Friday, May 11, 2012

a little of this, a little of that...

Two down! Yep, the "do it" part of pin number two has been done. Again, it was a ridiculously easy one. (To see the awesome things others are "DO-ing," do hop over to our lovely hostess, Trish's place.)
Homemade taco seasoning. Now it's not like I use taco seasoning every day, or even every week. But I do buy those little packets on a semi-regular basis. So why the heck did it never occur to me to make my own?!! It just seems so obvious in hindsight. Though, truth be told, even if I had thought of it, I'm not sure I would have had a clue where to start in trying to put together a good blend of spices. Ah, but here is where our good friend Pinterest comes in so handy! When during a journey of internet goofing off, I stumble across a recipe for taco seasoning--CLICK, pin it!

To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure how it compares taste-wise to those prepackaged little packets, because I used it in a recipe I'd never made before. But I can say the recipe was a huge success (I figured it would be a battle to even get the boys to try it, but Max had three helpings!), so the seasoning couldn't have stunk, right? I do have the impression that this seasoning was a little hotter, spicy-wise, than the packaged stuff, and in this house, that's a good thing.

A happy aside: The taco casserole finished up my very first 50x50 list (#15--Try 50 new recipes)!!! Seriously, I can't believe I *finally* finished one!!! Now let's just hope it won't be another year and a half until the next one's completed, 'cause at that rate I'll be dead loooooong before I make it through.

*****
I went outside to take a few pictures of the new place yesterday afternoon. But then I got distracted and started taking pictures Max and Rich tossing the football instead. And then the camera battery died. So pictures of the house will just have to wait. Instead, here's a picture of Max.
I can't remember if I've mentioned before how much he'd been wanting to get a pink mohawk. There was much pleading. Unfortunately the "pink" part was just too pricey for our blood. :( But even after a couple of weeks, he's still loving his new look!
















And here's just a couple of shots of our peaceful little swamp.














Have a wonderful relaxing oh-so-happy weekend, everyone!!!!

6 comments:

Keshalyi said...

Woah! Hadn't seen the new haircut! Was wondering who that was for a minute…

I love your swamp :). Is it well taken care of? Do you get a lot of litter and pollution from upstream?

DesLily said...

lol, gotta love kids and haircuts! what a good mom to let him have it!...
gunna explore that swamp this summer???!!

Kailana said...

The haircut suits him. :)

Loved seeing the pictures. And congrats on finishing a category for 50x50. I do still keep track of mine...

Somer said...

I've been making my own taco seasoning for tacos since I was in high school (don't forget - I'm a Texan - I know tacos!). For every 1/2 pound of meat, I use 1 tsp Fiesta Brand fajita seasoning (I'm sure you can't get this, but if you send me contact info, I'll send you some), 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp ground cumin or oregano leaves, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Add 1/2 cup of water for every 1/2 pound meat. You can adjust the seasonings a bit to your taste. I like mine pretty spicy, so I sometimes add a bit more of each, trying to keep a balance.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Oh Max! What a handsome boy you have Debi! I literally gasped when I saw the picture (and I LOVE the fauxhawk).

And yay for the Taco Seasoning! I actually made some a while ago that I pinned but then wasn't sure what the equivalent was to a packaged seasoning so I didn't use it all. Still not sure... ;)

That is quite the swamp!

Debi said...

Jason,
Yeah, I *love love love* our swamp, too!!! And yeah, except for the trash and debris the idiots who lived here before us left (and that we're still trying to clean up), it seems rather pollution-free. Though who knows; we haven't had the water tested. It is teeming with life--Rich even took in a water sample to have one of his classes identify the organisms. The boys, of course, have "accidentally" fallen in a number of times already. :P

Pat,
I don't know that it makes me a good mom. But I see absolutely NO reason not to let them wear the clothes they want and have the haircuts they want and just plain be the people they want to be, you know.

Kelly,
I'm soooooooo happy to hear you still keep track of yours, too!!! You MUST MUST MUST do an update post one of these days!!!

Somer,
Wow--you use oregano in yours, too! See, that's one of those things I never would have guessed was in taco seasoning!

Trish,
Aww, thank you! I think he's pretty darn handsome, but then I am his mom. :P
And LOL--I had the same problem not knowing how the amount compared to a packet of the stuff! So I just used the whole batch. Not sure if that was the right thing to do, but the casserole was darn tasty! :)