What I'm reading now

I'm just starting this book tonight. I've read one or two other books in this series. Not in order, just the 1s that sound good. The book is set in Maine on a farm. A local berry farmer gets killed & Candy Holliday will help find the killer.

Wordless Wednesday-Pretty beaches

Tasty Tuesday-Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Soup

Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Soup

Photo from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom.

Ingredients

• 32 oz chicken broth
• 24 oz chicken breasts
• 2 cans of Green Chile enchilada sauce
• 4 oz can of diced green chiles
• 3/4 cup of water
• 2 tbsp of ground cumin (see tip above)
• 1 tbsp of chili powder
• 1 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 cup of frozen corn (defrosted)
• 1 block (8 oz) of cream cheese (cut up into a few pieces. room temperature)
• 3/4 cup of instant rice (not cooked)
• salt and pepper to taste (depending on the sodium level of your broth, you may need more salt.)
• tablespoon of corn starch (only if needed)
• optional: shredded cheese, avocado and/or sour cream for garnish

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Instructions

Add everything to a large pot, except the rice, corn & cubed & softened cream cheese. Reduce heat for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve & top with your favorite soup toppings.

If you are going to make this soup on the stovetop, I recommend ditching the powdered onion & garlic. Instead in a large soup pot, saute 1/2 large diced onion and 3 teaspoons of minced garlic or 3 cloves minced in a bit olive oil until translucent & starting to brown. Then add the green chiles & other spices and cook for another few minutes. Add the broth to deglaze the pan. Add the chicken to the pan, bring to a boil, then add corn, rice and cubed and softened cream cheese.

 You may need to cook just a bit longer to ensure the cream cheese is melted completely. At this point, you can judge the consistency of your soup. If you would like it thicker, mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with about 1/8th of cup of water and then mix into the soup. After 10-20 minutes the soup should thicken considerably. 

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Notes: I made the soup on the stovetop, not the crockpot. I didn't add any chiles or corn starch. I added garlic powder, we were out of onion powder. I would have added real garlic & onions, but I had already started it in the pan.

The Weekend

Welcome to the weekend. It seems like it's going to be a busy weekend. We're working on getting my love seat set up in my office. Anthony is going to take the bed apart & then I can see what is under the bed & figure out what to do with everything. Tara is cleaning up her room, so we can set up her new bed, night stand & dresser. So things will look different by the time the weekend is over. I'll have to get some pics. This coming week is school vacation week too.

My new love seat.

Changes

There are so many changes going on lately. I'm not always okay with change. It depends on the situation. I just found out that 1 of my fave radio stations is going off the air. Tomorrow is there last day. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary (like me. I'll be 50 this year too). So that's really sad. I've been listening to the channel since I was probably 12 years old. A restaurant that we go to once a year Fuddruckers has closed down. The closest location to us anyway. The Manchester Friendly's closed down. I think the only local 1 is Nashua now. Kmart & AC Moore are closing & Benson's bakery. A bakery that we went to once. I also heard that Bed, Bath & beyond & possibly Pier 1 are also closing. I personally still like to go shopping in a store. Walk around & see stuff in person. I'm sure there will be a bunch more stores closing. I hope none of my faves.

Wordless Wednesday-Shamrock Shake

Birthday wish list

1. Vintage 1970 t-shirt. Can you guess how old I will be in June?

2. Too Faced-Born this way eye shadow palette.

3. Pots with faces just make me smile. This 1 is at Target, but they haven't set out the garden/patio stuff yet.

Maybe I'll add a few things each month until my birthday.

Monday Motivation

Nail Files.Week # 343

Today I have on OPI-I manicure for Beads. It's such a pretty purple. It's 1 of my faves.

Happy valentine's Day

Wordless Wednesday

Nail Files. Week # 342

Today I am wearing Orly Epix-Color Indie. It's such a pretty royal blue. It makes me happy when I wear this color.

Be Happy

Working on me

This year I'm working on making small changes that will stick. Doing more things that make me happy, trying not to worry as much & not let certain things bother me. I see a lot of posts about being more positive & how it can make you happier or writing down things that you are grateful for or things that you appreciate. I write in a journal every night & I think I am going to start writing down a few things that I am grateful for every night. I'll see how it goes & let you know if I feel any different.

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday-Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients
3-4 cups cooked shredded chicken (i use cooked rotisserie chicken)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 large can enchilada sauce (La Victoria is my favorite)
3 cups shredded cheese (i use mexican blend)
10-16 flour tortillas

Directions
Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Step two. In a large pan over medium heat a teaspoon of olive oil. add the onions and cook until translucent. Stir often.

Step two. Combine chicken and onions in the frying pan. Stir until combined.

Step three. Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the chicken and onion mixture – just enough to coat the chicken.

Step 5. Once the sour cream and parsley are fully combined, turn off the heat. now add the shredded cheese. I usually add 2 to 2-1/2 cups. Sometimes more.

It just depends on how cheesy you want it. I like the mixture to be creamy & cheesy.

Step 6. Pour just enough sauce in a baking dish to cover the bottom of the dish. (UPDATED: spray pan with non-stick spray first).

Step 7. Fill the tortillas. spoon sauce onto a tortilla, and then some of the chicken mixture.

Step 8. Roll the tortilla and place in the baking dish. repeat until enough tortillas fill your baking dish – or until the chicken mixture is all used up.

Step 9. Pour enchilada sauce over the completed enchiladas and spread evenly over the top.

Step 10. top with shredded cheese and garnish with chopped parsley. covered with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes. remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking. cook until sauce is bubbling, tortilla edges are slightly crisp, and the cheese to melted. enjoy!

Serves 8-10.

Recipe from Sandytoesandpopcicles.com

Monthly goals-February

1. Dye my hair.

2. Vacuum the stairs.

3. Make an appointment with the dentist for a follow up. (My crown broke & I had an infection Oct-Dec).

4. Meet up with a friend for lunch or coffee.

5. Clean out my bedroom closet.

6. Bring stuff to Goodwill.

7. Work on more scrapbook pages.