the easiest enchiladas

I have a confession: My name is Vicky, I’m 21, I love to cook, and I meal plan like C R A Z Y. I have a spreadsheet with my veggies, meats, cheeses, groceries, and random stuff separated out - a total nerd, right? I’m sure I will elaborate on that more later. There is one thing that I am more confident in than almost anything I cook - I make THE best enchiladas. I certainly wouldn't dare say that mine are authentic, Mexican enchiladas but for what I'm working with, I'm told I do a pretty good job. 

My very favorite enchilada's that I've ever made/fed to anyone in my life have been topped with Rick Bayless' Green Chile Enchilada Sauce. It's literally one of my favorite things I've ever tasted. Guess why I bought it? Tomatillo's. And that is why this sauce is perfection. The saddest news, though - I can't find it anywhere anymore! You can buy it online, which I might do, in bulk. I improvised for this recipe and used a jar of his tomatillo salsa which is still amazingly delicious. I would love to try my hand at homemade enchilada sauce - when I do, I'll be sure to share all of that tomatillo goodness with you!

NEEDED:

5-6 taco size flour tortillas

1 can ro-tel (mild, medium, chunky - however you like it)

1 can black beans

1/2 cup of corn (fresh or frozen)

1 cup cooked rice (I admit, I use 5 minute rice. Don't judge.)

1/2 - 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder (depending on how spicy you like things!)

1 tablespoon cumin

1 cup tomatillo salsa

shredded cheese

HOW TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, mix ro-tel, black beans, corn, rice, seasonings, a little bit of shredded cheese, and a little bit of the salsa.

Place in center of tortilla, roll, and place in baking dish.

Repeat until you run out of room/filling.

Top with as much or as little salsa as you like.

Add cheese to your heart's desire.

Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and the edges are browned.

DONE.

The easiest, quickest recipe. I love to leave mine in a little longer because I love the taste of crunchy tortilla's around the edge. Totally up to you, though!

summer dinner party inspiration

Sara and I dream of having dinner parties together, but due to the distance all we can do is dream. Oh someday, please come soon! Hosting people for a dinner, a party, an overnight stay - anything involving entertaining - is our jam. There was a season in my life, when I was renting my first apartment, and all I did was cook dinner for people. It cultivated beautiful friendships and lasting memories. My first memory of Sara and I really connecting was over a dinner of my Mom's signature roast. Since then, these words have rung so true: "I can't imagine life without a table between us" from Shauna Niequist's book, Bread & Wine. (Lindsay Letters also created a beautiful canvas with those words!)

Jenger Shay Photography

We desperately wish we were together, especially as we enter these summer months. Summer dinner parties have such an air of effortless beauty because the outdoors provide the most perfect, natural setting. Sara has such an eye for decorating and I would love to create all sorts of special elements to compliment her design. We both love to cook and it would be so amazing to bring both of our palettes together and show off to our sweet friends. Here are some summer dinner parties we are swooning over while dreaming of our very own.

The Fresh Exchange

A dinner party, in Nashville, with the Peach Truck? Yes. Yes, please! We found this on The Fresh Exchange and immediately fell in love. One reason we love Nashville is because of the sense of community that it cultivates. Such a beautiful thing! Enjoy these pictures and their simplicity & yummy food!

A Daily Something

Above is a beautiful, beautiful party that was featured on A Daily Something. There is nothing sweeter than friends gathering for a cause. Adoption is such an amazing thing and certainly something to be celebrated - especially at a beautiful dinner party like this one!

Camille Styles

Such a fun picnic inspiration from Camille Styles! Going back to the easiness of summer as a kid sounds so great, huh? This would be such a fun thing to do with some girlfriends on a saturday afternoon. I love all of the personal touches like the sandwich place cards! 

Local Milk

Okay, so this one isn't outdoors, but OH! It is so beautiful. We found this on Local Milk and we would have done anything to have been on that guest list. Cannot wait to try that Blackberry BBQ Sauce sometime - soon! 

A Beautiful Mess

And, of course, it wouldn't be a summer party post without talking about A Beautiful Mess! Does that drink not look amazing? Obsessed with the way the food matches the decorations and the way they absolutely captured early summer nights. 

Are you guys looking forward to entertaining this summer? We can't wait to see what this summer has in store for all of us - especially in the way of parties with LOTS of food! 

corn and roasted poblano pepper empanada

Orlando has some pretty amazing food and I am forever grateful because I love to eat. Something that makes Orlando super unique is the abundance of food trucks - it is so cool! We certainly didn't have anything like it growing up in Southern Illinois. We did, however, have Winston's Bagels. (a bagel cart. on the strip. for all the SIU kids.) Not quite as cool as a food truck. My favorite food truck, hands down, is La Empanada. They serve the best empanada's of my life! Luckily, they are parked down the street from Rifle every Thursday and if you work locally, you get a free mini dessert empanada! Dark chocolate and sea salt? Nutella with strawberries? Praise. 

I love empanada's because there is no end to the creativity of what goes inside - it is such a good chance to experiment with what flavors you enjoy together most. I saw this recipe on A Couple Cooks, again. (I am obsessed with their recipes lately!) The original calls for a pizza dough as the shell to make it into a calzone but, to save time, I substituted a pre-made empanada dough. I'm thinking this recipe is a great side dish to the tomatillo soup we posted last week - add in a great cilantro-lime quinoa salad (recipe coming soon!) and it is the perfect combination for a summer dinner party!  

OR they are amazing all by themselves. I won't tell you how many I ate in one sitting...

NEEDED:

4 large-ish poblano peppers

1 red onion

1 fresh corn on the cob or 1 cup frozen corn

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder

½ teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 package of 10 goya empanada shells, thawed

2 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese

1 egg

HOW TO MAKE:

Turn your oven to BROIL

Cut the red onion into thin slices (like you would for a hamburger!)

Put the onions and whole peppers on a baking sheet and cover with enough olive oil to coat.

BROIL for about 10 minutes, until the tops start to look blackened. Flip the peppers and toss the onions around then BROIL for another 10 minutes, until the peppers are blistery.

Take the onions and peppers out of the oven and let them cool down.

Turn your oven down to 450.

If you’re using fresh corn, take this time the cut the corn off of the cob.

After the peppers are cool enough to touch, cut them into thin slices.

Put all of the vegetables into a bowl and add seasonings, including the freshly chopped cilantro. Stir until combined.

Try not to eat all of it right now because it smells and looks SO GOOD. I, of course, forgot to take a picture of this step because I was so anxious to finish so I could eat them all!

Lay out the empanada dough. On half of the dough, add a little cheese with a little bit of the pepper mixture. Fold over and seal with a fork. Do this with all 10 empanada shells. (I sometimes have a little bit of pepper mixture left – eat it. It’s the best.)

Beat the egg with a little bit of water and brush on top of the empanada’s. (This makes the tops brown and beautiful!) Carefully place onto an oiled baking sheet.

Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes, when the tops are browned.

recipe adapted from acouplecooks.com

Vicky

a tomatillo soup

we have this friend, Jared, who is a phenomenal cook. One time, Jared + Ciara (Jared's gorgeous wife) invited E + I over for National Margarita Day and, despite Ciara and I having to squeeze 3,000 limes for the margaritas, it was a meal that is completely unforgettable. Jared and I are kindred spirits in that we LOVE spicy food - like, so SO spicy.

Jared grows some of his own peppers so I always loved going over to their house because I knew it would be tasty and spicy and perfect. Jared made a roasted tomatillo-pepper salsa that night. oh. my. gosh. I had never even heard of tomatillo’s before and after the first bite, my whole life was changed. Now, whenever I see tomatillo’s in the store, I buy them. When I see them used in a recipe, I make it. When I see them on a menu somewhere, that’s what I get. I’m obsessed. When I saw this recipe on acouplecooks.com, my heart jumped for joy and I am so excited to share it with you! This one is for you, Jared and Ciara.

If you’ve never worked with tomatillo’s before, look for ones that are small, still have the husks completely attached, slightly brown, and are firm when you grasp them. When you peel them, they’ll be a little sticky but you can just rinse that off super easy!

Needed:

12 tomatillos

1 red onion

2 jalapenos

3 cloves of garlic

Olive Oil

Salt

4 cups Vegetable Broth

1 can black beans

1 can hominy

Cilantro

Black Pepper
Feta Cheese

How to Make:

Preheat your oven to 450.

Chop the tomatillos, red onions, jalapenos, and garlic.

On a baking sheet, place the chopped veggies and drizzle with olive oil to coat and sprinkle a little salt.

Roast in the oven until they are soft and noticeably brown, about 20 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, rinse the hominy and black beans.

After the veggies are roasted, pour them into a pot with the vegetable broth.

Use a hand blender to puree the mixture (or put it in a blender.) I like to leave mine a little chunky because, well, I love tomatillo’s.

Add the rinsed black beans and hominy.

Add a few sprigs of cilantro and bring the soup to a boil.

Lower heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes and season with salt.

Pour into bowls and sprinkle with black pepper.
If you're a fan of Feta, I added some to mine and it was delicious!

adapted from A Couple Cooks

V

bananas and bread

Today we will focus on two of my favorite foods. Bananas and Bread.. I find myself always buying way more bananas than I can consume before they turn into mush. Which I guess is a win-win because I love me some banana bread! Brew yourself a cuppa jo and enjoy this recipe!

Recipe//

You will need

3 mashed bananas

1 tsp | apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup | almond milk

1 tsp | vanilla extract

2 cups | all purpose flour

1/2 tsp | baking soda

1/2 tsp | salt

1/2 tsp | ground allspice

1/2 cup | coconut oil

1/2 cup | brown sugar

1/2 cup | white sugar

Preheat that oven to 350F and spray a 8x4 loaf pan with nonstick spray. I always forget to do these steps.

Then combine and set aside the almond milk and apple cider vinegar.

Grab a large bowl and mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and allspice together.

In a separate bowl cream together your coconut oil and sugar. Then add the mashed bananas, vanilla extract, and the vinegar/ almond milk mixture.

Combine the flour mixture to the wet mixture. And pour into loaf pan.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes depending on your oven. I like to keep an eye on mine. Once your tooth pick comes out clean you are set!

I am actually headed to make a loaf myself! Gotta use up those bananas!

Enjoy!