample from ­­­­­Petoskey and Pine.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Last week, I shared my review of the Petoskey and Pine Handmade Artisan Soaps.

And today I’m giving some away!

There are so many wonderful products to choose from!

I LOVE the exfoliating soap…

 

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And the silky smooth lip balm…

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And look at these gorgeous candles!

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Plus with Mother’s Day just around the corner, there are awesome gift sets available!

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But don’t take my word for it, snag some for yourself!  The products are available to purchase on the Petoskey and Pine website or you can follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below to win your own!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Participating Bloggers:

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures

Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Nichole of Cookaholic Wife

Sarah of The Pajama Chef

Paula of Smidgens, Snippets and Bits

Chrisite of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Rebekah of Making Miracles

Traci of Burnt Apple

April of Angels Homestead

Sid of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Anshie of Spice Roots

Shilpi of Simply Veggies

Bari of Live Laugh Run Breathe

Cheddar BLT Quesadillas

Ok.

So here’s what happened.

Hubs was out of town for, like, ever.  And there was half a pound of bacon leftover in the fridge (I know, how does that happen, right?)

And I was bumming since Hubs was gone, so I thought, why not use up the bacon and make a scrumptious BLT quesadilla?

Why not, indeed.

I made that quesadilla.

And it was everything I hoped and dreamed.

Cubano {Cuban Sandwich} #FoodNFlix

This post contains affiliate links.

We’ve finally arrived at part three: my Food ‘n Flix recipe reveal!  I’ve already shared recipes for Pan Cubano and Lechón Asado….did anyone guess today’s recipe?  Or see the sneak peek on Instagram?

If you aren’t familiar, Food ‘n Flix is a fun club in which participants watch a movie and create something inspired by it.  This month’s movie was hosted by Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  She chose the movie Chef .

In Chef, Carl (the chef), is struggling to balance family, working in a kitchen, and his creativity.   He is stifled by the restaurant owner, blasted by a food blogger, destroys his career on twitter and then ultimately opens a food truck and finds his passion again.

The description makes it sound boring, but I actually loved this movie!

Plus, there is no shortage of food inspiration! 

Ultimately, I chose to make a Traditional Cuban Sandwich or Cubano, since that is Carl’s specialty when he opens his food truck.

Petoskey and Pine Artisan Soap Review

*Disclosure: I received product to sample from ­­­­­Petoskey and Pine.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Today I get to share an amazing product with everyone!

My friend, Wendy, from A Day in the Life on the Farm put me in touch with the wonderful people at Petoskey and Pine and I received this lovely care package in the mail!

First up, I got one of their handmade artisan soaps, Grizzly Itch.

 

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Here’s what the website has to say about it:

An invigorating and rejuvenating exfoliator, this soap has tiny blueberry seeds that grind away at dead skin and clogged pores, while the addition of orange peel powder provides Vitamin C to help increase collagen and stimulate circulation. Eucalyptus and Litsea Cubeba essential oils sooth the senses giving you a pleasurable showering experience.

I loved the scent and the lovely exfoliating blueberry seeds!  It is absolutely wonderful for getting rid of yucky winter skin and feels amazing after a hard workout at the gym.  It’s like exfoliation and a massage in one – it doesn’t get better than that!

 

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I also received a Lemongrass Lip Balm (but it didn’t make it in my picture, for some reason).  The lip balm was silky smooth and the scent is amazing!  It’s perfect for daily use!

Check out their website for more amazing products!

Lechón Asado {Cuban-Style Roast Pork}

Today is phase two of my Food ‘n Flix recipe reveal.

Previously, I had shared the oh-so-soft and delicious Pan Cubano.

Today I’m sharing Lechón Asado or Cuban-Style Roast Pork (any guesses what the final recipe will be?)

This roast is so flavorful and tender – I almost have no words!  There is so much garlic and citrus, it’s just amazing!

As written, this recipe takes a full 4 hours in the oven, so it is very easily adapted to the slow cooker!  Just plop that delicious roast (with all the marinade) in the slow cooker for 4-6 hours and you have yourself an amazing pork roast, without all the fuss of basting!

Pan Cubano {Cuban Bread}

Today is the first in a three part series for my Food ‘n Flix recipe reveal (I'll share the movie & my inspiration at the final post).

I was faced with one of those moments where I wanted to create a recipe, but then I got all bogged down with authenticity and ended up with a spur of the moment cook-a-thon on a random Thursday.

Therefore, today I’m sharing the smashingly delicious Pan Cubano or Cuban Bread.

Visually, it looks like it looks a lot like grocery store French bread (which is pretty different from homemade French bread).

But it’s not.

Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls #SecretRecipeClub

Happy Secret Recipe Club Day!  If you’re new here, SRC members are secretly assigned another participating blogger, stalk their archives, and then whip up something delicious to share on reveal day!

This month, I was assigned Grandma Loy’s Kitchen.  Loy is a mother and grandmother who has been married to her husband for over 50 years!  It is so inspiring to see couple who commit to one another for life! 

As I was searching her blog, I kept thinking that I’d been assigned her blog before.  After some digging, I found out that I had made Grandma Loy’s Rhubarb BBQ Sauce after seeing in on a previous reveal day, but had never actually had the assignment myself!

I thought about making one of Loy’s amazing sounding desserts, but being so close to Easter with so many baking projects, I ended up picking Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls.  They are unbelievably easy, but that’s the beauty of this recipe!

Chicken Tortilla Chowder #CooktheBooksClub

This post contains affiliate links.

It’s time for the April/May edition of Cook the Books Club!  In this club, participants read the assigned book and cook up something delicious inspired by the book.  Since it’s so early in April, there’s still tons of time to grab the book and participate! 

This month’s book was chosen by Debra of Eliot’s Eats.  Ready for the title?  Okay, here it is: The Feast Nearby: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on $40 a week) by Robin Mathers.  Yes, that whole paragraph is the title of the book.  And yes, the book is as pretentious as the title suggests.

You can read my entire review over on GoodReads, but here’s the overview: I felt like I was in a college lecture most of the time while she beat the subject of organic local milk (among other topics) to death.  I found myself skimming chapters, just to get through them.

That being said, if you are a person (especially in Michigan) who wants to start eating locally, this book would be an excellent resource.  Many of the recipes included that the conclusion of each chapter (essay?) sound delicious as well.

On to the recipe. 

Early on in the book the author goes to her local Farmer’s Market and comes across salt rise bread.  She describes salt rise bread as tender but notoriously finicky.  Since I consider myself a fairly accomplished bread baker, I decided to rise to the challenge and make salt rise bread…

Except for the whole part where I failed in step 1.  My sponge absolutely refused to rise/ferment.  Without being able to talk to a salt rise dough expert, I can’t begin to know where I went wrong!  I know I had the right temperature and ingredients.  The only thing I can possibly think of is that I was using commercial 2% milk (not local unpasteurized whole milk) and commercial cornmeal (not freshly stone ground).  Anyone a salt rise bread baker?  Any advice?

With the failure of the salt rise bread, (finicky, indeed.  Touché salt rise bread) it was back to the drawing board.  I was feeling rather uninspired by the rest of the recipes, so I decided to embrace the premise of the book and make use of what I had on hand.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles

Dude (my 7 year old) is helping in the kitchen (and on the blog) again today!

Today, he’s cooking up our favorite buttermilk waffles.  These waffles are full of flavor and whole wheat flour!  You’ll never need another waffle recipe!

Here's what Dude has to say:

The waffles are the taste of home!  They are good with a side of strawberries!

Cauliflower Potato Soup

It’s Meatless Monday!

Usually when I’m eating a meatless meal, I spend most of the time thinking about how much better it would be with bacon.  Because bacon is delicious and it makes everything better and giving up meat on Fridays during Lent is always a challenge!  Which is good, since Lent is about sacrifice!

This soup was the exception to my typical bacon-longing ways.  The soup was so creamy (without cream!!) and flavorful that it was absolutely perfect as a stand alone!

The soup itself is a sort of hybrid between a loaded potato soup (see recipes for a light, cheesy, and skinny version) and a cauliflower cheese soup (think broccoli cheese soup) with amazing results.  The resulting soup is creamy, low fat, and a real crowd pleaser.

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken with Biscuits

Ready for something super comfort food amazing?

Oh and don’t forget, super easy in the crockpot.  I even started with frozen chicken (for reals).

It doesn’t get much easier than this and the flavor is astounding!

Angel Wings Wednesday: Finding Peace

This week is Holy Week, the end the season of Lent leading up to the wonder of Easter.

Winter is finally ending and spring is upon us.

Sarah Catherine has been gone for a bit over a year.  It’s truly amazing how much healing can occur in a year.

Last year at this time, I was still at the height of my grief.  I said I was doing well, and considering the circumstances and the stage of grief, I was.  But this year, I’m doing even better.

I miss little Sarah all the time, but I’m at peace.

There was a moment last Sunday, Palm Sunday, where I suddenly realized the extent of my peace and healing.