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Archive for Renee Spindle

Joan’s Taco Salad for Two

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This recipe is my Mom’s take on the taco salad recipe that I posted earlier today. She has put a great twist on the original recipe, and I’ll be trying this one soon, minus the ranch dressing. You all know I have no love for mayo or anything close to it. My Mom has gone from cooking for a crowd like me to cooking for just two. Thanks for sharing your recipe Mom – here goes:

Meat Mix:
Saute
   1/2 pound ground beef
   1/4 chopped onion
   1 tsp chopped garlic

Add
   1 tsp. chili powder
   1 tsp cumin
   1 tsp salt
   Black pepper
   Dash of red pepper flakes

When ready add a couple of big splashes of tomato juice and saute until the juice evaporates.

In 2 large salad bowls layer the following divided in two where necessary:
   Handful of corn chips or tortilla strips
   Chopped lettuce
   1/2 cup chopped tomatoes split

Drizzle with ranch dressing.

Layer more:
   Meat mixture
   Small can of kidney beans drained, optional
   Small can of black olives drained
   Very large dollop sour creme
   2 chopped green onions
   1/4 cup shredded cheese split

Grate a little black pepper on top -Enjoy!

My Mom is a great cook. She had a hand in teaching me to cook many moons ago, and now sharing and comparing recipes is half the fun of cooking. Be sure to check out my Mom’s recent blog post for her Beef Bourguinon dinner courtesy of Julia Childs recipe. It looks so amazingly, delicious I wish I had smell-a-vision. I’ll have to try this one day soon. Thanks again for sharing your recipe Mom.

No comments Posted in Family, Food, Recipes

Taco Salad for a Crowd

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Renee Spindle

For the past two or three days it has been over 90 degrees here in So Cal, just a hint of summertime coming our way. The hot weather calls for some lighter and yummy dinners. Tonight I made the gang a Taco Salad. I called my Mom to find out the origin of this recipe, and we came to the conclusion that I was a recipe that was passed around the neighborhood when we were growing up. However, I have put my own twist on the recipe, with the help of my daughter Naomi.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey or ground beef (whichever you prefer)
1 can of kidney beans (15 oz)
1 pkg of taco seasoning
1 bag of fritos (10½ oz)
shredded cheese (we like the cheddar & monterey jack combo)
shredded cabbage
tomatoes
green onion

Directions:

Brown the meat, and drain off the grease.
Drain the beans and add them to the browned meat. I like to do this to heat up the beans.
Mix in the taco seasoning and the amount of water that is called for on the package.
Simmer this mixture until you have cooked off almost all of the liquid.
While the meat is simmering;
Chop up the tomatoes
Chop up some green onions.
Chop the shredded cabbage into smaller bite size pieces.
Crush the fritos, in the bag, with a rolling-pin. Open the bag a bit first though to let out the air.
Salad Layers

For the salad assembly:

The layering effect is Naomi’s twist on the recipe.
In a large glass bowl layer the ingredients like this:
Fritos
Meat and beans
Cheese
Shredded cabbage
Tomatoes
Green Onion
Then repeat the layers for a second time.
You can either serve the salad layered, or if your adventurous like me you can toss the whole salad and serve.
For garnishments put out your favorite salsa, sour cream, and black olives (that’s ones for you Hilary!)

Variations:

This recipe can easily be made with shredded chicken or beef.
You could add additional cans of different types of beans (black or pinto).
You could flavor the meat with your favorite salsa instead of taco seasoning.
Any garnishments that you like can easily be put on top or served with your salad on the side.

This is truly a yummy recipe, and so easy to throw together. Oh and I like using the shredded cabbage because it does not get soggy at all. I put out the cabbage when we have just plain old tacos in the shell too. For this twenty-something household, this salad makes a great big meal and is great for staying on budget. If you’ve never made this before it’s a real treat. If you haven’t made it in a while you’ve been missing out like me. I’m definitely mixing this recipe in with my weekly summertime meal planning.

Please stay tuned for my Mom’s Taco Salad recipe for Two.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Food, Recipes

11 Things I was Reminded of During our Home Improvement Week

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Renee Spindle

If you are a follower of my stories you know that Travel Man and are near the end of a project remodeling the entryway of our home. After a few marathon work sessions last week it reminded me that we almost always have a great time together with our projects, and here’s a few reasons why we do:

1. Projects with my Travel Man are fun.

2. We work well together.

3. It is important that I pay attention and know when to leave Travel Man alone to let him think and work. It can be all fun and laughter.

4. Working a project and meeting our deadline is like a well orchestrated dance.

5. I’m a great “sous” carpenter- clean up is my specialty.

6. Planning is everything.

7. Changing the plan when you are actually in the middle of the project can be important. Be flexible.

8. It’s ok with me if Travel Man doesn’t like to paint, because I love to paint!

9. Finishing all of the detail work gives you the greatest sense of accomplishment.

10. The detail work is what makes your project spectacular. This one is still in the works as I am typing this post.

11. I need more exercise, I am seriously out of shape.

As our entryway project comes to a successful close I have to give a big shout out to my wonderful husband. He worked by hard to get a lot of work done in a short period of time. And of course, this week he is back on the road. That’s our life, planning and executing, and trying to get things done on short notice. I will have pictures a little later this week, remember patience is a virtue my friends.

No comments Posted in Around the House, DIY Projects, Family, Travel Man

Home Improvement Projects

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Renee Spindle

My wonderful Travel Man has had a few days at home in a row which has been a rarity since the beginning of the year. We decided to take advantage of this week, with him at home to get some home improvement projects rolling along.

For most of this week we have been texturing and painting the walls in our entryway, installing new flooring, and getting all of the trim work completed. We are down to the wire and will be finishing up tomorrow morning. Travel man is off to Canada on Sunday. This project has been a long time coming, and it is just delightful to see it all coming together. I will post a slide show of pictures once we are completely done.

We have also been putting together a plan to landscape our front yard. Our house sits on a corner lot, the first house on the south side of our street. So we have a lot of front yard going on. We had the front yard graded probably two years ago now, and have just been keeping the dirt free of weeds and in check since then. Putting a plan together with a blank slate is somewhat of a daunting task. You want the grass and plants to look nice, and you don’t want to make a mistake with your plan. This is why we have waited to spend any money on our front yard. We had to have the time to get a vision, agree on that vision, and put a plan in place to execute. That sounds so “Corporate world” doesn’t it?

Anyway, we have been doing so much planning for the front yard, and supply purchasing for the entryway I told my husband one morning this week that I had a dream we were planting in our entryway!! My thoughts were a little mixed up don’t you think? All of this planning an executing has been making my head spin.

The entryway project is coming along so beautifully it is already creating “the domino effect”. You know what I’m talking about. You make an improvement in one area of your home, and it pushes the domino into the next room that needs to be painted or remodeled, which in our case is our living room. And we all know the “domino effect” creates a never-ending “to-do” list. But I love lists so that’s ok.

Watch for my entryway pictures in the next few days. I’m excited to get this project off of the “to-do” list and work on the front yard before it starts to get too hot. Happy home improvement weekend everyone. How’s your “to-do” list going?

No comments Posted in Around the House, DIY Projects, Family, Travel Man

It was History in the Making.

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Renee Spindle

My love of history and my passion for following the game of baseball all converged on one center point last night. It was one of the games that is every baseball fans dream to witness. Last night Travel Man and I, along with our oldest son and his friend attended a baseball game at Angels stadium in Anaheim. It was a great night for baseball. The Angels are our home town team, and have been for over ten years now. It was a Wednesday night game, so the crowd was not huge. It was a crispy, chilly Southern California evening. Travel Man and I had a great view of the field, on the first base side. The boys were sitting field level by the left field, foul pole. We waved to the boys across the stadium crowd a few times, when there was a great play.

Now remember, my description of the game and my experience will be completely different from anyone elses who was there. (That’s why I like to blog) We got to see a bit of history last night. The Angels ace pitcher was on the mound, Jered Weaver. He is in his 6th season with the Angels, and his 2012 record before the game started last night was 3-0. Weaver was dealing with his pitches. By the end of the game he had 9 strikeouts (that’s k’s in baseball lingo). He is a smooth operator on the mound. I just love watching his command of the game.

This game was a hitting fest for the Angels. 15 hits, and 9 runs scored! A great night for the team. But an even better night for Jered Weaver. At the top of the 8th inning Weaver comes out to the mound, with a score of 9-0, the Angels are in the lead. I’m thinking, oh cool he’s going to finish this game out. He had around 98 pitches before this inning started.

He deals the batters once again, three up and three down. This is the moment I realize that Weaver has a no-hitter going. The Angels stay at 9 runs for the bottom of the eighth and at the top of the ninth out charges Jered Weaver. At this point I remember looking at the scoreboard and Weaver started the inning with 111 pitches. For every pitch of the ninth inning the crowd was on its feet. Cheering for each and every strike and out. At the end of the game the Angels had won, and Weaver pitched his first career no-hitter. It was the first no-hitter we all had the good fortune to witness at the stadium. The energy of the crowd was insane. It was the first solo no-hitter thrown by the Angels since June of 1975, that one was thrown by Nolan Ryan.

We will always remember being at this game, as we got to witness a part of the Angels history in the making. Kind of like when you saw Neil Armstrong step foot on the moon, or remembering where you where on the morning of 9/11. This was a completely awesome experience! Congratulations to Jered Weaver, and go Angels!