There was a time I was forbidden to make these.  I used to make them every now and then, but my husband complained that he couldn’t stop eating them, so I was asked not make them ever again.  Never never never.  When it comes to these favorites, I don’t listen very well.  

I love these enchiladas, they make me happy.  Whenever a friend has a baby, this is my go to recipe, I whip up a large batch!  They are my go to recipe whenever a friend comes home from the hospital, like our good friend Mike last weekend.  They are my go to recipe when we watch the Superbowl.  And always whenever I crave comfort food, and don’t care about the effects on my waistline. 

This is my mother’s recipe, given to me when I left home.  You are free to thank her for the tastiness inside, and also blame her for any pounds that creep up after eating them.   

Simple Sour Cream Enchiladas

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, fully cooked & shredded

2 dozen white corn tortillas

1 16 oz. can green enchilada sauce

2 ounces additional green chiles

14 oz. sour cream

4 cups shredded cheese (Jack or Mexican blend)

*using nonfat sour cream and lowfat cheese will decrease the calories!

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Are you like me?  Is the first question you ask when you sit down at a restaurant, "What’s your soup of the day?"  That’s always my first question, especially when it’s cold outside.   I’m a soup lover, a lover of soup.  A super soupy lover.

Sunday was our first rain of the season.  After my mad dash in my pajamas to drag the outdoor cushions into the garage, I smelled that smell.  You know the one:  First Rain.  That first rain of the season that makes the earth smell so good you wish someone bottled it.  There’s got to be a candle somewhere called "First Rain", anyone know where I can get it?   In my world, rain goes hand in hand with hearty soup.

There’s this Italian restaurant in my town that makes the best minestrone soup I’ve ever had.  When I was a working girl, and felt myself coming down with a sore throat, I would phone in an order of a large minestrone and pick it up on my way home from work.  It always brought me back to life and saved me from the impending ailment.  In fact, my husband and I joke that this restaurant’s minestrone is so good, it can cure anything.  So I set my sights on capturing the same flavor at home, and this quick and easy version certainly tastes just like it.

Personally, what I love about this minestrone is there is no pasta in the recipe.  Even with my Italian grandmother’s blood pulsing through my veins, I’ve finally come to terms with the absolute fact that I’d rather skip those mini shell pastas in my minestrone.  And I must have rich tomato flavor.  And white beans.  And hearty fresh squash.  And fresh shaved parmesan.  And crusty bread.  Nuff said.

#1: Tasty Thirty Minute Minestrone

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Hi all, happy Labor Day!  Hope you all are enjoying your extra day off here in the States.  I love all things citrus, so I baked a delicious lemon tart over the weekend for my honey.  Here’s the quick and easy recipe!

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It all started with this strange whirring sound in the middle of the Fourth of July party.  I was catching up with my girlfriends when the sound of a small appliance began to compete with the iPod playlist. 

Turns out, my hub had decided in the middle of the party to make homemade vanilla ice cream.  Huh ?  It was one of those moments where you look at your spouse that you’ve been married to for over a decade and realize perhaps you really don’t know that person at all. 

Apparently, he had pulled the never-been-used Krups ice cream maker (so ancient, it’s now discontinued) out of its dusty box the day before and frozen the bowl in anticipation of making ice cream in the middle of the party.  That’s just how he rolls. 

I confess, I mocked him.  “What’s going on here?”   Reply:  “Obviously, I’m making ice cream.  What’s a Fourth of July party without homemade vanilla ice cream?”   Perplexed and befuddled was I.   But my bewildered smirk gave way to a satisfied grin when I tasted his concoction.  He said, “Don’t you remember, we said we would make homemade ice cream this summer?”   That’s right, I did say that. 

Unfortunately, he’s now created a dangerous monster because I’ve been obsessed all week with my ice cream maker.   Oh, it all started so innocently, with plain vanilla. 

My vanilla soon morphed into pralines and cream with some caramel sauce and chopped pecans. 

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