Monday, August 8, 2011

Menu Mondays: Chilaquiles

Last night over dinner, my friends and I discussed my new found love of trying new recipes.  Since all of us are trying to eat a little healthier, it was suggested I pop some of these babies up on my blog!  The name was thrown out quickly for "Menu Mondays,"  and here it is. 

So today - one of the new favorites in my house: Chilaquiles.  While this is traditionally considered a Mexican breakfast dish, I think it's the perfect dish to serve for dinner.  For these hot summer days, serve it with a side of fruit.  Also, serve that side of fruit with some sangria for a perfect dinner.  The original recipe came from www.myrecipes.com, but I've edited a little bit.


Chilaquiles
Calories: 293 per serving

Ingredients

  • Cooking spray
  • 1 cup thinly sliced onion
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 (7 3/4-ounce) can salsa de chile fresco (such as El Pato) ****I just use whatever salsa that we have in the fridge****
  • 15 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
  • 1 cup shredded queso blanco (about 4 ounces)  **Again, whatever I happen to have in the fridge, or a mexican blend of cheese from the store.***

Preparation

* For the chicken, bust out your crockpot in the morning.  Put your chicken breasts in there with a cup of water, taco seasoning, and salt and pepper, and whatever the hell else you feel like throwing on the chicken, and let it cook.  When it's cooked, shred it, let it sit in its own juices for a little while, then add to the mix.

  • Preheat oven to 450°.
  • Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chicken; cook 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in beans. Add broth and salsa to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
  • Place half of tortilla strips in bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of chicken mixture over tortillas; top with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Pour broth mixture evenly over chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until tortillas are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Wraps that man around wtih her apron strings...

#28.  Make an apron.

First of all, the lyrics I used for the title are from "St. Louis Woman," which my great-grandmother used to sing when she washed dishes, cooked, whatever.  She loved this song so much, I actually sang it at her funeral.  She was such a wonderful woman, and I hope I can be half the woman that she was.


But on to the aprons - this one was so much fun!!  Jenica and Steffi also had this on their lists, and I have the only sewing machine between us girls, so we all got together and tackled this.  Wine was of course involved (Did you read my favorite cocktail post?), and our aprons each reflect our personality I think.  

*Disclaimer: Yes, the colors in the room we're in are horrible.  No, I didn't pick them.  It's a rental house - I deal.

This was the halfway point:
Jenica and I working on a pocket:
 
 Jenica sews!
 Steffi sews!

 Ignore that this is sideways, but this is my Desperate Housewives pose.  Note the wine.

The finished project, with Cone Fred.




Monday, August 1, 2011

We'll fling our green and gold afar...

Warning:  Shameless Plug Ahead!

Even though I work 15 jobs or so, I do have activities outside of my job.  One of my favorites?  The Baylor Women's Council of Tarrant County!  Our sole purpose is to raise scholarship money for Baylor students.  Why am I so passionate about that?  Because without scholarship money, I couldn't have gone to Baylor!  Besides raising funds for students, we have a lot of fun, too.  We have several great events throughout the year, and I've built some great relationships with some really fun women!

Our new year starts today, so it's time to become a member, or to renew your membership if you were one before.  It's only $25, and it takes a total of two minutes to complete.  So, head to this link, join, and let me know that you did!