Yummy Enchilada Recipe

This is just a quick post to share a super-yummy dinner. Most of the ingredients are canned and I can't say that it's particularly healthy, but it's low cost and feeds a lot of people...or gives you leftovers for most of the week!

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can chicken broth

1/2 packet of fajita or taco seasoning (lower sodium)

1 small tub of sour cream (regular or low fat, I don't recommend fat free)

1 small can of fire roasted chiles

1 can of red enchilada sauce

1 can/jar of green enchilada sauce

flour tortillas (about 6)

cheese, shredded any kind that you like

9x13 glass pan and cooking spray

Preheat Oven to 350

1.) boil chicken in chicken broth and taco seasoning

while chicken is boiling, complete the following:

2.) in a medium sized bowl mix together green chiles and sour cream (don't smell this, it doesn't really smell very good)

3.) shred cheese if needed

4.) preheat oven

5.) spray pan with cooking spray

6.) pour green sauce in the bottom of the pan

7.) chop or shred the chicken and add to the sour cream and chile recipe (do not add liquid from the chicken). Stir well.

8.) spoon the chicken and sour cream mixture into tortillas, roll them up and lay them in the pan however they fit best.

9.) once you have added all of the tortillas, pour red sauce over the top and put cheese on top of that.

10.) bake in the oven until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

...and that's all :)

Oh, if you want to decrease the need to eat such a large portion, add this as a side:

1 can black beans, drained

1 can white corn, drained

1 can rotel, drained

1/2 purple onion chopped

cilantro and salt to taste

white vinegar

mix all of the veggies together in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Fill bowl to about 1/2 inch from the top of the veggies with vinegar. add cilantro.

THANKS MOM AND DAD FOR TEACHING ME THESE YUMMY RECIPES!

Orlando Minus "The Magic of Disney" (and some more stuff)

Hello Friends and Family!

If I'm correct, this is week 4 (well, the very beginning of week 5) of the new year and I'm on my fourth post! I think I can keep this up!

Russell and I spent the weekend in Orlando and had a fabulous time. I needed some warm sunshine in my life and as always, we love trying new restaurants and experiencing new communities.

Before I go any further, let me say- we're going to have to learn to take more pictures if I'm going to keep blogging. Sorry for the verbose and picture-lacking post you are about to read...

I'm sure your first question is- "Ooh, how was Disney World?!" and the answer is "We did not even drive by it". As many close to me may know, I HATE Disney. Does that make me a terrible person? Maybe, but I sure hope not. For someone who loves children as much as I do, one would think that I would inherently love Disney as well. However, I pretty much dislike everything about it. Sweaty, large people in fanny packs, Goofy hats, and souvenir t-shirts- once angelic children screaming and morphing into terrors- giant characters- long lines to wait in so I can ride a roller coaster that I don't care for- $15 chicken strips- overall just not my idea of a good time. Sadly, Russell longs to be one of those tacky tourists.

Good friends of mine, the Rickels family, had a tradition that when each child reached mid-childhood (8 years old, I think) they got to go on a trip with their dad. I'd say each trip was memorable for each kid as they still talk about their Dad Trip to this day. Russell and I think this is such a cool thing and hope to carry to start this tradition our own children someday. This will be the perfect way for Russell to hit Disney World multiple times in his adulthood and I'll NEVER have to step foot in the Magic Kingdom again :)

Now, on to what we actually did in Orlando- Russell arrived on Thursday evening and had a marathon interview for most of the day Friday. I arrived Friday evening, we met up at the airport and headed to our hotel. Although I haven't blogged about pre-2011 events, I'll take a short moment to tell you that we spent a weekend in Pittsburg and stayed at a hotel with debatably the WORST service in the industry. Ok, back to our trip- We stayed at the Hilton Orlando. We loved it! Fabulous, friendly service, clean room with a great view of their expansive pool, reasonable prices, a new fitness center and the list goes on. We HIG

HLY recommend this hotel to non-Disney travelers. Even better- for some reason American Express sent us a free Hilton Honors card for one year so if we wouldn't have been dumb, we could've used it to have an Executive room for no additional charge and access to the Executive Lounge (whatever that is).

Our first (and only) stop was dinner at Season's 52. Season's 52 is a Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Capitol Grille, Longhorn Steakhouse) chain. That's right- Katie and Russell Bloodworth sought out a chain restaurant on vacation. Write that down; it will probably never happen again (we prefer local flavor). It's a great concept- seasonal food, some of it local with reasonable prices and a fabulous wine list. There are only a few of these restaurants for now, but I have a feeling they'll roll more of them out soon! We had a flatbread for an appetizer, Russell had pork tenderloin and I had scallops both with unique sides. The best part is, all items on the menu are under 475 calories. This means that the portions are really just made for one adult (not a football team) and that the meals a

ren't totally drenched in sauce. We loved course 1 and 2. Dessert is a cute concept that we feel isn't working out for them. They serve double shot desserts (mini indulgences) we had a chocolate cake and a pecan pie conglomeration. They tasted very "boxed" and weren't on par with our meals. We were sad to leave with that taste in our mouths. Overall, we give the restaurant an A- in the chain restaurant field.

Saturday we spent the day in Winter Park, a lovely suburb of Orlando. If Russell and I ever make the move to Orlando, there is no doubt that this is where we'll live. The main streets are all brick paved, there are many parks, beautiful houses and friendly people. Park Street is where most of the action happens. It's a great blend of shopping and dining with something for everyone. We ate at a little bistro where Russell had a delicious cheeseburger and I had surprisingly good chowder (tomato based, not cream based). We arrived at 11am and sat behind four 60-somethingwomen who were downing martinis at what appeared to be a "book club meeting" (is that what they call it these days?). We walked around the town for almost 3 hours popping in and out of shops and browsing menus. We stumbled on a Farmers' Market which was said to be the best in Orlando. The people were very friendly and learned about the local dog park- multiple acres with ponds. What a wonderful place for our furry friend! We followed up our walk with a drive through the residential part of the neigborhood. It borders a lake and their are many monstrous homes that surround it. Fortunately there are "regular people" houses too in many shapes, sizes and styles. The best part is the mature trees that form a canopy over the streets and give privacy to the homes. Hands down, one of the best neighborhoods we've visited in awhile!

That evening we ate at the Ravenous Pig, a gastropub. We intended to get reservations but we quickly learned that you needed to call on Monday for a Saturday reservation. Quite the interesting policy they have- open seating is first come first served. Literally. They don't take your name and seat you as seating comes available. It is up to you to scope out a table and then begin hovering when it appears that the current diners are finishing up. Awkward you say? Yes. Very. Anyway, our food was good, but a little on the salty side. The beer list was small but carefully chosen (note the beer picture on the right...sadly I don't remember what they were, only that they were really good beers...view Russell's Facebook reviews and I'm sure he'll write about them) and our dessert- my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Banana bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream. It definitely brings the restaurant grade up a bit! Overall, we give it a B+ in the realm of gastropubs.

Wow...I didn't realize I had written so much....just a little more...

Sunday, we brunched in Celebration. Celebration is a Disney property and it's a little too Disney for my taste. It's most definitely a retirement community and it's very safe and clean. Both great aspects of a community. We just felt that it was a little too planned for our taste. We spent a few hours walking through the neighborhoods and ended our walk on a trail. The best part of the day was seeing some adorable otters playing in one of the ponds. I don't think I've ever seen them in the wild before! I could've watched them all day. The wildlife in Celebration was definitely the highlight!

...and that's all :)

We Love Beer!!

Ok, let me explain. The title of the blog is not for "Yay let's get really drunk"-beer. It's for "Who knew how many exciting flavors and brands there are?"-beer. Russell and I have recently embarked on somewhat of a beer expedition. We've been curious about wine (and we are still of course) but we've discovered a newfound love of beer. One of the major perks is that while a "fine" bottle of wine will cost you upwards of $50, a really cool beer costs around $11 per 6 pack and a luxury beer will cost around $20 for a wine-sized bottle.

I have the privilege of being married to a somewhat...hmm how do I say this...obsessive collector of a man. He loves collecting information and tends to get hooked on specific topics or objects for extended periods of time which eventually fade and are followed by others. When we met, he was collecting knowledge about exercise and healthy living, hence his foray into P90X. He then shifted onto luxury discount websites such as Gilt Group, Beyond the Rack (which we don't recommend), and Rue La La. Next came the honeymoon search which led to collecting knowledge about the best resorts in the world. This led to a slight obsession with Fiji. I'm sure there have been several other phases in between and prior but for the moment we have landed on beer. Now let me pause by saying I love Russell's obsessive nature and it's one of the reasons I married him. Along the way, I usually become quite interested as well and gain a wealth of information (and goodies) from Russell's research on the various topics that he chooses. That said, he could probably benefit from having his credit card being confiscated every once and a while to prevent the excess materialism.

So here we are with beer. We currently have quite the collection in our refrigerator, and the bigger bottles have taken over our wine cabinet. We've tried IPAs, Lagers, Porters, Stouts...dark beers, light beers, amber beers...one fish, two fish, red fish blue fish...

We've discovered that North Carolina is a wonderful place to have a beer "phase". There are tons of local and regional breweries here and many of the local shops carry lots of specialty beer. Just last night we visited a spectacular hole-in-the-wall called Sams. It looks like a very typical sketch-tastic liquor store on the outside, but on the inside is a beer palace. We stumbled upon this place after searching for the best beer we've ever tasted, which we discovered at Blue Mountain Beach, FL. We had just decided that we'd never find it again when we were given a lead by the wonderful employees at one of our favorite Durham establishments, Parker and Otis.

The beer we were looking for is made by Stone Brewing Company and it's called Vertical Epic. This is a beer in a series that is only released once per year. The most recent is 10.10.10. Next year will be 11.11.11. You get the idea :) Each year it is a new formula and only a limited number are made. Sounds exciting, right? It is! It has a very unique flavor and is brewed with wine grapes and chamomile among other things. I don't know all of the technical beer flavor terms but I would say it's a complex yet refreshing flavor. I think I'd eat it with light pasta dishes and pesto or white based pizzas (how's that for sounding smart?). I bet you're guessing if we found it at Sam's...WE DID!!! We were so excited that we bought every one on the shelf, and I'm not kidding. The label suggests aging the beer until sometime after 12/12. We're going to try our best to save a few to see how the flavor develops!

Of course we (i.e. Russell) couldn't leave with just one kind of beer so we visited the sale rack and found Bateman's Triple XB XXXB Classic Premium Pale Ale. It was a gold medal winner at the International Beer Awards and wa

s on sale for about $4/bottle. We just had a tasting and we loved this one too. Russell thinks it's a better beer for summertime and I think I could agree on that. A fruity flavor, light on the carbonation, and without the metallic taste that might come from stronger pale ales. The bottle says it goes best with cheese and red meat.

Look for more beer suggestions from the Bloodworths in coming weeks :)

When I Grow Up I Want To Be...

...a race car driver, a princess, a mommy, a ballerina, a doctor, a fisherman, Batman, a police officer... Just a few of the responses I've gotten from my kids (and when I say that I mean the kids I see in therapy) this past week when I ask them what they might like to be when they grow up. Little did they know I was just looking for ideas!

Who knew such a simple question can be so mind-boggling? The older I get, the more careers I learn about and the more interesting the job market becomes. However, since I chose to go to school to be a speech pathologist, I feel an obligation to stay in this field. This brings me to the conflict I'm facing now- I've resigned from my current job as an itinerant speech therapist and I'm back in the market for a job. There are some specialties in speech pathology that peak my interest, but I think I might want to try my hand at something totally different. Is this wrong to veer from the career path I set for myself in graduate school? What a stressful decision!

Here are the things I know about myself for now: I do not like working in schools, I do not like the lack of office community I feel and I do not want to drive an hour each way to work everyday with no cell phone service. I do want a rewarding, fast-paced job. I do want to make a decent amount of money and I do want to work in a professional setting.

Every week I think I come up with something else I want to be when I grow up...or at least what I want to be for the next 18 months.

Here are some of the things, in no particular order, I've thought of recently and the positives and negatives that go with each:

Lactation Consultant (that's a breast feeding coach for those who are wondering)

Plus: rewarding, uses some speech pathology skills, variety of settings, decent pay after certification.

Minus: two years of expensive certification required, difficulty finding a mentor and a place that will hire me with my current skills.

NICU Feeding Therapist (primarily working with premature and special needs babies to help them learn to eat among other things)

Plus: very much stays in the speech pathology field, great pay, very rewarding, hospital setting, something I'm very interested in.

Minus: very difficult to find a job, high stress

JCrew Personal Shopper (commission-based job, general store work included)

Plus: I love J.Crew, I'm good at dressing people, work with adults, wear great clothes to work, easily transferrable job if we move to a place with J.Crew.

Minus: would have to practice lots of restraint so that I actually brought home a pay check, weekend hours, lower pay, working over Christmas holiday, has nothing to do with my degree.

Nordstrom Manager (you know, what managers do)

Plus: Nordstrom has a very high employee satisfaction rating, work with adults, wear great clothes to work, utilize my consulting (bossing) and organizational skills

Minus: same as J.Crew except better pay, has nothing to do with my degree.

Wedding and Events Coordinator

Plus: I love entertaining and planning, utilizes my consulting, coordinating and organizational skills, social position, possibly flexible hours.

Minus: would probably have to work as an assistant for awhile, unknown pay scale, work on weekends, has nothing to do with my degree

The time has come to make a choice. I will be a part-time employee beginning February 6. The clock is ticking!

I'm welcoming all suggestions, advice, job leads I can get! What WILL I be when I grow up?!

New Year's Resolution (or We Miss Our Friends and Family)

As I sat yesterday thinking about resolutions for the new year I came up with the following list: eat better, exercise more, go to church every Sunday, keep up with friends and family, spend less money, and figure out what I want to do with my life. While all of these are important resolutions and something that Russell and I will work on throughout the next year (and hopefully lifetime), I wanted to resolve to do something a little more creative.

After spending the past two weeks with family and friends, I realized how separated I felt. While catching up, I often use the phrases "life in Durham is great" "married life is so fun" "eh, a job's a job" and sticking to that. It's hard to remember the important details of events that happened days, weeks, and months before and sometimes it's just easier to stick to the basics. I've decided that I no longer want to just "stick to the basics". I want my family and friends to know what is going on over here. I want to remember my life as a newly-wed and a North Carolinian...here it goes.

I, Katie Ellen Stilwell Bloodworth, resolve to write at minimum one blog post per week for the next 52 weeks.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks:

This is the picture of my lapse in judgement while making soup for Christmas gifts. Lesson learned: boiling soup cannot go in a blender...I'm still finding soup splatters around the house.

Waiting to be seated at dinner in Birmingham. We had so much fun with Tully!

At Blue Mountain Beach, FL. We had fun spending some down time at the beach with my family. I'll have to admit, it felt odd wearing sweaters on the beach.

I'm aware that blog post #1 has not been the most interesting or enlightening...my promises that future posts will be more worthwhile.

Happy New Year!