This weekend was very productive for the most part. Friday may have been the exception though. See that whole box of greasy fast food? Yeah, John and I ate most of it…and I am a little bit ashamed :)
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| There is definitely a fat girl living in me sometimes :) |
Moving on…John didn’t have to work again, which is nice. It also means he has to find some sort of project because he likes to be busy. He woke up on Saturday morning and while I was out running he whipped up a batch of chicken and waffles. Oh yeah…they were thebomb.com! So good.
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| So pretty....mmmm! |
After breakfast I hopped in the shower and when I got out, I could hear some loud noise. I immediately freaked out thought the washer was on the fritz or something since I had just started it. Nope…turns out John decided to install can lighting in our kitchen on a whim. Here are some pictures of the project.
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| Fixtures we replaced |
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| Oh so messy! |
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| John working away |
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| Nice step stool |
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| Yeah...it is a little scary, but he wouldn't let me buy him a real step stool |
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| holes in the ceiling |
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| Finished product |
The project ended up being an all day event, but I think they turned out nice. We still have a few more to add, but it is an improvement from the light fixtures we had previously.
While John was working away, I thought it would be fun to prepare a little Mexican fiesta complete with chips, salsa, and guacamole (homemade of course), white chicken enchiladas, beans, and Mexican rice. This project ended up being pretty close to an all day event as well. BUT is was a great night…although John didn’t last too long because he had been working on his project all day and he was pooped. Good thing we had friends there to keep me company. Here are a few pics:
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| I hurt my knee running and the stupid heat pad wouldn't stay on - problem solved with electrical tape :) |
AND here are some recipes from the Mexican Fiesta:
Salsa
- 5-6 medium to large tomatoes (I use the tomatoes on the vine from the grocery store)
- ½ onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2-3 jalapenos (depending upon how spicy you like it you may need to take the seeds out of them)
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- Juice of 2 limes
- Salt to taste
Rough chop all of your veggies. With the food processor on low, add in your veggies in this order - onion, garlic, jalapenos, cilantro, then tomatoes. Process until just combined. Cut your limes in half and squeeze into the salsa. Add salt to taste. Note: If you do not have a food processor, then you have a lot of chopping to do! Dice all ingredients, place them in a bowl, then finish with lime and salt. Holy moly that seems like a lot of work--just go buy a food processor :)
Mexican Rice
- 1 cup long grain rice
- ½ medium onion diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno diced
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 2-3 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
Coat the bottom of a saucepan with olive oil. Over medium high heat, sauté your rice for about 3 minutes stirring continually. Add in the onion, garlic, jalapeno, red bell pepper, cumin, salt and pepper, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat from 15 minutes. Add in the cilantro and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. I didn’t do it, but this would have been great with a little squeeze of lime too.
White Chicken Enchiladas - these are so good - I think I even impressed myself with this one!
Marinade
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenders
- 1 large jalapeno
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- ½ medium onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ cup of Olive Oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Filling
- Grilled chicken from above cut into bite sized pieces
- ½ onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ½ package low fat or fat free cream cheese
- 1 can diced green chilies
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Additional cumin to taste
Sauce
- 1 large bunch cilantro
- 2/3 cup Mexican crema (you could use half and half or whole cream in place of this)
- 2/3 cup low fat or fat free sour cream
- 1/3-1/2 cup salsa verde
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 jalapeno
- Juice from 1 lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
To Assemble
- 2 ½ cups Mexican cheese (use whatever you want, I used a combination of habanero cheddar and pepper jack) separated (1 cup and 1 ½ cup)
- 6 large flour tortillas (you could also use corn if you prefer - You will need at least double)
Since these are semi-complicated, I will tell you how to make them in parts:
Chicken
To make these, start by marinating the chicken then grill it using the method found here. Once grilled, cut into bite sized pieces.
Filling
Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil. Over medium heat, sauté your onions, garlic, and jalapeno until translucent. Add in the grilled chicken and green chilies. Turn heat to medium low and stir in the cream cheese. Once melted, check your seasoning and add in cumin and salt and pepper as needed. Set the mixture aside.
Sauce
Combine ingredients in a food processor. Process until combined and smooth.
To assemble
Spray a 2 quart oblong casserole dish with cooking spray. Lightly coat the bottom of the dish with a scoop of the sauce (I would say ½ cup). Assemble the enchiladas by adding a heaping scoop full of the filling to each tortilla. Top with a small amount of cheese and roll up each individually. Place in the casserole dish seam side down. Top with the remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until cheese is nice and bubbly and brown.
Yes, these are super labor intensive - but they are totally worth it! If you are going to make these, I would consider making extra and freezing them for later. If you don’t like spicy stuff, which these were not that spicy - then take the seeds out of your jalapenos or don’t use them at all.
OK…are you thinking at this point is this post about done? Don’t worry…almost there!
Sunday, it was John’s parents mission farewell. In true Hailee and John fashion, we were running behind, but thankfully we made it just in time to see them speak. Afterward, we went over to John’s parents and spent the day with his family. It was nice because we don’t get to see his whole family very often. Oh yeah…I don’t think I have ever mentioned the mission thing before. John’s parents are going to St. Petersburg, Russia on April 2nd. They will be there for 18 months! It seems like a long time, but they are excited to go. Their Russian is also coming along very nicely.
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