Weekend Things

We had a fun and productive weekend. We are getting ready to sell our house soon, so we had several appointments to show our house throughout the weekend, which makes it tough to leave the house during the day but we made sure to venture out in the evening.

On Tuesday,  we had dinner at my sister’s house with my mom and they prepared a feast of a meal. The weather has been warm so we did a cook out and dined outside in the patio. This is one of my favorite ways to eat salmon, grilled on cedar plank and topped with nori, salt and sesame seeds. I wish we had leftovers. Also, I need to buy cedar plank to use at home.

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Hawke is now 8 weeks old. He is starting to show his personality. My favorite is when he looks at me during playtime and give me a big smile. Smile so big that his eyes looks closed :) He is also starting to play with his toys, Sulley and Eeyore.

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He loves to do playtime on my chest.

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I can count in one hand the amount of times we’ve dined out with the baby, but at 8 weeks, we are starting to have our routine/schedule down so we know when is the best time to do an outing.

He used to fall asleep on car rides, but not anymore. He likes to look around and so curious now.

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He was behaved and played on his car seat for most of dinner, until the end when this picture was taken.  You can tell by his face that it was time to go home.  The restaurant was crowded on the weekend and maybe he was over-stimulated with all the noise.

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We enjoyed a birthday sundae, a free coupon was sent to me last month. It was a delicious and very decadent chocolate sundae that was shared with everyone.

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My normal Sunday food prep for the week ahead: pre-cooked eggs for easy breakfast sandwiches, shredded chicken, cooked a pot of quinoa, pre-made salads and cut up the fruits. I love doing this to save time throughout the week.

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Sunday night – Taco night in our house. Can you tell that I love cilantro?

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{Recipe} Black Bean Enchiladas

Once you have a baby, everything changes. But I didn’t realize that how I approach cooking would also drastically change. There’s definitely a mental shift of how I spend time in the kitchen now.

When I look for recipes nowadays, I look for recipes that can be prepared ahead of time, can be made in bulk and that is freezable.

This black bean enchiladas recipe is one of our favorites. It has a permanent place in our dinner rotation and I make it every month. The ingredients are simple and includes pantry staples. I found this recipe a few years ago from Can You Stay For Dinner blog and have adapted it to our taste.

 

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Chris loves meat and usually eats some type of protein in the form of meat or fish for dinner. Me? I can eat vegetarian meals and not even notice if meat is missing. The husband loves these enchiladas and is satisfied with this meatless meal.

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I have been making the enchilada mix ahead of time, then freeze half of it. The other half I keep in the fridge so I can just assemble the enchiladas for a quick dinner. It’s really easy and quick.

Sometimes I make a big batch.

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or just two.

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I love serving it with all the usual toppings, cilantro, sour cream/greek yogurt and more cheese. I also make roasted broccoli to round out our dinner.

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Black Bean Enchiladas

12 flour tortillas (I use medium size, 6″)

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 – 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (I use cuban black beans from TJs)

1 – 16 oz bag frozen bell pepper strips, cooked and drained

1 or 1/2 packet taco seasoning (depends on your taste)

2  1/4 cups medium salsa, divided

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

****I love Trader Joe’s brand for the taco seasoning and bell peppers. I only use 1/2 packet of taco seasoning to cut back on the sodium and it still has great flavors.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and spread 1/2 cup of salsa over the bottom. Lay your tortillas out on a clean work surface.

In a large bowl, mix the rice, beans, peppers, taco seasoning, and 3/4 cup salsa. Divide evenly among the tortillas. Roll each tortilla tightly and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish.  Pour the remaining 1 cup salsa evenly over the tops of the rolled tortillas in the baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Serve with hot sauce and sour cream.

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A Day In The Life – April 2013

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  I’ve seen other bloggers document “a day in the life” and it inspired me to do the same. I love recording and taking pictures of our daily lives, especially these first several weeks after Hawke was born. All the pictures were taken from my iphone. A few of them are very grainy since I […]

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Lets do {express} lunch – Quinoa Bowl

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I’ve missed this place, this blog is my creative space and I miss it. It has only been a month since I’ve given birth and already I feel like I am starting to see the flow and rhythm of having a baby at home. Don’t get me wrong, I am still adjusting, but I do […]

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