Happy 2009

Wow, it's 2009. Time flies. I can clearly remember ringing in the year 2000 waiting for the Y2K explosion...that never came. My husband, at the time, and I had his family over to play cards and celebrate the new year together. We went downtown Davenport, IA to watch the huge fireworks display at midnight. It was very cool. It's a night I'll never forget. Thank goodness none of what everyone thought would happen actually happened. Now that we've reached 2009 that New Year's Eve of 1999 seems like it happened to me in an alternate life. My life is so far from where it was in 1999 I sometimes forget what life was like back then. And just like every year since then and before, I made the traditional New Year's resolutions. I'm sure the resolution consisted of two things, quit smoking and lose weight. 9 years later I'm still trying to lose weight but have fortunately kicked the smoking habit, for good. Once again I made some resolutions as 2009 began. #1 slow down. Life is wizzing by and I'm missing it because I'm too busy. I can only eliminate so many things on my schedule so #2 is to be more organized. I feel like I might have more time if my life was more organized. I have around 538 more resolutions, give or take, but I won't bore you with the details. Here's to a new year. Hopefully this year some of the money I lost in the stock market will come back and maybe some of the junk in my trunk will find it's way to another trunk.

So, to start the new year off right I have a recipe to share. I really love to cook. I do. I think I like it almost more than I like to scrapbook. I'm just better at the cut and paste. Anyway, this recipe is taken from Rachael Ray but I made a few changes. It's a great lunch or quick supper recipe. This was the first time I made it but I'm sure I'll make it again.

Taco Pockets
2T. EVOO
1 1/2lbs. ground sirloin
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or grated
1t. chili powder
1t. ground cumin
a few dashes of hot sauce
2 scallions, white and green, chopped
salt and pepper
4 round tortillas
taco sauce
shredded cheddar
shredded lettuce
tomato
Place a large skillet over med-high heat. Coat the pan with EVOO.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground sirloin, jalapeno pepper, garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, onions, salt and pepper and hot sauce. Form the meat mixture into four patties. Cook the patties on the hot skillet until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 mins. on each side.

While the burger patties are cooking, turn a gas burner to high and blister the flour tortillas by passing them over the flame quickly. If you don't have a gas stove, place a dry skillet over high heat and lay the tortillas, one at a time, into the hot skillet, blistering them on both sides.

As the patties finish cooking, transfer them to the tortillas and top each with some taco sauce, shredded cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.




Fold the tortilla around the burger, enclosing it in a pocket. Cut each pocket open on a diagonal and serve. This makes the pocket. It's ingenius! Nothing drips and it turns a regular hamburger into something totally different!



I added a bit too much of the "dressing" and mine was a bit hard to eat. I also eliminated almost every ingredient because I was in a hurry and wanted to use what I had on hand. (This is another one of those 987 new year's resolutions I have going on.) What I had on hand was the sirloin and the Pampered Chef Chipotle Rub that just came in the mail!!! It was rockin' for sure! Even this guy liked it!!!!

I don't know what you think, but this face says, "I love it when you take my picture! Take more! More I say!!" Isn't that what you think this face says? No? Yeah, maybe not.