Taco Tuesday

It is definitely hard buying and shopping for recipes for one person without wasting a lot of food or money, so I hope I can give you all some tips and tricks I have learned. If you have any of your own, DM me on Instagram, I would love to talk!

This week I made Beef Tacos for Taco Tuesday. I have been craving beef tacos for the past few days, so instead of buying them, I figured I would give it a shot. I used the Old El Paso light sodium taco mix, which is super cheap and does not have as much sodium. Don't get me wrong though, these were filled with flavor!

When I was at the store I was going to grab salad mixings for a taco salad the next day, but instead, I found the Southwest Salad from Trader Joes that was only $3.50 and it had all the other mixings I was going to have to buy (corn, black beans, dressing, etc) so it really cut down my cost and the time to make the salad the next day. This was perfect for me because I had back to back meetings all day and only had a 10-minute break to make my salad before hopping on another call.

Since I was only making the taco meat for me, I cut the ground beef in half and froze the other half. I then used half the amount of seasoning with half the amount of water they say on the packet. This ended up making the perfect amount for two tacos, plus plenty for lunch the next day. You can always make the full amount for a group and just follow the usual directions on the package.

Directions for One-Two people:

- Place half a package of ground beef (about .5 lbs) in a 10-inch skillet on medium-high heat

- Continuously break up the meat as it cooks (6-7 minutes)

- Add in half the package of seasoning and 1/3 cup of water

- Reduce heat and let it simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often until it thickens

- Add toppings on a warm tortilla and serve!

Charcuterie and Champagne

Is there a better combination than charcuterie and champagne? Yesterday I went to the park with some friends and we all made a charcuterie together and of course, had some bottles of champagne. We made a cheese charcuterie as well as a dessert charcuterie. We prepped a few things before we left (like the manchego slices) and assembled everything in the park. It was a group effort to put it all together which made it even more fun! Below is a full list of everything we bought for the cheese and dessert boards at Trader Joe's:

Cauliflower and Butternut Squash Risotto

Since my last post I moved to Dallas and started a job! I have been slowly getting settled in, and I finally feel like I have the time to start cooking again. It is great timing because my favorite cooking season is fall. The options at Trader Joe’s are endless and the flavors are amazing.

Last night I cooked the cauliflower and butternut squash risotto that was just released in their frozen section as a part of their fall collection. I was extremely excited about this because I love risotto so much and I have been wanting Trader Joe’s to bless us with a cauliflower version. As you all know, Trader Joe’s can make anything out of cauliflower. The fact that this risotto was also cooked with my second favorite vegetable, butternut squash, was just the icing on the cake. I decided to make mine with the sweet Italian chicken sausage. These are great to have on hand because they are a easy protein to add to a variety of things (pasta, pizzas, eggs etc).

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of Cauliflower and Butternut Squash Risotto

- 1 Sweet Chicken Italian Sausage

- Parmesan

- Kale

- Caesar Salad Dressing

- Croutons

Recipe:

Start by cooking the chicken. Slice the chicken into pieces, and add to a pan over medium high heat with a little bit of olive oil. Cook them until the outer side is a little brown. Set that aside on a plate while the risotto cooks.

In the same pan add one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add the whole bag of the Trader Joe’s Cauliflower and Butternut Squash risotto. Stir occasionally as the risotto cooks. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. Once the risotto is at the consistency you desire, add back the chicken and a little bit of parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

While the risotto cooks I like to prepare my salad. Add kale, the Trader Joe’s Caesar dressing, croutons, and parmesan. Toss the salad, and you are ready to go!