Black Bean & Chicken Verde Enchilada Bake.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Or as I like to call them, “Shelby’s Enchilada’s”. My friend, Shelby , posted about these enchiladas a few weeks ago and I immediately saved them to Pinterest knowing that they would be an easy Taco Tuesday meal for us to make on repeat. I love that the chicken can be made in the crockpot, it uses simple store bought green ingredients, and my kids can help with the assembly.

Those are things I always look for when it comes to weeknight meals. It needs to take less than 20 minutes to put together, and I should be able to involve the kids in some way. I’m not saying that they help with dinner every night, but most nights, one or more of them will stop their play to come to the kitchen while I’m working on dinner and I like to be able to offer them a job. It helps them take some responsibility in our family meal, pride in helping, and connection with me for even just a few minutes during the rush of getting home and getting dinner on the table. Not an easy feat! For this meal, they were able to help mix the enchilada sauce and sour cream, they shredded the cheese with our (beloved) rotary grater, and they helped to layer the enchilada ingredients in our pan. Making this reminds me a lot of making lasagna. It’s layered in just the same way!

I wasn’t really expecting a ton out of these enchiladas, but they were just so good. My husband had thirds – and that’s how I really really knew that I needed to get these down on “paper” to make again soon. You can find the original recipe here if you like. I’m sharing as I made them. Only a few changes from the original! Note that I used less chicken and only did two layers of tortillas to make a smaller batch. The original called for three cups of chicken and three layers of tortillas. I used a can of beans to make the meal go further and to save a bit on the meal. Beans are cheaper than chicken.

Chicken Verde Enchilada Bake

2-3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded- you can make in the crock pot, or just buy a rotisserie chicken!
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup sour cream
1 28 oz can green enchilada sauce, mild or medium
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 corn tortillas
cilantro, chopped – to garnish
optional: corn chips, tortilla chips, avocado, tajin, salsa verde to top

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Warm chicken broth in small frying pan for tortillas.
  3. Mix the enchilada sauce and sour cream. Stir until well blended.
  4. Mix the shredded chicken and black beans.
  5. Spread a thin layer of the enchilada mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Use tongs to hold a tortilla in the broth for a few seconds. Then place tortilla in the 9 x 13 pan, four in all for that layer.
  6. Next, sprinkle half of the chicken and black bean mixture over the tortillas. Then add half of the enchilada mixture over the chicken. Add half of the cheese.
  7. Add another layer of four slightly soaked tortillas. Add the rest of the chicken and black beans. Add the rest of the enchilada mixture and cheese.
  8. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Broil for 3-4 minutes if you like a crispy cheese topper. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Top with desired amount of chopped cilantro. Spoon into bowls, add your favorite toppers (or eat as is) and enjoy!

Our Home in Lights.

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If you’ve been following along on Instagram with our home renovations – you know that the ceilings have been a top priority. And ok yes, also the fireplace and taking down the wallpaper and, and and. But mostly the ceilings. We lived for years with our popcorn ceilings and lights that I hated in our previous home. When we finally got up the motivation to have the work done, I realized that they should have been our top priority to begin with. The ceilings you live with make such a gigantic difference in the feel of your home. So in our new home, they’ve been the first thing on the list. We removed popcorn ceilings before we even moved in (the dust it creates is – phew!!), the ceiling fans came next, and finally we decided we should just go for it and replaced the rest of the lights while we had someone coming to work on the house anyway. And let me tell you – I am so happy we did it. Our ceilings make me so happy now! So if you too are on the hunt for some new lights for your home – I’m here to share our picks. Maybe you’re ready to replace those boob lights that have been haunting your dreams?? I don’t know about you, but once I knew their nickname, I couldn’t bring myself to look at them for another moment.

  1. My favorite affordable Schoolhouse Light. We installed these in our old kitchen and entry and I’m just gonna say that you can’t go wrong with this classic. We installed them in the entry in this house and I love them so much. I also really love this one if you had a small hallway that you’re looking for. If you’re on the hunt for hallways – we installed these small ($10!!) acorn lights in our last house and I loved them too.
  2. Our beloved ceiling fans. The only fan I would put on a ceiling. We live in south Florida and neeeeeeeeed fans in our house. These blend into the ceiling and aren’t at all an eye sore. They pack a powerful breeze too!
  3. A ruffled pendant for over the sink. Just vintage style and cute.
  4. Flush Mount lights for over the island. These are right next to our rather eye catching table fixture. I wanted something to tie in with the pendant and the dining table light. I felt like these worked without being distracting. I didn’t want too many things hanging down from the cetiling and having flush mount lights over the island really opens up the space.
  5. A double light sconce for over our dresser. The only light that I really splurged on. I wanted something special for this little nook in between our bathroom and closet. This one is perrrrrfect. I thought that three lights would feel too much like a bathroom, and one light sconce wouldn’t fill the space right. I’m glad that I spent a little extra on something I felt was really perfect.
  6. Finally – our dining table light. I saw this on display at Home Depot and I was immediately like “YES” that’s the one. And then I chose the other kitchen lights to tie in with this one because I love it so much. It just fits the style of our new home, and I think it looks so pretty without being too MUCH for our open floor plan. I love the classic black chandelier that we put into our old house, but I just think this one goes a little better in this home.

There you have it! Our home in lights!

A September To Do List.

~ emetroka ~ 1 Comment

Ah, bliss, September. The calm before the storm that is one holiday after another. The month of knits flung with abandon, the month of cooling breezes, and the smell of burning leaves, and football all weekend. If you’ve been here for a while – you know the drill. I make a little to do list every month in categories important to me. I pick one thing from each category every week and it helps me actually do things that I enjoy doing rather than letting the month pass me by as if it never happened.

Bake

  1. Pumpkin Bread (of course)
  2. Apple Pie
  3. Maple Donuts
  4. Applesauce Cake with Brown Butter Icing

Treat

  1. Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
  2. Apple Pie Pancakes
  3. Autumn Harvest Granola
  4. Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Meals

  1. Chili & Cornbread (my husband’s classic recipe that I desperately need him to write down)
  2. Roast Chicken
  3. Beef Bourguignon
  4. Broccoli Cheddar Soup
  5. Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

Cocktails

  1. Coffee Old Fashioned
  2. Gin Fizz
  3. Apple Pie on the Rocks
  4. Pimm’s Cup

I have a few other categories that vary month to month, but they are – House (house projects to work on), Dates (with my husband – at home or out of the house), Adventures (Outings/trips!), Must Do’s (Housekeeping items I hate doing, but must – like making dentist appointment), and Fun (little things to make the month special). They’re a little more personal in nature! I find it helps make my months so much smoother when I eliminate brain fatigue and make all my choices at the beginning of the month. You just might find the same is true for you! Happy planning, friends!

Last year’s September list if you’re in need of more inspiration for the month!

A Rhythm For Summer.

~ emetroka ~ 1 Comment

It’s my last day at school and I’ve got summer rhythms on my mind. As a teacher, of course I love a schedule. I think that most kids thrive when they know what to expect in their day. Summer is supposed to be fun though!! Throw the schedule out the window. Structure be damned!! You’re right, sort of. For me – if I go totally schedule free – it’s hard to toe the line between fun, carefree and go with the flow without losing my marbles on my three little boys. I’ve learned that the hard way. I like to meet somewhere in the middle between the rigidity of a schedule and the fluidity of free range parenting. And that’s where a rhythm comes in. What’s the difference between a rhythm and a schedule? Not much. A rhythm to me is more of a guide to your day. A schedule is more firm and typically has times.

Our rhythm may vary slightly from day to day because *hello* I still do want to be spontaneous and fun summer mom. I just don’t want my kids to wind up sitting in front of a tv all day because I haven’t thought of anything for them to do. The core piece of our summer rhythm is – in the morning we do a field trip outside of the house, and in the afternoon we stay home and get in the pool. The only firm times on my rhythm are that we need to be home from our field trip by 11am so we can have lunch and get Lukey down for a nap around noon and that dinner happens around 6pm. The other thing to remember is that my kids get up early. Like 6am early. So if your kids sleep in (you lucky duck), this outline might need some shifting to work for you!

Summer Rhythm 2023

Goals: Be flexible, have fun and live outside.

The Morning:
Work out first thing – take whoever is awake in the running stroller.
Shower and get ready before husband leaves for work.
Breakfast
Morning Chores
Art/Worksheets/Reading Time
Field Trip – home by 11am
Lunch
Nap & Quiet Time for boys – Prep Dinner now!

The Afternoon:
Pool & Water Play
Indoor play or movie while I make dinner. Planning to do lots of grilling/easy dinners during summer, so minimal kitchen time will be needed.
Bikes, Chalk and Scooter play on the sidewalk while we wait for dad to get home from work.
After dinner walk or evening swim.

That’s it guys – that’s our summer rhythm! I think I’ll do a couple more *summer* posts this week – lunch and dinner ideas, field trips, activities/art projects, summer reading, etc. Nothing but fun with the occasional meltdown thrown in. Lol.

What about you? What do you do for summer? Any special schedules/routines you follow?

Thumbprint Cookies.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

File these little gems under “best after school snacks”. The only thing that might make these even better is homemade jam. Bonne Maman is never a bad stand in though.

Thumbprint Cookies

2 cups (284g) flour
1/2 cup (50g) almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, at room temperature 
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup more for rolling
1 large egg plus 1 large yolk 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup strawberry (or your other favorite!) jam 

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line sheet pans with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients – flour, almond flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. 
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for about a minute. Add the 3/4 cup sugar and mix on medium until light and fluffy – about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add the egg, yolk and vanilla. Mix on low until combined.
4. Add flour and mix on low until combined. Use your rubber spatula to scrape down the sides to make sure it’s evenly combined. 
5. Roll the dough into 1/2 oz (15g) or about 2 teaspoon balls. Roll each ball into the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. 
6. Place cookies on each sheet pan and use your thumb to make an indentation in the middle of each ball. Fill with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of jam. 
7. Bake one pan at a time, rotating halfway through. Bake until cookies are puffed, sides are set and bottom is just beginning to turn golden brown. About 10-12 minutes. Let cool on pan and store in an airtight container.