Tostada Skillet Dinner and Jeopardy (vegetarian)
The other night the family was watching Jeopardy. Usually if we watch, Jeremy and I will get a handful of the questions right if we're lucky, and the kids root us on. But the other night was totally different. Jeremiah was sitting in the crook of my arm when I correctly fired out the answers to NINE questions in a row. Jeremiah was squealing and declaring that he was was "on my team" and I was stunned and thrilled. Then, Jeremy came to sit by us. He started telling me a story (unaware at this point of my superstar winning streak) when I couldn't help but read the next question out the the corner of my eye. I blurted the correct answer out totally cutting him off mid sentence. He was like are you even listening to me? and I was like yes, but Jeremy, I have just answered TEN questions right! TEN!!!!
I started yelling about double digits.
Then, you guys, I swear, over the two minutes I got four more right! Fourteen correct answers in like 5 minutes! I felt...alive.
I started to sing This Girl Is On Fire!
Jeremy was laughing but I didn't care. I was clearly awesomesauce. And brilliant.
Then...then, Jeremy said:
Sweetie, I know you are all excited, but have you noticed how old these contestants are?
Um, no, not really until now. I guess they are pretty young...
Krysta, they are like 15-16 yeas old. I hate to tell you, but this is some kind of Junior Jeopardy.
What? It is not!
Krysta, all the questions you have been answering fall under the categories of "Disney Movies", "TV Shows", and "Famous Authors", no wonder you know them all.
(I have a silent 'oh crap' moment). But, but, there were health and nutrition questions before you came over. One of the questions was:
"Not to be confused with chloroform, this "C" word gives plants their color" and I knew it was "What is Chlorophyll!".
He just shook his head in pity. Okay, so I know about nutrition and how plants work. That was just lucky. I am as brilliant as a brilliant 16 year old. Except for the stint of question falling under the "small rivers in Europe" category. I totally bombed those. At least I knew what the Danube was. That's all I have to say.
veggie crumble "meat"
No wait, that's not all I have to say. I also have to say that what I lack in foreign river knowledge, I make up for in the kitchen. So there. You know how this dinner came about? I was making my usual tostadas, but subbing the beans for veggie crumble meat (you can use ground beef or turkey). Then, I got really lazy and didn't want to fry tortillas for the tostadas. And also, I didn't want to make guacamole. So, in a moment of apparent sheer 16 year old brilliance, I popped open a bag of tortilla chips, put the tortillas away and just cut avocados and scattered them haphazardly over the meat. Then I placed a hefty portion of salsa and Greek yogurt smack dab in the middle, and scattered shredded romaine and cilantro over everything. You'd have thought I was presenting Duck a la orange when I walked this skillet to the table. Chips and dip for dinner? You can't go wrong. It was the best dinner ever. So much cooler than tostadas.
Tostada Skillet Dinner
serves 4
For the Tostada Meat:
1lb. Boca Brand Veggie Crumbles or Lean Ground Turkey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add veggies crumbles or ground turkey and cook until cooked through (follow package directions). Add the Dijon, Worcestershire, spices and salt and stir to combine. Remove skillet from heat and top with desired toppings. Serve with tortilla chips for scooping.
Tostada toppings:
Avocado chunks (we use about one per person)
Shredded romaine lettuce
Tomatoes
Salsa
Greek Yogurt or sour cream
Cilantro
Shredded cheddar or Jack cheese (optional)
Pinto or black beans
Pickled jalapenos
Black olives