Dinner Time

Confession, I make a lot of mediocre meals. Perhaps I have some kind of bad karma when it comes to picking recipes. Maybe my palate has become too accustomed to the complex flavors in meals made with animal products? I'm not sure but either way, about 1/3 of the new recipes I experiment with, turns out bland (the other 2/3 are often bursting with flavor though!). That being said, tex-mex and mexican food is my go-to for quick, meat free meals. For some reason, I just find the blend of spices, peppers, beans and bold flavors so easy to work with. They are forgiving of mistakes and so simple.
Enchiladas are one of my favorite dishes. Way back when, I was pretty limited on what I would and would not eat. I discovered enchiladas while working at a women's shelter...my shift mates convinced me to order El Faro with them late one night and it was instant love (followed by a horrendous stomach ache, but well worth it). I had finally explored the world outside of tacos! At the time, my love was just for the chicken enchilada. Cheese seemed to overwhelming and beef was never that appealing to me. It was a few years later, when I began to explore the veggie world, that I learned to substitute beans and veggies for chicken (and later lentils, I will write about that sometime soon). Have to say, I definitely prefer a load of green, red and yellow peppers to bland, chemical filled chicken.
Most mexican/tex-mex meals are simple and do not need a "recipe" but I often find myself mentally exhausted and locating an easy recipe is much less effort. Recently, I made Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas based on a recipe I located on Taste of Home (recipe here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Black-Bean-Veggie-Enchiladas) and they were delicious!
I made a couple changes, I'm a huge fan of using what you have rather than running to the market for 1 or 2 things. First, I added more onion. I had a bag of smaller yellow onions but also had a tupperware with about 1/4 cup of diced onion left over from a vegan shepard's pie recipe...might as well use it up! Second, I skipped the mushrooms. I only had canned on hand, and just wasn't feeling it. Third, I used a red bell pepper because it was what I had on hand. Forth, I added jalapeno because I had some seeded and frozen. Last, I made my own taco seasoning...because it is just too simple not to! ( http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/ ) In total, it made 8 smaller enchiladas. I did one pan with shredded cheese (for the fiancee) and one without. It was a little spicy (in a good way) but I broke down and topped mine with a little sour cream (my downfall) to cut the heat. I didn't think to take a picture...but you know what enchiladas look like. I'm also kicking myself for not having a price/serving break down....difficult to do since I already had everything in the kitchen. I will recommend, if you have time, using dried black beans and re-hydrating them yourself. Save some major $ doing it this way. A former grad school pal discusses canned vs. dried beans here: http://simplylivingsimplylovingthesimplelife.blogspot.com/2012/11/things-i-would-never-buy.html

A little about me

First, I'm new to this whole blog thing. Second, despite years in advanced and honors english classes, grammar is not one of my strong points (grateful that my bff is a copy editor). If you can overlook those two things, then welcome.
Over the past several years, I've flirted with being a vegetarian...and sometimes vegan. I've had quite a few solid runs, but jumped off the wagon on numerous occasions. Basically, I've learned that I am not ready for that lifestyle quite yet. So, clean eating is my new goal. Removing as much processed crap as necessary. Focusing on meals based around plants.
I've also flirted with DIY cleaning supplies. This has been a new passion of mine...getting all those complicated chemicals out of my life! I feel better knowing what I'm spraying all over my house, and I love saving a few bucks by making things on my own.
This blog will serve a few purposes....1) keep myself accountable, 2) keep track of successes & "oops" moments, lastly, share my ideas/successes with others who are also flirting with some of these ideas.
So, who am I?
-32 years old
-live in the NW Chicago suburbs
-have a masters degree in school & career counseling (but currently working as a test-prep specialist)
-recently engaged (wedding planning is sure to come up here)
-recovering Target-a-holic
-actually, recovering shop-a-holic all together
-mother to 3 fur-babies (2 curious cats and 1 big ole' baby of a dog)
-proud member of a HUGE Irish family that drives me crazy but I love them all

I love v-neck t-shirts in solid colors (J. Crew Vintage are the best by the way...but Old Navy Vintage are a good economy buy). I also love a good pair of jeans...J. Crew's matchstick are my current obsession. I could live in flip-flops but do not recommend wearing with the matchstick jeans (always have a couple good pairs of bootcut on hand). I'm completely against obvious make-up, keep things natural looking at all times. I really dislike painting my nails as they will inevitably get jacked up in an hour to 24 hours after painting. I love all things citrus...for eating and smelling pretty. I don't understand the "Ombre" or whatever it is called obsession...although, I don't like most dye jobs in general. Sorry, blond streaks always look fake. Spend a couple hours enjoying a sunny day, looks way better.
I'm sure there is a ton more...but time to get back to my regularly scheduled life.