Garden Enchiladas

A few weeks ago Hubs and I travelled to Pennsylvania where we were visiting my parents.  During our visit we went out to eat at Don Pablos, a mexican chain in the area.  I ordered a Spinach and Pimento Enchilada dinner.  I thought the meal was delicious with the spinach and peppers and onions all wrapped up and smothered with cheese and sour cream.  I also thought that I could cook it better...

When we returned to the PT House I instantly set about researching enchilada recipes.  I was quite obsessed really.  I decided to copy the spinach and pimento idea but I went a bit further to add a multitude of veggies and called it a Garden Enchillada.

I used:
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Jalepeno peppers (seeded w/o ribs)
1 Green Bell Pepper
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 white onion
1 red onion
1 container mushrooms
2 Table spoons Cumin
1 Table spoon chili powder
2 pinches red pepper flakes
S and P
1 Bag frozen chopped spinach
1 Jar pimento slices
1 can beans rinsed (black, white, or pinto is best)
1 Jar green chile sauce
Mexican cheese mix
Sliced black olives
Cilantro, chopped
Pico de Gallo
Corn Tortillas

I chopped and sautéed all fresh veggies with evoo in a cast iron skillet.  Be sure to remove the ribs and seeds of the jalepeno peppers unless you like things really spicy.  I added the seasonings and S and P once the veggies started to look soft.  Then add the chopped frozen spinach, rinsed beans, 1/2 of your cilantro, and pimento peppers.  Once everything is very soft and mixed well add your desired amount of cheese to get everything to stick together and get all gooey.

Then soften the tortillas by frying them in medium-hot frying pan with oil (I used evoo and another cast iron).  If you have a helper it is great to have them do this while you are sautéing the filling.

Fill the tortillas and wrap them placing them in the pan with the opening side down.  Once you fill the pan with the enchiladas smother them with the entire can of green chile sauce, as much grated cheese as you wish, black olives, your remaining cilantro, and pico de gallo.  Bake in the oven @ 400 for 15-20 minutes.

The results are amazing.

I served the enchiladas with fresh guacamole, and a good rose wine.  This as already become one of our favorite dishes and Hubs wants be to make it every week!

Ray LaMontagne

So there is this artist that has this gorgeous rustic voice... and well if there was ever a voice I could listen to all day (except for Hubs of course) it would be Ray LaMontagne. Beautiful. I recommend all of his albums ;-)

I was surfing the web and came across his storytellers spotlight on VH1. The video below is a song about the poverty he grew up in, and he speaks a bit about his mom.

Tags: Ray LaMontagne Storytellers, Ray LaMontagne, Music Videos, Storytellers

Living room make over!

This week, the first week of my summer vacation, I decided it was time to paint the living room. This was the first makeover I've done to a room in our first house! I can't believe we've already lived here for 4 months and its taken me this long to open a can of paint!

You may recall from my post on peonies that the living room used to be LIME GREEN!!!! I think this is a much better, more relaxing, color. :-)



Here are some working photos of Hubs and I.





This time I got to use the roller :-)

Bugs, bugs, and more bugs!

Here at the PT house we have gone through a wet-weather streak, and now a dry weather streak that is accompanied by lots and lots of bugs as a result of the aforementioned wet weather streak.

When I'm working in the yard or garden they swarm around me.  Gnats and mosquitoes particularly.  I was told that herbs will help repel them... and I have an abundance of basil so I clipped of a bunch and stuck it in my bun.  From the picture you can see I am squinting from all the tiny bugs on my face.  So I don't think the basil helped any, perhaps it was the wrong herb? :-) I am thinking of trying some natural bug repellant... I hear that catnip oil does the trick (really, I dare you to Google it) I wonder how all our cats will handle that. 



And then there are the fleas!! So many fleas.  AND all of our animals are on flea and tick meds., AND WE STILL HAVE FLEAS!!!!! Our last trip to the vet (that I mention below) had us loaded up with spray for the house, and pills to kill any bug on every pet we own.  Now we have to pick a day and wage war on the fleas, spray, vacume, and wash every inch of the house.

Whats worse is Kona seems to be allergic to something outside.  He is fine one minute, then we go outside (even for only 5 minutes), and then when we are inside again the skin around his eyes are all swollen!  The first time it happened we took him to the emergency vet and spent about $160!!  We don't know what is causing it, and it keeps returning!  So he is on a benadryl regiment now.  I have a feeling it is the gnats because they swarm his eyes and he keeps pawing his face until after the benadryl has taken effect.



Kona will eat anything I hand him.  I thought he would take the benadryl pill just like a treat but the tiny little size of it confused him.  So I doctored it up with a dog biscuit and peanut butter sandwich.



Notice the pink benadryll in the middle.  He liked his mondo-pill-sandwich, a lot, and spent a good five minutes or so licking his chops afterward.  Hubs and I still do not know what is causing the reaction, but hopefully it stops soon!  Please feel free to comment if you have any idea or tips!

Product Review: Soup and Crackers

Being on a specialized diet (yes we're going strong!) means that you have to make all your food from scratch.  This can become sorta tricky around the PT house because being two music teachers we can get overwhelmingly busy.  So it is a life-saver to find quick meals that are instantly ready and gluten free and vegan without preservatives or a lot of salt.  (Wait?!! does such a thing actually exist?!?!!)

Yes, my friends, it does.

My first go to meal comes from Dr. McDougall's Right Foods.  In fact as I type this it is lunch time and I am enjoying Dr. McDougall's Low Sodium Vegetable Soup.  I have to say that while I was standing in the grocery store weighing my soup options I was weary of choosing the low sodium soup over the regular soup.  I remember not liking low sodium Campbell's soups because they tasted bland!  But I thought I needed to give it a try, this is no Campbell's soup after all. 

I am so glad that I tried the low sodium soup.  I love it.  It is still delicious and full of flavor.  On Dr. McDougall's Right Foods website they state that they have 3 goals when producing food:

About Our Food

It means a lot to us that you eat well. And we’ve got pretty high standards for what eating well really means.

• First, you’ve got to have meals that TASTE GREAT.
• Second, you’ll need a VARIETY of meals to suit any mood and occasion so you never get bored or run out of options!
• Third, your meals should have an ABUNDANCE OF NATURAL, NUTRITIOUS, AND NOURISHING INGREDIENTS so that you feel full and still feel great.

We’re not satisfied until we’ve satisfied all three for you.

I think they've covered all three of their goals with their Veggie Soup!  They also have other gluten free foods and soups, though I have to say I've only had one other soup from their product line: Black Bean (which I also love). I used two cartons of the Black Bean soup and a garden salad to serve four people lunch when my parents came to visit.  It was quick, easy, delicious, and satisfying.  I was so grateful to have a quick lunch so I didn't have to spend all day in the kitchen.
Dr. McDougall's product line is based around the principle that people should be healthy, happy, and enjoy a long life through the benefits of a plant-based diet.  The company also uses sustainable food and packaging practices because they believe that what is good for the earth is good for us also.  Here is what their website says about sustainability:

Sustainable Packaging

• We use paper-based packaging because paper is a renewable, biodegradable natural resource and BPA free
• We source our paper from FSC certified sustainably managed forests that are continuously growing and where biodiversity is preserved
• We use only cartons and cups, which weigh less and take up less truck space than cans, reducing fuel consumption and lowering our carbon footprint (It takes 9 truckloads of cans to ship as many units as 1 truckload of cartons!)
• We recycle at our own facility
• Our suppliers work with waste management companies to encourage investment in equipment that recycles paper cartons and cups.

Sustainable Food

• Everything we make is all natural
• We use only non-GMO ingredients
• We never use animal products
• Shipping our Meal Cups and Asian Entrées weighs less, takes up less space and doesn’t require the energy consuming refrigeration of frozen foods

It feels good to buy a great product from a company that has similar values to ours at the PT house.  I am looking forward to taking a stash of these soups on a camping trip this summer, simply open and pour into a pot and heat up over the fire.  Easy!

Now what is soup without crackers?  Soup without crackers is like peanut butter and no jelly, chips and no dip!  The problem I have found in the search for gluten free crackers is they are too stiff and not absorbent, the first brand of crackers Hubs and I tried didn't absorb the soup at all.  Hubs especially loves the crackers and was very sad about the whole thing.  The crackers which are soft and crumbly and gluten free (which I am also currently enjoying with my lunch) come from Schar.

I know of this company because my Mom, who is also gluten free, will only eat their pasta... and honestly I won't eat another brand of gluten free pasta either.  Now, this is not a pasta review, but I drove an hour to a Martin's grocery store in search of the Schar pasta which I did find (Thank the Lord!!!!!), but also found an array of other Schar products.  Like their crackers.  Their products are so easy to find because they all have the same yellow colored package.  I decided to get them thinking that perhaps, maybe, since they make the best gluten free pasta I've ever had, maybe, they might just be the best gluten free crackers I've ever had?? And they are.  I opened up the package today to find that they have individual portions packaged inside so the rest of the crackers will not get stale.  They are the perfect pair for soup, and perfectly absorbent and crumbly. 

I know that I will have many lunches in my future that will be Dr. McDougall's soup and Schar's crackers!  Happy Healthy Eating!!

This is how we do it....

At the PT house.  Tidying is not our favorite chore.  We are not messy people but tidying is something everyone must do, am I right?

So we've created "Rules" about tidying.  A tiding "how to."

How to tidy your abode, PT style:

First you must plug in your ipod to the largest speakers you have and blast the most motivating music you own.
For tidying I always go to my favorite band from my teen years: Flogging Molly.  Maybe it's the constant bass drum, or the fiddle, or maybe it makes me feel youthful and energized.  What ever it is, I always get more done and faster when listening to Flogging Molly.  Find your grooove. 

Then focus on one room at a time.  Have your kitchen timer handy and set it for 15 or 20 minutes and try to get as much done as possible in that one room for the amount you set on the timer.  When the timer dings, move on to another room.

When you have completed all your rooms, then do the chores that take you all over the house... dusting or vacuuming for example.  

That is how you tidy, the PT house way!

Peonies

When Hubs and I moved into the PT house last year one of the things I loved about the property was that there were peonies! Gorgeous, fragrant, romantic, peonies!  They quickly became my favorite flower.  Since we saw our new house in the fall and moved in during the winter, I didn't really know what would be popping up this spring.  I was hoping for peonies.

Thankfully there are many peonies everywhere!  They are mostly light pink/white, but I spotted some magenta ones buried by some bushes in the back yard.
I waited forever for them to bloom and once they did I cut them and arranged them all over the house.  They smell so wonderful.