After about 10 minutes, I had had enough! It reminded me of a new-age version of The Real World...but 10x more inappropriate!
But there was one thing about the show that honestly made me laugh--the acronym "GTL."
Once upon a time, when I was still single and living in the heart of our nightlife district, that acronym fit me to a T!!! I did nothing but "Gym, Tan and Laundry"...
I was just out of college, living in a super sweet, newly-constructed apartment complex. Two doors down from my building was a gym. The only thing that stood between myself and that gym was a liquor store and bar...
When the work day ended at 5pm, I headed straight to the gym...an hour or so later, I would go home to make some chicken strips or meet my friends for a quick drink at the bar. The classy part? I was not above going out for a drink in my gym clothes ;-) Looking back, that was so totally gross....
After I was done with my chicken strips or my drink, I would walk 1/2 a block in the opposite direction and jump in the tanning bed for 20-minutes...and if I needed an extra boost of color, I would slather on the self-tanner before the weekend's festivities. As my brother said to Justin the first time they met, "You thought she was a Mexican, didn't you?! Look at the rest of us--we're all white! Bwhahahaha!" Gotta love my baby brother for saying what everyone else is thinking :-)
When I look back at pictures from 5 or 6 years ago, I'm amazed at how thin I was...and how tan I was...but then a husband happened and it all went down the tube!
Nowadays, I'm freaked out by tanning beds--not only have I caught as many skin infections as humanly possible from tanning beds, but the CANCER risk. But I'm also too cheap and busy to keep up a decent spray-tan...the other side of things is Justin refuses to eat "single girl food." Apparently, 3 chicken strips does not constitute a meal for him! Sooo, hearty meals, fleshy hips and jiggly thighs it is!
Here is a prime example: I had a recipe for Roasted Corn Enchiladas that I had bookmarked several months ago. When I went to pull it up yesterday, the link had expired! I was kinda freaked out...it was Friday, and a Friday during Lent at that. The other meals left on our weekly meal plan all had meat in them. I HAD to figure something out!
I did a few Google searches and found a basic corn enchilada recipe and a recipe for a corn sauce. We had all the ingredients on hand and with a little bit of improvising, I was sure we could make it work.
Omigod. The enchiladas turned out uh-mazing. My meat-loving husband didn't even care that they were basically "vegetarian." In fact, he said he would be willing to eat them even when Lent is over! And please--I don't know how to say this without sounding like I'm bragging, but they were good enough to be served at a restaurant! I promise you--you have to try these enchiladas and you will NOT be disappointed! Well, that is, if you like corn because these are super corny! If you want to save some time and have some fun while you're at it, grab someone to help you in the kitchen and the recipe will be ready in no-time :-) And hopefully you'll have enough time left over to do a few minutes of cardio to burn off all the cream and fat you will consume!!! lol...
Roasted Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas
8-9 corn tortillas
Bunch green onions
1 T. olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Bag of frozen corn/black beans blend (defrosted) + 1.5 C frozen corn (defrosted)
1/4 C. chopped Poblano Pepper
1.5 C heavy cream
1 T. butter
1/2 C. dry white wine
2 C. shredded Pepperjack Cheese
Appx. 1/4 C Red Enchilada Sauce
Blackening Seasoning
Cilantro (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Warm 1 Tbsp. oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn/black bean blend + 1/2 C. of the frozen corn; stir until warmed through. Add 2-3 chopped green onions and the garlic, saute until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add 1/2 C. heavy cream and approximately 1 T. of blackening seasoning to the mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 7 to 10 minutes (if you like cilantro, add some to the mixture before it gets too thick). Season with salt and remove from heat. This is about what you want it to look like:
While you make the corn and black bean mixture, have your partner make the sauce. In a frying pan, melt the 1 T. butter and add the remaining green onions (make sure they're chopped) and the diced poblano pepper. When tender, add the remaining 1 C. of corn. Cook a minute or two and add the white wine. Boil to reduce the liquid by one-third. When this happens, stir in the remaining 1 C. of cream and bring to a boil again (watch the cream VERY closely!). Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a blender, puree 2/3 of the sauce. Make sure to hold the lid down because the steam will create enough pressure that it could pop-off and explode sauce everywhere. Stir the pureed sauce back into the 1/3 remainder. This is what the sauce will look like:
Once the filling and sauce is made, is time to start preparing the tortillas. Add about 1 t. of olive oil to a skillet warmed over medium-high heat and stir the oil around. Add a tortilla to the skillet and let cook for about 30 seconds. It doesn't take very long for tortillas to cook so keep a close eye on them. You don't want your tortilla to get crispy; just warm it in the oil and watch for a few brown spots to appear. When that happens, flip it to the other side and do the same thing. Once it's ready, drain the tortilla on paper towels. Repeat this process (adding new oil to skillet each time) with each tortilla. It's best to fry them up as your partner is filling them.
Now, add a bit of the corn and black bean mixture to the tortilla; top with a bit of the Pepperjack Cheese. Trust me--it's worth the time it takes to shred it yourself. Not only is it cheaper by the brick, but it melts 10x better!
Roll the enchilada up and prepare your baking dish. You will need a 9x13 pan; add approximately 1/4 C. red enchilada sauce to the bottom of the pan. You don't want very much--just enough to cover the bottom of the dish. NOW, you can add your enchilada to the baking dish--make sure you place it seam-side down to prevent the enchilada from opening up.
Once all the enchiladas are made and placed in the baking dish, pour your corn sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. We had enough filling to make 9 enchiladas.
Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 20 minutes. After eating, make sure you hit the G in GTL for at least another 20 minutes and repeat again, if necessary ;-)
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