i am blessed ~*~ soy bendecida

as i meditate this morning and every morning i realize just how truly blessed i am.  don't forget to thank God for everything you have.  blessings dear friends.

mientras medito esta manana y cada manana realizo que tan verdaderamente bendecida soy. no se te olvide darle las gracias a Dios por todo lo que tienes.  bendiciones queridos amigos.

corn kernals mexican style ~*~ esquites

hope ya'll had a wonderful labor day yesterday.  i suredly surely did.  i made esquites.  this is traditional street fare in mexico.  basically you just taste some salted butter in a saucepan and add some epazote and let the flavors meld.   then add corn kernals.  i use frozen. then cook or heat through. then fill a styrofoam cup with corn and some of the liquid. top with a dallop of mayo and grated not shredded parm or cotija cheese. top with pico de gallo seasoning.  not to be con-fooz-ed with the salad.  i didn't have pico yesterday and used a seasoning with other ingredients added in and it was not good as it could have been.  but that was my problem not the seasoning. use pico de gallo seasoning.  you will not be disappointed.

#bonita voxbox

as you may or may not know, bonita means pretty in spanish.  influenster hooked me up with their bonita voxbox overflowing with free products and samples for testing purposes.  i received a bottle of matte sinfulcolors in an orange shade.  i received a bottle of dickinsons enhanced witch hazel toner and then a sample of madame cj walkers prewash and masque, revlon hd matte sample seal and a sample seal of a nourishing lipstick. there was a nice yummy brownie from fiber one which only has 90 calories and does not like cardboard taste! for more info visit my ig acct:  @anitapicosita

Testing, testing, 1-2-3

Recently joined influenster and received a #zzzquil voxbox complimentary for testing purposes.  I received 2 pills and a $2 coupon.  I was excited to receive this as my circadian clock gets all wonky more often then not. it helped me sleep. Keep in mind that zzzquil is not for pain. It's for sleeping.  You have to give yourself 7-8 hours for sleep.

homestyle salsa * salsa casera

alright, so as you may have guessed, mexican food tends to build on top of other recipes.  so the next logical step of course is to transform that lovely flag salad from the last post, into a salsa.

so you put your diced jalapenos, tomato and onion into a baggie.  you add a minced garlic and some salt to taste into the baggie. (it's better to undersalt then to oversalt aka less is more).

close the zip at the top and jostle the contents of the bag a little to make sure to incorporate everything as best you can.  stick the baggie into the fridge for a few hours.  i usually do it overnight so i don't get the urge to go lookin' for salsa.

the next morning you remove the baggie from the fridge.  you will notice it has released some juice.  you let it come somewhat to room temp whilst you chop up some fresh cilantro roughly.

finally, you then find a pretty serving dish and pour your salsa into it and then top it with the cilantro.  take a spoon and carefully mix the salsa as to incorporate the cilantro.

voila! thar you have it folks!  you are now listo to eat chips con la salsa! did i mention i love recipes that can be built upon to create different things?  well i doodily doodily do!

mexican flag salad * pico de gallo

since i touched upon this salad on my last post, i figured i would tell you how to prepare it.  we eat this with chips and use it to top many a dish--full of food.

first you want to don some food service gloves.  you rinse and dry some jalapenos or serrano peppers.  we highly prefer these to be green in color. and you slice.

you then take some rinse and dried roma tomatoes. (this is usually used in mexican kitchens) and dice.

you then take rinsed and dried white onion and you dice.

mix all three ingredients in a nice serving bowl, or lay each ingredient next to the other on a nice serving  platter (cobb style)   and there you have it!  mexican flag salad. ique viva mexico! ique viva!

Notes:
 try to get the dice equal in size.  be very careful when chopping peppers that you do not touch any sensitive part of your body like your face because the oils will sting.  even if you wash your hands with soap in water, the oils can still remain and you will be in pain!!! i can't stress this enough: don gloves before you begin choppin' those peppers!!!

mexican street corn * elotes

i pray God's blessings for you and your family this new year.  remember the "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  2 Cor 5:17 kjv .

today, i want to show you how to make mexican corn or 'elotes.'  we sell them at my church when service lets out to raise funds for different ministries.  this is a very popular treat among the young and the young - at - hearts and therefore a great seller.  it doesn't take a huge investment and makes a nice little profit.  i hope you give them a try.

you take whole corn on the whole cob (or halved cobs) and boil them in slightly salted water.

when done, remove from boiled water with tongs and dry corn off. do not run them under cold water or put them in an ice bath (unless you feel you really, really must).  since you're using a cob - be it whole or half,  you may choose to put a skewer on the cut end of the cob (or not).

you want to shmear a little mayo all over the dried, hot corn.  it helps if the mayo is at room temperature for this endeavor.

once that has been done, you then coat the corn all over using grated (not shredded) parmesan or cotija cheese. next sprinkle some fruit seasoning called pico de gallo.  this is not to be confused with the red, white and green 'mexican flag' salad also called pico de gallo.

if you need something to tide you until dinner this is definitely a quick fix.  it's also ideal for picnics!  did i tell you it'sreally delicious?  if not, it is!  you should go make some.  like now!