I used the tomatillos I received from my Full Circle Farm box last week and made this yummy Chile Verde as promised.

Chile Verde

Tomatillos
Cilantro
Garlic
Serrano Peppers (You can also add Jalapenos and canned Green chili's for a little more kick.)
Green Onion
Diced Pork

I started off boiling 4 tomatillos along with 6 Serrano peppers until soft. I then placed them in a blender along with a large handful of cilantro, 2 green onion stalks, and a garlic clove. I blended until smooth and then added some salt to taste. If the sauce appears a little thick you can thin it down with a little water. I then took the diced pork and browned it with a little oil in a very hot skillet for a few minutes and then placed in my crockpot. After pouring the sauce over my pork I realized I didn't make quite enough sauce so I had to make a bit more. The amount of ingredients I used the first time around made about 2 and a half cups of sauce which would have been enough except I had a ton of meat! Sorry I can't give you the exact measurements I used I usually just ballpark when I cook. And don't forget the more peppers you put in the spicier it will be. We like our Chile Verde spicy! Cook the pork in your slow cooker on high for 6 hours. During the last 30 minutes of cooking stir in a couple tablespoons of flour to thicken the sauce up a bit. You can serve this in a bowl and eat like I did or make burritos with it like I did for Chris.

The letter of the week is C today. I asked Penelope what C is for and she said cake. Then I started telling her other words that C is for and she said "No, my teacher said C is only for cake". *sigh* Here is her bento for today sans cake.
Top Tier: Ham and cheese C sandwiches, cucumbers
Bottom Tier: Strawberry yogurt with granola, apples, and a rosemary shortbread cookie (holy cow these are good!)

Saturday a friend and I took our little girls to Mossy's Alaska Seaside Farm. They opened up the farm for Homer's little one's to explore. It was such a beautiful day and Penelope and Mckenzie had a blast visiting with the farm animals and picking raspberries. Here are some pics of our day at the farm.

My mom makes the best Chile Relleno's and whenever I get to see her it is one of those things I always ask her to make me. Tonight I was craving some of her delicious chile's but since they probably wouldn't make the trip from San Diego to Alaska very well I decided to make my own. The recipe below is for two stuffed chile's.

Chile Relleno's

2 Poblano Peppers
Monterey Jack Cheese
2 Eggs
Oil for frying

The first thing you need to do is remove the outer skin from the poblano peppers. If you have a gas stove the easiest way is to use direct flame, it is quick. Just be careful not to burn the peppers! You have to keep turning them to get all the sides of the peppers. If you are like me and you have an electric stove, booo, you can place your peppers on a baking sheet and turn your oven up to 500 degrees. Put your peppers in making sure to check them every few minutes and turning them so that all sides are being roasted. Once you are finished roasting the peppers either way immediately put them in a plastic bag and let them sweat for about 10 to 15 minutes. This will make it easier to remove the outer skin. The next thing you want to do is remove the outer skin and the inside seeds and veins. You can do this under running water to make it a little easier. Removing the inside seeds and veins will cut down on the spiciness but it's really hard to know if a pepper will be a spicy one or a mild one until you bite into it. Cut a slit on one side of the pepper to clean the insides. Once the peppers are clean be sure to dry them really well and then fill each pepper through the slit you created with 5 to 6 slices of the jack cheese, close and set aside. At this point you can start warming up your cooking oil in a pan on medium high. Use enough oil so that the bottom of the peppers are completely immersed in it but not too much so that the whole pepper is covered. In a metal mixing bowl, I used my Kitchen Aid, mix 2 egg whites making sure to reserve the yolks for later use, until they become frothy and form peaks.
Fold in one egg yolk with a spatula very carefully into the egg whites, then the other. Now take one stuffed chile at a time and dip into the egg mixture completely covering it. Place the peppers into the hot oil and fry one side while using your cooking spatula to move the oil over the top of the pepper. Once the bottom side is browned flip the pepper over and do the same. Place on paper towels to drain the excess oil. Serve with corn or flour tortillas and my mom always make her Sopa de Arroz  to go with these.


I like my peppers dry without any sauce because I am weird like that but my mom likes to make a simple tomato based sauce to pour over the tops of her chile's.


Sauce

Tomato
Onion
Garlic
Water
Chicken Bouillon

The amounts will vary depending on how many chile's you make and how much sauce you want. In a pan saute some chopped tomato, chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Add water and chicken bouillon  and then raise heat and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil lower the heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Pour over the cooked Chile Relleno's.

Here is Penelope's snack box for the week. (Or however long it takes for my lil' piggy to eat it up.)
Grapes, cucumbers, jack and cheddar cheese, nectarines, peaches, plums and apple sauce in the small container.

As much as I love to cook their are some days that I am just not feeling it, it's mostly when Chris is at work. Today was one of those days, but the little girl has to eat so I made her a very easy, no cook muffin tin meal for dinner today. Hey she got all the food groups! And besides she loved it...

The letter of the week at Penelope's school has been the letter A. Here is a lunch to go with the theme for the week.

Today was Penelope's first day back at preschool. She was so excited

Penelope started up dance class again today. She was very excited to find out she had the same teacher as before.

There is a wings restaurant in Anchorage called Wings n Things. Chris claims that they have the best wings ever, they are pretty good. Today I tried to replicate their wings and I got pretty close.

I got this idea from my friend and one of the Girly Girls over at Girly Girl Giveaways and I loved it and decided to share it with you all. Giving Tracy all the credit of course! I don't know about your child but mine is constantly asking for a snack in between meals throughout the day. Why not make them a "snack box" that's always on hand whenever they feel the need to snack. Using any container that you have, I used 2 Easy Lunchbox containers to make two snack boxes, and fill them with healthy snacks they can munch on. You can fill them with any healthy goodies you have on hand. I filled Penelope's snack boxes with peaches, nectarines, oranges, grapes, carrots, cucumbers, cheese, olives, pickles, dry cereal, nuts, dried blueberries, and yogurt covered raisins. The possibilities are endless!


Now whenever your kiddo(s) get the urge they can help themselves. Just make sure whatever your container you use is child friendly.

Penelope was so excited about her very own snack boxes that she begged me to take a picture of her with them.

I made a quick stirfry for dinner tonight. It was pretty tasty!

Sirloin strips
Sesame oil
Olive oil
Hoisin sauce
Garlic
Ginger
Crushed red pepper
String beans
Corn starch

Coat beef strips in corn starch for a little crispiness. In a wok or large frying pan heat a small amount of sesame oil and olive oil. Add some minced garlic to the hot oil and then immediately add your beef strips. Add the minced ginger and Hoisin sauce followed by some crushed red pepper and soy sauce. Finally add your fresh or frozen string beans. If you use frozen make sure you dry them before adding them to the pan. Serve over white rice.

We picked up or Full Circle Farm box of produce today. Check it out!

1 Cantaloupe
2 Yellow Onions
3 Gingergold Apples
2 White Sweet Corn
1 Bunch Carrots
1 BIG Cucumber
4 Valencia Oranges
1 lb. Mixed Summer Squash
2 White Flesh Peaches
2 Yellow Flesh Nectarines
1 lb. Green Grapes
1 BIG Bunch Green Leaf Lettuce

Delicious!

I also want to thank my awesome and generous mom for my new pots and pans she sent me on my birthday. These were much needed!