vegetable enchilada goodness

I have a weakness for really good enchiladas. Preferably cheese enchiladas, to be exact. Mike, on the other hand, has never taken a liking to the dish. They're either too cheesy or they contain meat, so it's never quite worked out for him. So, in a conquest to satisfy both of our tastes, I make vegetable enchiladas. And boy, are these babies good. Good is an understatement. They're spectacular. And what I love about them is you can literally put whatever vegetables you want in them, which makes it a great "clean out the fridge" dish. To make it easy on you, though, I've included the vegetables I most often use. Enjoy.

Vegetable Enchiladas

1 T olive oil
assorted spices (chili powder, cayenne, red chili flakes, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 to 1 small can diced green chiles
2 to 3 cups grated cheese (cheddar, mexican blend, whatever)
1 regular to large-sized can enchilada sauce (I prefer Macayo's)
8 to 10 corn tortillas (or taco shells broken in half, yum!)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a large glass baking dish.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add onion and saute until clear, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and bell pepper and spices (I like to spice them to my liking using the above spices). Saute until zucchini and pepper are tender, about 6 minutes. Add frozen corn, black beans and more seasoning, if needed. Stir together and heat an additional minute or so.

When vegetables are ready, line the bottom of the dish with tortillas. Add a layer of the vegetable mixture and top it with cheese. Repeat this layering until pan is full. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the top and add another layer of cheese. Bake covered with foil for 15 minutes, uncover and bake another 5 minutes or so. Remove from oven and serve immediately. Serves four.

Top with sour cream and garnish with chopped green onions. Delish!

Here's a video to accompany the previous post.

sweet taters

Ava's first taste of sweet potato. I finally put my new Beaba! into motion and whipped up some tasty taters for her tonight. 

nakie baby

I came into Ava's room this morning to this:

Apparently she's figured out how to take her diaper off.  Thank the good lord that diaper wasn't dirty! 

twilight mania

Okay, here's the deal. I've been wanting to read Twilight for some time now, but haven't been able to get my hands on a copy. Apparently it's like, the hottest book to read right now, as everyone and their mother wants to borrow it from the library. I tried, let me emphasize the word tried for you, I TRIED to reserve a copy but I was the 47th, again, FORTY-SEVENTH person in the waiting line. So unless I wanted to wait 5 years to borrow it I was out of luck. Luckily for me, Katie has the box set and was nice enough to loan them for a while.  

First of all, I wanted to hate Twilight. Yes, I know I just said I had been wanting to read it for a while, but to be honest, I wanted to disagree with all the rage and HATE IT. I wanted to stick my tongue out and blow spit at Edward Cullen and say, "I told you so! I told you your sparkling vampire skin and chiseled features and overall perfection was all hype!". But alas, I could not. I could not bring myself to hate Twilight. Do you want to know why? Because IT IS SO GOOD. That's why. 

Yes, it is a 500 page read, and yes the first 468 pages are boo-o-o-o-ring. How I got to the end is beyond me, for the first 468 pages is nothing but terribly written 'romantic banter', the kind that leaves you on the edge of your seat wanting more, but ultimately fails you in the end with it's god-awful cheesiness. I really believe the hook and catch occurs only in those last 32 pages, and that's simply because there is a change in scenery and a wee bit of action. So why, if they were so boring, did I read those first 468 pages you ask? Because. Because although I said they were boring and the romance was tacky and it's written for a 7th grader, I can't help but love all of it. And I honestly cannot say exactly why. Maybe it's because I imagine Rob Pattinson and his sexy vampire self, or maybe it's because Stephenie Meyer put some vampire curse on the book, but who knows. If I had to guess between the two I'd say some form of the latter. And by some form I mean drugs. I swear they infused crack cocaine into the ink, so that when your nose is stuck in it's pages for hours you become nothing short of addicted. I bet that's it. I bet that's the reason I have no reason for loving it as much as I do. 

Now it's time to move onto book number two: New Moon. Wait a minute, why am I online wasting time writing in my blog when I could be reading New Moon like a Twilight maniac?!

No I am not going to cook my Baby!

Mike and I decided long before Ava was born that once she starts feeding on anything other than breast milk she will be on a mostly (if not all) organic, healthy diet. So far we've gotten the formula part down alright by using Baby's Only Organic Soy formula. Seems there are only three or so organic formulas on the market, and after lots of internet research I found this brand to be the must nutritious, affordable, and reputable. Problem is, I can only find it at Sprouts, so I am constantly grabbing an extra can in fear that they may not have it one day, one week, two weeks, indefinitely. Meaning I usually have a good supply of at least three cans going (although the last couple of weeks I've let it slip to the bare minimum before re-stocking). 

We can put Ava on rice cereal any time we want now, and even though I've had a can in the cupboard for a good two weeks now, we have yet to get around to it. No, no, I am not depriving my child of anything - technically we have until she is six months to introduce solids. I mean, I'm ready and everything, I even bought cute spoons and a cute bib. And so you ask why. Why am I not eager to sit my child in a highchair, feed her a bowl of mush, have her throw it at me and rub it in her hair, getting it everywhere but in her mouth? Who knows. Anyway, I'm mentally putting it on my next week's to-do list. I'll let you know how it goes. 

In the meantime, however, I'll tell you about my brand new babyfoodcookerextravaganzacontraptionamazingness! Lo and behold, Mike and I purchased a Beaba Babycook. Apparently it's some hot product in Europe and all the cute little European parents are raving about it, so we decided to order one for ourselves. I suppose I haven't even told you what exactly this special device does. It is an all-in-one babyfood maker. Processor, steamer, defroster, oh my! Sure, call me lazy. But if I can choose between making a mess of a steamer basket, pot, processor, and using the stove, or using one, tiny little all-in-one machine, you can bet your life I'm going to go with the latter. I am so extremely excited to use it I can hardly wait for Ava to hit that six month mark. Of course, I must first get her to cover herself and the entire house in rice cereal, oh yeah, and maybe eat a little some of it. 

I also purchased the Williams-Sonoma Cooking for Baby cookbook and let me tell you, I will be eating that mushy goodness right alongside Ava. Can you say sweet potato puree? Sweet pea puree? Potato and butternut squash stew? How about roasted red pepper and goat cheese puree? And when she's older there are dishes such as succotash, blackberry and ricotta parfait, minced pork and pear, root veggie medley, baby's curry, meatballs with polenta, lentil burgers with mint-yogurt sauce, pumpkin soup with alphabet pasta, turkey minestrone, buckwheat crepes, orzo with rainbow vegetables and OH MY GOD I THINK I MIGHT JUST EAT BABY FOOD FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Love this Laugh

Mike is amazing at getting Ava to laugh. I don't know what he does, but he just looks at her and she starts cracking up. I, on the other hand, have to work my butt off to get even a giggle out of her. So while Mike bats his eyelashes and causes an uproar, I'm doing jumping jacks, shouting Ava cheers (complete with A-V-A hand motions), and doing the Salsa all while balancing eighteen books and a fruit bowl on my head. Here is just a little preview of what Mike can get simply by doing "the claw" at her. God, I love my husband. 

Memorial Day Weekend

My, my it has been quite a while since I've shown the blog some lovin'. I hope that over the next several days I can make some time to update all of the (now old) news! Unfortunately, because I'm positive I still suffer from that rusty pregnant mind, let us start with the more recent and hope that I may successfully make my way back.

For starters, Ava is now 5 1/2 months old! Holy jesus, I had no idea time would fly this quickly. Every day is a new learning experience, for both her and I. I cannot tell you how much I love being a mother and watching my baby grow into a healthy little person, with a vibrant, sweet personality, and the most lovable smile I've ever laid eyes on. I am absolutely crazy about her every minute of every day. How did I ever live without this dearest wee one in my life? How did Mike and I make this intensely complicated, yet so very beautiful, tiny creature? A human! Gee golly, I've officially gone "mom". So, I guess now that that's done and over with (for now anyway), let's get back to the rest of the good stuff: family vacation!


Mike, Ava, and I made our first family overnight vacation to Page for Memorial Day weekend to hang out with Nana, Tots, and the good ol' Harris family. It was so great to leave the city - Mike and I were in desperate need of a getaway. The drive up wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, minus the last forty-five minutes of Ava screaming her little lungs out. We had to stop in Flagstaff to feed Ava, but we stopped at a Starbucks so I can't complain (I have to admit it was rather nice taking our time). When we finally arrived, we were greeted by three crazy kiddos and four just as equally crazy adults (I use this term loosely in the sense that these people are nothing but FUN). We couldn't wait to get unpacked and catch up! Of course the baby was instantly ripped from my arms and passed around - Mandi's family hadn't yet met her so they made their introductions, and the kids had a blast playing "boo!" with her.

I could go on and on and on about the details of the visit, but instead I'll just give it a quick sum-up. It rained. A lot. A whole lot. And when it rained I mean it POURED. For 23892838 straight hours Mother Nature unearthed her maternal wrath upon us and flooded the streets, peoples homes, and my poor mother's windows. Okay so it wasn't really 12898898 hours, but it was definitely a long time. All of Thursday evening/night and the majority of Friday.

After the rain died down a bit Friday we headed out to Lone Rock where Tots and Mackay set up camp. It was overcast and very chilly, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Personally, I'm glad the sun took the day off - we have more than enough sunlight in Phoenix right now, and we will for months to come. I'll never curse an overcast day, even if it is supposed to be bright and sunny and beachy! We hung out at the lake for several hours and after dinner Mandi, Hallie, Momma, Mike, Ava and I turned in for the night and headed home to sleep. Here's a first: Nana shared her bed with Ava for the night! It only took me eight bouts of paranoia and separation anxiety to agree, but I'm glad I did in the end. 'Twas nice having an uninterrupted night to get some much needed sleep. Thanks, Nana!

It was a quick trip: we left early afternoon on Saturday. While I wish we could've stayed longer, I am so glad that we had the time we did to see family and have some fun. Hopefully sometime in July we'll be able to visit Rob & Mandi in Henderson (don't worry mom, we plan on going when you guys go).

Fish Lips

So I'm the mean one that likes to poke and prod at Ava to see what faces I can get out of her.