Nacho Mama's Original Recipe: QUESADILLA-DE-LOS-MUERTOS! #DayoftheDead

Here's a secret-my husband has the BEST ideas! He was the one who came up for the name of this blog and he also came up with the idea for this recipe. Read on and you'll see why I love this gringo so much!


We eat a LOT of quesadillas in our house. It's probably the only food that ALL 4 of us enjoy, even my picky kids. My 2-year-old refers to them as "Dia-Dias" - which prompted my husband to say, "You should make a Quesadilla De Los Muertos!" 


Now, you KNOW I can't ignore a challenge like that! It took me a minute to figure out the best way to do it and, since I was making myself a quesadilla for dinner tonight anyway, I decided to give it a try. It was so easy!


First of all, I'd like you to know that I like to make quesadillas that are complete meals. Tonight's quesadilla was filled with cheddar-jack cheese, ground turkey, spinach and arugula. YUM! 


After cooking the quesadilla on the comal (you could use a skillet), I took out my pizza cutter and sliced 2 curved slivers out of each side, making a perfect calavera!


Then, in a sealed sandwich baggie, I mixed 2 tablespoons of light sour cream with LOADS of chili powder, to give it color and flavor. You could also mix the sour cream with adobo or mole sauce, but I was out of both! After snipping a tiny corner off the bag, I piped the face and decorations onto the quesadilla. Yes, I could have written my name but I was in a hurry because I was so HUNGRY after a long day of coupon shopping!


The result? NACHO MAMA'S QUESADILLA-DE-LOS-MUERTOS!

It was SO TASTY!


I hope you'll consider cooking up a Quesadilla-de-los-Muertos yourself over these next few days. Do YOU  have anything special that you make for the Day of the Dead? Please share! I'd love more traditions to share with my family.


Wishing you love with extra cheese on YOUR quesadilla!
Nacho Mama

Why our glass (of milk) is always half full #Positivisimo

I may have mentioned before that when I was a kid? I HATED milk!!! I can't even tell you why because I honestly don't ever remember even trying it. So sad. I would only drink chocolate milk or cafe con leche. Today I still love cafe con leche but chocolate milk is too sweet for me-I prefer PLAIN milk now! Go figure! Turns out what The Master says is really true: Saying Yes is Easier Than Saying No.

When my kids came along, I decided to wait and see what their attitude about milk would be. As it turns out-they both LOVE plain milk! And husband's favorite dessert is a bowl of cereal with milk. So in my house we probably go through 2.5 gallons a week. I buy 2% for the grownups and give the kids whole milk. That's just the milk we drink. If I cook something with milk? Then we're talking 3 gallons a week, people.

In my fridge this morning...

I'm extremely relieved that my children were not so closed minded about milk as I was when I was a little kid. The best part is that they are both very strong and healthy and have good eating habits (unlike their mami) that I hope they'll have for the rest of their lives. 

All this talk about milk has made me decide to cook up some macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight! I guess it's going to be a 3 gallon week after all.

Nacho Mama's Mac and Cheese-with ground beef and spinach and MILK!

Don't forget to enter YOUR kids in the "Little Masters" Facebook Photo contest! Prizes include a stainless

steel refrigerator, professional blender, bicycle and more! Entering is easy—just follow the

instructions to upload a picture of your “Little Master”. Enter HERE.

And you can follow The Master yourself on:

Facebook 

Twitter 

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and

Latina Mom Bloggers.

CALM DOWN. Favorite sayings from our childhoods.

I have been noticing that my kids are developing their own "family" sayings. This has gotten me thinking about some of my favorite sayings from when was  kid, hanging with my cousins in Oxnard, CA. My favorite?

CALM DOWN.

It's not meant in the sense you probably think, though. It's kind of like our "Aloha"-it can be super positive OR scathingly negative! For example:

Let's say you pick up your cousin to go out dancing and her outfit is AWESOME. You might say, "Ay prima? Calm down!"

OR

"Did you see Robert's new girlfriend? Calm down with the eyelash extensions!"

Get the picture?

What are some of your favorite family sayings?

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

TWITTER PARTY!!! "Celebrate Our Music" 10/25 6pm PST #SomosFiOS #PRIZES! #iPAD2

Join me and some of my favorite Latina Mom Bloggers for

“Celebrate Our Music” Twitter Party

You KNOW I'm a gigante music fan! One of my favorite things about this blog is the music some of you have shared with me. You know, the music that gets your day going, gets you out of the dumps or gets your butt off of the couch! 

REAL HELP FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS: The Real California Milk Contest #CASealAppeal

Did you know that California is the U.S.'s largest producer of milk, yogurt, nonfat dry milk, butter and ICE CREAM? I wish I had drunk more milk as a kid and I'm proud to say that, nowadays, we go through A LOT of milk and yogurt in our house-not to mention cheese! But I didn't know until recently that our dairy consumption was helping to support 1620 California dairy families AND California schools.

As a California school parent I have seen my local schools struggle to keep programs that kids badly need like PE, art and language. I was delighted to learn that Real California Milk has launched the Real Seal Appeal program to help California schools with up to $2 million in cash, prizes and books.
How can you help?

It's sooooooo simple. From October 1 until December 31, 2011, all you have to do is collect the "Real California Milk" and "Real California Cheese" seals from the dairy products you already buy and turn them in to your  kid's (or grandkid's or niece's or neighbor's..) teacher. Each seal acts as a sweepstakes entry-the more seals you collect, the more chances your local school has to win!


Here's what your Southern California classroom could win:


Grand Prize: 3 winning schools will receive $20,000 plus a Wii FitTM game for
every child in classroom (up to 50)
• 2nd Place: 3 winning schools will receive $10,000 plus a Wii FitTM game for every
child in classroom (up to 50)
• 3rd Place: 3 winning schools will receive $5,000 plus a Wii FitTM game for every
child in classroom (up to 50)
• Runner Ups: 2,595 winning schools will receive $500 prizes

Participating elementary schools are in Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange,
Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and
Ventura counties


But wait-there's more!


For every 25 seals your kid's teacher collects? She gets a FREE BOOK for her classroom from Scholastic, who has partnered with Real California Milk. For details, please click here.

So remember to peel those seals! And be sure and check into RealCaliforniaMilk.com to learn more about dairy in California and please like them on facebook and follow them on twitter @RealCalifMilk and tweet them with the hashtag @CASealAppeal. Who knew taking care of yourself could help so many kids?

Wishing you love with extra, EXTRA cheese-
Nacho Mama

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, the opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

So-how was YOUR weekend?

This past weekend I did something I haven't done in a long, long time. I went "unplugged" from Friday evening until, well, now! OK, it wasn't voluntary. The previously fab app I've been using for a few years to manage all my social media decided to go bye-bye. But here's what I DID manage to get done this weekend:


-A TON of laundry!
-A super-couponing shopping trip at my local supermarket (where I saved 52%!)
-Helped my hubby clean out the garage
-Had pizza night with my family (with loads of salad) and STILL
-Attended my Weight Watchers meeting and lost 1.8 POUNDS!!
-Took a family trip to an awesome pumpkin patch and saw my daughter shoot corn out of a cannon
-Enjoyed a slice of Real Julian Apple Pie with my family and LOGGED THE POINTSPLUS
-Tried out a super-cute Halloween craft I read about in Family Circle magazine
-Scheduled tomorrow's blog post


Whew! I had a lot of fun and even though I was so busy? I feel remarkably relaxed!


So-how was your weekend?


Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Nacho Mama takes THE MOMFIA FITNESS CHALLENGE! #MomfiaFitness

So......the weight loss program....not so good.

I've been SUPER stalled and am SO sick of feeling tired and out of shape! I've been quite good at tracking my Weight Watchers Points Plus but have two GLARING weak points in my program:

1. I've NOT been good about meeting the daily "Good Health Guidelines" of the WW program, namely getting enough water and fruits and veggies

2. Exercise? No, not really.

And here we are on the brink of candy season followed by the avalanche of holiday eating-AAAAAGGHHH!!!

Fortunately for me? I'm not alone in this boat. Some of my sister bloggers over at San Diego Momfia feel exactly the same way and we have decided to get as fit as we possibly can before Halloween. Some are calling it "Countdown to Candy" and some are calling it "Mom to MILF"- Personally, I prefer "The Momfia Fitness Challenge!" 

We're all taking different roads to reach our goal. I'm going to be following the Weight Watchers Points Plus program (really-I promise!) and I'll be trying out slow-motion strength training with the Amazing Ana at The Perfect Workout. I've already had a couple of sessions and let me tell you, EVERYTHING is sore!!! 

I can totally look like this by Halloween, right?

Want to know more about The Momfia Fitness Challenge? Just click HERE.

 Do YOU have a fitness goal you're trying to reach? Do tell!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Disclosure: I am being trained for review purposes by The Perfect Workout. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

PHOTO CONTEST! "The Little Masters of the Glass Half Full" on Facebook

I am so excited to tell you all about this FABULOUS contest! (Ok, excited and a teensy bit jealous because I can't enter myself!) As a Positivity Ambassador for the California Milk Processor's Board and Latina Mom Bloggers, I am VERY pleased to announce:

THE MASTER OF THE GLASS HALF FULL FACEBOOK PHOTO CONTEST!

Let's start with the prizes, shall we?
-      Grand Prize/1^st Place:  French door stainless steel refrigerator with a year’s supply of milk

-      2^nd Place: Bicycle with a front child seat and a year’s supply of milk

-      3^rd Place: Professional blender with a year’s supply of milk

AWESOME, no? So here's how to enter:

Starting today,  October 3^rd,   upload a picture of your child/children holding a glass of milk like the Master of the Glass Half Full to the Master's Facebook page. Photo submissions will be accepted from October 3^rd through October 21^st, followed by on-line voting from October 24-28^th. Winners will be announced on Monday, October 31^st.

THAT'S IT. Just submit a photo of your kid holding a glass of milk like The Master...

My kid is very cute, but ineligible to enter this awesome contest.

And YOU will be entered to win one of the amazing prizes listed above!

Need to know a little more about The Master of the Glass Half Full? Here's a personal letter from The Master himself to YOU, my readers!

Remember to upload those photos to The Master of the Glass Half Full's Facebook page by October 21st! Who knows? Maybe YOU will a beautiful new fridge to help keep a year's supply of milk fresh and cool!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Wishing you love with extra MILK!
Nacho Mama

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor's Board and Latina Mom Bloggers