Big Ole Burritos

This past spring Forrest and I made a trip out to California to spend some time with our friends Cody and Kiley. My favorite part about traveling is eating. I always try to bring home a new recipe or two for the Casita Cory kitchen. This recipe was one that Forrest had talked about since his days with the Visalia Oaks back in 2007, when he went to stay with Cody's family for a few days and Mrs. Evans made her famous burritos.

I was lucky enough to experience them myself during our visit, and now I make them when we are in the mood for Mexican, but don't feel like going out to eat. I can't think of many meals I make when Forrest doesn't ask for seconds, but this meal does him in on just one serving.

Big Ole Burritos

3 burrito flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked white chicken meat

1 can fat free refried beans

1 cup salsa

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 boil-in-bag brown rice (cook according to directions on box)

1 large can enchilada sauce (mild)

In a medium sauce pan combine the refried beans, chicken and salsa. Cook for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat or until the mixture is bubbling. Remove from heat and stir in the rice. While that cooks up, pour the enchilada sauce into a clear glass bowl and heat in the microwave for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Then it is time to assemble the goodness. Start off by putting some cheese on the tortillas and heating them for 15 seconds in the microwave. 

Heap on a big ole pile the filling.

Fold the tortilla in half, and pull the top edge back so that it is holding in all the filling. 

Fold in the two ends on the sides.

Roll the tortilla over (pushing it away from you) so that the crease is on the bottom. 

Pour on the enchilada sauce and top with the shredded cheddar. 

Heat in the microwave until the cheese melts and serve with your favorite margaritas (we use the Trader Joe's margarita mix--are you surprised?).

Don't worry about saving room for dessert. 

A-MAZING! I make this recipe so that it serves three burritos because on the second day we typically just split one instead of each eating a biggon. 

Enjoy!

TJ Special: Artie's Pizza

I was reading a few blogs recently and saw that there is an Iron Chef Challenge going on in the blogiverse and the key ingredient is artichokes. I first read about it on 33 Shades of Green in her segment Tasty Tuesdays in which she featured Artichoke & Spinach Stuffed Shells...yum :) I was so excited because I had actually typed up this blog post last Sunday and was saving it for today!



I followed her link over to A Latte' with Ott, A to learn more about the contest rules. I decided it might be fun to join this party, since I haven't done something like this before, so here it is. I may not qualify because I don't have any pictures of the cooking process, but in my defense I was working on those Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and didn't really have time to take pictures of all of the things going on in the kitchen!


This week's edition of TJ Special focuses on one of our favorite meals, homemade pizza. We put a little bit of everything on our pizzas, it all just depends on what we are in the mood for. This week, we can thank our favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's for every delicious bite!

Now I know that some of you may live where there is not a Trader Joe's. I have a few suggestions. Primarily, I would suggest moving to where there is one...just kidding...but it isn't the worst idea ever :)  Or you can do what my parents do and get to the one closest to your home about once every month or two and stock up on all of your favorite TJ goodies. Here is their website where you can find a location near to you. If neither of those work for you, you can also just look for these goodies at a grocery store or specialty foods store where you live.

This week we were looking an Italian flavor profile, but we wanted to change it up just a bit.

Artie's Pizza
1/2 cup TJ's canned artichoke hearts, chopped
1/3 cup TJ's sun dried tomatoes, sliced (they come in a resealable bag)
1/2 cup TJ's baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup TJ's feta cheese
1/4 cup TJ's shaved Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup TJ's low-fat part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp TJ's Pesto Sauce
1 Whole Wheat TJ's Pizza Curst
2 tbsp corn meal
1 tbsp EVOO

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) Place the corn meal on the pizza stone
3) Knead and roll the dough out until it is in the shape/size you desire
4) Brush the crust with the EVOO
5) Bake for about 8 minutes until the crust begins to rise and bubble
6) Remove and spread the Pesto Sauce out evenly with the back of a spoon
7) Add all of the toppings
8) Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and begins to brown

This was the perfect Friday night treat! Check out some of my other homemade pizza recipes as well:

Tiffany Pizza
Mr. Haas's Pizza
Southwest Pizza

Felt Rosettes and Ruffles

Yesterday I had one mission. I was going to make a felt rosette and/or ruffle before I went to sleep. period.

I spent the early part of the afternoon at an Antique store looking for nothing in particular, but stumbled upon these awesome yellow letters, which I plan on putting on a block of painted wood in my new kitchen. I would love to paint the walls in the kitchen and adjoined living room/breakfast nook a light gray color and decorate with yellow and navy accents, so these letters will go great with that color scheme.

Then I headed over to the Wake Forest Coffee Co., and enjoyed a cup of coffee while writing objectives for my final graduate project. Fun times. After about 2 hours of that, I decided I needed some time to craft, so I packed up my things and headed toward the Michael's by our house. I picked up several shades of felt, some glue and a few other odds and ends. Someone gave me a coupon so I got the glue for 40% off and then I bought all of the other supplies with a 20% off (including sales) coupon. yippie!

First I poured myself a glass of wine and got started with a little pink rosette.

Then I made a flower for my niece's hair. It might be a little big just yet, but with all those beautiful curls, she is going to have so much fun pinning them up with all kinds of bows!

By the way, in case you haven't seen her gorgeous face...here it is!

Then I wanted to make something to wear to work today with my new scarf, so I made two rosettes and a ruffle. Here it is with my $7.99 scarf from Ross.

 

I had so much fun making these rosettes and plan on taking breaks from my grad school work this weekend to make a few other things. I couldn't sleep last nigh thinking of the possibilities!!! (Ok...maybe it was just the 6pm coffee...)

I really need a new camera, and I apologize for how blurry my pictures are. I am going to keep looking for a good one and maybe on Black Friday I can get a good deal on one. Do you have any suggestions for a good camera for taking pictures of food and crafts? 

Happy Friday...I have another post coming later, but I need to run to the grocery store and take a few more pics.

DIY: Vintage Mirror Turns Chic Chalkboard

 

A few weeks ago I got a little crazy on Etsy staying up until about 2am looking through all of the awesome housewares they have. I saw several vintage mirrors that had been repainted to make chalkboards. I then went into the blogiverse and found a few people who had recently posted about how to do this. A college friend, Christina shows off her vintage mirror here. I also saw a post on The Real Housewives of Buck County with several pictures of the process. 

While I was at my parents' house recently spending a few days, my mom and I went through a storage space with a bunch of Nannie's furniture that we just haven't found a place for yet. We found this awesome vintage mirror and cleaned it up.

I spent several weeks just thinking about doing this, but this Sunday we had some great weather come our way, so I decided it was time to do it to it. I tried my own crazy way of doing this, and it didn't turn out so well, so I actually had to paint it twice to get the results I wanted.

The first round I used spray paint from Home Depot ($3.77 for the white frame paint and $4.79 for the chalkboard paint). I also bought paint tape and paper for about $4.00. Now I realize I didn't really need it, but that's okay.

Now here is a series of images of the wrong way to do this...way more work than necessary and the tape ends up peeling off the paint. You live you learn.

 I mean it looks like a good plan...right?

Forrest and I looked really classy sitting outside in our beach chairs. The security officer in our neighborhood asked us if we wanted him to open up the pool for us, and although it was an alluring offer, we thought it best to stay here looking as classy as ever. 

It actually turned out pretty well, but I wasn't in love with that white frame color.

So I went back to Home Depot and bought Satin Eden for $3.77. This time, the sun was quickly setting, so I threw down a sheet over two shoe boxes down in front of the apartment complex and sprayed the whole thing green.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=404&sid=257418

Here is the chalkboard spray paint I used in round 1.  

The chalkboard paint peeled the first time I painted this, but luckily I have a good friend over at Mrs. DIY and the Tennis Guy who had some extra chalkboard paint left over in a can that she was willing to let me borrow (it costs about $20 or more, so I was glad she was happy to share with me!). She came over a few nights ago and we enjoyed some pumpkin cupcakes, chatted about life, and finished up the project. I used a $.97 brush from Home Depot to paint the chalkboard space, and it turned out just great!

Even though I had to redo this project, it still only cost me about $16.00, thanks to the chalkboard paint donation!


We are finally under contract for a new house, and whether it is this house or another, this great chalkboard will be at the front door declaring a message of love when guests enter!

Window to my Wednesday

my morning joe

new scarf = $6.99 @ Ross

I love reading from the Psalms each Wednesday

enjoy coming home to a made bed as much as i do leaving with one

work space...i.love.neon.

RIP to my second favorite metallic shoes... :(

mid afternoon stack...student papers followed me there...

The Country Church Cookbook

I have been tossing ideas around in my head about making pumpkin cupcakes for about two weeks now. On Wednesday I picked up cream cheese and butter, knowing I would probably need those for the frosting if I did decide to make some. Normally I turn to Google.com to handle most of my culinary questions, but this time I turned to a staple in the kitchen of any Baptist-raised woman I know, the Church Cookbook.

I love the church cookbook. This one is from 1990 and is filled with recipes by ladies with names like Mary Etta, Florence, Elva, Betty Laura, Esther and Eloise. These names and their recipes tell a story of a time nearly forgotten. A time and place in which I am fortunate my parents chose to plant our family, and I am glad to know still exists in the midst of the hustle and bustle of today's busy world. These ladies filled pages and pages with recipes that had been passed down to them from their mothers and to them from their mothers.

I was upset about two things while flipping through the cookbook. Primarily, Nannie didn't publish any recipes in that edition, and I am really not sure why. Secondly, my Mom published a recipe that year for Blackberry Cake, and I can't remember ever eating this amazing dessert!!! 

Anyhow, I knew within those pages I would find a recipe that would inspire me to create the perfect pumpkin cupcakes. Bernice published a recipe that year for Pumpkin Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting. I kept the cookbook open to that page for about 3 days this week mulling over how to adjust the recipe for my cupcake needs.  After my Friday Gym Date with Forrest, I came home on a mission. Those cupcakes were in the oven before our dinner was. I told Forrest it was because the pizza dough needed to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes (which is true...really)!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

"Where's Forrest?": extra points if you can find him in this picture!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
1 tsp Pumpkin Spice
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (save the rest and make my Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin Pancakes)
1 tsp baking soda

(Notice the really cramped cooking space--that's it really--in our apartment kitchen and the amazing yellow mixer my parents gave me--thanks for always supporting my cooking habit!)

This is how we do it...
First, mix the sugar and eggs

it is actually spinning in this picture

Add the oil and mix at medium until it is fully incorporated. Scoop in the pumpkin and mix at a lower speed until the batter for the cupcakes is well blended.

Place cupcake shells into a cupcake or muffin pan and pour the batter in until the shells are about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the cupcakes turn a light golden brown. (You can always test to be sure they are ready by sticking a toothpick into the center-most cupcake--if it comes out clean you are good to go!)

Remove and let them cool while you make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 package of cream cheese (8 oz) at room temp for about 5 mins

2 tsp vanilla

1 stick of butter, softened

1 lb confectioners sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter for about 2 minutes (You may have to scrape the mixture down off of the whisk a few times in the process). 

Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and blend at a medium-high speed until the frosting is smooth. 

While all of this was going on in the kitchen, I finally managed to get dinner ready so I took a break and stuck the frosting in the fridge while Forrest and I enjoyed homemade pizza. Look for that recipe on the next installment of TJ Special this week!

So finally, while we were watching Bad Teacher, I sat in the dining room which is literally in our living room, smoothing that amazing frosting over these super moist cupcakes. Forrest and I enjoyed one each for dessert and they are amazing!

This makes 18 cupcakes.

Week 3

I am getting ready for week three and really pumped about how well this whole 9 Week Menu plan is working out. This weekend we bought the ingredients to make Reuben sandwiches at home for lunch Saturday and dinner Sunday. My sister-in-law, Lauren, is coming to visit today, and we are driving out to Greensboro for the Casting Crowns concert tonight. Tomorrow, we have a really cool day at church because Forrest and I are being baptized! So we have an exciting weekend ahead. As far as updates go, we also heard from the bank this week on the house, and they have accepted our offer, so we are officially under contract! We still have to go through the inspections process, and several other steps before the house is ours, but we are excited to have finally heard from the bank!

This week the menu calls for eating out on Friday, but between our anniversary dinner last week and eating out this weekend, we will probably have Big Ole Burritos since we didn't eat them last Monday. This menu is very flexible, but does provide a great structure for how our meals will go. Here is the printable checklist for this week:

Click to enlarge & print

Let me know if you are using these materials or if they have been helpful to you! Have a wonderful Saturday :)