The Enchilada Recipe Search

My husband loves Enchiladas! His mom would make them for him all the time when he lived at home. Ever since we were married I have been searching for a recipe that is easy to make and that we would both like. Well, it has only taken me about seven years but I think I found it.

I am not one for the spicy red sauce that is usually drenching the enchiladas (even though I will eat it, it is just not my favorite). This recipe has you make a fresh salsa to put on top of the enchiladas (oh so good!). We have made it twice and have enjoyed it each time. It is great with homemade refried beans. It does call for the meat of a whole rotisserie chicken which is nice for time sake but not so nice on the grocery budget. Even though I have not tried it I am sure that it would taste just as good with chicken cooked at home.

Fastest-Ever Enchiladas

Salsa:

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chilies, drained

2 scallions, light green and white parts only, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves

Pinch of salt

Enchiladas:

1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded (skin and bones discarded)

2 cups grated Cheddar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas

To prepare the salsa: Combine the tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice in mixing bowl. Add a healthy pinch of salt and set aside at room temperature until ready to cook the enchiladas.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

To prepare the enchiladas: Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl. Add half of the grated cheese, sour cream, and onion; season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.

Place the tortillas on your work surface. Spoon about 1 cup of the chicken mixture across the center of each tortilla. Roll them up to close and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Pour the salsa over the tortillas. Cover with aluminum foil and back until heated through, about 40 minutes.

Remove the foil and sprinkle the enchiladas with the remaining 1 cup of grated cheese. Return the baking dish to the oven until the cheese is melted and edges of the tortillas are just beginning to get crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

Lands End Gift Card Giveaway

One of the blogs that I enjoy The Homespun Heart is having a contest to win a $120 dollar card to Lands End. All you have to do is look through the swim wear at Lands End and leave a comment here. The drawing will be this Friday so you need to enter before then. If you have never seen Lands End swim wear before, they have very cute styles that are of excellent quality. Have Fun and Good Luck!

Do The Next Thing

I came across this quote while reading Shopping for Time this weekend. This Quote was such a great reminder for me to keep pressing on towards the goal that the Lord has set before me. No matter what the set back, what the trial, we need to do the next thing.

Many a questioning, many a fear,

Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.

Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,

Time, opportunity, guidance, are given.

Fear not tomorrows, Child of the King,

Trust them with Jesus, DO THE NEXT THING.

Do it immediately; do it with prayer;

Do it reliantly, casting all care;

Do it with reverence, tracing His Hand

Who placed it before thee with earnest command.

Stayed on Omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,

Leave all resultings, DO THE NEXT THING.

Author unknown

This is a quote from Shopping For Time about taking the next step.

"We can do the next thing because we know that God orders the seasons of our lives. Even the most difficult ones. As Romans 8:28 reminds us, "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose". John Piper comments on this verse: "If you live inside the massive promise, your life is as solid as the rock of Gibraltar. Nothing can blow you over inside the walls of Romans 8:28. Outside Romans 8:28 all is confusion and anxiety and fear and uncertainty." So inside the walls of Romans 8:28, let's take the next step, do the next thing."

Take encouragement that what ever your trial or hardship, it is the Lord who has placed you where He wants you to be. He has orchestrated every aspect of your life. We need to now take what He has given us and faithfully and diligently serve Him by doing the next thing.

Count Down To California!

Looking forward to a trip can be so much fun for children. I can remember as a child thinking that the trip was so far off and was never going to come. I want to share with you our count down chart! This has been a fun little thing that has helped my girls look forward to our trips and grasp how far off the trip is.

We did this for our trip to California in March and just started one for our trip to California coming up in a few weeks. My girls have fun pulling off the little sheets of paper to see how many days there are left until we leave. This little chart is really simple to make!

This little chart is made out of some construction paper and part of a post-it-note pad. All you do is start at the bottom of the note pad with 0 and then count up to how many days your trip is away. For us yesterday was 17 days to go. I also make a little note in the bottom right corner of which date that number falls on. This way if we miss a day, I will know with out having to do the math were we should be. Then we tape it to the frig were the girls can watch it and start pulling the papers off. It is so fun to see their excitement each day as we get a little closer to leaving.

Mommy & Miriam Date

This weekend Miriam and I went out together. We got some dinner together (Milk was her one big request for the night). Then after our dinner we did some shopping together! Miriam has became our little shopper! She loves looking at everything, she makes Ohs and Ahs over everything she sees.

Chris and I have been making a point to schedule dates with our daughters so that we are able to get some special one on one time with them. We have enjoyed this time with our girls. The time that we have with them will be gone before we know it. Right now they are too young to have long personal indepth conversations about what is going on in their lives, but for now it is a time for them to know that we love them and want to spend time with them.

Chris and I have been trying to look to the future in our parenting. By that I mean we are implementing those things now that we want to do with our girls when they are older. We want them to know how precious they are to us and that we are always available to talk with them. We want to impress this upon them from a very young age.

These dates are not elaborate or expensive but just special little things that we know they will enjoy doing. With my date with Miriam I had a couple of stores that I needed to go to and I knew that Miriam would probably enjoy coming along. So we added on a dinner (something I knew what she would enjoy) and made it a date. These dates can be as simple as an ice cream trip or a trip to the park. The important thing is not what you are doing but that you are spending time together.

Backyard fun!

A few days ago we had plans to go to the pool to swim until we realized that there was a storm coming our way and it was going to hit right when we had planned to go to the pool. Well, the storm ended up just missing us and by this time it was too late to get things together for the pool, so we just made it into a backyard water fun and picnic time. It was a little overcast but it was still warm so we all had fun. Here are just a few of the pictures from that evening.

Madisen and Miriam enjoying their dinner.

Macaylee enjoying her dinner too!

Miriam telling us she is cold

and Madisen joining in

(they had just been playing in the water minutes earlier and were not cold).

The looming storm to the South.

The clear sky to the North.