Tex-Mex Turkey Skillet

This is one of our family favorites AND approved by all three kiddos, so it is on a regular rotation in my kitchen.  Go ahead and at it to next week's meal plan. The awesome factor in this recipe is definitely all the different ways it can be served!   Tacos, lettuce wraps, nachos, on a bed of greens...it's pretty versatile.  Please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked it and be sure to follow @wannabejenna on social media sites!  {As always, please give credit where credit is due if you use this recipe for business and/or share it with friends and tell them it is a Wannabejenna recipe. Thanks!}

INGREDIENTS: 

2 pounds lean ground turkey

2 packets low sodium taco seasoning

2 cans mild rotel

2 cans no salt added black beans (drain and rinse)

1 bag frozen fajita veggies (onion and bell peppers) 

Brown the meat in a dutch oven.  Add all ingredients and stir until well combined.  Simmer on low for 30 minutes.  Top with grated cheese, avocado, pico de gallo, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, whatever you fancy and enjoy around your table with good friends and family.  Food = Love

Food Truck Friday in Houston

I have a love affair with gourmet food trucks and my hometown of Houston has some of the best. You can find a world of culture in this melting pot of a city and our food trucks represent cuisine from across the globe. They are pretty much the equivalent of a cheap plane ticket to the country of your choice sitting on the curb of Washington Avenue.  My favorite is when I make a trip to Japan and I'll be telling you about that culinary cruiseine (see what i did there) in this post. 

Every so often I get the chance to jump in the SUV with my mom friends and our entourage of 101 children as we caravan into Houston for lunch on the sidewalk, lots of parenting, "GET OFF THAT STATUE!!!  IT'S A PIECE OF ART!!!", "YOU CAN'T TAKE MONEY OUT OF THE FOUNTAIN!!!", plenty of laughs and a few cuss-words spoken under our breath followed by prayers for forgiveness and help.  Today let's chat about a recent trip we took to the museum district of Houston on a gorgeous Friday and the two trucks we attacked with our small army of minions...I mean visited with our kids.

{I've included hyperlinks to the trucks for you...just CLICK on the truck name}

MONSTER PB&J:  

Y'all.  I love PB&J.  It is the sole reason I gained 52 pounds in my first pregnancy, because I suffered from insomnia and I would get up at all hours of the night, waddle to the kitchen, get out the loaf of whole wheat bread and indulge my craving every single night of my second and third trimester.  Probably explains why that baby is now nearly a decade old and STILL hates anything with peanut butter on it. (so sad, she's really missing out).  Let's get back on track....Monster PB&J is a crazy awesome food truck in #HTX that begs you to build your own custom PB&J.  You pick the fresh made bread (they offer gluten free!), fresh ground nut-butter, local jam, and fresh fruit filling.  It's awesome.  Get as crazy as you want...one kid actually ordered hers with fresh blueberries and pickles, or keep it old school with peanut butter and grape jelly on white bread.  We ordered traditional sandwiches for my sons but my daughter opted for nutella and banana.  In terms of sides you choose from a tasty selection of chips and to wash it all down we each had a Mexican Coca-Cola (still made with cane sugar like the original recipe).  They really did take their shoes off and get in this fountain, some grabbing the change at the bottom....the kids, not the moms.

Now that the kids were fed we found my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE food truck {thank you Twitter} in Houston one block away and next to a nice outdoor art exhibit with plenty of tables and chairs.  The kids however didn't seem to notice; they climbed every tree they could find and attempted to climb on the art installations UNTIL the security guard spied them and they got a good holler and finger-wagging.  (As they should.)  Back to my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE food truck in Houston:

MUIISHI MAKIRRITOS:

This truck describes itself as "Japanese food with a twist" and it proudly serves to the patrons of Houston's urban streets; it is one worth chasing...in wedges...and a skirt...several blocks if you have to do it.  I always recommend folks to order the Kimchi Fries (which I do not see on their menu right now), Mac & Cheese Eggrolls (definitely a fusion dish) and the best of all...Pork Belly Don Juan bowl which is {drumroll} sous vide pork belly, 62 degree egg, fried shittake and oyster mushrooms, pickled cucumber, takuan and kim chi over sticky rice.  I'm getting hunger pangs just typing about it!  Every time I go to the truck the food is consistently mouth-watering and pleasing.  So delicious.

Both of these trucks are super active on social media and you can find them on a litany of apps including Facebook and Twitter.  I use both apps to locate the trucks because they always post to their constituents where they will be parked for lunch or dinner service.  Be sure and let them know that @wannabejenna sent you...maybe I'll get some free kimchi fries next visit!