100 Happy Days!

If you're on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter you've seen folks doing this #100happydays thing. Basically, you commit to posting a picture every single day for 100 days that makes you happy. I've decided, rather hesitantly to hop on the 100 happy days bandwagon here on my blog. It's really more of a way for me to practice accountability and get back into blogging more regularly.

I met up with a former co-worker turned sister-friend, Morgan (who is about to launch an uber cool and trendy blog detailing her fashion and world travels) last night at our favorite happy hour spot - Fleming's. They seriously have the most amazing happy hour. After having girl talk about life, marriage, friends, travel, shopping, etc. and too many blueberry martini's we ran into Dolvett from The Biggest Loser. I must admit, I'm a huge Dolvett fan so I jumped at the opportunity to snap a pic with him.

Oh, and we ate. . .way too much food. It wouldn't be a Fleming's happy hour without their monstrous burger (which by the way, is $6 bucks at happy hour), blueberry martini's and for the fun of it a lava cake. . .Hey, at least I went to the gym yesterday morning to try to counteract the yummy ridicuouslness that happened at happy hour.

#100happydays starts now!

Quinoa & Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I'm completely addicted to Pinterest. It's my guilty pleasure. If I'm bored and don't have anything to do I will log on to Pinterest and pin away. As I continue to settle into my new role as a wife I like to do wifey things like. .. try new recipes on my husband. Sometimes they turn out great and other times we end up having to make an In-N-Out run, lol but hey, at least I'm trying.

I'm a serious foodie. I love cooking and experimenting with new recipes. As we try to live a healthier lifestyle I've been incorporating different foods into our diet, my favorite being Quinoa. I probably use quinoa in at least two of our meals every week.

While on Pinterest I cam across a recipe for Quinoa Enchilada Casserole. I'm famous for my traditional enchilada casserole, it's a staple in my potluck arsenal, so I was really excited to try the recipe but decided instead of following someone else's recipe I would simply use it as inspiration and make my traditional enchilada casserole but add quinoa. Here's what I did. . .

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• Chicken breast (I cut chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken I purchased at Costco - you can either add chicken breast or make this dish vegetarian - it's up to you)
• 1 15.5 oz can refried OR black beans
• 1/2 cup frozen corn (I used trader joe's fire roasted corn)
• 1 small white onion
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 red bell pepper 
• Fresh spinach (I used about 2 cups)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 can rotel diced tomatoes
• 1 15.5 oz can green enchilada sauce
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Shredded cheese

Seasonings used:
Garlic salt, black pepper, seasoning salt (I season to taste, so I don't have exact amounts)

Directions:

1. I cooked my quinoa in the rice cooker prior to preparing the other ingredients. 
2. Pre-heat your oven to 350. 
3. Once my quinoa was fully cooked I cut my onion and bell peppers, corn and garlic and sauteed them in 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, saute them for 5 minutes. 
4. Next I added chicken breast I cut from my rotisserie chicken, 1 can of refried beans, 1 can of rotel diced tomatoes and your cooked quinoa. 
5. Add fresh spinach, stir around and let cook for 3 minutes.
6. Mix all of that together and add 1 can of green enchilada sauce. 
7. At this point you can add your desired seasonings. 
8. Next I place the quinoa mixture into a casserole dish and top with cheese. Hubby mentioned that it would have been better if I had add a layer of cheese in the middle of the mixture - hmmm maybe next time. 
9. Put in the oven for 10 minutes and BOOM that's it. Super easy and super yummy. 

Sitting on the Sidelines

This past year has been so freaking amazing and so freaking tough at the same time. Amazing highs and humbling lows. I sit here some days wondering how in the heck I got here. To this unfamiliar place. There have been days when I'm like really God. I thought you had plans for me?

I had an epiphany recently. . .or rather the holy spirit kind of tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that God hasn't forgotten about me. He's really been there through every season of my life, even in the seasons when I couldn't hear him clearly. He was with me at 26 after getting out of a crazy, overly emotional, draining relationship when I cried out to him for a husband. Granted, it took 3 + years of dating for Him to bring the promise to fruition but. . .heck, He was faithful. Not necessarily on my timeline, but faithful nonetheless. In March of this year I married my best friend, my ride or die. . .God's best for my life.

The holy spirit reminded me that when I prayed to get into grad school the Lord was faithful. When I prayed to pass my comp exam for grad school the Lord was faithful. When I got myself into so many stupid and silly situations and cried out to the Lord to help me. . .He was STILL faithful. And you know what, He didn't have to be. I put myself into that foolishness.

If you're like me in this season and you feel like you've been sitting on the sidelines I encourage you. .. no, I implore you to get up and get out there. God didn't bless you with all of those gifts and talents to sit idly by. Whatever dream He placed on your heart. Whatever promise the Lord has given you, He's faithful. It might not be on our schedule and it might require a little more effort than initially thought, but don't stop believin' (que the Journey music).

Trust me y'all. .. this blog is as much for me as it is for you. I hope it blesses you. Now, get up. . .get out and make some stuff happen. Nothing great was ever accomplished sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else do the work.