You say Tor-tilla, I say Tortilla. . . .

So aside from recipes from here in God's Country, I also want to shed a little light on a subject that is my favorite other than vacation itself; food.  Did I mention that my vacations usually center around my favorite local eateries? 

Tonight we grabbed a little Baja del Sol.  You would think that you would have to find a tiny whole in the wall mom and pop joint to find some of the freshest Tex Mex/Mexican in the city but no way Jose.  Although I will give props to The Pearl in Minneapolis for having an awesome atmosphere as well as authentic Mexican dishes.  Back to Baja;  aside from the fact that the Baja in St. Louis Park has some of the friendliest staff around, they are fast, fresh, and make their tortillas right there.  In fact, they have some of the best I have ever had.  Not to mention their fresh made salsas are muy bueno.  One of our favorites is the Grilled Chicken Fajitas, but make sure to order extra chicken as they give you a huge portion of grilled veggies.  If you find yourself in Minneapolis, which at some point in your lifetime, you do.  Later we're going to check out my fav that I insist on going to every time we come to town: Chino Latino on Hennepin and Lake Street in Minneapolis.  More on THAT later...

Changes in Latitudes. . .

So in light of recent changes, blogging for the summer will be coming directly from northern Minnesota.  Although it brings us closer to family, it also brings the state bird of Minnesota;  the Mosquito.  I am not sure at this point if it is a fair trade.  I cannot wait to taste what home has to offer us this year.  Fresh rhubarb, the State Fair, my mother in laws summer nachos, delectable desserts, and pasta salads.  I'll post recipes and directions on the blog for the summer without video (thank goodness, watching those back I'm not too sure if it was such a good idea, lol).  I probably will not have an updated Prep Work Weekly Playlist but even better is that you can log on to Cities 97.com and check out their Acoustic Sunrise and Sunset and again the website for air times as well.  Talk to everyone soon and I will be sure to post some fun summer recipes and dishes in just a few. . . 

Prep Work Playlist (say THAT five times fast)

If there is one thing that goes great with good food, it's great music.  My taste in music is just as eclectic as my taste in food.  Each week you can find a "Playlist" that you can crank up while you prep your veggies, strip your chickens, etc for the recipes, just as a way to have a little more inspiration in that kitchen.  If you like to get up early on a Sunday morning, have your coffee, maybe watch The Sunday Morning Show, etc, check out Cities 97 Accoustic Sunrise out of Minneapolis, MN at http://www.cities97.com/ and click on the Listen Live link.  If you like to have a few drinks on Saturday night and sleep in Sundays, then check out the Accoustic Sunset on the same link.  I love love love this and look forward to it all week.  It makes me miss home and thank goodness for the Internet that now allows me to listen from across the country.  I believe the show times are 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. central time, and the Accoustic Sunset is 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Check the site to make sure.  This week's playlist picks:  Harry Belafonte; Matilda.  George Thorogood; Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job.  Micheal Franti; Sound of sunshine.  Enjoy! 

By the way, the slideshow is long, slow, and boring, but it is the only way to do the playlist without loading an actual mp3 player onto here:) 

Greek Summer Vegetable Salad

Not much of this is Greek, other than the fact that Greeks eat vegetables too and you can add in some Feta Cheese, and there is Black Olives in it, so, okay, we're gettin a little Greek.  Remember, depending how many people you will be serving, you can double, triple, the recipe.  This one feeds approximately 6 adults, 10 if they eat like birds, lol.   

Here's what you'll need:

-2 Cucumbers
-2 Large Ripe Tomatos
-1/2 Purple Onion  (use a whole onion if single, not married:)
-2 Cans of Large Black Pitted Olives
-1/2 cup shredded Parmasean or Feta Cheese
-5-6 Tablespoons of Lemon Pepper
-1/2 bottle of Wishbone Italian Dressing

Wedge up your tomatoes and purple onion.  Slice up your cucumbers as well.  Add all of these and the rest of your ingredients to a large bowl, toss them all together and chill for atleast a few hours if not overnight for sure.  Enjoy!

Tarragon Chicken Salad

This is my ALL TIME favorite Chicken Salad recipe that I have to credit the Betty Crocker cookbook for.  I have had that darn thing for years and never bothered to use it for cooking until I got married and figured I'd better conform. 

Here's what you'll need:

1 Rotisserie chicken picked clean and chopped up
1/2 cup celery (diced or minced, whichever you prefer, this usually works out to be 2 full stalks)
1/2 cup cucumber (diced or minced, whichever you prefer, works out to be a half of a cuc.)
1/4 cup green onions (minced up, usually works out to be 3 full onions.)

Sauce:  2/3 cup of real mayo, 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice, and 2 Tablespoons of Tarragon, (1 Tablespoon if you don't really like Tarragon.  Actually, if you don't like Tarragon, you won't be making this so it doesn't matter:)

Add your dry ingredients into bowl; Chicken, Celery, Cucs, and Onions.  Mix your wet ingredients together.  Make sure you crush your Tarragon to release all of those flavors.  Blend your sauce together, now add to your dry ingredients.  Let this marry in the fridge for atleast a few hours before serving if not overnight.  I love love love to serve this with toasted sourdough bread, either whole, or in Finger Sandwhich form.  Toasted White bread or Croissants are fabulous too.  I mean after all, you could eat this with healthy Rye bread and such, but please do realize that if you made this recipe with real mayo, you aren't exactly cuttin the calories so go for the gusto!

Cajun Turkey Havarti Dillies

Okay now normally I wouldn't use the word "Dillies" because I think it sounds childish, but I had to give these a name and I was tapped for creativity today, lol.  So there really isn't a recipe for this, as it was more just something I wanted to share with everyone. 

Here's what you'll need: 

-1/2 to 1 pound of shaved Cajun Turkey
-Same of Havarti Dill Cheese
-Toasteds or your favorite cracker, and NO, Saltines are not an option.... of course I am only kidding.

Ask your local deli to shave up 1/2 pound or so of Cajun Turkey, as well as the same in Havarti Dill.  Square up your Havarti and place on Toasteds crackers neatly on a tray. 

This is where a pretty dinner napkin comes in for great presentation on an old boring serving tray.  Now pile your shaved turkey on top and whammo, you have a new taste for that boring old meat and cheese tray.  I suggest drizzling some dijon honey mustard, salsa, or Sriracha sauce on the top to give it a little kick, or if you're not into kicking, toss some green onion sprigs on top for something extra. 

Hot Mama, Hot Mama, Southwest Pretzels

This recipe is great to have for that something extra for your friends to munch on while they're over for a few drinks or great to have for a snack anytime of the day.  These pretzels do have a little heat to them so be careful on how much Southwest Chipotle Seasoning that you add.  Here we go with the list of ingredients:

-1 Pound Bag of Mini Pretzels
-1 Bottle of Orville Redenbackers Butter Topping
-1 Bottle of Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning
-1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning/Dip Mix

In a deep bowl, or a roasting pan works even better, empty your bag of pretzels (all), and lightly coat with Butter Topping.  There really isn't an exact measurement to this, (I hate it when people say that), so you want to add enough to coat all of the pretzels to get the seasoning to stick, but you don't want your pretzels swimming in butter either.  Although, that sounds like a lot of fun, yet another thing to add to the Bucket List.  

You can always add more topping if it looks like your seasoning isn't sticking well enough.  Empty your packet of Ranch into the bowl, along with approximately 2-3 tablespoons of Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning.  Now as I said before, this has A LOT of heat to it so use extreme caution, lol, as to not add too much or you will be hating me for this recipe rather than loving me. 

Lightly coat the top with your Mrs. Dash.  Now take two large spoons and toss your pretzels in your new found glory mix, until well coated.  Sprinkle top with Dash again and toss again.  Make sure to taste test along the way to keep the heat level to where you like it.  Keep tossing the pretzels every 30-45 minutes until dry.  You can store these in a gallon ziplock, rubbermaid container.  (Warning:  you will want to keep a few extra ales around to assist your guests in putting out the fire.)