Okay, are you ready for an oh-my-gosh-this-is-so-easy-and-tasty recipe?! Good! Corey texted me and asked if I could make chicken enchiladas for dinner. Suuuure.. why not?! Let me just whip those right on up, honey! :) He wanted "those ones we had last time:" "Those" were a long time ago and I have no idea where I found that recipe... so far back.. it was before the days of Pinterest *gasp*!!! I really do need to find that recipe though and Pin it. Since I couldn't find something that didn't require a trip to the store, I went ahead and made my own little concoction, using some things I saw in various other recipes. The result was very good, if I do say so myself!
***AAAAAHHHHH!! I had to reset my phone last night and all of the pictures I took of making this meal got deleted!! *cry*. I will make this again and will update this with pictures at that time. Until then, I'm sorry but all you get is words and a picture of them the next day. As a visual person, this irks me!
Ingredients:
* Flour tortillas (I actually used some Flat Out wraps as well, for a more "healthy" version, I'm sure you could also use corn if you prefer)
* 1 cup salsa
* 6-8oz of cream cheese
* 2 cans of chicken breast (of course you can use the real stuff and shred it!)
* 2 cups of shredded cheese
* Optional- a can of enchilada sauce (I'd use green since it's chicken, but go crazy and use red if you like it) or extra salsa
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350*
2. In a saucepan, melt your cream cheese over low heat with your 1 cup of salsa. Once it is combined, add in your chicken and stir to mix well.
3. In your 9x13 dish, open up a tortilla or wrap (when using the Flat Out wraps, cut them in half so they are closer to the size of a tortilla), scoop a heaping spoonful of your chicken mixture into the middle. Don't make it all one big gob, spread it out from top to bottom, but keep it in the middle of your tortilla. (GOD, I hate that I don't have pics of this!!).
4. Wrap your tortilla around the filling by pulling one side around it and then overlapping the other side on top of it slightly. Place your enchilada with the seam side down and repeat with the rest of your tortillas until you have filled the pan or run out of filling! (For mine, I ended up making 8 total and they fit in there perfectly!).
5. Pour some additional salsa (or enchilada sauce) over the top of your enchiladas and sprinkle generously with your cheese.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. 25 minutes was the perfect amount in my oven.
These are so delicious! I served them with sour cream and Jalapinto beans on the side!
They make fun and cool toys!! To give a little background, my mom is a retired Developmental Pediatrician. She isn't "in" to all of the new toys that are out there. She's a fan of the basics. The stuff that allows kids' imagination to run wild. Simple, uncomplicated things. I will be honest, when she gave Brooke some cardboard block boxes that she made for Christmas a couple of years ago I was underwhelmed. But, here we are, two years later and whenever we go to Grandmas the kids make a beeline to where the blocks are stored. They are big boxes, I'd say 10" square and the rectangles are probably 14" on the long side. The kids have a ton of fun with them! Just the other day they set them out and sat on them like they were a train. Love it!
More recently, my dad got a bunch of pvc pipe and connectors. He cut the pipes down to smaller lengths sanded the edges. The kids LOVE them!! So may possibilities of things to build. Brooke even came up with a game. She made a "cage" with some of the pipes (basically a box w/ no bottom) and the game is that one person rolls a beach ball to the other person. That person has to "catch" the ball in the cage. She could play for hours! Here's some pics of Grandma and the kids building with the pipes!
I don't really have an explanation for this picture... except that they were being silly and apparently laying on your back to "work" is much more effective!
Or maybe it is just more fuN!
The other new toy was made by my mom and it rocks!! Brooke got a small dollhouse for her birthday from a friend. It was cute, but nearly all of the little furniture broke immediately. My mom really wanted to make her one and she had a certain way she wanted to do it. I gave her my little furniture and she made some more of her own. She fixed all that was broken and OMG I was floored when I saw what she came up with! The kids instantly LOVED it!! I call it an open concept house b/c it is open. She said it is more developmentally appropriate for them since they can see it all and don't have to reach back into the rooms like in typical houses. Check out this awesome house!
The whole house:
The Living room.
Dining room
The kitchen (it now has a microwave and dishes as well).
The bedroom!
The little bathroom.
And the family. Corey, me, Brooke, Benjamin, and baby Bailey. That dog doesn't look like either of our dogs, but it does look like the dog I had growing up! Lol.
I TOLD you that it was cool!! I just love it! It stays at my mom's house. It is probably a good thing too, since if it were here I would probably gussy it up a bit with more "carpets" (decoupaged paper) and things. But, I think the idea of this is for it to be simple and not overstated, two things with which I am not all that familiar!
Since I'm talking about my mom... I thought I'd share some more awesomeness with you. She can do anything. I told you she is a retired MD and now she is an artist. Well, I suppose she has always been an artist, but now she can really devote some more time to it. She works in many different mediums. She quilts, paints, does sculpture (rock, wood, you name it!), and more! Here's a very small sampling of her work:
How fun is this crazy quilt she made for Brooke? She called it a naming quilt b/c Brooke can name things on there, like the colors, objects, and letters.
This is one of my favorite paintings. LOVE it! It's just hanging there in her studio.. it sure would look nice in my living room though!...
One of the (many) pieces she has carved. Don't mess with her and her power tools! She may be a skinny little thing, but give her a hunk of rock and some air pressurized tools and watch out!
All of her pieces tell stories. It is always interesting to hear her tell them when she's talking to people at art openings. I only know the stories of a few pieces, most especially the ones she's made for me and I really love that she thinks so much about each and every piece to make them truly unique and special.
So years and years ago when we were living in Kentucky, my mom brought home some HUGE pieces of PVC pipe. No, seriously HUGE. I wish I knew how tall they were. They are at least 12' long. She painted them with Matisse inspired objects and put them out in the yard. Super awesome! They traveled with them to Wisconsin and then back to Texas. These poles have been repainted a few times and they still are amazing! Can you see them there across the pond? A few years ago she painted a much smaller version and they were displayed in a local art gallery.
More recently (a couple of months ago), my mom painted another set (in between the size in their yard and the size in the gallery) that will be displayed at The University of Kentucky Medical School! Super cool! I do not know how they are going to get from Texas to Kentucky, but that's not my problem to worry about!
She did all of this. She painted the concrete walls and rusted the big piece of sheet metal. She made the eye on the ground (out of concrete) and painted it to look like swirls of water. She even made the fish on the metal piece. They are cast out of metal (not sure which kind of metal...).
Here is a quilt she made for (of?) my dad. If you know him, this is SPOT ON! He LOVES working outdoors.. well I think he loves it. He does it all of the time as there is so much to keep up with out there! He loves gardening, feeding the catfish (they could eat a small child they are so big!), loves his green shorts and orange t shirts. He always has on those big sunglasses, and oh the cowboy boots. Not many surgeons perform heart surgery wearing cowboy boots, but my dad always did. Those surgical shoe covers fit over them just as well as they do over tennis shoes!
I could post hundreds of pictures of the awesomeness that IS my parents. I blame them for my creativity and love for the outdoors. I blame them for my drive to be the best at everything I do. I blame them for making me a pretty great person. Hey, it could be worse! :)
Not me, him ^^. Well, I am big and I am from Texas, but I digress.
He is awesome and we love making our annual trek to the Big D to visit him and all of the fried food fabulousness that abounds in his "home". Pretty much, if you can think it, they can fry it. More on that later. Since before we were married, Corey and I have been going to Dallas to The State Fair. We just love it. We don't go for the stupid games that the inbred carnies try to get you to play by telling you that "every kid wins" or "come on dad, your son would love this (stuffed piece of crap that you would have to haul around for the rest of the day)". We don't go for the rides, although I would move up a few notches on the "cool wife" scale if I could stomach them. We go for the ambiance, the corny dogs, the dog show, the farm animals, the trade shows where they try to sell you things like the Vita Mix (I waaaaaannnnttt one!!) & the rubber brooms (we got one years ago and still use it!). It's just fun. It better be to get us to drive to Dallas. I just don't think too many things are worth the stress of the traffic to get there. Last year we took the train and that was super awesome. This year we didn't bc we had to drop the baby off at my mom's and the train station was out of the way. Next year we will though! We had a great time and can't wait for next year when all three kids get to experience it!
No trip is complete without a picture in front of Big Tex.
That is Corey with the kids... in case you can't see the specks down there in front.
And that is moi.
We headed straight to the dog show. We enjoy it, since we are huge dog people, but I have to say that each year they seem to add more to it, but don't make it any longer. It seems so rushed and isn't as fun as it used to be. Oh, and you can NEVER ever understand the dude who mc's it. Sort of sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher.
Best Friends (except when he hits her and pulls her hair...)
Frisbee catchin' dogs!
I love this picture of him!
"Dock" jumping dogs. I had to include this picture even though you can't see the dog. This one was a three legged rescued Pit Bull named Hobbles (I think? His name had something to do with his lack of a limb). It was awesome that he did this and he loved it! He jumped pretty far too, 23' I believe. His competition, a four legged canine, jumped 28'.
This is such a cool exhibit. It's called Little Hands on The Farm.
Who doesn't love a good face cut out?!
They give each kid an apron and a bucket to take with them along the way. First you are given a baggie of dried corn.
Then you "water" the tree and take a peach off of it.
How sweet are they holding hands!
They got to "milk" a cow.
Plant some seeds in the dirt using a little shovel.
Harvest some veggies.
Hold hands with daddy while mommy walks behind and thinks "oooh how sweet, I must take a picture b/c that is too cute". *click*
This little tractor is so cool!
Feed the chickens.
Then, at the end, they put all of the things they have gathered and harvested into their respective bins at the "market".
They turn in their apron and basket and are "paid" for their work.
From there they get to spend their money in the little store. They are allowed to pick one item. Brooke got trail mix and Benjo got animal crackers.
Corey to the kids on the big Ferris wheel.
LOL! (she is not about to barf, she was excited!)
So cute.. holding on to her little brother! <3
We had worked up an appetite, so I got this chicken taco thing. It was pretty good, and NOT fried! *gasp!*
Then we went to the bird show. It was awesome and we almost got tweeked in the head by bird feet.
This bird was SO close. I may or may not have screamed.
That is the big ferris wheel the kids and Corey were on. They also had a bird in one of the cars that they had fly out and was part of the bird show.
Fletcher's Corny Dogs = THE State Fair of Texas
They have some big football game here during the fair. It may be the ONLY time I root for the University of Texas.
She was tiiiired..
So we had to pep her up. We headed for the Fried Bubblegum!! Check out some of the other fried things at this years fair.
When I heard "Fried Bubblegum", I rolled my eyes. Really?! How the heck does that work? How can you eat it but not swallow it... Well friends, it's simple. It's not really gum. It's a fried marshmallow dipped in bubblegum flavored stuff. And, it is GOOOOOOD!
When you bit into it, it was soft, melty, sweet, and gooey. Perfect.
We stopped at the petting zoo on our way out! Look at the little baby in the pouch! Awww!
Here is the 2011 butter sculpture. Makes me want to get a big 'ole piece of bread.
Look, a sign for my husband....
We had an amazing time! On the way home I drove past this.. What in the free world?! At least its not a real person on that bucking bull! Only in Texas!
