I’m still cooking.
Literally. (Me personally as well as food on my stovetop…hahaha. Laugh.)
As you know, I’m mildly obsessed with soups. So of course over the weekend I made three soups which is ridiculous because it is now past time it’s appropriate to make that much soup. Regardless.
I went straight back home, to Pioneer Woman, because she never fails. Hamburger soup (where I sub out beef for turkey and use vegetable broth), veggie chili (you know my all time fav), and corn chowder (where I add potatoes and carrots and blend a little of it up to thicken it).
But I also am cooking other things and this recipe YOU MUST GO MAKE. I got a wild hair to make street tacos. Particularly shrimp. I rarely cook shrimp at home because Bray can get it fresh in Louisiana. So there we fry it or boil it and it can’t be beat.
Nonetheless, I marched myself to the best seafood counter on my side of town and picked up some shrimp and made these Spicy Shrimp Tacos. The tacos were good. But the reason you should make these now is THE SAUCE. If you do not like cilantro, I don’t know what to do with you. I know some of you people think it tastes like soap. I do not understand you.
This sauce is amazing. I almost didn’t make it. I almost took a shortcut. No, no, no, no, no. Do not do that. I made a big batch (which means I added more cilantro, sour cream, and I threw in a little fresh jalepeno). So lucky us, there are leftovers. I used it as salad dressing last night. And more, it’s coming.
Because I wasn’t sure if the kids would go nuts for sautéed shrimp (they do love shrimp), I also sautéed a little rotisserie chicken with some onion and salsa as an alternative. I had fresh guacamole, sour cream, and that amazing slaw from the shrimp taco recipe. Plus the cotija cheese. That’s it. Easy peasy. *Don’t forget to warm the corn tortillas on the griddle.*
The kids said if I got fired I should open a kitchen.
Our afternoon nanny who is from San Salvador said I used all the ingredients that they use.
Then, the next day, I used the leftover chicken mixture to make nachos. I just shredded some cheddar, drained some beans from my veggie chili, threw on the chicken and broiled it all on low. Then I topped it with guacamole and THAT SAUCE. I could probably eat that with a spoon. (Like little bit at the green sauce at Los Tios, if you’re from Houston.)
Now I can’t finish this post without a tiny little mention of the eldest. I still tear up trying to tell this story. He’s had a rocky year. He has persevered but it’s been tough. The silver lining of this year is his INCREDIBLE teacher. We go to a private school where the kids have been blessed with extraordinary teachers through elementary school, but this woman is an angel. She gets this boy. And she loves him. For you mommas, that’s all you ask.
Well, it was her birthday yesterday. So he comes bounding home on Monday filled to the brim with joy and starts working in the kitchen. I immediately throw him out because I was having some women over to meet our new pastor and was not going to let him trash the kitchen right before their arrival.
He acquiesces but makes me promise this: he gets to bake at 7 pm when he gets back from little bit’s practice. For their standardized test comprehension practice, they’d studied a chocolate chip cookie recipe that day. He thought it would be perfect if he baked THOSE VERY COOKIES for her on her birthday – she loves chocolate chip cookies and with this being a school recipe and her being a teacher, it’s perfect!
Anyone dying?
He came straight home at 7 pm and went to work. We ran out of butter so he went and picked another stick up at our neighbor’s house. He baked them all by himself. It made 34 cookies. He had one to ensure they were edible. Then he counted out everyone in his class, his teacher (who would get the most), his coaches, and a few former teachers to assess who would get how many. There were baggies with their names on it and a big platter for his classroom.
Leave a Reply