A new tradition?

Mexican food is perhaps my absolute favorite food ever...except for chocolate. But I could live on Mexican food. Sadly, I don't think I could live on chocolate alone. I try to make something mexican related on a semi-regular basis, especially when we're living overseas, because good mexican is just really hard to come by.

Tonight, we had beef enchiladas. I don't make them very much, because in my experience, they are really complicated and time consuming. But my, oh my, the time spent was so worth it. One limitation I've had is buying cheddar cheese, which is pricey in small quantities at the grocery stores here. However, after receiving advice from several friends I found a gigantic (2 Kilos) block of it at quite a deal at the nearby bulk wholesale store and now have a freezer full of cheese! When I make mexican, I have to tone down the heat to accommodate my family's preferences. The recipes always call for chili powder in amounts that are probably authentic, but way too much for us. I just use what I think we can handle. Tonight, the meal was a smash hit and I was very pleased and excited at the response. Here is a recipe I used from Betty Crocker with some adaption.

Beef Enchiladas

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sour cream (I used plain yogurt-it works interchangeably)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces or 125 grams)
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup green bell pepper chopped (didn't have, left it out)
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp chili powder (recipe calls for 1 TBSP)
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 green chili, seeds removed, chopped (recipe called for 2 whole, chopped)
1 clove garlic finely chopped (or 1/4 tsp minced garlic)
2 cups tomato sauce
8 flour tortillas (recipe called for corn)
Shredded cheese, sour cream (or yogurt) if desired

Heat oven to 350.
Brown beef in skillet, drain. Stir in onion, sour cream/yogurt, 1 cup cheese, parsley and pepper. Cover, set aside.
Heat bell pepper, water, chili powder, oregano, cumin, chili(s), garlic and tomato sauce to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes.

Take out 1/2 cup of tomato sauce mixture and mix with meat mixture. Spoon about 1/4 cup beef mixture onto each tortilla. Roll tortilla around filing. Place in ungreased rectangular baking dish, (I used a 9x13 pan). Poor remaining tomato sauce mixture over enchiladas (Here, I only poured enough sauce over to cover the tortillas, and used the rest for topping at the table).

Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Leave bowls of extra tomato sauce mixture, cheese, and yogurt on the table to dress enchilada as desired.

Maybe Friday night Mexican fare will be our new tradition!

(I'm sorry no pictures this time)

Eggless Banana Bread

Today, I started feeling a little anxious. It's Sunday, and tomorrow is shopping day. Only, we had next to no food in the house right NOW. Okay, we had enough meat and a couple potatoes for dinner tonight. No bread, no yeast to make bread, one egg. But after giving the kids the very last two good bananas, and two apples in the fridge, I seriously wondered what I would do for Dakota's lunch tomorrow. I had 4 bananas in the freezer waiting for banana bread. But most recipes call for at least two eggs. I could make it with one, but I wasn't sure how that would turn out, so I decided to go on a search for eggless banana bread.


This is what I found.


You'll need the following:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe bananas ( I used 4)
• 
  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). 
Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. (or a 9x5 like I have is fine)
In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar. 
Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt. 
Blend in the mashed bananas. 
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

The finished product was a bit crumbly when I sliced it. Not sure if this can be helped without egg as a binder, but it was so delicious, none of us minded!

There, we now have a "bread" and a fruit all in one. But I think I'd still better get to the shopping quickly.

Rewards from Heaven

Some days when I have both my boys home all day, I pull my hair out and am complaining to my husband by the time he comes home. Knowing this, I prayed ahead in preparation for today. My goals were to give the kids my attention, to not be selfish about my personal time, and to still somehow get my usual tasks done for the day. No small order!
Mark had a teacher's in-service day, so no school for Dakota. Mark took the car, (I told him to) so we wouldn't be going anywhere. It was raining early so we weren't going to make it outside. Mark needed to tape a football game so the TV was off limits. Those were our limitations. 
Ethan was awake by 5:18, so sleeping in was not in the cards. (I set my alarm for 6, but this was a pipe dream) We had breakfast, washed dishes (Dakota did these 3 times today!), did laundry (both boys helped load), made pudding (Dakota helped), started dinner (chili in the slow cooker and Dakota even helped with this), colored, ate a snack, played with play-dough, talked online with their Nana and Grandpa, read a book together, they played together, Dakota "read" books to Ethan, and this was all before lunch! Whew! The rest of the day wasn't quite as full, but it went so well, I was really feeling pleased by the time Mark walked in the door. 
Granted, we had a few issues; sibling rivalry is pretty routine, writing on the wall was a setback. Did you know dry erase marker comes right off a glossy paint? And pencil is easily erased! I was already in a good mood, so I handled it better than I would usually. It was just one of those days, where I was excited by day's end. I'm no super mom like I think and admire about some of my mom friends. After a day like today, I am beginning to understand why children are a reward from heaven.

Just another day

So long ago, I tried to start a blog, and then I got writer's block. I have so much to say, but then I get in front of the computer, and I lose focus. However, I leave a one liner status on Facebook, and that just doesn't seem like enough space to tell everything. For anyone who's listening, sometimes I have something more to say.

Some days living in a foreign country are just like any other day in my home country: up before dawn, breakfast with our family, drive Dakota and Mark to school, come home, laundry, dishes, prepare for dinner, play with Ethan, drive back to school to pick up Dakota and Mark, drive home, play with the kids, eat dinner, clean up the kitchen, put the boys to bed, spend quiet time with Mark, go to bed. BORING! Or is it? When I complain because life is so "hard" overseas, I'm forgetting when a routine day is a blessing. God never promised that life would be easy... anywhere in the world, but when He does give us "just another day" I think that's His gift to me. And I am grateful for those, anytime I get them.