baked taquitos!

am i the only one who saves recipes on their computer to try for a later date? seriously. i have folders upon folders all categorized into recipes that i hope to one day make.
anyway, this recipe i've had since i can't remember when but when i was making my meal plan for this week, i decided it was now or never. or at least not for awhile.

also? i love those freezer taquitos you can buy. or the ones that rotate on those grill thingies at the 7-11. they look so greasy and delicious. and deep fried. so good. {o hello pregnancy cravings!}

anyway, so here's a slightly healthier alternative to freezer taquitos OR 7-11 deep fried ones.
i didn't have all the ingredients it called for {the grocery store didn't have green onions or cilantro and salsa is crazy-expensive here and i think i've only seen teensy-tiny little limes once - and not at the store i was at} but it still tasted STINKIN DELICIOUS. my boys asked for seconds {!} and i downed my fair share as well.

baked taquitos
recipe slightly adapted from meal planning 101

1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp taco seasoning {i made my own. check out this one for a cheaper alternative than store bought.}
1/3 cup cream cheese {it's super expensive here & hard to find. i happened to have some laughing cow cheese so i used that instead. delish!}
1/4 cup salsa {again, too expensive and hard to find. i used canned diced tomatoes with green chilis}
1 tbsp lime juice {used a bit of lemon juice. lime would give it a nice kick, though!}
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped {would have loved to have had this.}
2 tbsp green onions, chopped {also would have been good. someone please make this with the proper ingredients and let me know how it is, kay? ha!}
1 cup grated cheese {cheddar, mozzarella or pepperjack - i used cheddar}
12 small flour tortillas {i made my own! they are fairly simple, but a bit time consuming.}

heat your oven to 425. line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

in a large frying pan over med-high heat, brown the ground beef and break it up into crumbles as it cooks. add the taco seasoning and cook the beef about 8 minutes until cooked through.

heat the cream cheese {we don't have a microwave but if you do, about 20-30 seconds should suffice} so it's soft and easy to stir. add the salsa, lime juice, cilantro and green onions and then stir to combine. once the beef is browned, add the beef and cheese and combine well.

place 2-3 tbsp of beef mixture on the lower third of the tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. roll it up as tight as you can. place seam side down on the baking sheet. lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and then spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or brush with a bit of oil and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. place the pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

dip the taquitos in salsa, sour cream {we use plain yogurt here}, guacamole or all of the above!

i served this with a side of mangoes sprinkled lightly with cinnamon. it was a perfect combination and i'm making these again!

7 months and randomness

it's hard to believe {and yet somehow not hard} that we've been here for 7 months now.
this is home.
it's not always easy, but it is definitely our home.
my mind often wanders ahead into the future and thinks about what life will be like when we move back to canada. where we'll live, how the boys will adjust to school {noah will be in grade 1 and jude will be in j/k! so mind blowing for me at this point}, seeing friends and family again, how we will adjust to orderly traffic and winter and western society again. yes, my mind it wanders.
yesterday noah was asking if we could buy a chuggington train and i told him that they don't sell them here, only in canada {and also that it wasn't his birthday and that he had plenty of toys already and that whole lecture}. and then lo and behold, jamie walks in with a package that our dear friends had sent over 5 months ago for a birthday package for noah and it had FOUR chuggington trains in it! sweet blessings from Jesus. so, so good. except that the aftermath has been two little boys screaming and fighting over one specific train. sigh.
i haven't picked up my camera in almost a week. i'm not sure why.
tonight we're going out for a fun team dinner at fang fang's, the best chinese restaurant here that makes a killer sweet and sour pork dish that i'm for sure ordering a large plate of. *salivating*
the only thing about going out at night is that the traffic here doesn't usually clear until sometime after 9pm so if we do go out, we're in a standstill for most of it, hence why we {as a family} don't often go out at night. the guys can take bodas, but there's no way that i would ever take a boda with my kids. uh uh. no way.
there is a team of canadian staff and students from power to change coming in may and june and we're getting excited for them to come. i look forward to interacting with more people on a daily basis {this is me, the hermit speaking} and for the boys to get to hang out with "the canadians"! {also i'm secretly - or not to secretly - hoping they'll all bring me some reece's peanut butter cups. *more salivating*}
yesterday me and elizabeth {our house girl} made tortillas! i told her they were like chapattis, but thinner. so we did our "level best" {as they like to say here} and we'll see how they turn out later this week for dinner. they sure looked good.
tomorrow elizabeth is going to teach me how to make ugandan beans and cassava {it's a root vegetable. almost like a potato}.
so this is life in uganda.

friday night fun

it all started with some life ministry staff {stephen & grace} dropping in on thursday afternoon. they mentioned they would come by on friday and make matoke. and bring their kids. their 5 kids. 

love this ugandan culture.

so we didn't really know what to expect. 

but more people kept getting invited and at final tally i think we had about 18 people over last night for a dinner and impromptu birthday party for little junior {the fifth child of stephen and grace}.

so we sent nick off to the market to pick up some drinks and a birthday cake and grace and stephen and i prepared food in the kitchen.

they showed me how to make matoke, ground nut sauce and chapati and i introduced them to the glorious food that is quinoa {although in the end we all agreed that it was useless for me to show them how to make it as you can't buy it here in kampala}.

we all snacked on roasted ground nuts {exactly like peanuts} and popcorn while we waited for the matoke to finish cooking.

the kids watched some cartoons on jamie's computer as the power was out.

kids are the same no matter where you are. they all like cartoons.

once dinner was here and everyone had arrived we all enjoyed a delicious dinner of matoke, chapatti, quinoa and fresh pineapple {you have not eaten pineapple until you've eaten fresh, tropical pineapple} and bananas. 

it was a fun and relaxed night and it felt good to have a full and happy house.