Not-Really-Taco Ramekins

My husband, Jason, loves tacos.  Every week when I'm figuring out the menu, and I ask him what he wants, he always says "tacos."  When I got a new cookbook for my birthday, and he thumbed through he immediately stopped on a recipe called "Taco Ramekins" saying "I like tacos, and we have ramekins."  I made them up, and I was a little concerned.  It seemed like a strange mix of items and not at all taco-like.  It had ground beef, green bell peppers, sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, green onions, chili powder and biscuit mix.    When I mentioned this to Jason he said "Oh, I didn't read the recipe, I just liked the name."  To my surprise, the taco ramekins tasted really good, but they didn't taste anything like tacos.  I'm not even sure why they are called taco ramekins (yes, I get the ramekin part).  I will be making these up again, but this time we know not to expect any taco flavor, and Jason has learned to actually read the recipe before requesting the item.

Parsley buttered potatoes and trying to get caught up

Close up of Parsley Buttered Potatoes

I know it's been a few days since I've posted, and I will try to do as much of a recap as possible.  I've been grading like crazy, and I'll have much more time after Tuesday because I will be on Christmas break.  I'm so ready for it.  I've been having a ton of leftovers, but I made a few new things as well.  The Parsley Buttered Potatoes shown above are from the leftover category, but when I was going through pictures I noticed this really cool picture, so I thought I would do a quick recipe for them to make up for my lack of posts this week.

Parsley Buttered Potatoes are a dish my grandma would make often in the summer when she had a lot of parsley to get rid of from the garden.  It's very easy and inexpensive to make even if you don't have garden-fresh parsley.  I often make it when I need a little bit of parsley for another recipe because it's a nice way to use up the entire bunch.

Parsley Buttered Potatoes (Once again more of a method than an actual recipe)

2 lbs red potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces

1 bunch parsley either Italian or curly, washed and minced

1 stick butter or margarine cut into about 8 pieces

Salt and pepper

1. Steam potatoes until they can be pierced with a fork, between 10 and 15 minutes.  Don't overcook; you don't want the potatoes to fall apart when your mixing them.

2. Place in a bowl and mix with butter while still hot, so it melts.

3. Mix in chopped parsley.

4. Salt and pepper to taste

Note: I've also melted the butter with garlic and then added to the potatoes.  It's an extra step, so I didn't do it this time, but it's delicious.  

Now pictures from other things I've been eating:

 Leftover Chicken pilliard, parsley buttered potatoes, and brussel sprouts

 Eggs and cheese on toast

 Steaming green beans.

These tacos were amazing!  I need to try and make them one more time, but I think I've perfected the seasoning!  It's similar, but much better than store-bought.

What I ate today:

9:00 am: Breakfast sandwich (fried egg, bacon, and American cheese on an onion roll), apple juice

12:00 pm: Buffalo chicken salad

4:00 pm: 1 orange

5:45 pm: cranberry, orange peel, goat cheese; sharp cheddar

7:30 pm: 3 tacos with beef, cheese, lettuce, black olives, tomatoes, and homemade guacamole