Chicken Enchiladas

I was introduced to this recipe by a roommate in college, and have made it so regularly over the years that I don't have it written down anywhere. It's high time to change that! I normally try to cook from scratch as much as possible, but these enchiladas are true comfort food, and except for the time it takes to cube or shred the chicken, it doesn't take long to throw together thanks to the short list of ready-made ingredients.

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I like free range. What can I say? It's the granola girl in me.)
2 onions
1 small can of fire-roasted diced green chiles
8 oz sour cream (I use low fat)
1 can of cream of chicken soup (I use low fat)
6-8 flour tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
1 small can sliced black olives
grated cheese (cheddar or jack works well)
salt and pepper to taste

Prep
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the chicken breasts and 1 quartered onion. Return to a boil for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and cube or shred chicken. Set aside and discard the onion.

Finely dice the second onion and saute with some olive oil (in the same pot used to boil chicken) until the onions are translucent. Add cubed/shredded chicken, chiles, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup. Stir to combine.

At this point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a rectangular baking dish. Spoon the chicken filling into tortilla and gently place enchilada in the baking dish, folded side down. Continue until baking dish is full. Cover generously with enchilada sauce, then sprinkle with cheese and top with olives.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the edges of the tortillas are starting to crisp. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. (I like to serve it with some black or refried beans.)

Sorry the lack of photos. It doesn't photograph well, but it makes a mean leftover! We feasted on them for the last two nights and I still have a little leftover for lunch. Enjoy and please keep your fingers crossed that we pass inspection today!

The Great Purge Marches On

In an effort to be ready to move in a mere 25 days, I have committed to taking stock and clearing out one kitchen cabinet per day. On Saturday morning (before 7 am no less), I tackled the two cabinets that store dry goods and function as our pantry. First I cleared out all of the expired goods, which were about 8 cans and jars total. Then I took stock of what I could use to make meals in the next 4 weeks and, combined with what's in the freezer and the fridge, came up with dinner menu. (Please excuse the spelling. Ironic, I know; the English teacher that can't spell!)

Up for this week are chicken enchiladas, split pea soup, and Mediterranean tuna noodle casserole, as well as some chili that my mother-in-law is graciously making us. I am committed to buying only the ingredients we desparately need to complete each meal, which will most likely mean tweaking recipes slightly to use what we already have so nothing goes to waste and we don't have to move it. Perhaps these variations will prove to be even better than the original recipes I have been using for years!

It's a busy week for me. I am back to work today after a glorious 3 weeks off, tomorrow we have our home inspection, and for those of you familiar with the BTSA (otherwise known as the bane of the new teacher's existence), I have my mid-year check due on Friday. Agh! One day and one item on the checklist at a time. Hey, at least tonight's dinner is already fixed. Yay for leftover chicken enchiladas!

Fashion Friday: Anthropologie

Today is my last workday off before I head back to school on Monday and the new semester begins. In honor of this last day of freedom and because I was in the neighborhood, I wandered into Anthropologie today in search of this:

The Wakeful Ikat sheet set from their spring line of bedding.

Okay, at this point I should probably confess that Anthro is my mecca for all things fashion and decor. Seriously. It is. I adore the touches of feminine whimsy in all of their products and their innovative cuts, colors, and fabrics; but more than that, their wares make an unhip girl like me feel simultaneously on-trend and timeless, and always unique.

But back to the sheets...I adore their ikat pattern and color scheme. When I ran across them online, I knew that they could be the inspiration for the color palette of our new home. I am loving the soft grey base with bolder pops of blue, green, yellow, and pewter. I figure if a napkin can inspire the Petersik's color palette in their new place, why can't bedding be the starting point for me?

Unfortunately, my local Anthro store hasn't received the new line of bedding yet, but I am hoping I am as enchanted with these sheets in person as I am online. And please keep your fingers crossed that they eventually go on sale...

Luckily, I was able to find something I like...

The fluttering wrap tunic, which I picked up in this color above, called "soft red." It's really much closer to Pantone's color of the year, Honeysuckle, than it is to red or the coral (which is how it reads on my screen).

I'm pretty pleased with myself for embracing this color, which just two days ago I admitted to being wary of. However, my ways haven't changed too much; I bought the same top in the other color it comes in - "khaki" - which, as a muddy grey-green, is well within my comfort zone. The top was 50% off, and since I had some gift cards left over from my birthday and Christmas (thanks Mom and Pam), these beauties were free to me! The longer cut, flattering wrap style, and sumptuous fabric and colors have me head-over-heels, and I am sure they will get lots of use. 

In other news, things are humming right along with our escrow. No new news to report on that front, but I did bring my purged clothing to the Wardrobe to consign. They took 20 of my 25 items, and were very friendly. My clothes have 45 days to sell before they are donated, so it's a win-win either way. I will keep you posted on the outcome. 

It's BACK On Like Donkey Kong

Well folks, we got a surprise text yesterday. The offer that edged us out on our first love fell through, so our runner's up offer was accepted! There I was, grading away in a coffee shop, when I got the news. Of course I ran outside immediately to call the hubs and the parents. I could not have been more excited; my voice wavered so much that Ryan asked if I was crying - which I wasn't - but there just might have been some hopping and twirling involved. People told us not to lose hope, that offers often fall through, and that this is how they got into their homes - I just didn't believe them.

So the whirlwind begins. Our agent is actually out of town until Friday, so her boss is filling in till she returns. There are papers to sign with them, and then we meet with our lender this afternoon. We are both a little super nervous about crunching the numbers and meeting a mortgage every month, but we figure there is no time like the present (before we have kids), and so we are going for it.

It is a 30 day escrow, so things will move swiftly once we get the green light. There are a slough of inspections to arrange and pass, and a mountain of paperwork to get through before we close. So it is definitely not our casa yet. Anything can go wrong at this point. But no matter what happens, I am chalking it up to a learning experience. And I will share these teachable moments along the way. Any advice for us newbies?

Visions of Spring Dance In My Head

I realize that this blog has been woefully short on fashion, and I think that's because this cold and rainy time of year leaves me feeling pretty uninspired in that department. As the sun came out of hiding yesterday and the temperature slid up by about 10 degrees, I found myself craving spring and all the inspiring colors and fashions that come with that season. And I guess the gals at Rue did too, because their blog today is devoted to spring palettes for fashion and decor.

Their muse? The spring 2011 J.Crew line. J.Crew is one of my favorites; I love their sweaters, tops, and dresses especially, and I love that their clothes work for both school and my life outside the classroom.

Here's what I am loving about this pic: the bold yellow. Nothing says spring to me like a sunny yellow, and this is a color I'm particularly drawn to, as anyone who has seen my living room can attest to. I love how both J.Crew and Rue have paired this yellow with soft neutrals so that the canary really sings, so to speak. This color is a staple of my spring and summer wardrobe, and while I often pair it with a crisp white, I will play around with some creamer whites and camels once spring blooms. And I am just daydreaming about how to use this color in our dream home's palette...

And then there are the moody blue grays of this pic tempered with some neutral silvers, tans, and creams.  I painted our bedroom a color similar to the second swatch from the top (inspired by Young House Love's former bedroom), and I love how the color oscillates between grey, blue - and even green - as the light changes. Although I love living in this color, I don't often wear it, which I seek to change come spring.

Pink is a color I seldom wear because it reads as too precious to me. Being blonde, I think I am also terrified I will look Barbie-ish in it. However, I love pops of coral, both at home and in clothes. And since Pantone's color of 2011, Honeysuckle, is a saturated pink, I don't think it's going away anytime soon. Time to embrace it. Like to good people at J.Crew, I will tone down its princess-y-ness with tougher elements like those gladiator sandals and black Ray-Bans.

Are you ready for spring? What colors are you dying to wear or decorate with?

New Years Resolutions

I'm back with some resolutions for 2011. In reality, they are more projects that I would like to accomplish before the dawn of 2012 than resolutions. Without further ado...

• Find our *dream* home (something with good bones that needs to be brought into this century would be ideal)
• Post 5 times a week to this baby! 
• Learn to refinish furniture...
• And then actually refinish our lovely mid-century modern furniture
• Purge (and then donate or sell) things that we don't use or need
• Re-learn how to sew

More personal resolutions are to find the ever-elusive work/life balance, buy produce and meats from our local farmer's market more regularly, make exercise a priority during the work week (notice that I am too wimpy to declare that I will exercise at 5 am before work, which would ensure this actually happening), and train for the 10.6 mile run that I signed up for in the late spring. 

I think the above should keep me busy this year! How about you? What do you hope to accomplish in 2011?

New Years Recipes

I have taken the weekend to wallow in my funk over losing out on our first home offer. Delayed reaction, I suppose. I didn't post or really workout (except for a sweet afternoon walk in the rain with the hubs), and I barely cleaned, but I did do some reading and eating.

I have lost myself in Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, which I am loving *almost* as much as Freedom. This is probably just the English teacher in me, but there is nothing in the world quite like a good book...

Except for some killer crab and double-layer brownies! So without further ado, here is what we grubbed on to ring in the 2011. It might just become a tradition! 

Dungeness Crab

Serves two people, so just double or triple the recipe as needed! 

Ingredients

1/4 c butter 

1/4 c olive oil

2 T minced garlic

1 T minced shallot

1 1/2 t dried crushed red pepper

2 large Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned, and cracked (about 4 1/2 lbs)

2 T chopped fresh thyme, divided

2 T chopped fresh parsley, divided

Salt and pepper to taste

2 blood or regular oranges to yield: 

1/2 c blood or regular orange juice

1 t finely grated blood or regular orange zest

Prep

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Melt butter with oil in a heavy large ovenproof dutch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, shallot, and dried crushed red pepper. Add crabs and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Sprinkle one tablespoon each chopped thyme and parsley over crabs. Stir to combine. Place in oven and roast crabs until heating through, stirring once, about 12 minutes. 

Using tongs, transfer crabs to platter and loosely cover with aluminum foil. Add orange juice and zest to remaining sauce; boil until sauce is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over crabs. Sprinkle with remaining herbs and serve with a simple salad and some warm crusty sourdough bread.

Recipe and image courtesy of Epicurious

And now for some dessert! 

Espresso-Shortbread Brownie Bars

Ingredients

SHORTBREAD CRUST

1 stick plus 2 T unsalted butter, softened or melted

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c sugar

1 T finely ground espresso beans

1/2 t kosher salt

BROWNIE TOPPING

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 T unsweetened cocoa

1 t kosher salt

1/2 t baking powder

1 stick plus 6 T unsalted butter 

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 c sugar

1 T pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

Prep

1. Make the shortbread crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine the butter with the flour, sugar, ground espresso, and salt; pulse until coarse crumbs form. Press the crumbs into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish to form a crust. Freeze for 5 minutes. Prick all over with a fork and bake in the lower third of the oven for 30 minutes, until the crust is golden and cooked through.
2. Prep brownie topping: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder; set aside. In a double boiler, melt the butter with the chocolate over low heat. Remove the double boiler from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined, then stir in the eggs. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the brownie batter is smooth. 
3. Bake: Pour the brownie batter over the shortbread crust, smoothing the surface. Bake for 30 minutes, until the brownie top is dry and lightly cracked around the edges and an inserted fork comes out clean; the center will still be a bit soft. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. 

Recipe courtesy of Food & Wine, May 2010. 

Serve warm with some vanilla bean ice cream! Perfection.

Happy cooking and eating! I'll be back tomorrow with my resolutions for 2011. Stay tuned!