what's for dinner?

Today I was working with some kids on welcome cards for those who have new sponsors. I ask them a series of questions and they get to color the card. When I get to, “What’s your favorite food?” I can almost guarantee that any dish they say involves two things. RICE and BEANS.

Fortunately, I really like rice and beans. At the care center we have three excellent cooks- Zeneida, Ana, and Odesta. I honestly don’t know how they do it- day after day they crank out delicious meals for 300 people on a tight budget. Today we had a salad (lettuce, tomato, carrots with a oil/vinegar dressing) paired with the main dish. Today’s dish was a rice and bean mixture with hot dogs mixed in! You never know quite what the dish will be, but you can be confident it will involve rice. I’m glad to eat at the care center. Eating lunch is a good time to get to know other staff members and I think it’s really good to eat the same thing that the kids are eating.

 

As much as I appreciate rice and beans, I love getting creative in my kitchen with OTHER ingredients! J I know this is not a cooking blog, but it’s a blog about this adventure that I’m on, so let’s talk about what’s for dinner.

I feel like growing up I always enjoyed helping my mom out in the kitchen, but I never really embraced it. It was only after I moved out on my own that I realized how much I still needed to learn!  Well, after a lot of emergency cooking help over the phone from my mom, a Betty Crocker cookbook for a Christmas present, and lots of trial and error, I’ve ended up really really enjoying cooking and baking!

I never thought I would say this but now it has actually become a stress reliever. I super love finding new recipes ( I might be turning into a pinterest junkie), getting creative with ingredients I have, and tasting something new! The simple actions of chopping, measuring, stirring, and waiting all while listening to a great playlist bring me a lot of joy.

 

Some of my greatest successes lately have been fiesta avocado chicken, shrimp scampi, creamy quinoa primavera, cheeseburgers, chicken tortilla soup, avocado chicken salad, southwestern stuffed peppers and cowboy caviar. Most of my recipes include cilantro, cumin, avocado, and garlic- can you tell where my taste buds grew up?? ;) 

I LOVE fresh fruit and veggies. There’s a little produce stand at the end of my street and I love stopping by and getting a pineapple, a bunch of bananas, and a few avocados all for about $1.50. There is also a man who drives a pickup truck around town full of produce. While driving, he has a megaphone where he proudly announces to all the neighbors what he’s got! I can just run down my stairs and buy whatever I need right from his truck. There’s also the avocado lady who walks the street with a huge bucket of avocados (and other various fruits) on her head. She shouts what she is selling and I can just run down with my pesos J Side note- also sold from vendors on my street: rat poison, peanuts, chicken (dead or alive), corn on the cob, fish, and probably a host of other things that I just don’t know about yet!

 

So speaking of all this fresh fruit, let me introduce you to…..the NINJA. Do you know about the ninja? I wasn’t too familiar with it either, but my mom and sister brought it when they came- it was my Christmas present from my Grandparents. Let me tell you about the ninja if you don’t know about it. It is sortof like a blender/food processor, but way more magical. As long as I have electricity, I can make all sorts of things in it. I like to make homemade fresh salsa at least once a week- it is so delicious.  You would love it. If you come visit, I promise to make you some- or guacamole if you prefer. The other magic that comes out of my ninja is mostly in smoothie form. It’s fun to get mangoes right down the street, throw them in with some yogurt and voila-a delicious, refreshing drink!  With all the fresh produce, it’s been fun to invent lots of flavor combos J And probably the most magical part of all is that I can make ICED COFFEE in it!

 

Anyway, by this point you probably think I have turned into a cooking blogger…but now you know a little more about “what’s for dinner” and about my ninja magic (get one! I know you’ll love it)