Two-Bean and Corn Salad

I've always been a little stuck about what to serve with Mexican dishes like the enchiladas I posted earlier this week.  Rice?  Re-fried beans?  Eh, okay but neither of those options get me really excited.

Then I found this recipe (also on Epicurious).  

YES!  

I'll never have to wonder what to serve with Mexican dishes again.  

It was so flavorful, and so easy.  It made a perfect side with Mexican food and I'm envisioning it at a lot of hamburger and hot dog cookouts this summer as well.  

Two-Bean and Corn Salad

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 15 1/2-ounce can Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 15 1/2-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained
• 3 celery stalks, chopped (I left these out)
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 medium-size red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 small jalapeño chilies, seeded, chopped

Whisk oil, vinegar, and cumin in large bowl to blend. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper. Let stand at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours, tossing occasionally.

Cheese/Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce

Mexican food.

This is something I did not have a lot of growing up in New England.  Rhubarb, meat and potatoes, muffins...yes.  Enchiladas, flautas, burritos...no.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as the avocado in the world until I went off to college.  What a pleasant surprise. :)

Texas would never be my first choice in places to live if the seminary wasn't here.  But I have to give this to Dallas: holy guacamole! :)

Yes, it's over 100 degrees in the summer and you don't want to leave your house from the end of May to the end of September.  But every restaurant you go to (almost) brings out tons and tons of chips and fresh salsa.  And it's so amazing.  I'm pretty sure it's the Tex-Mex that makes life worth living even in the summer here in Dallas. :)

Our favorite of favorite Tex-Mex restaurants in Dallas (we have several) has to be Chuy's.  We love that place.  And my favorite thing on their menu is their Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Enchiladas.  Words cannot describe how yummy they are.

It's been my dream to replicate these enchiladas, because we probably won't live in Dallas forever and whenever we leave I know I am going to miss them.  So that's what I was going for with this recipe...the recipe looked like it might come out tasting similar.

It wasn't super close to the Chicka Chicka Boom Booms, the flavor is pretty different, but these were still REALLY good.  I think they will be close enough to do the trick when Chuy's isn't available.  I'm definitely keeping this recipe.  (Which, by the way, I found on Epicurious.)

It's not exactly what you would call heart healthy, but you don't think about your heart when you eat Tex-Mex.  Only your soul.  ;)

Cheese/Chicken Enchiladas 
with Green Sauce

Sauce

• 1/2 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1/2 4-ounce can diced green chilies, drained
• 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Enchiladas

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 12 6-inch corn tortillas
• 3 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• Shredded Chicken (optional)

• 1/2 cup sour cream

Sauce:

Cook spinach according to package instructions. Drain well. Set aside. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add flour and stir mixture 2 minutes; do not brown. Gradually whisk in whipping cream and milk. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, cilantro, green onion, chilies, cumin, coriander and red pepper. Puree in batches in processor until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.) 

Enchiladas:

Heat oil in heavy small skillet over medium-high heat. Using tongs, briefly dip each tortilla in oil and heat to soften, about 15 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels and drain. Combine cheeses in large bowl; set aside 1 1/2 cups for topping. Combine onion and cilantro in small bowl. Place 1/4 cup cheese mixture in center of 1 tortilla. Spoon 2 teaspoons onion mixture over and some chicken chicken if adding meat. Roll up tortilla. Place seam side down in large glass baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, chicken, cheese and onion, using 1/4 cup cheese for each. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) 

Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir sour cream into sauce; pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with reserved 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake until cheese melts and enchiladas are heated through, about 25 minutes.

Welcome Home, Courtney & Justin!!!

Okay I promised some more tex-mex recipes this week, and they're coming, but I had to take this opportunity to say WELCOME HOME to my sister and brother-in-law! 

Their plane is probably landing as I type this...I just talked to my mom and dad who are  happily waiting for them at the airport in Hartford, CT. 

They're coming home from Indonesia for a few months to have their Baby Boy who is due in June.  We couldn't be more excited!

I still won't get to see Courtney for another month, which is a bummer.  But still...it's always nice to be on the same continent.  :)

If you want to see the latest from them check out their blog, here.

Welcome Back to America, Courtney and Justin! 

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Salsa Josue

Last weekend we had some good friends over for dinner and we played this game of...Puerto Rico...which I still don't really get.  

Josh and I were on a team together and unfortunately we came in last.  

The six of us were all matched up to be in the same spiritual formations group at the beginning of Josh's first semester here in seminary and we're so thankful for that.  We've been close friends ever since.  

Yeah, we love these people.  Even though they like to kill us at games like this. :)

I tried out some new Tex-Mex recipes on them when they came over this time and they approved them; they said they were definitely blog-worthy.  

So this week I'll share them with you, too!

This first one isn't a new recipe, though, and I didn't make it.  Josh is the salsa expert in our house and he makes the best home made salsa ever.  

Step aside, Ortega and Pace.  

Let me introduce you to Salsa Josue.

(Is that how you say "Joshua" in Spanish???  I never took Spanish.) 

Salsa Josue

4 tomatoes, sliced

1/4 sweet onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic

juice from 1 lime

cilantro

1 tsp. cumin

Serrano pepper...just a little bit

pinch of sugar

salt, to taste

Combine everything in blender and blend just till combined.   

DIG IN!

Dutch Baby with Lemon Sugar (Happy Easter!)

I have been thinking about this recipe for weeks...I knew I wanted to make it for Easter breakfast.  

Yay, Easter finally arrived!  

I found the recipe on Epicurious a couple of years ago and have made it several times.  It's delicious.  The lemon zest in the sugar topping just gives this dutch baby something unexpected and fresh and extra special. 

Special enough for a special Easter breakfast!

Enjoy!

Oops how did that get in there?!

 

Dutch Baby with Lemon Sugar

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes
• 2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• Accompaniment: lemon wedges & fresh berries

Put 10" cast iron skillet (or pie plate) on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Stir together sugar and zest in a small bowl. 

Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and frothy, then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more (batter will be thin). 

Add butter to hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat. Add batter and immediately return skillet to oven. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 25 minutes. 

Serve immediately, topped with lemon sugar and berries.

Happy Easter!

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."

Matt. 28:6

Easter Cookies...it's the thought

 

I really thought my new flower cookie stencils were going to be the key to creating beautiful, easy Easter cookies this year.  

What could be simpler than using a stencil, right?  

WRONG!

It's way harder than I thought.

I even watched a tutorial online beforehand, I let my base coat dry overnight, and I tried about 7 different frosting consistencies for the stenciling...but still...

Not the cinch I thought it was going to be.  

It's hard to keep the stencil flat with only one hand, it's hard to keep it from slipping, it's hard to get the frosting the right consistency so that it doesn't run under the edges of the design (too thin) but also doesn't form peaks when you lift the stencil (too thick).

So I've turn my cookies into an inspirational message for you all.  You're welcome. :)

The road to perfect Easter cookies is marked with good intentions.

 Beauty is all in the eyes of the beholder.

It's the thought that counts.

If at first you don't succeed 

try, try again.

Blue Ribbon Cookie of the Day (last and most successful attempt)

You have to admit that, gloopy as they are up close, they do look pretty all together on the plate.

So maybe I'll give cookie stenciling one more try.  

If anyone has any advice PLEASE let me know.

Happy Saturday, Everyone!

The 30 Years Before the Cross

 I just recently started reading through the book of Luke in the Bible.  My thought was to read it in preparation for Easter, but I'm nowhere near close to the Resurrection and Easter is now 4 days away.

I just finished reading about Jesus' birth in the stable in Bethlehem and I'm now at the part where He is 12 years old and Joseph and Mary lose track of Him and have to search for Him and finally find Him hanging out in the temple, "sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking  them questions" (Luke 2:46).

I have 21 chapters to go before I get to the Easter Story.

So, after reading the first two chapters of Luke in anticipation of Easter, here's the question I wrote in my journal this week:

"Why did God send Jesus as a baby?" 

Because if it were me I would have just beamed him down to earth at age 33 or however old He was when He went to the cross...when it was the right time for Him to do what He came to do.  

I would have gotten straight to the main point.

Because that was the  main purpose in Him coming to this earth, right?  For Him to die on the cross to take the punishment for our sins...and then to rise from the dead to show that He is victorious even over sin and death?  Yes!

So why the manger?  Why the 12 year old visiting the temple?  Why all those "silent" years between that visit to the temple and the next time we see Him, when John the Baptist baptizes Him and He is probably around 30 years old? All we know about those years is that Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Like 2:52).

God always has reasons.  And I think He had a lot more in mind than simply giving us a reason to decorate Christmas trees 2000 years later.  :)

I don't know all of the reasons why.  Here are a few that come to mind right away:

Jesus came as a baby and grew up on earth so that we could more fully relate to Him...who is fully God but also fully man.  To show Christ's humility and submission to His Father, that He would humbly live a fully human life on this earth.  To prepare the public for what was coming.  To fulfill prophecies that the Messiah would be the Seed of Abraham, from the line of David.  So that He could be called Immanuel, which means "God with us."  So that He could sympathize with our weaknesses.

What is important is that there are reasons.

God is not in a hurry.  He's not in a rush.

He allows things to seep.  To marinate.  To mature.  To ripen.  To unfold.

We live in a culture where we microwave hot tea.  We buy pre-seasoned meats so we won't have to wait for them to marinate.  We pick fruits when they are still green and add chemicals to make them ripen at just the right time.  We are so efficient.

We want everything when we want it, how we want it.  And we can often get it that way.

I do, too.  I want everything when I want it, how I want it.  I don't like to wait.  I don't like it when I can't grasp the future.  I tend to want to speed through today so I can get to tomorrow.

But God's plans unfold slowly.

He shows us beauty and mysteries along the way.

He tears us down, He builds us back up to make us stronger.

He prepares us.

He prepares others.

The path is just as important as the destination.

God is all about the process.

He is going in an ultimate direction, to an ultimate end; He has a plan.

But He's not in a hurry.

I don't know if I'll make it all the way to Luke 24 by Sunday or not, but I think God already gave me from Luke 2 an important reminder that I needed this Easter season. I know the Big Event (the Resurrection) is coming.  But there are reasons for the chapters leading up to it.

And there are reasons for the chapters we're living right now. 

Many of us are going about our everyday tasks waiting for the next "big thing" to happen in our lives.  And ultimately, we're waiting for the next "Big Event" in history, which is Jesus coming back again.  (This time not as a baby but as Risen King!)

There is a plan in our waiting for Him today.

God has plans for my future, but He also has plans for me where I am right now.

Tomorrow will come, but there is a reason for today.

A Little Box of Sunshine

I'm (mostly) recovered from my 24-hour bout with the flu.  It hit me hard but thankfully it didn't last long!

Today I've still been dragging a little bit but we got a fun package in the mail from Vermont that helped brighten our day.

Every once in a while we get a package something like this from some awesome grandparents in VT and MS (we miss them a lot...it's sad being so far away!) and it totally makes our day.

Knox is one lucky boy!

We love you, Nana & Papa! ♥

Classic Breakfast...

...for sickies.

Gingerale & Saltines

Which my husband sweetly ran out to get me this morning at 

5 a.m.

I thought flu season ended like 2 months ago,

but I guess I thought wrong.   

So here's where I'm spending my Monday:

 

And this is my Nook, 

which I'm making sure is charged because there's a scheduled power outage 

in our building from 9-5 today.

(Bad timing to get the flu.)

And this is my sympathetic sidekick, 

who make the flu feel not quite so bad.

I love him.

Egg & Tomato: Chinese Comfort Food

 What's on your list of  "comfort foods?" 

Here's my top 4:  pizza, macaroni and cheese, waffles, and egg & tomato. 

Egg & Tomato.


This is a recipe I don't know if anyone will try, but I hope you will.  It's a dish we learned to LOVE while we were living in China. 

The first time I ate it I think I was just thankful I knew what it was. 

Eggs, tomato, and rice.

 
Straightforward and safe...I recognized every ingredient. 

It didn't involve goose heads, or floating turtles, or fish bones, or chicken feet, or slimy white tofu, or colorful jellied ???, or even any insects of any kind. 

It was just eggs, tomatoes, and rice.  Beautiful!  You can see how it became one of my first favorite dishes. :) Give me the "common food" of China any day!!

But it didn't take long before I wasn't just ordering it because it was safe...I was ordering it because it was delicious.  I craved egg and tomato.  And I still do.

There are many other favorite Chinese dishes I wish I could make here, but I've tried and they just don't come out the same.  

The art of Chinese egg and tomato, however, has been mastered by Josh and Leah.

We can make it and we can make it right.  And so we do.  At least every other week, sometimes more often.

It's delicious, it's quick, it's comforting, and it's even healthy!

It's authentic Chinese comfort food...for Americans.  Try it!

Egg & Tomato

Xi Hong Shi Chao Ji Dan

1 cup uncooked white rice (we prefer Jasmine)

1 Tbl. oil
3 ripe, juicy tomatoes
4 eggs, beaten
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1 tsp. sugar (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
4 shakes dried ginger (or to taste)

Begin cooking rice with 1 1/2 cups water in rice cooker or on stove top according to directions.

Chop tomatoes and set aside.  Combine eggs and garlic in a bowl.  Heat oil in pan over medium heat.  When oil is hot, add eggs and cook, scraping pan as you go.  (Similar to making scrambled eggs.)

When eggs are almost cooked, add tomatoes, salt, sugar and ginger to taste.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, until tomatoes are heated through.

Serve egg and tomato over cooked rice.

Serves 2.

Cookie Decorating Attempt #1: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Yesterday afternoon I finally cleared some time to try out my new cookie decorating stuff.  It was so fun!

I loved it.  It's like my new therapy.  Cookie therapy, only not in the eating sense. :)

I have decorated cookies before, when I was little, but not really.  It was mostly like spread on as much frosting as possible and then add as many glittery sprinkles as possible.  

I still like glitter, but I'm trying to tone it down a little bit now that I'm 30.

My Aunt Mary is a pro at decorating anything...I wish she could have been here with me yesterday to give me some tips!  I could have used some. :)  Instead it was trial and a lot of error.

I took a lot of mental notes for next time and I have listed them below.

Lesson #1:  Bake the cookies the day before because if you don't you might lose cookie decorating steam before you even begin decorating. :)

Lesson #2:  Make sure icing is the correct consistency (mine was way too stiff all afternoon) BEFORE you put it into the bottles, because once it's in there it's in there.

Lesson #3:  15 minutes is not even close to long enough for your base coat to harden.  Oops.

Lesson #4:  Refer to Lesson #2..."flooding" and "marbling" might be a little easier if frosting is not so thick?

Lesson #5:  Watch some flower making tutorials on the internet before attempting to put a flower behind Henrietta's ear.

Henrietta the Modern Giraffe

Lesson #6:  Tea pot and tea cup themes seem to work best for me.

Blue Ribbon Cookies of the Day

Lesson #7:  Leave ample time for clean-up.

Lesson #8:  Cookie cutters make great toys!

Until next time...