Taco Salad

       Taco salad is a great recipe if you're are looking for more ground beef recipes. For some reason, I always have trouble finding ground beef recipes, even though I can always find chicken recipes. I love this recipe because it has enough spice for taste, but it's still mild enough to feed your grandma from the south. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat (beef, elk, turkey, etc.)
• 3 clove garlic*
• 1 can dark red kidney beans (16 oz)
• 1 cup taco sauce**
• 1 tablespoon chili powder***
• 6 cups torn iceberg lettuce****
•  4 tomatoes
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• ^
• 4 green onions^^
• Tortilla cups

Instructions:

1. Cook ground meat with garlic in a heavy skillet until brown. Stir in kidney beans^^^, taco sauce, and Chili powder. 
2. Bring to heavy boil. Simmer, covered, for ten minutes. 
3. Make the salad by making a salad with the lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese, and any other salad ingredients you wish to add. Divide among tortilla cups^^^^. 

 Garnish:

    This recipe can be garnished with whatever Mexican garnish you have, but I have a few suggestions. You can cut an avocado into slices and place on a dollop of sour cream. You can also add salsa and/or guacamole on top. 

Notes:

*You can add more or less garlic depending on how much garlic you like in your food and the size of the garlic cloves.

**I always make my own, but you can use a jar if you're pressed for time (8 oz). Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
• 1 tablespoon onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• chili powder to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Instructions:

1. Blend everything in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Cook on in a saucepan for 15-20 minutes. This is really important because it helps blend all the ingredients together.

***This is to taste. I like a lot more than the suggested 1 tablespoon, but if you like you're food a little milder, you can add a little less.
****I would never suggest using iceberg lettuce on account of it has so little nutrition, but if you want to, you can.
^You are making a salad so feel free to put in any other salad ingredients in. I would stay away from fruits and other sweet treats because this is a savory dish.
^^These are mostly for garnish, so if this is the only dish you are using green onions in, I would not buy green onions.
^^^Make sure you do NOT drain or rinse the beans.
^^^^You can make deep-friend tortilla cups, baked, or naked. I love the deep-fried. Here's how to make them.  

Ingredients:

• Cooking oil
• Flour tortillas

Instructions:

1. Heat at least two inches of cooking oil in a deep saucepan to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Using a metal ladle, press the tortilla down into the oil from the middle. 
3. Fry for 40-60 seconds until golden brown.
4. Remove from oil and cool on paper towels. 

     Overall I love this recipe and feel like you should take the time to make it. 

Windows vs. Mac

     I personally will always vote for windows computers. I like Apples, but the cons outweigh the pros. Today, someone in our class did a speech on this extremely important topic that we need to ponder in order for our very soul to survive. Okay, that might be just a little overboard, but you should have an opinion. But I think you should have an opinion about everything and you should make up your own mind. Too many people just follow the crowd making the media extremely successful. Take global warming for instance, many people believe in it, but couldn't tell you why.  
     I like windows computers because they are fast, light, easy to carry, and only $200, as opposed to the $2000 you could pay for a just as good or even worst computer. If I were you, I would go for the one that is $1800 cheaper. 

Esther Earl

     One my biggest role models in life is now Esther Earl. You may or may not have heard her. If you have read The Fault in our Stars by John Green, you have indirectly dealt with. Many of his books are bestsellers and I have personally read a few of them. He is a good writer, but by far his best book in The Fault in our Stars. My theory is that since this book was inspired by Esther Earl, it meant more to him. His character, Hazel, had deep insight for her age, just as Esther Earl. But more than that, the most powerful writing comes from things we have actually experienced. 

     Esther Earl was truly an amazing person. Currently I am reading a collection of her journals called This Star Won't Go Out. In this book, she describes her struggles with cancer. It's interesting how she apologizes for complaining even though when she was writing it, she probably thought that no one would read it. She writes that the journal is the only place where she can express her complaints. I love her writing because she writes like she talks. She doesn't use big words or proper grammar like most people do when they write. She writes right from the heart. It is a shame that she never lived to adulthood to continue writing. 
    I think the reason she is such an inspiration to me was because she is so selfless. When I first read Divergent  by Veronica Roth, I thought about what it really meant to be selfless. I thought about how I hated being around people who aren't aware of the people around and I vowed to myself that I would be a more selfless person. Esther Earl was a selfless person without even trying. I mean she tried her best never to cry in front of her parents because she knew she needed to stay strong for them because as John Green writes, "The only thing worst than biting it from cancer, is having a kid that bits it from cancer." 
    I hate reading this book because it makes me miss Esther even though I never knew her. It also makes me feel really bad for Esther's parents who will forever feel her loss. 
    Even though I am not a nerd-fighter and have never read the Harry Potter series, I feel really close to Esther and have joined the many mourning for her. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Just for starters, I have never actually made chicken POT pies. I have just made one or two larger pies. I always try to make my own crust even if I am pressed for time. I have to give credit to Better Homes and Garden's New Cook Book Tenth Ring Bound edition because that is were my base recipe came from. I made my own variations, of course. 

Ingredients:

• Variety of fresh or frozen Vegetables*
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Onion**
• ***
• 1/4 Cup Butter****
• 1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon dried Sage, Marjoram, and/or Thyme, Crushed*****
• 1/8 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon New Mexican Green Chile Powder^
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth
• 3/4 Cup Cubed Chicken or Turkey^^
• 1/4 Cup Snipped Fresh Parsley^^^
• ^^^^

Instructions:

1. Make crust and set aside.
2. Cook Vegetables.
3. In a cast iron skillet^^^^^, cook onion in butter in butter until tender.
4. Stir in flour, salt, spice (s) of your choice, Green Chile powder, and pepper. 
5. Add chicken both and milk all at once. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add vegetables, chicken, and parsley. This is your filling.
6. Fill prepared pie shell and top. Slit holes in the top to let steam escape. 
7. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or until top crust has lightly browned.

Notes:

*You can use either fresh or frozen though I would recommend fresh and feel free to use any vegetables in your fridge. This is a great chance to eat those vegetables that you bought because you thought that you would eat them and haven't.

**I would definitely recommend fresh. If you don't have a fresh onion on hand, do NOT use dehydrated onion, use a substitute such as celery or carrots and onion powder.

***You can put mushrooms in, but I would never force you to ruin than in your amazing dish with terrible food. I personally would never tell you to use or eat any type of Fungi.

****Yes, you need a whole 1/4 cup of butter. In some recipes you can skimp on the butter, but not this one. You need all of that liquid. Never ever use margarine in anything you eat or cook.

*****You can always use fresh, but use a couple of tablespoons instead of a teaspoon.

^This is optional, but Green Chile makes everything better. You can use more or less depending on how spicy you like your food. I probably wouldn't use more than 2 tablespoons because it will overpower the dish.

^^This is a great dish to make with all that leftover turkey. I made turkey pot pies today.

^^^If you don't have fresh parsley, leave this out. It isn't essential to the dish, but it definitely adds to the flavor.

^^^^You can put pimento if you prefer. I never have and it still turns out great, but if you want to try it, go for it.

^^^^^You don't have to use a cast iron skillet, but I always do. You can use a nonstick skillet or saucepan.