It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I am getting pretty excited for the Holidays…namely Christmas!!!

I bought some new decorations to be put up soon; got Kylie a mini fake tree with pink ornaments that we helped her decorate last night; and I made a wreath!

Kylie was so excited to get her own tree and to decorate it herself.

So fun!

…cats already attacked it once, spraying ornaments across the room. I hope this tree makes it until Christmas…or at least the weekend!  Test run for how they’ll act when we get our real tree. Two cats = double trouble for sure.

This wreath was so easy to make! Thanks to my friend Lauren and her crafty idea I copied!

I got some pretty ribbon and accessories at Michael's, along with this wreath base made of branches.

I tied the ribbon around to start, then just wrapped it around the whole wreath – hot gluing it at the end. The bow is a separate piece I also glued on. Then, added the little bird and leaves with a bit more glue.

I used one of those Command hooks (aka a hook that doesn’t leave a hole in your front door) to hang on the front door and voila! Festivity!

...and you better believe I am already listening to Christmas music non-stop. YES!!!

Ole!

I order Chicken Enchiladas Suizas just about every time we go out for Mexican food.

So I decided to find a healthier version I could make at home...

TA DA!

They turned out so well, Joe had seconds! That means the recipe was a real success :)

I served with extra sour cream, Mexican rice, and re-fried beans.

I also meant to add chopped spinach to the recipe, but forgot, so I served these with spinach on the side, that I added to the top of my enchiladas.

Oh, and it is like a casserole, so you don’t even have to roll up the tortillas into individual enchiladas, just cut into squares to serve.

And I halved the recipe and made in an 8x8 pan, not 9x13 so we would have 1 day of leftovers, not 6… (There was a never-ending casserole leftovers incident once…traumatic)

OK!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

3-4 Tbsp non fat milk

1 pound of cooked, cut up chicken

3 Tbsp light mayo

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1/2 tsp adobo seasoning (couldn’t find – used “Mexican seasoning blend” I had on hand)

A pinch of salt

1- 4 oz can diced green chilis (I used mild)

A couple of big pinches of reduced-fat shredded swiss or Mexican blend cheese

8 soft taco size flour tortillas (use low-fat or whole grain)

1 cup reduced-fat shredded swiss or Mexican blend cheese

14 oz can green enchilada sauce

A couple extra tablespoons fat-free sour cream for the top

Avocados for garnish if desired

**(I don’t like anything spicy AT ALL, and Joe does, so I bought him a green jalapeño hot sauce to pour over his portion, and he was a very happy camper)

Directions:

   1. Combine yogurt and milk until it’s runny.

   2. Combine chicken, mayo, sour cream, green chilis, seasonings, and a couple big pinches of cheese. Mix well.

   3. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and pour half the yogurt mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan.

   4. Cut up tortillas into squares and cover the yogurt with a single, even layer of tortillas.

   5. Spread half the chicken mixture over the tortillas. Top with 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce, and the rest of the yogurt mixture.

   6. Spread out another even layer of tortillas, then the rest of the chicken, 1/3 of the cheese and 1/3 of the enchilada sauce.

   7. Put on another layer of tortillas. Drizzle enchilada sauce over that, top with the rest of the cheese and a couple dollops of sour cream.

   8. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes to slightly brown edges.

   9. Cut into 6 servings and top with chopped avocado if you desire. 

Thanks to:  http://www.bukisa.com/articles/266975_recipe-makeover-lowfat-chicken-enchiladas-suizas-casserole#ixzz14jhNokCe

Awesome Ottoman, Man!

OMG, I love this! Two Words. Knitted Pouf
Sooo cute!!!! Click the link above to see!

It's Halloweeeeen Tiiiiime!

I made some pretty delicious cupcakes for our office Halloween Party. Did I MENTION I am on the Fun Team at work?!
The cupcakes are a yellow cake, with cream cheese vanilla icing, drizzled with pumpkin butter, and topped with a candy corn!
We'll call this one.....Semi-Homemade. Thanks Sandra Lee!

So to make said amazing cupcakes, first you'll need a mini cupcake baking pan.
Reason #2 you will want a couple of these? They are adorable!!!!

Reason #1 - besides baking the perfect bite-size cupcake to bring to a party (where everyone is too embarrassed to publicly try to neatly devour an entire regular cupcake, while engaging in semi-awkward co-worker conversation...), they also work great for (MINI- everything!!!!) mini quiche, individual omelets for a breakfast buffet - aka quiche with no crust; mini tarts, brownie bites, and more.
So!, you ask. "Where can I find such a wonderful baking pan?!?!"
Anywhere.
Mine are from Target: 24-cup Muffin Pan
It should make 24 cupcakes, whereas the regular size pans make 12.

This one with handles would actually be better ;) Muffin Pan

OK, so once you have the little cupcake pan, (get 2, one box of cake mix makes a lot of cupcakes) you will also need (adorable!!) little paper liners.
Occasionally found hiding in the baking/cake decorating section of the grocery store (I have had pretty good luck with this).

Also found in more varieties than white at your local Party store or Craft store.
See: Party City - search results: Mini Baking Cup = AWESOMENESS!

And now for the recipe. If you can even call it that...

Cupcakes:


1 box yellow cake mix (+ eggs, oil, water as directed by box)
1 jar cream cheese frosting.
1 jar vanilla frosting (I mixed the 2 two to mellow out the cream cheese flavor, but you can use either/or)
1 jar pumpkin butter (From Trader Joe's in the jam section. think: apple butter. Also amazing on toast.)
1 bag candy corn
(That's it!)


Directions:


Mix cake batter in large mixing bowl as directed.
Line pan with baking cups.
Fill each baking cup 3/4 full with batter.
Bake ABOUT HALF THE TIME OR LESS OF THE TIME DIRECTED FOR REGULAR SIZE CUPCAKES. Make sure to not over cook! Test by sticking a toothpick into them every couple minutes after they start to look about done.


Remove from oven and let cool completely.


Mix 2 frostings together (or make your own...HA oops.)
Use fancy new frosting piping bag you bought (woohoo, finally!), or a plastic bag with a corner cut off, or just a knife to frost the cupcakes with prepared frosting.


To Decorate:


Pumpkin Butter: Once frosted, use another frosting piping bag, or drizzle with a small spoon (less pretty, same taste!), fill with pumpkin butter, and drizzle over the top of all the cupcakes.


Candy Corn: Umm.....top with a couple Candy Corn.

And....voila!

We had such a fun Halloween season with a couple trips to the Pumpkin Patch, carving pumpkins, dressing up, and baking cookies, too!



Souper 2.0

Today was another soup kind of day...and now that I am getting into this making soup thing! I decided to try out another recipe.

Disclaimer - to my dear friend Jessica: don't be offended I didn't yet try your Tortilla Soup Recipe! I was trying to find one today that was similar to Avila's El Ranchito soup that I love! Next time, will be your recipe's turn! Thank you for all your awesome recipes!! More to be posted soon!



Thank You About.com...Southern Food section??....and thank you Google for helping me find this easy recipe!

Found here: http://southernfood.about.com/chickensouprecipes and slightly altered.

Basically it is: open cans, pour in pot, simmer, serve! SO easy and delicious!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chicken stock
• juice of 1 lime, or about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice ( I used 3oz. of tomato paste instead, since I strongly disike tomatoes)
• 1 can mild green chiles, undrained (4 ounces)
• 1/2 Jalapeno pepper, finely chopped, optional (I skipped this, because I think mild salsa is spicy, but Joe said the soup lacked a ZING, so it appears next time I should add this to his bowl, and it'd turn out better!)
• 2 green onions, with most of the green, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, diced ( I used frozen)
• 3/4 cup corn kernels, frozen, fresh, or canned drained ( I used a blended frozen mix with peas, green beans, and corn) aka...all the vegetables Kylie will eat!
• 1 cup cooked chopped chicken ( I used canned all white meat, in water - sue me)
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese or a shredded Mexican blend
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• Serve with tortilla chips, rice/beans, sour cream (brown rice is really good added into the rice, when serving! that is what we did. refried or black beans on the side)

Preparation:

Simmer chicken stock with tomatoes, lime juice, jalapeno, green chiles, cilantro, green onion, carrots, and corn for 45 minutes (or as long as you have!...I probably only did 20 max...I think it was fine Enough time to thaw frozen veggies, heat thoroughly, and blend flavors); add chicken about 10 minutes before done.
Top each bowl of soup with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese, and rice, or serve on the side.
Serves 4.

Ta da!
Perhaps red bowl, red soup wasn't the best option for the photoshoot...BUT they are CUTE bowls from Anthropologie! I love them - check them out here: http://www.anthropologie.com/latte bowls and the mini ones http://www.anthropologie.com/mini latte bowls are soooo adorable!! They actually are really reasonably priced, which is rare for the amazing Anthropologie. The big ones are $5 each and the mini are $2.50 each. (some math for you: I got 4 bowls and 2 mini bowls for $25. Not bad at all!) Plus, they look much fancier than the Ikea and Albertsons bowls that join them in our cabinet!


Last night, I also tried out one of the apple cobbler recipes I posted from yesterday's entry!
Recipe found at: http://southernfood.about.com/French Apple Cobbler

About.com/Southern Food again?!

Well, I actually followed the recipe exactly this time, except I halved it, and made it in a little bread loaf pan, because I figured we didn't need cobbler leftover for days. (Especially because SOMEONE, known as my boyfriend, doesn't LIKE pie, cobbler, cinnamon, or any fruit dessert. So....it'd just be me eating it. But, Kylie loved it!! Hooray!
It was super easy to make, and I actually had all the ingredients on hand already, except the 3 apples I bought. Try it out! Except, don't forget to get the vanilla ice cream at the store, like me, or you will be one sad panda...roaming around the kitchen trying to find a replacement to no avail.

So there.

ADDED NOTE:
Opt to add the jalapeno pepper to the soup...I added it to Joe's soup, night 1 of leftovers, and he said it made all the difference in the world. I also added a bit more salt, pepper, and garlic powder. That gave it the "zing" he was looking for ;)
So there.

Scarflace Narf

I just got this adorably awesome "scarf" !
I use the term loosely because it's more like a fabric necklace, and more to make me look cooler than keep me warm.

Check it out!
AND it is only $10 right now.....so...you should probably get one, too! From here: Roxy.com
I love it!

One crafty thing about it: It has a little TINY pewter silver feather charm at the very back of the scarf...WHY is it SO SMALL and SO CUTE?! AND COMPLETELY HIDDEN?! sad day.
So, I clipped the thread it was hanging by, and sewed it....(ok, ok, I am GOING TO sew it)...(I swear! I will!).....(soon!)...down toward the main part of the scarf, off to one side.  I want to check out the craft store for more little pewter colored charms to add, as well!.....but too many and I may end up looking like a Monopoly gameboard.
So there.

The apple of my eye

One thing I LOVE about fall is apple season! Yes, you can get pretty good apples year-round, but there is something about the fall months rolling in, that leads to that extra shiny, crisp, and juicy apple that i love!
There are more varieties than ever in the stores (Grapples...huh?!), and all the displays are so lovely.

We like the Fuji apples best around here; tried Gala, but they are not as crisp.

Now, you might think I am going to go all Martha Stewart on your ass and post lovely, fancy apple recipes...well. That's not the case.
In fact, I usually end up enjoying my apples quickly sliced with some huge steak knife, while buttering toast and pouring orange juice, then thrown in a plastic bag to be eaten at work later once sufficiently browned...YET still tasting great!
BUT...if I were to give you my favorite ways to use apples, these would be them!


*Thinly sliced or diced in a salad with mixed greens, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. (This works well with pears or roasted beets, too, but this is a post about...APPLES!)

*Baked in a yummy apple crisp or cobbler (ie: easier than a pie because these have no bottom crust. Just a super-easy layer of any variety of crumb topping on top of sliced apples)
Such as these:
Apple Cobbler Recipe
Apple Crisp Recipe

(PS Who knows the difference between a cobbler and a crisp! Not important.)
*Or, Kylie's favorite (and Joe's!) wedges dipped in peanut butter.

And here are some pretty apple pictures for you to drool over now.

So there. Happy Appling.