type='text/javascript'/> A Latte Talk: May 2009

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Cheap, healthy, yummy,easy, fabulous meal. With a side of Taz.

I guess I'm getting back into cooking. Summertime - grilling, fresh produce, all of that just wakes up my tastebuds.

So, I'm sharing one of my "repeatable" meals that I am really excited about.

Step 1. Start with this refried bean recipe. It is WAY cheap AND easy AND healthy AND yummy. All of which are excellent reasons to make it.

Disclaimer: If you make the recipe, please do not put in 5 tsp of salt, as the recipe states. Then you will proclaim them a disaster and never come back to A Latte Talk for recipes again. I would say half that amount of salt would be plenty. Maybe 3 tsp.

Step 2. Make Bean Burritos from them. Doesn't get much more basic than that. Hardly even a recipe, really. Take a tortilla, glop some beans on, sprinkle with cheese, wrap up. Voila.

You can buy 2 pounds of pinto beans (2x as much as you need for the recipe) at Aldi for 1.29. Just one of these recipes stretches over several meals, even for a family. The beans also freeze great, OR my favorite thing to do is take the leftovers, make more burritos with them, and individually wrap each burrito in tinfoil (if you like to reheat in the oven) or saran-wrap (if you like to reheat in the microwave). Then you can take them out later and just reheat and serve!

The last time I made these, I made mango salsa to go with them. Here's my recipe:

1-2 mangos, diced
6 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
purple onion (to taste - I love it, so I put a lot), diced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional - we usually skip)
lots of cilantro
lime juice (about 1/4 of a lime)
salt to taste

As I was finishing up the burritos, Taz snuck in the kitchen and proclaimed the salsa to be edible.


BUSTED!!!


Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........


Delicious!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

They got their referral! They got their referral!


She's gorgeous! She's beautiful! She's loved and adored! Matt's Aunt Dawn and Uncle Lee are the amazingly blessed PARENTS of little Olivia Xiu Di Shelton!!!! They will travel in 6-8 weeks to China to get her and bring her HOME.

I'm SO excited to be this little girl's Auntie Jenny!! (I know, I know, she's technically my cousin. But officially, I will be Aunt Jenny! WAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

YAAAAAAAAY! YIPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I'm soooooooo excited. Can you tell? More than 3 years into a 6-8 month projected wait, they're (WE'RE) EXCIIIIIIIITED!

YEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Beware

Beware... if your recently* unsupervised very small child walks up to you and says,

"Mommy, I HELPED you!"

*Do not ignore this warning if you feel that the amount of unsupervised time was minimal. Many big things can happen in a very short period of time, especially when very small children are, well... unsupervised.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

The Undy 500


A new branch of the Flip Flop Fleet, the Skivvy Divvy, is sending underthings (tops and bottoms) to the poorest of countries. Think about it. Every woman has items in her drawers that have been barely worn, that don't fit right, whatever.

The Skivvy Divvy is doing a drive to collect 500 Skivvies in 2 weeks, aptly named the Undy 500. Check it out here!