Sunday Funday - Another day in the kitchen

My feet are sore, legs are swollen and my back is a little achy, but I am stuffed and satisfied with yummy goodness. The morning started out with spiced apple crepes and chocolate-cream cheese crepes for breakfast. I wouldn't say they were the best I've ever made because I was missing a couple of crucial ingredients, but they were still pretty decent.

For lunch/dinner/tasty football-watching food, I made a classic chili. You can find the recipe here. I exchanged the tomato juice for the same amount of stewed and diced tomatoes since I didn't have any on hand and it was fabulous. Probably the best chili I ever made, although you can't really compare since the only other chili I made, I decided one adobo chile wasn't enough so I added three. If you have ever used chili adobo, you know that it was HOT, as in, can't feel my lips because they are burning off of my face hot. But try that recipe if you like chili, it was some of the better chili I've ever eaten.

From Heat Oven to 350 - yet again, my photos do not do justice...

And now for the coup de grâce, chocolate chip cheesecake bars. I used this chocolate chip cookie recipe and I have to admit, it was way better than the normal Nestle recipe that I generally make. Here is where the rest came from. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, make chocolate chip cookie dough and cheesecake filling as directed. Use large glass dish and give a healthy dose of cooking spray. Use half of the cookie dough as a bottom layer, then add all of the cheesecake filling, then add top layer of cookie dough. Bake for 35-45 minutes and be prepared to enter the most blissful, food-induced euphoria. I am forcing Adrian to take the rest of the pan to work tomorrow for fear that by the time he gets home, all he'll find are crumbs.

We decided that I'm going to  have to start cooking healthy food again.The last time I stayed home when Gabriel was little, all I did was cook and although the food was delicious, we collectively gained several many pounds. We both want to reign things in so that we don't become matching fat blobs. I think I'm going to try some yummy Weight Watcher's recipes this week, so be on the look out!

Fall Wreath and Mantle

Yet again, Pinterest has inspired some craftiness in me! I decided that I wanted to have a cute fall mantle and I wanted to make a wreath, both of which I've accomplished for very little money.

I purchased the items below plus some florist's wire for about $15, not bad when the going price for a store-bought wreath is over $20.

It was pretty simple actually - I used wire cutters to snip the flowers off  with enough stem to poke into the branches, placed them where I wanted, and voila! That was it!

Here's the finished product:

It's a little bottom heavy but that's because I couldn't decide in what direction it would hang or where I would tie the bow...I could re-do it but I think it looks fine as-is. I think I might add a bigger bow at the top next time, it seems a little small compared to the flowers, but since it was my first time tying a bow like that I wasn't sure how much ribbon I'd need.

Here's my fall mantle so far...it's a work in progress though! I still need to add some vertical pieces in the background because it's a little too low. Either way, it's make my house feel a little more home-y :)

Watch out for more projects coming up! Adrian has challenged me to sew at least Gabriel, but preferably all of us, Halloween costumes. Since I don't even know how to thread my new sewing machine this could get very interesting...

I'm 2 for 2 today - Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Turkey Enchilada Casserole

My husband is overjoyed because I am finally cooking again. Before, I was working full-time and he was never home until late, so I generally relied on quesadillas and mac 'n cheese for Gabriel and myself. Adrian would just eat out every single day - he'd generally skip breakfast, eat fast food for lunch and take clients out so he could expense his dinner. Some people love to eat out, but we are home-cookin' kind of folk. After a certain point, take-out starts to look revolting and the thought of how much money we've wasted on eating out disgusts me even further.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm a pretty decent cook. I thought it ran in my blood - maybe just on my dad's side - because my mom swears that she was an awful cook when she first married my dad. Apparently they lived on Ricearoni and my dad grilled steak. That was it. I don't recall her every being bad and now she's a fabulous chef, not just delicious and super tasty food, but she's whipped up quite a few delicious Weight Watchers meals too.

My addiction to Pinterest has helped inspire me to make a few things today. I made the Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich, originally posted on BS' In The Kitchen.  It was a huge hit with Adrian; by the time I had finished my own sandwich, all that was left were crumbs from the two sandwiches that I made him.

{This is his original photo - none of mine would do it justice.}

I changed my recipe up from his just a tiny bit...

Ingredients:

• 3 Jalapenos
• 4 Bacon Strips
• 2 Tbsp Cream Cheese
• 2 Tbsp Ranch Dressing (and in fact, it could have used more)
• Chives (chopped)
• Cheddar Cheese
• Butter
• Wheat Bread

Roast the jalapenos - I did mine in the flames on the stove but you could probably do it in the oven or on the BBQ just as well. The skin should be charred well when you are done. Put them in a Ziploc while you work on your other ingredients. Combine the cream cheese, chives and ranch (I used the   homemade kind made with a packet) in  a small bowl. Stick the bacon in the microwave for 3 minutes, covered with a paper towel. Peel the skin off the jalapenos and slice thinly. Slice cheese. Make sandwich by spreading cream cheese mixture on one side, cheddar cheese lays on the other, jalapeno and bacon in the middle. Butter the outsides of the bread and make just like you would a grilled cheese. I covered the pan so the cheese would melt faster. Slice down the middle and enjoy!

Dinner was  much more my own creation, though still inspired by some recent posts on Pinterest about Cheesy Enchilada Casserole.

{This photo was taken from the website that inspired me, Six Sisters' Stuff}

Ingredients:

• 6 Corn Tortilla
• 28oz. Can of Red Enchilada Sauce
• 1 lb Ground 85/15 Turkey
• 1 Green Bell Pepper (diced)
• 1 Onion (chopped)
• 1 Tomato (diced)
• 1 Can of Corn
• 1 Can of Black Beans
• Cheddar Cheese
• Black Olives
• Cumin, Coriander, Chili Powder, Pepper and Salt to taste
• Cilantro and Sour Cream as garnish

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I started by chopping all of my veggies, first the onion and bell pepper, which I put on medium heat in a large pan with the turkey to brown. Add your cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. I would guess it was probably about a teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half of each except the salt and pepper - use your discretion on those. Open all of your cans (I hate getting stuck at the last minute without having opened everything!). Once the turkey has browned, drain but do not remove from the pan, but do take it off the heat. Add your beans, corn and tomato - mix. Spray an 11x17 pan with cooking spray. Cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of enchilada sauce. You must be careful about how much you add because it could make your casserole too saucy in the end. Our corn tortillas were pretty big so to cover the bottom took 3 - 2 full and 1 ripped in half. Layer with meat mixture and then with cheese. Add a little more enchilada sauce. Layer another set of tortillas. With the remaining meat mixture, I actually put some sauce into it and mixed it before I added it to the dish. Layer the meat and then another healthy layer of cheese. In all, I used about 3/4 of the can of enchilada sauce. At this point, I put olives on half of the casserole as Adrian isn't the hugest fan of them. Pop in the oven covered with tin foil for 30 minutes, uncover for an additional 5, and you're done. Hope you love it as much as we did!

The Occupy Wall Street Movement

I have become fascinated with the ideas that Occupy Wall Street represents. I've always been somewhat drawn to the ideas of the Sixties, with its new, radical, progressive way of thinking and I feel that same draw to this national concept. What started as a loosely-formed group of ideas involving social and governmental reform with a group of Canadian activists has now become a well-formed concept, demanding less corporate involvement in government, less corruption and more economic equality. The movement has swept across the United States with alarming speed and strength, with demonstrations already occuring in over 16 cities and more popping up weekly (including San Diego, starting today!).

They are calling themselves the 99 Percent - as in those occupying and the people the represent. They are the 99% of Americans who are not benefitting from the state of the government and economy. They are people who played by the rules and the system still isn't working for them. They are drowning in thousands of dollars of student debt, losing their homes, searching for work and wondering how and why this happened to them.

They are my brother-in-laws, who were so hard-hit in their construction employment by the economic crash, that they were threatened many, many times with foreclosure, sold anything of value to eat, worked where ever they could to make a buck for their families. They are the stories of our friends, family, acquaintences - who haven't made bad decisions, just simply tried to play the game.

In reality, the actual percentage is not representative of the people.

"If you’re in the 85th percentile, for instance, your household is making more than $100,000, and you’re probably doing okay. If you’re in the 95th percentile, your household is making more than $150,000." - Washington Post

But that really isn't the point, is it? It's about frustration. It's about hope. It's about changing a corrupt government, a broken system. It's about people.

I am inspired.

Life as I know it has officially changed

A few nights ago, I sat down on the couch and wrote 22 thank you notes. As my hand cramped, I thanked everyone in my office, from the front receptionist to the CEO, for being a part of my life in the last two years. It was a great time of reflection for me because it's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day frustrations and distractions that come with working in a busy office. While I wrote my notes, I thought about all of the things I will miss about each person.

Many people - work friends, random people who I chat with, other friends, etc. - have been shocked with our decision to pick up and move to El Centro and for me to stay at home with the babies. These same people have said what a shame it will be, I have so much potential, I'll become stale at home and I should start working again as soon as I can. I understand their shock, because I'll be the first to admit that I didn't expect to be staying home anytime soon. Not just financially, but because I really do like working and I've found a bit of a niche in marketing and design.

A couple of my sweet friends gave me baby/going away gifts, but the thing that touched me was something that one of them said in their cards. She said "You are giving your family a gift, do not forget that." This has been my mantra since I read it, especially when the doubts start to creep in. Things like, will I be happy staying at home again? Or, can we really, truly financially afford this, even though we've crunched the numbers? And, am I throwing away a potential career in marketing because I have decided to take a break?

I'm still nervous, anxious for the unknown, but my wise friend is right. No matter how much of a sacrifice it is to have left my job and moved away from the city that holds opportunity, my family comes first. It always has. It always will. And I'm happy to give this gift to them.