SUNDAY: enchiladas

I’m a creative person by nature. I’m an artistic type in love with creating anything for my own or someone else happiness and enjoyment. Happiness is defined differently by each person and some may think my definition of the word is boring and lonely, but I don’t. I LOVE my life and I enjoy the way I live it. Yeah at times, being in our kitchen by myself for hours on end can be at times a little bit lonely…but I’ve never, ever, not even once, felt lonely out in the middle of a hayfield with just my camera or picking berries in the quiet of hot July day with just the birds to keep me company. What others think of me isn’t important, because “those who do not hear the music think the dancer is mad.”

I was quite the artist in grade school. I drew mainly birds and a bit of anything else that captured my attention (and that I had the confidence to try my hand at drawing).  I was really into pen art, which is such a fun easy medium for me. I created many pictures…for mainly personal enjoyment and some art contest. (which I was strongly encouraged to enter, by none other than my artistic mom) Then it happened. My dad bought the family a digital camera and my life was forever changed. I was completely  intrigued with it. I mean I could capture beautiful pictures in seconds…every beautiful flower, adorable animal and crystal stream was mine in a second to have for years. So in high school I traded the pencil and paper, for the little point and shoot family camera. And the rest of this story is still unfolding.

As an adult I’ve somewhat combined my love of creating photos and writing with my new found love for cooking.

I just enjoy every. single. aspect. of food preparation…

This was the first time I made tortillas (btw: the Chef in Training is my new favorite resource for recipes, whenever I need a new one…at the moment, I start here) Isaac used the left over tortillas for quesadillas…I taught him how to make them, on his own. He still puts WAY too much of everything inside his…making more of an “all American” male version of a quesadilla. Just imagine cheese and chicken squeezing out the sides=) hahaI used this recipe for the enchilada sauce…making this is actually quite a process, I had no idea it was this complicated to make. But it turned out perfect.You can never have too much cheese…’am I right?!?!?My mom took these…and I promise I don’t always wear camouflage=)The lovely finished product!!! and even though it wasn’t perfect (according to my perfectionism) my family finished off both pans in one day=) And I took that as a compliment!

It’s hard for me to describe or explain the feeling I get when I begin creating something in the form of food. I look forward to walking into our wonderful kitchen every weekend. Some of my best days, in any given week. are the days I can make bread at 4:30 in the morning…I’m serious=) I don’t get to cook as often, now that I have a second job…but I still try to make/find time for this one enjoyment I have in life.

I love having flour on my hands. I love the stove top lined with simmering pots. I love cutting up tons of colorful veggies. I love the sound and smell of sizzling meat. I love having sticky sweetener and butter coated measuring cups all over my countertop. I love looking in the light lite oven to see if whatever I’m making is “turning out.” I love the sound of the timer, letting me know my food is DONE. I love the smell when I open the oven. I love washing up all my measuring spoons, bowls and pans. I love watching my siblings and parents faces as they try my latest and greatest.

What else can I say….I LOVE cooking=)

What is something that you love doing?

Happy Friday!!!

 

What’s Going On in February

Can you believe that March is here? Wow this year is flying. So here’s February’s update.

thinking – about my true core values…one’s that are actually mine and ones that I’ve only kept for my parents sake. I want to be my own individual, with my own value, beliefs and convictions. And live my life according to these. The pages of my life are turning quickly before my eyes. One by one, or is it more like the wind causing them to turn really fast by themselves?!?!? So I can’t waste anytime, I just have to hurry and get these are straight=)

watching – American Sniper…the last movie I watched completely through. It’s a good movie and very much worth the time and money I spent to see it. But I didn’t like it…I’m more of a chic flick kind of girl. But I definitely recommend it, for those that like that sort of thing. Also I’m watching snow quietly falling from my window. Gotta’ love it, the first day of March and we have snow…and robins.

eating – ummmm…I haven’t been hungry for much of anything lately so. But I did eat a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast, before I even ate my cereal. Hey don’t judge, it was very good=) Oh and I’ve been learning to eat without braces, it’s a completely different story. Loosing food or worse yet not getting it completely in my mouth, has been embarrassing. I’m not eating in public till I get this figure out,             again.

listening to – “Send it on” I seriously can’t stop singing this song or listening to it=) Also Danny Gokey’s new song More Than I Am…and this video is so cool too=)

reading – I started Seabiscuit and so far it’s good. For a non-reader type person, such as myself, it’s been successfully holding my interest. Also I’ve received several letters back from deployed soldiers I’ve written…reading them is always so interesting=) Sadly I’m stepping down from doing this…I’ve been writing for a year and it’s time for something else.

making  - I just made chocolate chip cookies for my orthodontist for my very last visit on Thursday. Also I made left over turkey shepherd’s pie on Saturday, along with a skillet pumpkin pie. (first one after this fail, but be sure I tasted the filling before baking it this time=) A lot of bread also for these people I live with.

wearing – Right now skinny jean, a sweater and wonderfully warm wool socks. My mom likes to keep our house right at 68 degrees. Drives me crazy, but I just put more clothes on=( but not without a lot of complaining. Lately with the temperature mostly below 15 degrees, it been these kind of clothes a lot.

needing - more hours in a day, I never get enough done. I need more than 12 hours of day light. I could totally go with a 24 hour day and maybe scratch the surface of all I need/want to get done. Have I over planned my year???? I, seriously, have so much happening in the coming 10 short months I’m feeling overwhelmed. TIME is the most precious commodity to me at the moment. But maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew…too many pots on the stove at once.

wishing – for spring temperatures so I can start running outside again…the treadmill is oh so boring. I workouted upstairs (everyone was gone) yesterday and actually worked up a sweat…it’s been forever, our basement is so ccccoooooold. Also I want to make maple syrup. It’s that time of year again and I miss doing it terribly. While in Tennessee one of the neighbors, near where we stayed, were boiling the sap down…and remembering that smell, I just wanted to cry.

feeling – very tired lately and not a whole lot of energy. But I’m in the best condition spiritually and emotionally that I have been in years. So now I just need to work on the physical aspect of my life. But maybe I should slow down some, that might actually help a lot .

loving – the wardrobe reduction Christina completed on Friday. Two huge bags of clothes went to Goodwill… our dresser is so much easier to maneuver through. But I can’t tell much of a difference in the closet, but we do have more free hangers…haha!

wanting – to start on writing out all my favorite recipes in these darling little cookbooks I just bought. I want to go sledding today. I want to take an Epson salt bath. (I don’t know why I just want too) I want a kitchenaid mixer. I want more patience with my siblings and other people in my life…they are not the over achiever I am and that’s fine. period.

So what about all of you??? what have you been up to lately?