Addictive Enchiladas, Etc

Don't let this week's weather get you down.  If we have to stay inside, we might as well do something.  Cook something.  Watch bread rise.

I was reminded recently by this post about the stages of learning to cook.  I'm in a place where for new things that I'm scared of (especially meat-related) I slavishly follow the recipe, at least with the cooking technique (time, temperature, vessel).  But when it comes to just about everything else I tend to experiment.  I'm not saying it always turns out well--we've had a few dinners where instead of dessert, we end up pouring massive bowls of cereal to make up for the rest of the food we don't want to eat.  Still, the majority of our dinners include tossing in whatever is around to make a meaty, vegetable-y, saucy bowl of yum.  J has been overheard to say "Why do you always want to put fruit in anything?"  You could also replace the word "fruit" with "frozen spinach."

This week's example is enchiladas.  I'd only made enchiladas twice before, and both times I followed this recipe from CSK--the second time I took some liberty and replaced the squash with sweet potatoes. 

This week we used what we had - whole wheat tortillas, ground turkey, one jar of TJ salsa verde, one jar of TJ regular red salsa, lots of shredded cheese, black beans, and tomatoes (canned diced, drained).  We laid down some salsa verde in a 9 x 13, made little burrito-like tortillas of the turkey (browned), cheese, beans, and tomatoes, got them all snug as a bug in a rug together, then covered in the rest of both salsas and cheese.  It was gooey and delicious.  I probably could have pulled a CSK and added some beer to the salsa to give it the liquid it needed without all the zazz of salsa, but I didn't have any beer I wanted to see in the oven. 


Next up: pancakes.  I probably haven't made pancakes in 5 years, at least.  You know I prefer eggs any day, with the occasional pancake or French toast slice on the side.  But this week was J's birthday, and I thought it would be nice if after he got back from his 34 mile bike ride the man could have some homemade pancakes.

[Yeah, that's real maple syrup.  Local, too!  Eat your heart out, people from places other than here.  Other items pictured include Jake Moon apple butter, hummus (served with cucumber, not pancakes, gross!) and strawberry jam that got ignored in favor for the aforementioned apple butter.]

I used this recipe from Martha Stewart.  I used skim milk, white whole wheat flour, and I sprayed Pam on the pan between pancake batches instead of butter (really, Martha!).  Also, the batter wasn't wowing me, so I mixed in a spoonful of Nutella.  I tend to do that.  It always works.  These pancakes were super easy and quick, and they made the house smell delicious for the whole day.

This weekend was our first one at home without visitors in quite a while. We've been and will continue to travel or host almost every weekend--no complaints here, though.  I am so grateful for our friends and family descending upon Albany, and I loooove heading out of town to see them and eat eggs in other states.  We'll tell you all about it soon.  I hope you had a great weekend!