In honor of the upcoming Cinco de Mayo holiday, the First of the Month Recipe series and the fact that this month’s guest blogger just. may. be. the cutest I’ve ever had (sorry ex-guest bloggers!) I present to you … Cole Moore-my 8-year-old nephew.
 

 
I’ve written extensively about Cole in the three years since I’ve started My Bella Vita and there is no denying that I not-so-secretly covet my sister’s son. In fact, I gushed about him so extensively in the beginning of my relationship with my husband that his friends thought I was lying to him and that Cole was, in fact, my child.
 
Like  many 8-year-old boys, Cole enjoys playing baseball and beating his high score on his Wii-but he also likes to cook. So please give a warm welcome to one of my favorite people in the world as he shares one of his favorite recipes.
 
Fiesta Taco Pizza – by Cole Moore
 

 
Hi, everybody.
 
Stitch is in the pictures because it is one of his recipes in the book; Disney’s The Magic Kitchen Cookbook.
 
Here are the ingredients:
>> 1 tomato
>> 1 onion
>> 12 ounces ground meat
>> 2/3 cup of salsa
>> 6 tostada shells
>> 1 cup shredded cheese
>> 1/2 to 1 cup shredded lettuce
 
Ok first we set the oven to 375 degrees.
 
We put the tomato and onion on the cutting board, we sharpened the knife and started cutting the tomato and onions.
 
We set the tomato aside for later.
 
Then we put the beef on the skillet and let it cook.  We broke up the meat with the wooden spoon and we put the skillet on the burner.  We turned the burner to medium heat and cooked it until the meat was brown and the onion was tender. It took about 8-10 minutes.
 
Then we turned off the burner and removed the skillet and then drained the meat and then put it back into the skillet.
 
We stirred 2/3 cup of salsa into the meat in the skillet.
 
We arranged the tostado shells on the baking sheet and put the beef mix on the shells and sprinkled it with cheese.  And then let it bake for 10 minutes.
 
We took it out of the oven and put lettuce and tomato on it.
 

 
We made 6 servings.
 
Think you and your kiddos would enjoy making recipes like these? Cole uses Disney’s The Magic Kitchen Cookbook, a 128-page, spiral-bound full-color cookbook where Disney characters show kids how to create healthy, low-fat meals and snacks.
 
Thank you, Cole for sharing these fiesta taco pizzas with us today. I hope you’ll make them for me on my next trip to Texas.
 
Buon Weekend!
 

 
With less than two weeks to finish buying gifts, wrapping presents and decorating the tree it might be hard to find time to bake all of your traditional homemade goodies.
 
Need some help?
 
This easy to whip up, no-bake Texas Mud recipe was a staple at my busy mom’s table and now it is global. My Calabrese hubby loves it, my English-speaking expat buddies love it, even my 10-year-old English student loves it.
 
And it isn’t it pretty?
 

 
Yum!
 

Texas Mud Dessert

(Serves 6)

 
Ingredients:
>> Vanilla pudding (instant, 2 cups)
>> * Whipping Cream (1 cup) / Container of Cool Whip
>> Oreo, or similarly yummy chocolate and cream cookies (10 ounces)
* We always use a regular-sized container of thawed Cool Whip in Texas, but I substitute whipping cream in Italy. It is much lighter with Cool Whip!
 
Directions:
 
1. If using whipping cream, whip the cream and set it aside.
 
2. Pour half of the pudding into a large bowl and crumple cookies, folding with a large spoon occasionally.
 
3. Slowly fold in the whipping cream. This dish should be very light, so be sure not to over-stir or mash the cookies.
 
4. Continue alternating the pudding and whipping cream until you have reached the desired consistency.
 
5. Pour into a serving bowl, crumble more cookies on top and decorate.
 
Enjoy!
 

 
In Italiano!
 
Ingredienti:
>> Budino al gusto vaniglia (450 ml)
>> Panna per dolci (200 ml)
>> Biscotti Oreo o Ringo (300 gr.)
 
Preparazione:
 
1. Montare la panna e metterla da parte.
 
2. Versare metà del budino dentro una ciotola e sminuzzare i biscotti.
 
3. Mescolare gentilmente con la panna, da fare con delicatezza per evitare di ridurre in poltiglia i biscotti.
 
4. Alternare budino e panna fin quando non sarà raggiunta una buona consistenza.
 
5. Versare in una ciotola, sminuzzare altri biscotti e decorare.
 

 
Buon Appetito!
 
What is your favorite holiday dessert? It is ok … you can name more than one. I won’t tell!
 
** Sila Fridays will return next week! **
 

 
It’s that time again. The wind is cooling Calabria, our long summer days have turned into 4:45 PM sunsets and fresh tomato salads are being replaced with warm, filling soups.
 
And for me that means dishing out my all-time favorite soup – Mexican Tortilla.
 

 
Long before I moved to southern Italy and started honing my culinary skills on helpless Italians, my mother bought me a book. Not just any book. A cookbook. And I love it. It was one of the few books that made it over on my first trip. It had a simple recipe for tortilla soup that I’ve slightly adapted and still use today.
 
Ingredients:
>> 2 cups of water
>> 1 cup chicken broth
>> 1/2 pound of skinless, boneless chicken cut into bite-size pieces
>> 1 11-ounce can of whole kernel corn, drained
>> 1 cup of salsa (you can use store-bought or homemade)
>> 3 cups broken tortilla chips
>> 1/2 cup shredded spicy cheese (either Monterrey Jack or Spicy Pecorino)
 
Directions:
 
1. In a large saucepan, combine water, chicken broth and chicken.
 
2. Boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes.
 
3. Add corn and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.
 
4. Stir in the salsa and heat through.
 
5. Serve topped with broken chips and grated cheese.
 

 
In Italiano
 
Ingredienti:
>> 350 millilitri di acqua
>> 235 millilitri di brodo di pollo
>> 500 gr di pollo tagliato a strisce
>> 300 gr scatoletta di mais
>> un bicchiere di salsa, comprata o fatta in casa.
>> 650 gr di tortilla chips
>> 100 gr di formaggio piccante grattugiato
 
Direzione:
 
1. In una casseruola larga, mettere l’acqua, il brodo di pollo, ed il pollo.
 
2. Portare ad ebollizione poi ridurre la fiamma e far cuocere a fuoco lento, con il coperchio, per 10/12 minuti.
 
3. Aggiungere il mais e, togliendo il coperchio, far cuocere a fuoco lento per 5 minuti.
 
4. Aggiungere la salsa riscaldarla.
 
5. Serviere ricoperto di tortilla chips e formaggio grattugiato.
 
Buon appetito!