Super Nacho Taco Salad

 It’s Sunday Funday and this week features healthy salads!

I love this theme, because I eat a lot of salads.  I nearly always have a side salad at lunch and oftentimes (especially when I’m packing lunch for work), I’ll take a main dish salad.  I’ll typically use whatever protein I have on hand (leftovers from dinner meals) and add toppings that complement the protein.

I always like when I have leftover taco meat, because then I can make taco salads!  

Once I have my protein, I start building the rest of my salad based on what I have on hand.

If I’m taking this salad to work, I’ll crunch chips on top like croutons.  But if I’m home, like I was this day, I’ll treat myself a little and melt cheese on my chips for a little nacho topping - it’s kinda like upside down nachos - with more lettuce and less nachos!

Stay Healthy With Salads from other bloggers!
Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad from Palatable Pastime
Chicken and Mandarin Orange Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm/
Golden Apple & Potato Salad from Sneha's Recipe
Irish Cheddar Honey Mustard Broccoli Salad from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
Japanese Potato Salad from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Kale Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Lettuce, Pear and Grapefruit Salad from Cook With Renu
Red Cabbage, Apple, Mandarin Salad from Food Lust People Love

Snap Peas and Avocado Salad from Mayuri's Jikoni
Sesame Chicken Salad from Making Miracles
Super Nacho Taco Salad from Amy's Cooking Adventures

Super Nacho Taco Salad

2-3 cups lettuce of choice (I used spinach)

¼ cup taco meat

2 tablespoons corn

2 tablespoon olives

¼ cup cheddar jack cheese

8-10 tortilla chips

1-2 tablespoons sour cream

1-2 tablespoons salsa

Place the lettuce on a plate.  Add all the toppings.  If bringing to work, crunch the chips over the top.  If enjoying at home, melt the cheese onto the chips and place on top of the salad.

Yoshi Cake

 Last month, I was asked to make a Yoshi themed cake for a friend’s son’s birthday!

Boozy Blue Raspberry Lemonade & a Food n' Flix Invite

Happy March!

This month, I have the pleasure of hosting our Food n’ Flix movie and this is your invitation to join in the fun!

This month’s pick is PS I Love You. 

To join in the fun, do the following:

1. Watch PS I Love You 

2. Get inspired by food from the movie (there isn’t much - sorry!  Feel free to get inspired by New York or Ireland!)

3. Make some tasty food and post the recipe to your blog or Instagram (tag @foodnflix).  Be sure to link back to Food n’ Flix and this post.

4. Then email amyscookingadventures(@)gmail(.)com and heather(@)foodnflixclub(.)com.  Please include:

1. “Food n’ Flix Submission” as the subject

2. Blog Name

3. Recipe Title

4. Recipe Photo

So here’s a bit more of my decision making process this month…

I was trying to think of a good movie to choose, and when I couldn’t think of one, I took a shot in the dark.  I decided to look for movies that take place in Ireland since this month it’s St. Patrick’s Day!

As I researched, I came across PS I Love You, which the internet said took place in Ireland (spoiler alert, only a small part is in Ireland) plus it was inspired by a book (which does take place in Ireland).  I always love a good book-movie comparison, so I chose the movie without reading any synopses at all!

Imagine my shock when I realized that the premise (below taken from Rotten Tomatoes):

“When Gerry (Gerard Butler), the husband of Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank), dies from an illness, she loses the love of her life. Knowing how hard Holly will take his death, Gerry plans ahead. Beginning on her 30th birthday, she receives the first in a series of letters written by him, designed to ease her grief and encourage her to move forward to a new life.”

Woah - all the feels!

The Best Brine for a Whole Roast Chicken

 

I never used to brine chickens.

Then, a couple years ago, I decided to try brining my first turkey - the moist turkey was a game changer, and I realized that I needed to start brining all my poultry...which means I do a lot of brining. 

Why, you ask?

Because of Spud.

You see, since kindergarten, at the most, Spud would eat about half the school hot lunches and want cold lunch for the rest.  As the years have progressed, this number has dwindled to the point where he only eats one school lunch (Taco in a Bag).  He sometimes goes for months taking only cold lunches.

Honestly, I’m fine with this choice, since I know I can provide him with a healthy balanced meal (school lunches can be as well, but kids have a huge tendency to dump what they don’t like.  I have lunch duty a couple times a week and you wouldn’t believe the stuff that gets tossed - yikes!)

Here’s the next problem - Spud (especially after COVID and quarantine) has become increasingly picky about what he’ll eat in his cold lunch.  I think being able to heat up whatever he wanted to lunch during quarantine spoiled him a bit.

Chicken Wings

 

Let’s get reading with this month’s Cook the Books Club pick - Aaron Sanchez’s (Food Network Star) book Where I Come From: Life Lessons From a Latino Chef.  

This one immediately piqued my interest, since I’ve seen Aaron Sanchez on Chopped.  I have to admit - Sanchez was never my favorite judge, but I was intrigued nonetheless. 

After reading this memoir, I was impressed.  The memoir was well-written and gave a lot of insight into Sanchez’s past.  It gave the chef I’d seen on Chopped a lot more dimension.  I feel like I will watch old episodes of that show with fresh eyes.

Egg & Bacon Sandwich (Homemade Egg McMuffin)

 

Sunday Funday is back with one of my favorites: Breakfast for Dinner!

If I’m completely honest, breakfast for dinner is the only time I really ever eat breakfast foods.  In my house, breakfast is a protein shake for me and cereal for the boys.

The recipe I’m sharing today is one of my go-to recipes, though usually for lunch, not dinner.

Restaurant Style Rice

 

This month’s Food n Flix movie is hosted by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  She chose the anime flick, Spirited Away.  As  I started watching, I realized that I had seen still shots from this show before (maybe a meme?)  I can’t recall, but do know that some scenes seemed vaguely familiar.

The movie was...odd…

I’m not a huge anime fan, and this one didn’t endear me to the genre any more.

Nevertheless, there was ample food inspiration.

The food that stood out the most was a rice ball. I started searching for recipes and then realized that what I was really interested in was the rice itself.  Lately, Spud has become more and more vocal about rice.  He is super frustrated that I make rice wrong or buy the wrong rice.  He loves the rice that sticks together at restaurants and has no patience for the regular long grain rice that I make at home.