In The Kitchen Sundays

Sundays are my day in the kitchen and I spend a majority of the day wearing an apron. Call me June Cleaver, but I am always wearing an apron!

Since I had a couple of bananas that I didn't want to go to waste, I decided to make banana nut muffins with a streusel topping, using a banana bread recipe. They turned out super yummy and will take them into work tomorrow. I sure as heck can't eat 12 muffins by myself!

For dinner, I made a classic recipe I grew up eating. Actually, this isn't a recipe from my mom, but a family friend that made this salad for every group get together - Taco Salad. And she handed the recipe over at my bridal shower.

Note: This recipe is enough to feed an army. I cut the recipe in half for me and Jeff, and we still have left overs!

1 lb ground beef

1 pack Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 pack Taco Seasoning

1 bag Doritos - crushed

1 can Red Kidney Beans (drained/rinsed)

1 can Chick Peas (drained/rinsed)

1 can Black Olives (drained)

1 head Iceberg Lettuce

3 Tomatoes

8-10 oz. Shredded Cheese

Directions: Brown meat and drain fat. Add season packets and simmer together. Toss all ingredients together*.

*I add the Doritos when I plate up the salad. If you have left overs, the Doritos will be soggy if added all at once.

On a side note, a wonderful care packaged arrived on Friday from my friend Vicky.

The suspense was killing me and it took everything in my power to snap a photo before digging in!

Super fun stuff - An avocado slicer, crystallized ginger, a mushroom brush, cupcake boxes and vanilla bean paste.

I couldn't be more excited about the Vanilla Bean Paste. I told Vicky about the paste after reading about it on this blog. Of course none of the stores around here carry it, but she works at Sur La Table in Chicago and has access to the finer things :) I plan to bake with this next weekend!

I'm very excited about the crystallized ginger. I swore I just read a recipe that called for it but I can't remember what it was. Any ideas of how I can bake/cook with the ginger?