Marvelous Mexican Meal

Chicken Enchiladas

3 cups cooked chicken
2 cups (8oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (4.5oz) can green chiles
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
8 flour tortillas
cooking spray
1 (8oz) container sour cream
1 (8oz) bottle salsa verde

Toppings: diced tomatoes, chopped avocado, chopped green onions, sliced olives, chopped cilantro

Mix first 5 ingredients. Spoon equal portions of mixture into tortillas and roll up. Arrange in a 9x13 lightly sprayed baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Stir together sour cream and salsa verde. Spoon over hot enchiladas, and sprinkle with toppings.

Alternative: Don't use toppings. Spoon sour cream and salsa verde over enchiladas. Top with cheddar cheese and pop back into the oven until melted.


Chiles Rellenos

3 poblano peppers
queso fresco (Ranchero is the brand I use. Found near the cream cheese in Wal-Mart.)
flour
3 eggs
oil

Char/roast the peppers until black. Place in a bag and let sweat for about 5 minutes. Take a knife and peel off the outer layer. Cut a slit down one side. (Some people don't take out the seeds, but I do.) Add cheese, then secure with toothpicks.

Place three egg whites in large bowl and mix with electric beater until thickening. Add egg yolks and mix more. It is all about the right consistency! Dip peppers in mixture and dust with flour. Add to a hot skillet and cook until batter turns golden brown.


Pico De Gallo

2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and chopped
3 ripe tomatoes on the vine, chopped
1/2 purple onion, chopped
handful of cilantro, chopped
juice of 1-2 limes
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve with chips.

Don't forget a Corona or Margarita to drink with your Marvelous Mexican Meal!

Bizzy Bee

The bees are out and buzzing around~that is one way that I know springtime is here! When I was little I loved to walk out into the yard full of the tiny white and pink flowers. I was guaranteed to step on a bee at least once every spring. Today at school I was walking around outside and two different types of bees buzzed by. A little girl in another class came running up saying she had been stung by a bee. She made a buzzing sound, laughed and then ran off. Oh the things kids can imagine!

I have been a busy bee the past few days. With the very anticipated arrival of the parents coming home, Bryan and I are constantly making lists, crossing things off, updating them more, and so on. Yesterday I cleaned out my closet. And Emily's closet. And the "Montana room" closet. I won't even say how much stuff I got out. I researched consignment shops online, made a list and my goal was to go after school today and not come home with anything. Didn't quite happen that way.

Some of the shops had closed down. A couple were just resale and not consignment. One did end up being pretty good. As a first time consigner I could list 15 articles of clothing, a couple of prom dresses, three belts and three purses. Another shop was not taking anything for two weeks due to the owner getting married this past Saturday. After all of that hard work I needed a break, so I headed over to good ole' TJMaxx.

The most exciting find of the day is my new watch! It is beautiful! It came with original box, all papers and price tag of $750 on it--which I must add I purchased for less than 1/12 the original price!

Our family is a sauce family. We love hot sauce! BBQ sauce, ketchup (Bryan's favorite), and any kind of sauce that can be whipped up to go with a meal. One of our favorite lines of sauce is Melinda's. If you are a sauce person, go to http://www.melindas.com/ and order some. There are all sorts of variations. Bryan's favorite is the Habanero Ketchup. Today at TJMaxx I found yummy Fire Roasted Slow-Roasted Habanero and Garlic Sauce and Chipotle Ketchup. I bought all that they had!

After my TJMaxx run and a quick bite at Chick-Fil-A I headed home. I've decided that on Saturday I will take the rest of my clothes to Plato's Closet and Buffalo Exchange while I am in Dallas. The good thing about both of them is they pay cash instantly!

Now I am off to clean again!

New Bazaar Cover

I'm not much of one to really care about the front cover of a magazine. That is an awful thing for me to say since I was an Advertising and Public Relations major in college! Of course the cover is what attracts people to grab it off the stands, but I never think too much about it. I just went to the mailbox and pulled out my new Harper's Bazaar. I LOVE the cover! It made me go WOW!

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

Last night Bryan's parents stopped by on their way back from Dallas to have dinner and spend the night with us. After debating for a few days over what to cook, Bryan suggested one of his favorites, Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash. A friend shared this recipe with me a couple of years ago. It has become a favorite of ours to eat when the weather is cold. (Yes, yesterday's cold weather counts.)


Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

3 acorn squash
5 ounces sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several dashes of hot pepper sauce to taste (Tabasco)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (or slices of Swiss)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop out seeds. Place face down on baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 45-minutes.
3. Meanwhile, coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until brown, 3-5 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper, cook until soft. 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salt and hot sauce, scraping up any brown bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until tomatoes are broken down, 10-12 minutes.
4. When the squash are tender, reduce oven temp to 325. Fill the squash with sausage mixture. Top with cheese. Place on the baking sheet and cook until heated though, 8-10 minutes.



Enjoy!

A Lilly Kind of Day

I awoke at 2am to the sound of rain pounding on the tin roof. I love that sound, but do not like storms at all. I can be a very light sleeper, and I tend to wake up at the slightest noise. On the other hand, Bryan can sleep though anything. I doubt he even knew it was raining. In fact, as he was walking out the door this morning he asked if he needed a rain jacket!

One of my friends told me once that even though I'm living in the boonies I never lack for good shopping. The Internet is one of the most wonderful inventions! (Even though I agree sometimes it can be one of the worst inventions, too.)

All this being said, I love being able to look out the window, see the dark sky, hear the rain, and flip open my computer screen to find vibrant Spring colors! Lilly Pulitzer can brighten even the dreariest of days. If any of you are experiencing a dull day, maybe these will add a little cheer in

your life!

Lots of you start out your day with coffee. I purchased Lilly thermal mugs from www.preppyprincess.com They are guaranteed to add color to your mornings!

I have really wanted a Murfee scarf ever since they came out. I think it would be a perfect addition to any wardrobe for a Spring day.

While browsing http://www.lillypulitzer.com/ this morning I came across this pattern. Every piece of clothing that is made with it is cute!

I think this pattern is simply sweet!

The swim collection this year is fabulous! There are so many cute patterns. This one is called Limeade Coral Me Crazy. My other favorite is the Lillys Pink Dirty Shirley.

I found tons of Lilly napkins and plates at TJMaxx about a month ago. The plan was to save them for warmer weather. I have to admit that I have used quite a few of them the past few weeks!
Have a great day and enjoy Lilly!

Crawfish Boil

Even though we live in the south, I never had crawfish until I went to college. Well, maybe I did in dishes, but not just straight crawfish. I asked my mom yesterday if she had ever had it and she quickly replied, "NO." I told her that when she came home we would have to have a boil so she could at least say she has had it. She has only been living in the south since the fifth grade, and I think that she gets educated.

All of that being said, Bryan and I had a crawfish boil at our house on Saturday. Two of our friends, Paul and Ashley (not married), both celebrated their birthday on Friday. Paul is from New Orleans, went to LSU, and is a huge fan of crawfish boils. His fiance, Danielle, bought him a large boiling pot and burner for his birthday. After school on Friday, Ashley, Danielle and I went to Shreveport and bought two sacks of crawfish and a sack of oysters.

The weather Friday was beautiful--in the 70s! On Saturday the temp dropped, it rained and got almost miserable before it started sleeting later in the night. We ended up setting up an awning outside one of the garage doors so that the boys could cook there. Tables were set up in the garage. Paul also char-grilled oysters. Some we just ate raw. We had ourselves a true crawfish boil! I think there ended up being 13 of us. All of our friends that came are people Bryan works with (and their spouses). Emily ended up coming, too. Oh, and I must add that we had an extra black lab and spaniel running around! We had lots and lots of fun!!

Happy Eating!!!

March Madness

Most of you know that there is this thing on TV going on right now that just happens to be called March Madness. Well, move over basketball because we've got our own March Madness going on! Last week at school we celebrated by dressing up in different themes every day.

Monday: Hat Day

Tuesday: Sunglasses Day

Wednesday: St. Patty's Day

Thursday: Sports Day


Friday: Hawaiian Day

I have to note that my class is the cutest 3-year-old class around! On Tuesday we went on a clover hunt--great pics from that day! We also had leprechaun traps set around the room, and on Wednesday got a visit from a very tricky one that got away, but left his footprints around the room (baby powder)!!

Here are a few pics from the clover hunt.

I hope you enjoy a little piece of how I spend my day!

Birthday Girl

Oh my goodness, I have so much to blog about! I think the easiest way is to do a couple of different posts on the different subjects. The most important will come first!

Drum roll....................................My sister's birthday! It was March 1st! I went to spend the day and night with her. She had to work, so I got to do some much needed shopping. I am a gift person. I LOVE gifts. Getting gifts. Giving gifts. I don't know which I love more! I had already gotten Em a nice little handful of things, but of course they just weren't enough. So, I made the rounds and went to Tulips, Scarlet and Beyond Cotton. I hit some fabulous sales and really racked up! Um...and I got myself a few things along the way. My sweet sister had pressies waiting for me at her house, too! We both love doing things for each other!

We had a huge dinner at Loca Luna. My aunt, Deatra, who lives in Florida just happens to share her birthday with Em! She was in town to celebrate, too. So for dinner it ended up being my Papa, Grandma, Mimi, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Buneva, Aunt Deatra, Bri, Chris, Em and myself. We had quite a crew! After dinner the four of us "kids" went out for a drink at Ciao Baci. It was a wonderful night had by all!

Happy birthday all month long, Em!!!

The first pic is when I took her coffee and a few presents to open at work. The next two are of her opening presents at home after dinner. The last one is of the two of us outside Ciao Baci.