Category: Cooking

Cooking, Entertainment

Tortilla Super Bowls

Lora Knows...

I was co-hosting an Open House recently and a few guests were talking about the big football games. I thought they must be talking about the Super Bowl, but when I asked they let me know it is the Conference Championships. I now know this means that it will be the last four teams, playing the last two games – and those winners will play in the Super Bowl.

You might wonder how I don’t know these very basic sport things – that’s because we are a futbol house. Ask me about Premier League Soccer and I’ll be happy to discuss teams, players, stats and more. Dean has never been a football fan, and introduced me to futbol decades ago, and it is one of our favorite sports to watch.

Chips and salsa are a classic combo, and when I saw this simple recipe I thought why not give it a go. It is a dressed up version, because the tortillas are shaped into a bowl and filled with all your favorite sides and toppings.

Ingredients

  • 12 (6-inch) corn or flour tortillas, cut in half to form 24 half circles
  • 2 muffin tins, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray
  • Ground beef, chicken, or other protein
  • Black beans, or bean dip
  • Salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and cheese
  • Tomatoes, onions, scallions, and cilantro, finely chopped
  • Jalapeños, sliced

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Take each tortilla half, and wrap inward to form a cone. The straight portion of the circle will form the pointed, cone end, while the rounded portion will form the lip of the bowl.
  3. Use the shape of the muffin tin to form a flat-bottomed bowl with a large lip that hangs slightly over the top by pressing your index finger around the inner form of the muffin tin, molding your tortilla bowl into its shape.
  4. Once all tortillas are in place, sprinkle each with a few drops of water, and press each tortilla bowl into the tin once more (this helps hold the shape). Finish each tortilla bowl with a sprinkle of salt.
  5. Bake tortillas for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. While your tortillas are baking, prep the ingredients that you would like to use for the fillings. Let the muffin tins cool; then remove each tortilla bowl, and set aside.
  6. Fill your tortilla bowls with any fillings of your choice. Layer each bowl with a variety of fillers (proteins, beans, salsa, guacamole, etc.); then add some toppings (sour cream, cheese, jalepeños, cilantro or other favorites).

Cooking

Guilt-Free, Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Lora Knows...

These soft chewy peanut butter cookies are a favorite in our home. Trust me, you will be hooked from the first bite. It’s a wholesome treat for all ages.

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients
1¼ cups brown rice flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
½ cup organic creamy peanut butter
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a medium-size baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
  3. In a separate bowl stir together the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla extract. Make sure your peanut butter is soft and almost runny to start. If it’s not, warm it up for a couple of seconds in the microwave.
  4. Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture and stir until barely combined. It will still look a bit dusty. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes, and then give it one more quick stir.
  5. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Gently press down on each one gently with the back of a fork to get a crisscross effect. If your fork sticks to the dough, just run it under hot water before each crisscross.
  6. Bake for 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the baking sheet.

Recipe from The Yoga Plate: Bring Your Practice into the Kitchen with 108 Simple & Nourishing Vegan Recipes by Tamal and Victoria Dodge. © 2019

Cooking, Family, Holidays

Gift Giving Made Simple

Lora Knows...

Back in November a few friends and I were discussing the holidays. The talk of writing seasonal cards, decorations, travel and more gave way to gifts. None of us seemed excited about shopping and we all said the same thing, that there isn’t one thing we want for Christmas.

Later that evening, during dinner, I was sharing the story with Dean – and he agreed that there is nothing he wants for Christmas. We decided then that we would set an amount and stick to it, and we would get each other something meaningful to open on Christmas morning.

Having a set amount, and promising not to exceed it, made me put a lot of thought into the perfect gift for Dean. I’m pretty excited about the three little things I got for him, and cannot wait for him to open them on Christmas morning. He will be so happy.

I just glanced over at our tree, it is usually stuffed with gifts underneath, but instead there are 5 beautifully wrapped presents – and it truly feels like Christmas.

Feeling that others may feel this way too, I thought I would share a few gift ideas – but the list was so endless I cut it down to a few kitchen gadget ideas that will fit under the tree or in a stocking.

Digital Food Thermometer

Cooking meat to the right temperature can be a bit of a guessing game. Help your recipient avoid this stress with an instant-read or digital thermometer from Cuisinart or Kizen that gives a fast, accurate read of internal temperatures. They’ll be able to quickly check the temperature of steaks, chicken breasts, or whole turkeys, gaining peace of mind that these meats have reached the right level of doneness.

Beeswax Food Wraps

Plastic wrap can serve many purposes, but it’s also a single-use item that soon finds its way into the trash. This holiday season, consider gifting beeswax food wraps, the reusable alternative to plastic wrap that can seal jars and bowls and protect half-used fruits and veggies. You can find ones in different shapes and sizes from companies such as Bee’s Wrap and Goldilocks Goods.

Garlic Press

From pasta to wings to potatoes, garlic adds a wonderful flavor that enhances any dish. And a garlic press like Zulay’s two-in-one version, which can mince and slice the cloves, makes using the staple ingredient that much easier.

Meat Chopper

You may be scratching your head wondering what this chopper is for, but it’ll soon become your loved one’s new favorite kitchen gadget. This spatula-like tool from brands like GoodCook, OXO, and Farberware has multiple blades that easily chop, blend, or mash meat or vegetables while they cook in a pan on the stove.

Electric Spice Grinder

Preground spices are very convenient, but nothing compares to a fresh grind since it makes the flavors and aroma more powerful. Gift an electric spice grinder like Cuisinart’s electric spice-and-nut grinder, and your loved one may never go back to preground again.

Take gift giving back to what it was – a little gift that will mean something to ones you love.