Okay, so I wrote here a while back about a new salad that I was totally loving. Most of the boys looked at it and said “ewww”, but eventually the Captain gave it a try and loved it. Not to be outdone, The Mercenary and TechnoBoy joined in. My one holdout is The Manager; no surprise there, he can’t stand his food to be touching other food right now. No biggie. One day he too will be assimilated bwahahahahaaaaaaa.
Moving on. So I started doing Weight Watchers and found out that the ramen noodles in my beautiful salad cost a lot of points. Ouch. No more eating that twice a day. I remembered a salsa recipe I’d seen on Pioneer Woman’s site so I went looking for it. Turns out it’s called Pico de Gallo, and this is my new obsession in life. I even lived dangerously and bought fresh jalapeño peppers and put them in. Did you know that they’re not killer hot if you take the seeds and ribs out? I didn’t know that.
Of course, the children were promptly repulsed, as was Hubby. This was fine with me because I was busy scarfing down a delicious food that cost zero points on my new diet.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The pico is fantastic. However, it’s more fantastic paired with chips or bread, which sadly cost more points than I’m willing to spend. I dug into the refrigerator and got out my tortillas. On a whim I heated one up in a pan, spread some refried black beans on top, melted a tablespoon or two of cheese over the top, and toasted it until the tortilla got crispy. After pulling it off the stove I spread some Pico de Gallo over the top and yummmmmmmm.
THAT got the boys’ attention. Heh, heh, heh. All but the usual suspect have been converted, and Hubby joined in later on as well. So, has anyone got something else interesting I can do with the Pico de Gallo? I’ve eaten it on the tortilla, with rice, with chips, and with black beans and avocado. What else could we do? Or do you have a yummy delicious vegetable recipe that your kids will eat?
by AmyL
Photo graciously provided by the author, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
7 responses so far ↓
Anne // May 9, 2008 at 5:24 am
Congrats on your new discovery! Have you tried it with scrambled eggs? Add some cheese and black beans and you’ve got one of my favorite breakfasts.
AmyL // May 9, 2008 at 7:51 am
Ooo! No, I haven’t put it on eggs. Do you cook the beans at all or just throw them in at the last minute (I’m assuming you’re using canned). I’m going to have to go find out how many points eggs are.
Will Your Kids Eat Jalapenos? - Earnest Parenting // May 9, 2008 at 8:39 am
[…] a new recipe that called for raw jalapeño peppers. Then I offered it to the boys. I wrote about them eating it with links to the recipe over in my weekly GNMParents […]
Megin Hatch // May 9, 2008 at 9:03 am
Amy-
When I first read this title I read “3 out of 4 boys are Jalapenos.” Which is a very very funny image!
We do quite a bit of Mexican-style cooking at home, burritos and quesadillas are common favorites, and pico would go perfectly with either of those.
Also, there is a cheddar chicken ww recipe which is basically a chicken breast with a little melted cheddar on top, then a ton of warm salsa and black beans on top. Low point high flavor and homemade salsa/pico would work perfectly.
Maybe we need to have a family favorite post that we can just add our favorite recipes to.
Hmmm…
Karly // May 9, 2008 at 10:12 am
I don’t have any low point ideas, but I’m also addicted to that Pico de Gallo. I like it on tacos and enchiladas and burritos. And chips. And plain with a fork. Mmmm.
AmyL // May 9, 2008 at 10:55 am
ROFLOL. Megin you don’t know how much I needed that laugh. Thanks. And a favorite recipe post would be fun! Of course, then I’d be forced to choose a favorite. The pressure!
Great idea to have the pico on chicken. I have been struggling to keep protein in the diet because it’s so much easier to eat veggies and then save my points for the carb treats I seem to be addicted to. I can skip desserts fairly easily, but don’t get between me and my rice or crackers!
Karly, I’ve been eating the pico with the refried black beans (that also have jalapeno in them) or rice. Ooo, or avocado. Yummeh. The other night I served BLT’s for dinner. I spread guacamole on a tortilla, then put in the pico, a lot of lettuce, and a slice of bacon. Oooooo that was good.
Mother Earth // May 10, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I use pico as a veggie dip with cucumbers or a tri-color raw pepper medly. I adore fresh pico with eggs, over chicken, or pork - it’s positively superb with fish . It’s especially fun made with mango or strawberries. ( this is great an ezekial multi grained tortilla crisped and topped with bit of turbinado sugar and cinnamon. My kids found that totally baffling. Try a serrano pepper for a different type of kick. Using a sweet onion helps with those who don’t like zingy onion or secretly grating an onion will assist with kids who don’t do onion at all .. like my daughter. I almost forgot garlic is astounding in a pico
P.S. jalepeno grated in brownies is absolutely wow - probably not on your weight loss program, but keep that in mind
another trick is to remove the vein and seeds using a plastic bag, then you don’t risk getting the oils from your hands in your eyes.
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