Curly Culinary Corner: Chicken Tacos or How to Save a Stranded Child

I know what you're thinking...two posts in one week? What kind of madness is this? The kind where I'm trying to procrastinate from the huge stack of essays I need to grade, the articles I need to read, the lessons I need to plan, and the 20 page paper I need to read for and research.

But it's also the kind where I know how much you all love reading my blog and you love the little quirky things that happen to me.

So last week when I went grocery shopping, I decided that I was going to make two meals from my recipe board on Pinterest. The chili I made on Monday was the first meal (my hand is fine by the way. The cut is already closed up), and I decided to make some chicken tacos from a recipe I found on this blog.

Still can't find my camera charger. Sorry for the pixelated picture.

But I also wanted to make these tacos a little extra special, so I decided I was going to make homemade corn tortillas to put the taco meat on. So, after my morning class, I headed to Wal-Mart to pick up the necessary ingredients (which was so much cheaper than buying regular tortillas I might add!).

As I was leaving the store, I noticed this little girl who was holding on to one of the blue pillars outside the door, and she was sobbing. And people were just walking right past her. To be fair, this elderly lady noticed, and she was about to stop and ask the girl if she was alright, but I got there first.

I bent down so that I was at the little girls level, and I asked her, "What's the matter honey?" To which she tearfully replied, "I can't find my mommy!" My heart broke a little when she said that and I almost started crying with her. I said, "You can't find your mommy?" and she said in a little voice, "Yeah. So I told her, "Well, I can help you find your mommy." She said OK and took my hand and we walked back into the store.

I asked what her name was and what her mommy's name was while we walked over to the customer service counter. I talked to the assistant manager and he called over the P.A. system for the mother. While I was waiting with this little girl and to get her calmed down, I asked her how old she was and she showed me how many on her hand (four). Then I asked her what her favorite thing to do is:

"Um....Uh...Um...somersaults."

"Somersaults? That's fun! Can you do a cartwheel?"

She nodded her head, even though I'm not sure she knows what a cartwheel is.

And then her mom came walking up with a full cart and another child in the little seat. "Megan! Where were you? We were trying on boots."

You were still in the store and you weren't aware that your child had wandered outside? Lady, maybe you should consider one of those child leashes.

Modern Family anyone? "And now she's chasing squirrels."

 And better yet, the mom didn't even thank me. You're welcome for finding your child and keeping her protected from potential kidnappers or getting hit by a car.

But I did feel better when the little girl ran up and gave her mom a huge hug. At least the child was thankful.

So, let's just say little Megan definitely made my day extra special.

And my tacos were delicious. It was those corn tortillas (and the stranded little girl) that made them so tasty.

 
Just in case you want to know how to make your own corn tortillas, here is the recipe:

Corn Tortillas

corn flour (can usually find down the Hispanic Food section)
Season-All salt
water

Put a few scoopfuls of corn flour into a bowl. Sprinkle in some of the seasoning salt for taste. Add a little water at a time. You want the dough to be slightly wet, but not runny. Take two pieces of wax paper (or plastic bags cut into circles, like I used) and put a handful of the dough between them. Then take a circle cake pan and press onto the dough, forming a circle. Fry it up in a frying pan with just a little oil.

Curly Culinary Corner: Turkey Chili or How sharp objects are not my friends

For those of you who know me well, you know how klutzy I am when it comes to sharp objects. Whether it's a knife, a needle, a cheese grater or even a car door, it has somehow managed to cut me.

Such was the case four years ago when I was making dinner and tried to open a can with a knife as I had no can opener--Freshman logic is not the best logic.

The damage done four years ago.

And such was the case last night when I tried to make my dinner. I found this really tasty recipe on Pinterest for Turkey Chili and I was so excited to make it. It was probably this excitement that caused me to make a hasty move and stab my hand again. Anyway, the ground turkey I had bought was the kind that is packaged in a plastic tube and has clips on the end. I have always been under the impression that these clips are metal, so I started to cut the plastic off with a little paring knife the knife slipped off of the frozen turkey, and well you get the picture. What is funny about this story is that it was the exact same hand that I had stabbed years ago, and my new scar will be perpendicular to my old one (oh, now he has a friend!). Well, the moral of this story:

Yep, I've been doing it wrong for years! And I'm sure my hands will appreciate my new found knowledge.

Photo from www.skinnytaste.com (my camera's battery was dead)

Long story short, I finished making the chili and it was soooo good. My roommate told me it was better than Wendy's chili, so I'll take that as a complement. You can find the recipe here.And on the plus side, it's super healthy!


But don't be a dorky klutz like me and stab your hand open in the process of making this deliciousness :)