Husband Approved Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas

I found this recipe on $5 Dinners, and just had to try it. It was so amazing, that my husband asked for it the next week when I was planning the meals for the week. I said, "Are you sure? We just had them two nights ago." He said he absolutely wanted them again. So, after making some modifications to suit our personal taste buds, here is the Husband Approved Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas!

Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2 C cooked, shredded chicken
8 oz. sour cream (or more if you like extra on the finished product)
1 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 C pepper jack cheese, shredded and divided
2 T. minced onion (I used about 1/3 of a large onion)
2 t. garlic
2 t. cumin
1 can black beans, drained
1 red bell pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 tortillas
1 10 oz. can of your favorite enchilada sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan (or whatever pan you like; you could use 2 8x8 and freeze one for later).

Saute the onion, garlic, and red pepper to your liking (I cooked mine for about 4 minutes just to soften them up and release the flavors). Mix these with the chicken, large dollop of sour cream (eyeball it), spinach, black beans, 1 cup of the pepper jack cheese, and spices. Spoon equal portions onto the 8 tortillas. Roll up the individual tortillas, placing seam-side down in the pan. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining pepper jack cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and begins to golden and the sauce is bubbling.

Photo source: $5 Dinners

We like to serve this with Mexican rice ($.50 at the commissary), a large dollop of sour cream, and side salad.

Getting Caught by the "Colors"

I like to take walks. If you know me, you know I can't stand to run or jog or anything that resembles those two activities. However, I love to walk. Not my usual Tennessee stroll, either, but a quick, purposeful, I-tell-myself-I'm-burning-calories walk. Here on base, I have a beautiful walking trail around the housing development. It follows along the river and I've seen some amazing sunsets.

Sometimes, I get caught by the "Colors."

If you speak military, you know what I mean. At 1700, the flags are lowered for the day. If you're outside when the music begins to play to signal "Colors," you must stop what you are doing and either salute or cover your heart with your right hand. At first, this seemed to be an inconvenience to my calorie-burning power walk. Now, I thoroughly enjoy being caught by the "Colors." As the national anthem is blared out across the base, I take the moments to say an extra prayer - for my Coastie, for all the troops serving here and abroad, and for living in such a beautiful and free country. Sure, the country isn't perfect, but I choose not to dwell on the latest political speech or bumble of Congress. I choose to be grateful for the life of freedom and abundance I have been born into. I choose to be grateful that the flag and the song that remind me to pray for the 157th time that hour for my husband and my country.

Next time you are caught by the "Colors," please enjoy the moment. Say a prayer for the men and women who have sacrificed for you... even if you've never met.

Thankful Thursday

For those of you who understand our lifestyle, you can probably guess why I haven't posted very much in the last few weeks. But don't you worry, you one random person who is the only one who reads this besides me! I will be posting a lot more very, very soon.

Until then, I will still post a Thankful Thursday list. This week, I am thankful for:

Leviticus 19:32

A free lunch

Tri-care insurance

Maintenance workers who fix things around my house for me

Grapefruit

Honeynut Cheerios

Books that can enthrall me

Recipes from blogs that rock my socks off

My husband... every day and every minute

Be thankful today! Spread your positive gratitude to others!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday! Again?? Where has the time gone? Last week, I was so excited and busy for Christmas. This week, I am procrastinating on putting away Christmas decorations and feeling completely overwhelmed at work. However, I know I always have something to look forward to on Thursdays. I feel blessed that I have at least a few minutes to focus on all my many, many blessings (one of which is the sweet cat currently sitting in my lap).

As I think about all the amazing and hidden blessings in my life, I am reminded most of the Lord's presence in my life. Don't worry, I'm not going to sermonize. But, my social worker heart must also recognize and feel blessed for the family and friends who believe differently than I do and celebrate different reasons for this season. No matter what you believe, I am blessed to have you in my life - to love me, challenge me, and provoke deep thoughts. Thank you.

Okay, enough of the random deep thoughts. This week, I am thankful for:

New pearl earrings from my Coastie.

A successful Christmas dinner with lots of good food and friends.

A Christmas morning Skype date with my mom, sister, and brother-in-law.

A husband who can fix cars (and looks handsome while doing so!).

Walks at sunset.

Transforming leftovers into yummy meals.

Homemade fudge.

Books on cd for the long commute to work.

My new kitchen accessories.

A sweet first Christmas with my Coastie.

Cool mornings in Florida.

Leftovers.

Sweet, sweet friends who bless me in ways they could never imagine just by being alive.

A good night's rest.

I hope you can take a moment, count your blessings, and feel thankful for something or someone in your life today. Be blessed!

Our First Homecoming

It sounds strange, but since we had a long-distance courtship, I was never present for one of my Coastie's homecomings. Since the Coast Guard patrols are so much shorter than say, the Army or Navy, our homecoming's aren't as extravagant. However, they are no less emotional or beautiful. Here are some photos of our "first" homecoming on the crazy ride we call the Coastie life.

The boat coming into view. Such a beautiful sight to know he is safe!

Getting closer...

Almost to the pier!

Found him with the zoom on the camera! Holy moly, but he is handsome. 

The hardest part is waiting for the boys to disembark. They have to pull up to the pier, tie up, do some checks, and THEN they are allowed off to hug us. It took about an hour. The boys were just as impatient as those of us waiting on the pier!

Our sweet friends, the Edwards.

Here is a snapshot of the crowd trying patiently to wait for their Coasties. Not all the wives or girlfriends could be there, so we try to welcome everyone home as best we can.

By this point, I was so excited and overwhelmed to see him, that I forgot to take a picture with our camera. So the cell phone camera had to make do! I was shaking so much that it is a fuzzy shot, but you get the point. He was HOME!

Super Late in Posting

One of my techniques for staying busy is supposed to be writing this blog. However, I seem to push that aside when I find something else to do that feels less like paper-writing in graduate school (i.e. finding new recipes, Skype-ing with friends). Anyways, I thought I should finally post pictures of my mom's visit to Florida. She stayed in Orlando for about a week and then came over to the coast to hang out with me. We tried a new gluten-free, organic restaurant that was to die for, went to a sand sculpting art show, shopped in a quaint old-fashioned village square, and had a beach day. She is one of my best friends and I felt so loved that she came to visit me for such a long visit. It certainly breaks up those long weeks of being alone!!!

I can't wait for you to visit again, soon, Mom!!

Friday's Favorites

So, again this week, my favorite product for the day is something that spoke to my frugal heart.  I was having a wonderful conversation with a friend about our newfound love of green/organic products, but our hatred of the expense. She mentioned that she had just bought a wonderful new deodorant, but could no longer use it. She had recently begun experiencing the pregnancy side effect of a sensitive sense of smell. She said that even thought this deodorant had a very slight fragrance, but she couldn't stand it. So, lucky me! I got to try it!

Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Deodorant. 

This is paraben free AND aluminum free! It works so well, too. I thought surely it wouldn't work through my long days of 6 a.m. yoga, work, errands, cooking dinner, and an evening of whatever strikes my fancy. But, I was pleasantly surprised. It feels great and has a very, very light scent that is pleasant.

Try it while doing some yoga stretches and see what you think!

Happy Friday! Thanks to a fellow Coastie wife, Jenny, for the great product, conversation, and friendship.