Oat's Eats

In my house, "Taco thing" refers to a specific mixture I came up with that tastes good as a taco filling. As far as I can remember, the original taco thing was meant to use up a jar of black bean and corn salsa we got from Winco. I have since made it with plain salsa, adding the black beans and corn in separately. 1 cup salsa 1/2 can of black beans, drained 1/2 can of pinto beans, drained 1/2 can of corn 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp cilantro 1 tsp lime juice  1/4 preserved lime peel, minced Combine ingredients in a skillet and heat through, mixing everything together. Place on flour tortillas with sour cream and wrap burritos.

Cock-a-Leekie soup is a Scottish soup made from chicken and leeks. I began with a recipe I found online that called for boiling a whole chicken, but my recipe ended up much quicker and easier. 1/2 medium onion, chopped 2 leeks, dark green parts trimmed off, sliced 3 or 4 carrots, chopped 2 10-oz cans of chicken, drained 8 cups chicken broth 1/4 cup parcooked barley (Such as the 10 minute barley from Trader Joes) Freshly ground black pepper to taste A generous sprinkle of dried parsley A pinch of thyme or a sprig of fresh thyme Olive oil for cooking In the bottom of a large pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Stir in the onion and cook until translucent. Add the leeks and stir those around for a few minutes until they look sort of cooked. Throw in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until the carrots and barley are soft enough.

I love searching out and trying recipes from the internet. Sometimes I make some changes to it, and then I need to remember what I did differently. For the last couple year, I've been keeping my recipes on notecards stuck to the fridge. However, I'd like to have a copy of my recipes that won't be in danger of having water or food spilled all over it.  My other blog, Birds and Food, is a mixture of photographs and recipes that have nothing to do with each other. The writing style is a bit silly, and I may well rewrite some of them for this blog. I suppose I should probably take some pictures of the food I make too. The name comes from my internet name, Oatmealmonkey. I usually go by Oat when I'm online, and these are the things I like to eat.