Dad and Cupcakes

Well I was surprised that my husband baked cupcakes the other day, so I gave him a nickname since he voiced his opinion about getting more into the kitchen. I call him.... The Cooking Dad! So here I am to introduce him to the world, my partner in culinary adventures, he is the silence behind the grill... The Cooking Dad!

This was his first time ever baking cupcakes (him and the kids wanted something sweet). He used a cupcake mix, but that was ok since it was his first time. He added chocolate chips to the chocolate cupcake mix and they turned out really good. He even frosted them himself. WOW!

This is what he made... ooooo daring aren't we...

And, here he is mixing...

And filling the cups...

And, eating... licking the spoon... he always does this to me when I bake, he hovers waiting for me to not be paying attention and then snitches samples. Ummmmm Honey, back to baking the cupcakes...

Frosting the cupcakes...

Looking very proud of himself... he did a good job! Note the little hands trying to reach up and grab cupcakes, she just couldn't wait...

And, last but not least...One very satisfied customer! How sweet, he even put sprinkles on her cupcake.. what a great daddy!!


So I guess what this tells us is that Dads can cook and they can bake, but only when they want to... But, now the monster has been created and now he wants more kitchen time, what is a girl to do? Teach him how to make wonderful and edible food! Thanks for letting me introduce my hubby Richard, The Cooking Dad! Just one thing... he is a truck driver... sure wouldn't want any of his rough and tough truck driving buddies knowing he could be Mr. Betty Crocker. I can just see the razzing now; and, that makes me laugh even harder!

And, it also tells me that I better not forget NaBloPoMo until the last minute ever again! Whew... got it in. I was sitting here waiting for my giveaway to be over and realized... Shoot! I have not done my blog post for today, I almost blew it! I had planned on this post anyway but not so fast, I was trying to plan it better but this is how it came out! Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you got as good of a laugh as I did just watching him. But, he did great!!

Cheese Enchiladas

Here is part 2 of Cinco de Mayo fast and easy recipes of what we had for dinner on May 5. These Cheese enchiladas are super easy and take very few ingredients, and super fast to make. They were a hit with my youngest daughter who loves anything to do with cheese, and my favorite flavor of enchiladas.

Cheese Enchiladas

8 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 of a 3.5 oz can of green chiles
salt and pepper to taste
1 small can enchilada sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
garnish with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, or whatever you like on your Mexican food

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Mix together 2 cups cheese, sour cream, and chiles. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Spoon filling into tortillas and lay seam side down in baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce. Top with 1 cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Chicken Chimichangas

Well another Cinco de Mayo has come and gone. The food was awesome! We had Chicken Chimichangas, Cheese Enchiladas, and some beans and rice for dinner for Cinco de Mayo. Yeah, we forgot about margaritas. (hangs head in shame) but, at least we had Mexican food that was loved by the whole family (well except for the youngest daughter, she doesn't like most anything, oh well). So here is the Chicken Chimichanga recipe first and tomorrow will be the Cheese Enchilada recipe. Enjoy!

Chicken Chimichangas

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
Taco Seasoning (I used Costco taco seasoning and just sprinkled it on the chicken)
1 3.5 oz can of green chiles
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 flour tortillas (large tortillas)
Vegetable oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning. (I sprinkled lightly because I wanted more of the flavors to come out with the whole dish rather than just totally taco flavor) Bake chicken for 20 minutes. Turn over and sprinkle taco seasoning on other side of chicken. Bake another 20 minutes. Let chicken cool. Cut into thin slices or shred with forks.

To the chicken, add the green chiles and cheese. Mix well. Heat tortillas slightly so they are easy to fold. (usually about 30 seconds in the microwave). Spoon some filling directly into middle of tortilla. Fold the farthest side first over the filling, then fold the ends into the middle, then roll it up. The ends should be completely closed.

Heat oil until water sizzles when drops hit the oil. Make sure chimichanga is halfway submerged, fold side down when you first put the chimichanga in the oil.

Let cook for 2 minutes and turn over and cook another 2 minutes.

Drain on paper towels.


Garnish with sour cream, guacamole, diced tomatoes, salsa, or whatever you like on your Mexican food.

Comparing Tomato Planters... Week 2

Well last week I planted 3 different tomato planters to see which was best... to recap... One in the Topsy Turvy upside down tomato planter, one in my own homemade tomato planter, and one in a regular pot growing right side up.

I am attempting to answer a couple of questions I have had in my own mind.
- What is the difference between all these ways to plant tomatoes?
- What is the hype all about with Topsy Turvy? Is it worth the money?
- Or, do they all grow the same? and produce the same amount?

If you did not see the Week 1 of this series please CLICK HERE to see what and how this all started and to keep up with the progression of this experiment.

Well, week 2 shows some progress in 2 of the tomato plants... Watch and find out which ones... This is becoming an interesting experiment.



By the way, it is Day 5 on NaBloPoMo and feeling fine here. I have about a week's worth of blog posts on the drawing board, and then I am sure I will make more food or have subjects worthy of blogging for the month of May.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!