New Friends

If there is a theme to be woven through the weirdness that has been the last 15 or so months, it's ... nature? I guess? We have most certainly spent a lot of time either hiking through nature, planting our own nature in our yard, or enjoying the nature that other people planted. I mean, we've been to Phipps at least 400 times. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but we have been there so many times that I've been half expecting the membership office to call me and be like, "Okay, you're cut off."

We've gone A LOT.

Back in late fall, a couple of stuffed creatures appeared in the gift shop at Phipps. They were a pair trolls named Fen and Ivy.

Mila has been obsessed since that first glimpse.

That child has thrown fits because she wanted those stuffed trolls, which was fine because I bought them shortly after their appearance and then gave them to Mila for Christmas. There was a period of torture in there, but I can handle the heat when I'm dishing out the torture. So Christmas came and went, and Mila was VERY happy with her new friends.

And then signs started to appear at Phipps announcing that Fen and Ivy would be the center of a bigger show.

YOU GUYS.

The Hidden Life of Trolls opened at Phipps this past weekend, so of course we had to go visit. I don't know that Mila has ever been so enchanted by anything. She ran up to every little hidden troll door. She visited the Fen and Ivy animatronics near the entrance FOREVER. She marveled at the super giant troll who sings for even longer than FOREVER.

Basically, Phipps done good.

Phipps did such a good job that now Mila is planning her next 3498671340 visits. We weren't even home from visiting on Sunday when she asked to go again. So, uh, Pittsburgh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that even though they have increased their capacity limits (unfortunately - it's now a tiny bit crowded which sucks since kids can't be vaccinated yet), you won't be able to get tickets because we have them all. ALL OF THEM.

Sorry.

Not sorry.

(This isn't a sponsored post, obviously. We pay for a membership, which at this point cost us something like $0.20 per visit.)

Lime Potato, Corn, and Black Bean Burrito

Alexis made potato soup last week from scratch using my recipe, and can I just say this Big Kid thing is AMAZING? She peeled the potatoes and everything. She peeled too many potatoes, even. Alas, there are four perfectly peeled and ready to use potatoes sitting in our fridge. I promised I would go find a recipe to use them. Hello, archives. I see you have that really fantastical burrito recipe from 2014.

Let's bring it back.

(Also, LOLZ that I thought I had fallen off the healthy homecooked meal bandwago back then. 2020 came along and won that trophy.)

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When I say we've fallen off the Real Food bandwagon and have launched straight into Whatever is Easy, I'm not kidding. You guys, I've been trolling the frozen food aisles in search of one minute meals recently.

Don't even try to shame me over it, by the way. The challenge has a name. It is Mila and worth it. Eventually I'll get back to cooking healthy meals more often. In the meantime, ahoy with the frozen stuff!

Except that sometimes I buy a frozen burrito and realize it would be SO much better if it was made with fresher ingredients and such. That's how this happened.

It's a burrito with lime potatoes, black beans, and corn and OMG IT IS SO GOOD. I made a ridiculous quantity the second time I made them and Alexis and I have been managing to dine on them over and over again.

Because I froze some.

And THAT is how you take the shame out of frozen food!

Lime Potato, Corn, and Black Bean Burrito

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium white potatoes, diced
1/4 cup lime juice
1 small white onion, diced
2 tablespoons sugar
Cilantro to taste (I like A LOT of cilantro. It's cool if you don't.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn
Tortilla shells
Havarti cheese

1. We're going to precook the potatoes because all the cool kids are doing it. Throw the diced potatoes in a microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the potatoes and onion and cook until the onion is soft, stirring ocassionally to prevent burning. It takes somewhere around 7 minutes. You don't want the potatoes browned, by the way. Just soft.

3. Add in the lime juice and sugar (the sugar is there to cut out some of the bitter from the lime). You're adding liquid to oil, so be careful because it will spatter a bit.

4. Add the cilantro. Have I mentioned that I super love cilantro? While you're at it, add the salt as well. Salt is also on my besties list.

5. Add the corn and black beans. Cook for just 1-2 minutes or until the corn is warm.

6. Toss a few spoonfuls in a burrito shell along with some Havarti.

7. You should probably also have some chips and salsa. It's the right thing to do.

Swinger