Machaca Burritos Baja Style

INGREDIENTS:

1 Package of London Broil Meat
6 Cups of water
3 Anaheim Peppers a.k.a Hatch Chiles
1 Medium sized tomato
1 Medium Onion
1 Tbsp of Minced Garlic
3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp of Oregano leaves
3 Bay Leaves
1 Tsp of ground cumin
Black crushed pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Cilantro is optional {add to taste}

PREPARATION:

1.- Cut the onion in half and then cut one half into quarters. Place water, oregano, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves, salt and meat in a slow cooker/crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours or until meat is tender.

2.- Once the meat is fully cooked it will look brown, take out of the slow cooker/crockpot and pull it apart into thin threads.

3.- Once the entire meat is pulled into threads chop chiles, tomatoes and the half onion you have left into tiny squares. Place a large skillet on medium-high heat with extra virgin olive oil. Add minced garlic, chopped onion, chopped hatch chile and meat. Sauté mixing well so it combines all the flavors.

4.- Add chopped tomato and if you are adding cilantro this when to add it {make sure it is chopped as well or at least just the leaves}. 

5.- In the meantime heat the flour tortillas. Once the tortillas are warm place them on a flat surface and add the "machaca" pulled meat in the middle and roll the tortilla from one side to the other creating a burrito. If you want to add flavor and more texture to it, add some "queso fresco" which is fresh cheese, avocado slices and salsa.

Enjoy warm!

A delicious and healthy Christmas dinner.

In 2012 I took charge of my health and made a "u-turn" to a different lifestyle. Back in June my journey began and I knew that when the Holiday Season came I wanted to continue with those changes. I did not know how I would go about it, but I knew I was going to stay onboard!

Last November it was confirmed that we would be hosting Christmas and New Year's Eve for our family. As soon as I knew I began searching online for healthy and delicious recipes. Around this time was when I received my November issue of Self Magazine and saw the recipe that would make my mouth water. It looked easy to prepare and most importantly it would have my family in "ohs" and "ahs". 

The recipe?

Herbed Chicken and Squash... 

Here are some images of what it looks like while preparing, baking and served. I loved that I served it with vegetables, as you can see on my plate I had cauliflower, mashed potatoes, zucchini and the chicken. Please note that the entire meal was made from scratch and I am proud of myself. :D

For complete recipe make sure you visit Self's website or pinterest board! They also have it there. 

Thank you Self, for sharing amazing, healthy and delicious recipes! This family approves them. 

Roadtrip to Baja

For Thanksgiving we traveled from NorCal to SoCal and then to Baja Mexico to be with friends and family. It was my third roadtrip alone with both kids in tow. I have to admit that I'm getting good at this. We drive for almost 7 hours straight to reach L.A. and enjoy visiting family. Spend a day or two there with them and then drive to San Diego where we visit friends after another day we continue our roadtrip to Baja and finally arrive in Ensenada Mexico where we also visit family and friends.

It sounds so easy right?? Well on this trip our drive to L.A. was a breeze, both kids were easy to travel with. At family's home we did great, the adventure got more challenging on Monday morning as my toddler son did not want to go out to eat to a restaurant. No biggie I stayed in the car with him watching a DVD while the rest of the family and my daughter enjoyed a delicious meal. From there we were to meet with other SoCal Lady Bloggers {Fabulous Ladies that blog and are all throughout the SoCal area! Check them out!}. 

This is went it continued to spiral downhill, as we were to meet at the Irvine Spectrum my toddler son was just not having it. He was crying, uncomfortable and needless to say making me work double time trying to calm him down and "keep calm and carry on". Have you had those moments? Those moments when you just want to enjoy some time and your toddler gets upset with everything? I've said it before things don't always go as planned... So there we were both my kids and I waiting to meet our friends except we couldn't calm my toddler son. 

After getting to meet Kirstin from SoCal Kids Outdoor Adventures {she is awesome! you should visit her blog if you and your family enjoy outdoor activities}, I was lucky my sister showed up and helped with both kids. We got them a quick dinner and before we knew it we were back on the road heading to San Diego. As we arrived in San Diego grandparents were ready for us and put Adventure Boy under their spell, we took advantage and visited more friends. :)

By Wednesday we were half way already through our trip and continued on to Ensenada, beautiful as always with a gorgeous view of the ocean and mountains. It is a special place. The following day was Thanksgiving, Stroller Adventures Dad joined us and our family prepared a delicious turkey and ham with stuffing, rice pilaf, cranberry sauce and I did a garden salad to go with our meal. It was all delicious!

Saturday came along too quickly and it was time to begin our trip back, making a much needed rest stop in San Diego and on Sunday continued our drive to NorCal. Oh the traffic was terrible, what is usually a short 8 hour drive turned into an almost 12 hour drive with moments that made the highway look like a parking lot! 

Finally we made it home and got ready for our week. We had a fantastic time and enjoyed seeing each one of our family members and friends, but we were beyond tired and ready to be back home. 

We are thankful for our fun and adventure filled week. 

How was your holiday week? 

Mima's Arroz con Pollo {Rice and Chicken Cuban Style}

My grandmother was Cuban, in my opinion she was the best cook and grandmother in the world {sorry mom ;) } She could mend any torn clothes or rag dolls and she could knit too. She taught me how to cook Cuban food and I love the fact that I could call her and ask what or how to do something and the recipes would always taste like hers! She is not with us anymore, but I still have her in my heart and in my kitchen... Great memories! So today I'd like to share one of our family's favorite Cuban meals... Arroz con Pollo! Mima {how we called her} style.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Yellow Onion chopped into tiny pieces
3 Cups of white rice
2 Boneless/Skinless chicken breasts*
1 Tsp of minced garlic
1 Can of tomato puree
1/4 Tsp of Bijol  {it's a condiment or spice that is used for Paellas, Chicken, Yellow rice}
2 Tbsp of Knorr Chicken Bouillon
1 Small jar of red bell pepper chopped
1/4 Tsp of Paprika
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 Cup of White Wine or Beer
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
1 Medium size jar of green manzanilla olives -stuffed with pepper or simply pitted {optional ingredient}

PREPARATION:

1.- Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Sauté yellow onion, rice, chicken, garlic in the olive oil for about 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked on the outside. 

2.- Add tomato pure and mix, add bijol and mix. Add water {rule of thumb is 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice}. Add Chicken Bouillon, bell pepper, olives, paprika and wine {or} beer and mix all ingredients. On top place bay leaf.

3.- Let cook as you would normally cook rice. 

We like to enjoy ours with a garden salad and some Tostones or Maduros (ripe plantains fried). I love cooking this meal in a my rice cooker, makes it easier and once it is fully cooked it turns off on its own. 

*You may use any part of the chicken you'd like, we just love chicken breast because we love white meat. 

While in Baja

A couple of weeks ago we traveled to beautiful Ensenada Baja Mexico, I've shared videos with you while we were traveling. Today I'd like to share something different. Whenever I travel I personally love visiting places where the locals go such as grocery stores, pharmacies, parks, malls, etc. 

Not exactly to shop, but mostly because I find it fascinating to observe and find differences but also what every City has in common with another. In this case I visited a grocery store and let me tell you it is not your regular super market. 

The variety of products is endless! For example say you are looking for yogurt, here in Silicon Valley when I've gone to buy some at a local grocery store I only see a regular size refrigerator with all the options, but in Baja I found not one, not two but three! Yes, that's right three large refrigerators filled with all the different options. 

Did you say you were looking for fish? Well it's fresh caught this morning, you can buy it whole or in fillet, they will also clean it for you at no extra charge! 

As for the deli counter, I loved it so much! the fact that you say how much you want of each and the service... Wow, let me tell you Mexico knows a lot about customer service. At the grocery store they were so nice and helpful. Well here are some images of what I am talking about. Next time you travel make it a point to visit a grocery store or a drugstore just to see what you find in common. :)

Adventures in Ensenada

Last week we took our second road trip for 2012 to Ensenada Baja Mexico, we spent the entire week there enjoying the scenery and all it has to offer. Here are some videos I made to share what we did and saw.

While at the Beach...

While taking an evening walk through the former Hotel/Casino "Riviera", which was very popular in the 20s {specially amongst Hollywood stars}


I hope you enjoyed these videos, I am slowly learning to do vlogging. I even created a new you tube channel StrllrAdvnturs and hope you will visit all my videos there too.

Annie's Homegrown Organic {Review}

At our home we are slowly making the transition to healthier food, so when we were invited to a special event for Annie's Homegrown Organic to introduce their pizza we were very excited to learn about their products and try their new Organic Pizza's!

We were given a package filled with Annie's Homegrown Organic goodies! 

Which we have been enjoying during our adventures and daily activities! 

The first item we tried was the Mac & Cheese, it is made with rice pasta and aged cheddar cheese. Did we mention it is also gluten free?  We are cheese lovers so when we were opening the box the first thing we noticed was the cheddar! :) It is easily prepared in the microwave and the box comes with 5 single servings to which you only add water and mix, easy. 

Adventure Girl was so happy to try it, she asked for seconds. 

As the week came to an end we went to the park and were in need of some healthy snacks so we decided to take the Organic PB&J chewy granola bars {they are the perfect size to fit into my pocket!} and the Bunny Grahams Honey snack packets {which are shaped into bunnies}... They were both a hit! the granola bars do not have any preservatives or artificial ingredients and they taste just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Adventure Girl loved that the box had some facts about PB&J like: National PB&J day is April 2nd, the average American will have eaten 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduating from high school. 

Like I've mentioned before on weekends we have a family movie night and this time we paired it with some Annie's Homegrown Organic Pizza {which at the moment is ONLY SOLD at Whole Foods}. 

There are 4 different varieties: Organic Pepperoni, Organic Cheese, Organic Spinach and Mushroom and Organic Supreme. All of them have rising crusts, we took a vote and choose the Organic Pepperoni Pizza. 

This is what Annie's Organic Pizza looks like before baking: 

This is what Annie's Organic Pizza looks like after baking:

Our family of 4 enjoyed Annie's Organic Pizza very much, the taste is delicious and while baking we could smell all of the ingredients! 

We all enjoyed all the goodies that Annie's Homegrown Organic gave us and are fans of their products after trying them. They are delicious, organic and healthy the perfect combination for our family and yours!

Thank you Annie's Homegrown Organic! 

Make sure you visit Annie's about page to learn more about their socially responsible company and of course watch a video interview of Annie. Her smile is so contagious :)

You can also follow Annie's on Facebook  Twitter and Pinterest where they share great ideas on gardening and delicious recipes.

Adventure Mom note: Rookie Moms helped with the event goodie bags so we'd also like to thank them for sending us the goodies and letting us know about their new books: "Stuff Every Mom Should Know" and "The Rookie Moms Handbook" which includes 250 activities to do with or without your baby :)

Thank you Rookie Moms!

Road trip to Baja

I've been driving since I was 18 years old, mostly in the city to and from school and then to and from work sometimes to run errands or just for the drive. I occasionally have driven on the road for at the most an hour or two, but since getting married in 2001 Adventure Dad does most if not all of the travel driving in this family. Why? Well he loves driving and I don't mind sitting in the car as co-pilot making sure we get where we are supposed to {sometimes}.

So this year because we had a family event in Baja Mexico and Adventure Dad had to work during the week I decided that I would be adventurous and drive all the way to Ensenada Baja Mexico from Northern California with Adventure Kids. Yes, just our 6 year old, 2 year old and I. -gulp, make that double gulp-.

This may not seem as something unusual to some moms, but for me well it was uncharted territory to drive for 550 miles and my two kids who can sometimes get a little to anxious and cranky on long drives. So I braved it and surprised not only family and friends but myself by doing so.

After this little road trip I learned so much and am now brave enough to do it again. I learned a lot from traveling with kids -alone.

The first thing I learned is that you don't give your 6 year old a 1.5 liter water bottle after taking a restroom break, no you don't. That is, unless you want to stop again an hour after and then 30 minutes after in the middle of nowhere! Oh yes, she drank that water like there was no tomorrow! Even though I explained it had to last the whole ride to the Orange County area.

When traveling even if you have GPS it is always good to research at home about the rest areas along the way, that is to prevent you from counting on the next rest area -as per a sign on the road- and then as you get within a mile closer you find out it is closed for remodeling! and the nearest bathroom is 30 miles away.

To solve this I do remember when potty training Adventure Girl that I purchased a little travel potty called potette sold at Babies 'R Us that had a plastic liner bag attached to it with an absorbent pad in the middle allowing you to just throw away after the child is done using it and replacing for each use. This allows you to travel comfortably and younger kids to use the potty when needed. This is an excellent item to have when road tripping with kids and one I put back in the car along with a roll of toilet paper just in case Adventure Girl needs it.

I also learned that if you time your stops for every 1.5 - 2 hours to use restrooms, change diapers and sometimes to get everyone a snack you will have a very easy going road trip. I used our stroller to put Adventure Boy in it every time we stopped to use the restrooms.

I had all sorts of entertainment for the kids. Adventure Girl had her Nintendo DS with her along with 4 different games and her travel charger, Adventure Boy had his little laptop , I also had DVD player with their favorite movies and some books. We played counting clouds, shape searching, I spy and we also enjoyed the views. The tip of the surrounding mountains were covered in snow and the contrast with the deep blue skies and sun was simply breathtaking.

Adventure Boy loves drinking milk in his sippy cup and likes it cold so I had a little cooler within arms reach filled with ice and 4 sippy cups with the milk served in them. This was such a fantastic idea that Adventure Dad had, every time Adventure Boy asked for his milk I just reached and handed it to him.

We decided to stop for the day and rest in the Orange County area while visiting family. The next morning after breakfast we continued with our road trip and drove to San Diego and then to Ensenada. It was smooth sailing the entire drive and I am excited for our next road trip whenever it is.

Adventure Mom tip: When traveling always check road conditions and weather at your travel destination and make sure you have at least enough diapers and wipes for 48 hours so that you are not stressed and rushed looking for an open store when you arrive at your destination.

About the photos used: Adventure Girl took all of the pictures except for the one of myself which I took before we began our road trip in the parked at home ;) Don't drive and take photos it is not safe and it distracts you. 

RECIPES

In the past week I have received e-mails requesting a listing with links to my recipes. It took me a while but here they are.

MILANESAS {COUNTRY FRIED STEAK}

CHICKEN FAJITAS

ALBONDIGAS/MEATBALL SOUP

CHILAQUILES

CHICKEN AND PINE NUTS WITH SAFFRON-COUSCOUS AND LEMON DRESSING

CARNE ASADA TACOS

PICO DE GALLO SALSA

GUACAMOLE

CHICKEN TOSTADAS

STIR FRIED HONEY-GINGER CHICKEN WITH PEPPERS

SALMON FILLETS

CAPPELLINI POMODORO

CACTUS LEAF BREAKFAST

RANCHERO SHRIMP

MEXICAN STYLE RICE

SHRIMP SCAMPI

MAHI-MAHI

T-BONE STEAK

CHICKEN FRICASSEE

TOSTONES

SOPES

OVEN CRISP CHICKEN

CURRIED CHICKEN POMEGRANATE

TURKEY NACHOS

MEXICAN CALDO

STEAMED TILAPIA

LENTIL SOUP

CREAMY MUSHROOM PASTA

SEMI-HOMEMADE CHICKEN POT PIE

THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS RECIPE

THAI CASHEW AND VEGETABLE CHICKEN

SPLIT PEA SOUP

FRENCH TOAST

"PICADILLO" CUBAN STYLE MINCED MEAT

EMPANADAS

SALSA

MASHED POTATOES

CILANTRO DRESSING

APPLE FILLING

CHICKEN STIR FRY

CUBAN STYLE FRIED RICE

SHRIMP COCKTAIL BAJA STYLE

ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

FIREWORKS TILAPIA

TUNA CEVICHE TOSTADAS

As I post new recipes I will link them to this post and I will also re-post it on Fridays.

Menu Mondays week 12/26

It's the last Monday of the year and we are very excited because we have some changes coming for 2012. As you know we love sharing recipes with you and menu ideas for the week, however we have decided to post not a complete menu for the week starting January. Instead we will be posting one new recipe per week on Monday's, one that we have tried the week before. This way you will be able to decide what meal you will prepare for your family.

Please feel free to leave us comment with your thoughts on this change.

Menu Mondays week 12/19 - 12/23

This week is filled with lots shopping, wrapping and family gatherings. That said we thought it would be a good idea to include some of our favorite recipes that are both easy and tasty. Not to mention also fast to prepare.

MONDAY

Stir-Fried Honey-Ginger Chicken with Peppers

TUESDAY

Ranchero Shrimp

WEDNESDAY

Fresh Cappellini Pomodoro

THURSDAY

Breakfast for dinner

FRIDAY

Mexican style rice top it off with an over easy egg.

Theme Thursday's and Fun Fact Friday's

Next week we will begin our week with a new series for Thursdays and Fridays:

Theme Thursdays: Each week we will choose a subject and share our thoughts on it. We hope you join us and share your points of view.

Fun Fact Fridays: Every Friday we will share a fun fact to share with you.

We hope you continue to follow us on our adventures. Menu Mondays, Toddler Tuesdays and Where? What? Wednesdays will continue.

Have a suggestion? or idea? share it with us on our comments. What kind of recipes are you wanting us to try out? what SoCal adventures do you suggest for our family to take?

Happy Thanksgiving from Stroller Adventures in SoCal.

With Thanksgiving only 2 days ahead, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank you our readers and followers. You are our motivation to keep posting, keep sharing and most of all experience new adventures. We are planing more adventures and preparing more recipes so that you may try them out.

In this Holiday season 2011, please remember to enjoy and savor every second of being with your family. They are the best memories one can have!

Maribel Reyes and family.

Menu Mondays week of 11/21 - 11/23

Due to Thanksgiving we are only posting recipes for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones! :)


MONDAY

Meatball Soup


TUESDAY
Cuban Style Chicken Fricassee

WEDNESDAY

Shrimp Scampi Baja Style


Enjoy! :)

What's for Dinner week 10/24 - 10/28

This week I'd like to try out some new recipes. I will share the recipes once I have tested them out until then here is the menu:

Tilapia Veracruzana Style with white steamed rice and spinach salad

Chicken Pot Pie

Curried Chicken Pomegranate

Oven Crisp Chicken

Ground Turkey burgers

Bon Apetit! Buen Provecho! Enjoy!

Museo "El Trompo" - In Tijuana Mexico-.

A couple of weekends ago our family visited "Museo El Trompo" in Tijuana Baja Mexico. "El Trompo" translated into English is "The Spinner". Remember those toys that are made of wood with a metal pin in the middle and a long string that you wrap around it and then throw it towards the ground and the topper kept spining? that is what "El Trompo" refers to.

The museum is located less than 10 miles from the Mexico - U.S. Border. As you cross into Tijuana Mexico you take the "Via Rapida Poniente" and exit at "Manuel J. Clouthier Blvd."  To be exact it is next door to the newly built World Trade Center.

You will see the Museum to your left as you are driving in the highway. It is a copper building with a very modern design!

Photo Credit: Maribel Reyes, Main Entrance 

As you enter the Museum to your right is a front desk/information center and straight across from it is the ticket booth. You choose what exhibits you will go into, for example for a family of 5 including 2 kids over the age of 3, 1 toddler and 2 adults we paid the equivalent to $17.00 U. S. Dollars! not bad right? We had full access to all the 5 exhibits. The only activity missing was the 3D movie -we decided to forgo the movie since we had our 22 month old toddler with us. Parking was $0.50 U.S. Dollars and it is in a private lot next to the main entrance.

Each exhibit hall has ushers at their door that review your admission ticket and direct you to the first activity, at each station within that exhibit hall is another staff member that explains what you are learning and how to participate.

The exhibits are divided by activity categories: Children's Hall, Science Hall, Technology Hall, Multipurpose room, Audiorama.  We only visited 3 exhibits in 4 hours! so when you visit plan for a whole day full of fun!

The Children's Hall has interactive activities for children 6 years of age or younger. Among the activities you can see baby chicks that have just hatched, a black scorpion and a lizard. Some of the most interesting activities that completely engaged our kids attention was the fishing boat, where you are given fishing poles with magnets on the end to "fish" the different types of fish in the ocean. There is one minor detail: they have a sign that lists with a picture and name the animals you can't fish due to them being in high risk of disappearing. This teaches the kids about safe fishing.

Photo Credit: Maribel Reyes

Another interesting activity was conducting an orchestra, this activity was so much fun that even us as adults had to play! ;)  depending on the speed that you move the baton the orchestra plays! pretty cool right?

At the Science Exhibit you will learn about the different types of energy, how to conserve water and how our bodies work. There is also a bubble station to have lots of fun with the many shapes and sizes.

Photo Credit: Maribel Reyes

The last exhibit we visited was the Audiorama, at this exhibit kids can make crafts and take home with them, they have a large children's library and comfy seating in fun shapes like rainbows or clouds. They also have a media room with Internet access computers!

Photo Credit: Maribel Reyes, learn more about nature through live animals.

"Museo El Trompo" has information at every exhibit in both English and Spanish and is the perfect Museum to go to when visiting Tijuana.

For more information please click here

What's for dinner? week 10/11 - 10/14

Here are some ideas for dinner this week... We are working on new recipes and will post them soon.

TUESDAY

Mexican Breakfast for Dinner! Miguitas

WEDNESDAY

Capellini Pomodoro

THURSDAY

Salmon Fillets

FRIDAY

Stir-Fried Honey-Ginger Chicken with Peppers

Bon Apetit!

Kid-friendly Taco Shop in Ensenada.

We have mentioned activities to do while traveling to Ensenada Baja Mexico, however we haven't talked about kid-friendly restaurants. We have been to several and would like to share our experience with you!

Mk Taco in business since 1985
Photo by Stroller Adventures in SoCal

The first restaurant/taco shop to be featured in our blog is Mk Taco, it is located on the "main st" of Ensenada -Coastal Blvd- "Blvd. Costero" which is the same street you use as you exit the highway and enter the City of Ensenada.

Hand made flour tortillas
Photo by Stroller Adventures in SoCal

Mk Taco not only features delicious carne asada tacos, but also hand made flour tortillas and quesadillas as well as tortas (mexican sandwich in a special bread called "telera").

Flour Tortilla quesadilla with Mexican sausage "chorizo"
Photo by Stroller Adventures in SoCal

They have clean restrooms and optional seating on a bar stool or if you'd prefer a table with chairs they got them! What would make this taco shop even better? High Chairs of course!!! yes you read right, they have 3 high chairs that are clean and ready for you to enjoy your meal. We recently dined there and let me tell you that from my experience it was a hit! our kids ate all their taco and loved watching the flour tortillas being made.

What's for Dinner week of September 26th - September 30th.

Monday: Mahi-Mahi with steamed white rice

Tuesday: Steak and roasted vegetables

Wednesday: Capellini Pomodoro

Thursday: Albondigas soup (Meatball soup/Mexican style)

Friday: Cous-cous

What's for dinner week Sept 19 - Sept 22

Monday: Minced Turkey - Cuban Style - with white steamed rice and vegetables.

Tuesday: Greek marinated chicken with pita bread and vegetables.

Wednesday: Shrimp Tacos with black beans.

Thursday: Roasted vegetables with chicken

Friday: Garden salad with pan fried chicken.

If you decide to prepare any of the recipes we ask that you let us know how it turned out and if your family liked it.