Tasty Tuesday

I have been sick of getting a taste of warm weather then have it turning cold again, so I am hoping our cold weather spells will be a thing of the past very soon. I am also sick of using a lot of my wintery recipes (soups, stews, casseroles, etc.) and I am ready to use more of my springy/summery ones like cool salads with fresh ingredients paired with something that has been grilled...which is why I have been on a Tasty Tuesday hiatus. Anyways, for some reason when it starts to get warm I crave Mexican food. I love love love Mexican food and I think the fresh ingredients like cilantro, tomatoes, and limes feel spring like to me so the next batch of recipes are going to be some of my favorite Mexican recipes. Today we will start out with my favorite Chicken Enchilada recipe. I love this one because you can omit things or add things and it still tastes great. Ole!

Chicken Enchiladas
Julie Badger Jensen

2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup sour cream
1 can chopped green chilies
1 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
10 flour tortillas
1 can mild enchilada sauce

Combine chicken, sour cream, and green chilies, set aside. In small pan saute onions in butter until golden. Add onions, salt, and 2 cups cheese to chicken mixture. Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce and spoon 1/2 cup of chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla. Roll up and place close together in a greased 9x13 pan. After you have all the enchiladas in the pan pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining 2 cups of cheese. Bake uncovered 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Makes 10 enchiladas.

*I have used both green and red enchilada sauce so its just a matter of preference. I have also made it without the onions and they are great that way too. I have also used cheddar instead of jack cheese. You can pretty much customize it to fit what you like!

Next Tuesday: Black Bean and Corn Salad (I almost always make this to go with my enchiladas!)

Yee Haw!!

Ride 'em cowboy!

Hangin' with the Pace's

A couple weekends ago we got together with our friends the Pace's. They used to live in our neighborhood on the road behind us, moved to Arizona for school, then came back up here with a job offer when he was done. We always have a blast hanging out with them, and this time we headed to Boondocks to play, followed by dinner at Cafe Rio. After we went to their house for fondue, then like always the night ended with the kids running around playing, us girls chatting, and they boys Rock Banding it up! (It's an unspoken given between Chris and Joel that Chris brings his drums for Rock Band everytime we get together!)

Quick Recap: Easter!

We had a fun-filled Easter weekend, and since I am feeling like a woman of few words right now, I will give it to you in a quick recap:

-Friday Dawson got this in the mail from my family...it included Ice Age, a toy car, and of course, candy!

-Saturday my sister Missy and I took Dawson to Wheeler Farm for their Easter Carnival they had there. It was crowded, but we did the bounce house, ate cotton candy, saw the bunny himself (who he loved this year!), got a streamer wand, saw the big barn, rode a tractor, and saw many animals. He has loved cows lately so when we saw the baby cow and it licked his hand and mooed in his face, I thought Dawson was gonna faint from sheer excitement. After the carnival we returned home and had Christopher's family over for an Easter dinner of ribs (Christopher is an expert rib cooker), potato salad, chips, pistachio salad, and brownie sundaes...yum!



-Saturday night Christopher, Dawson, my sister Missy, and I colored Easter eggs. Dawson couldn't get enough of the stickers, and decided to cover his egg in them.


-Sunday was filled with finding Easter baskets, going to church, then heading over to the Olsen's for Easter dinner. There was even an egg hunt for Dawson accompanied by a candy bar hunt for us big kids. The food was fabulous, as well as the people we were with!



Overall Easter Holiday Rating: A+++

A Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

A couple weekends ago was a birthday, and I must say it was a wonderful one indeed! I got breakfast in bed, my house cleaned, and an array of gifts that I have been loving! I got to spend my birthday day with Christopher and Dawson just hanging out, and that night we had Chinese and cake. The next night we went out to dinner to Cheesecake Factory with Christopher's family and had a delicious dinner with a yummy slice of cheesecake in the end. Most of all I just feel so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends in my life who made it a point to tell me Happy Birthday via facebook, email, phone call, or in person. As I get older I have noticed that it's not how I spend my birthday or what I get but it's the who that really makes a great birthday. PS...I had my ob appointment today and everything is looking good with the babe and I must say I am excited to be in double digits now on my countdown instead of triple!

I Love It!

...and that's all I have to say about that!

Catch Up: The Living Planet Aquarium

Two weekends ago Christopher was home all day Saturday so we decided we wanted to go do something fun. Dawson has really been into animals lately, always pretending he is this type of animal or that. We didn't want to head all the way up to the zoo, so we decided to go to the Living Planet Aquarium. It's not a big aquarium, but it's a good size and they just recently added an Amazon section with baby crocs and snakes and much to my dismay some spiders...yuck! It was a perfect little activity and Dawson loved seeing the sharks and fish. They even have a cool touch pond area where you can touch stingrays and various other sea creatures. The best part is, it's $8 for adult admission, or you can get a year long aquarium pass to come as much as you want for $16! Hello, how can you beat that?? Dawson is free until he is 3, and then a year long pass for him is $12. So we went ahead and got passes because if we go one more time it's paid it off. I love sweet deals! You can check it out at www.thelivingplanet.com.