Keeping Dallas Tasty: Avocado Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Nom! Nom!

Mom found this recipe courtesy of a facebook friend last week and we made it for dinner when I was over to visit on Monday.  Definitely a must make again.  The sauce is fantastic, and I'm sure could be used as a dip or on other items.  We used corn tortillas instead of flour, but that's cause mom's a mexican food traditionalist.  I'm sure the flour are just as good.  Enjoy!

Avocado Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients for the Enchilada Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock - (you could use vegetable stock)
2 teaspoons of cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup mild or medium salsa verde
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Ingredients for the Enchiladas
3-4 cups cooked chicken breasts, chopped or shredded
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
3 avocados, peeled and chopped
8 flour tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium sauce pan, saute garlic in butter for about 1 minute on Medium – High Heat. Stir in flour let it cook for about 2 more minutes.
2. Next stir in the chicken broth, cumin, salt, pepper and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro until smooth (or at least as smooth as you can get.)
3. Prepare a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Add about 1/2 cup sauce to the bottom of the pan. and spread out until bottom of the baking dish is evenly coated.
4. Lay out a tortilla and add chicken, shredded cheese, and avocado to the end of the tortilla and roll. Then place the rolled tortilla seam-side down and repeat until the pan is full.
5. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Cover with 1 cup of cheese and bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Loving On Shorts

Short stories, that is.

This or some other year of this has been living on my nightstand recently...

I love reading.  Always have.  When I was a child, I would sneak read late into the night under the blanket with a light.  At least I thought I was being sneaky.  Mom or dad would usually come around at some point and tell me to get some rest already, which likely means they were onto me.  Throughout high school, I was of the nerd variety that didn't view assigned reading and the subsequent class discussions and essays as a chore.  I loved it!...well except for when we read Ethan Frome.  That was a snooze of a story if I may say so.

At some point thought, I strayed away from regular reading.  I'm not quite sure when it happened.  I'll still pick up a book and plow through it on an airplane and on vacation, but in my day to day life I've gotten too "busy."  In other words, I don't make the time to make it a priority.  That got me to thinking on something much larger recently.

To often, we stop educating and developing ourselves as adults.  Or maybe that's just me.  I've been working to make a conscious effort to pick up that dropped ball on that end.  This blog (and regularly writing, even if it's not highly edited and critique worthy) is part of that conscious decision.  Reading shorts has been a wonderful way for me to get back to nightly reading.

Part of what I do at my current job (well only for one more week) is festival planning and adult workshop planning.  We regularly struggle to fill seats in our adult workshops, but come family festival time it seems we can't have enough staff and volunteers on hand to assist with the turnout.  One thing I've learned is that parents will take the time to bring their children out to learn about gardening, butterflies, insects, the environment, composting, etc, yet adults don't make that time for themselves.  It's been eye opening.

I spent New Year's Eve in Phoenix with my family and some cousins and uncles/aunts (Hiiiii Phoenix Hetts!).  My Aunt Barbara got creative on us for an activity for the evening.  She whipped out a bunch of canvases and paint and told us to get to work.  No if, ands or buts.  The reaction from us at first was somewhat reluctant.  I'm not an artist.  I don't paint.  What am I going to do with that great big canvas?  Then my younger brother (who's not so young) who is mentally handicap and attends a dayhab 3 times a week that keeps he and his friends busy with life skills development and activities jumped right in and began painting with no hesitation.  Dayhab does for him something I don't do for myself -- it continues to develop him.  Seriously though, can I go to dayhab?  The rest of us got motivated.  It was relaxing and required us to channel our creativity.  I can't remember the last time I did that.  The final result.  That's mine on the far right.  Dan's is on the far left.

Seriously though, when was the last time you painted?  Planned a trip to a museum for fun?  Played an instrument?  Attended a lecture or workshop?

For me, I've decided it's too few and far between.  Time to make a change.

When Loyalty Seems Better Than Awkwardness

Surprisingly, my post about Bare Minerals has elicited quite a few comments from people in passing.  Mostly girls who:
1. Agree something has gone downhill in the quality of the product.
2. Want to be kept updated on what new makeup I settle on.
The latter is still a work in progress, but it's had me thinking a lot about brand loyalty and my brand loyalty in particular.  This could get dangerous.  We're talking the jeans I buy and the friend who cuts my hair.

At some point last week one of my friends, Hsu, shared this article on Tide, their brand loyalty and a recent spike in crime related to shoplifting the product off grocery store shelves.  It's a fascinating article, not just for what it shares about brand loyalty and some of the psychological reasons for it, but it also sheds some insight into the black market of retail.  And of course drugs.  Drugs are sexy and make good news, right?  Something like that.

Now, I'm not a Tide user, so I was shocked to hear the the high rate of loyalty it inspired from its' customers, especially those in low-income brackets who one might assume is instinctively buying a cheaper product because they're on a budget.  Once I thought about it a bit longer, I wasn't surprised.  I'm a creature of habit in most of my purchases, from haircuts to pancake syrup (Mrs. Butterworth's only please!).  I've kicked off a makeup "testing" spree this week and let me tell you, I think one of the biggest obstacles to change is that it's awkward and contrary to how every salesperson treats customers.

What do I mean by that?  Stop right now and think about how you feel when you run into your hairstylist and it's obvious you've allowed someone else to cut your hair.  That feeling is what I'm talking about.

I'm also talking about how employees in retail want to make the sale and I don't blame them.  Especially at the makeup counter (and the Nordstrom shoe department).  They especially don't want to see you walking next door to their opponent once you're done with them.  And that's exactly what I've been doing this week.  A couple of friends recommended makeup that I ought to give a whirl.  Instead of going out and throwing down around $20 a bottle to strike out by trial and error, I've went in to each make up counter (and to Ulta) and asked for samples.  There's something incredibly awkward for me to approach the makeup person, explain what I'm doing, that I'm a little lost as to what product to by cause I haven't changed base in 6 years and ask them to give me a sample after testing a couple products on my face.  It feels like for all their help, you should reward them with a purchase and explaining that I want to trial and see how the makeup wears throughout the day just FEELS weird.  It feels like I'm personally rejecting them when I'm not purchasing their product at the end of their work/spiel.  That's not to say they look at me sideways or appear disgruntled and I know it's not a rational feeling, but it is the feeling.  They're more than happy to give me the sample, it's just not how we're used to shopping.  Shopping and marketing has been geared to encourage the impulse purchase...and it works on me (and most people, I think), is all I'm saying.

So look forward to some reviews of some make up in the future, specifically on under eye concealer and liquid foundation.  That said, I'm not a fashion/makeup blogger and don't intend to turn this into one.  You probably won't be fortunate enough to find me posting pictures of my face for you to judge yourself, you're just gonna have to trust me or judge me when you see me out and about :)

And maybe go out and pick up a few samples at some counters yourself.

Medina Oven & Bar: The Verdict's In

Every month, a group (a rather large group actually) of my friends and I get together to try out a new restaurant in Dallas.  We call it DTF (Dining This Friday).  Kayla organizes us and by organize I mean she selects the restaurant, pesters us to RSVP, calls in a reservation, then deals with all of our last minute add-ons and cancellations the day of.  She's a patient one.  We're all over the map, from Bolsa to Angry Dog to Toulouse.  The goal is to give our taste buds something new every month.  January's restaurant was Medina Oven & Bar in the Victory Park neighborhood of Dallas.

Medina's a smaller size restaurant near the American Airlines Center.  When our group of 20+ arrived, we sat nearly 2/3 of the indoor area of the restaurant.  I was surprised they'd allow us to make reservations considering how much of their capacity we took up, but they were happy to oblige.  Before we get started, let me throw out that I am by no means a Moroccan/Mediterranean food connoisseur.  Actually, I'm not a food connoisseur period, so this review may be lacking in vivid and descriptive language.  I just know what I do and do not like.

First stop, Medina's "Sexy Drinks" Menu.  The name alone was enough to prevent the boys at my table from ordering off of it.  Don't worry, it appeared they had a sufficient selection of manly beers and liquor for them.  I ordered the Med-Rim Margarita, a grapefruit/tequila concoction of some sort.  It wasn't anything special.  If you like Grapefruit Juice and want to add a little alcohol to the mix, well then, there you go.  Maybe don't pay $9 for it though?  Don't worry, now that I'm blogging, I've become that annoying girl who takes pics of food and drinks when they arrive at the table.  Presenting your Med-Rim Marg:

Kayla made me jellious with her Caramel-Fig Martini.  Definitely a better choice.  And the swirly caramel on the glass was much prettier than my iPhone camera pic conveys.

My end of the table conspired together to order a selection of appetizers to share.  My favorite, hands down, was the Goat Cheese & Harissa Phyllos.  I think the rest of the table would agree.  The side sauce was delish and I love me some goat cheese.  It all melted in my mouth for yumminess.  There wasn't a lot that I ate that made me think, "I MUST GO BACK!" but this app is something I could see myself craving in the future.  The calamari was pretty good, too, with a sauce poured all over the calamari to give it a spicy kick.

The Beef Cigars were all anyone could write about in their Yelp and Open Table reviews, so we ordered some of those, as well.  They didn't hold a candle to the Goat Cheese and Harissa, but they weren't too shabby.  And of course, there was hummus.

The entrees came out quickly and fairly fresh.  Especially considering the order size for our group and how small I imagine their kitchen must be.  For the most part, they were all covered uniformly like so:

Our waitress had listed the Beef Tagine, Apricot Chicken Tagine and Chicken Marrakesh as their 3 most popular items.  It seemed like most of the table picked one of the three.  I went with Beef Tagine:

Those are prunes and almonds on top and the sauce definitely had a unique, sweet (perhaps prune like) taste to it.  The dish was well cooked.  The flavor was original.  I ate all of it, but the flavor profile just wasn't very "me." I think.  That could be the Moroccan/Mediterranean influence of it that I'm just not used to.  Who knows.

The Chicken Marrakesh:

And the Seafood Pastilla:

That seafood pastilla was tooooo much.  I only had a bite and it was good, but the dish was, well...seafood-y.  I couldn't imagine making my way through the whole dish without the flavors overwhelming me.  I think Kayla felt the same, as she kept giving away generous portions of her dish :)

One of the first things I check out on a menu are their desserts, so I shared an Orange Blossom Creme Brulee with a friend.  It was a good decision.  Nom nom!

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give Medina's a 3.5.  I think that has more to do with my personal taste than the restaurant and the food they serve.  Service was excellent.  Food was quick and fresh.  The meats were well cooked.  The restaurant would be a good fit for a date night, girl's night or group dinner.  Everything was there, in theory, that should rank them hirer on my food scale, but it was lacking somehow.  When I think of a 4 or 5, I think of a place I would recommend my family go to for our Sunday family dinner.  There wasn't anything that struck me so strongly that I need to go back, but if I were in the area for a show or basketball/hockey game at the American Airlines Center, then eh, why not?

Bare Minerals No More

When it comes to hair and makeup and perfume and clothes, I'm a loyal creature.

For example, I started wearing Tommy Girl in high school.  To this day, I still wear it.  Should I be embarassed by that admission?  Well, I'm not.

I've had all of 3 hairstylists in my life and all the changes in stylists were changes of necessity.  My high school hair stylist.  Even when  moved to Austin, the first 2 years or so down there I would only get my hair cut when I returned to Rockwall and Terri.  My friend Leslie converted me to her Austin hairstylist 3 years in.  He's probably the best person who has ever touched my hair.  When I moved back to Dallas, I couldn't very well justify commuting to Austin for haircuts, so I had to find a new hairstylists.  There I am on number 3.

About 6 or 7 years ago, a coworker introduced me to Bare Minerals.  Yes, that make up line that pops up on late night TV infomercials alongside Proactive.  I had been a Clinique girl my entire life before then, but this coworker of mine always had a fantastic face on.  I tried it and loved it.  So much so, that I converted many a friend to Bare Minerals.  They'd ask what I was wearing, I'd take them to Ulta to buy their own started pack and bam, they were sold, too.  It got so ridiculous, that at one point, the Ulta manager saw me come in with yet another friend and offered me a job, on the spot.  If we're gonna be honest about it, it wasn't me.  The product was so good, it sold itself.  I remember a high school/college/kickball friend (Hi Christa!) telling me a fellow kickballer had described me as that girl "who always had perfect makeup on." (Hi Melinda! If you read this, that is).  That wasn't cause I obsessively checked my makeup all day.  That was Bare Minerals.

In the past year or so, I've started to notice the coverage has changed.  It begin to feel like I needed to apply more and more powder to get the coverage I was accustom to.  By the end of the day, it felt like all the coverage was gone.  I have (and have always had) dark undereye circles.  The summer bisque powder concealer worked wonders when I first tried it, but it begin to feel like it wasn't working so well recently.  What's worse, I noticed that in pictures, light raccoon eyes would appear where I'd applied the undereye makeup.  Like in this pic:

 I thought maybe I was just over applying and this is how my makeup actually looked in real life (eep!), but after asking a few friends for honest feedback about it, it seemed that wasn't the case.  That's just how the makeup photoed.  What in the world had happened to my perfect makeup line?!

They sold out, that's what.  I googled a couple of combinations of Bare Minerals + Changed or Bare Minerals + Bad Coverage, etc to see if anyone knew anything about why this change seemed to be happening.  Nothing really popped.  Except for this article about Bare Minerals/Bare Escentuals selling to Shiseido in 2010. The timing makes sense and if the commenter on the article is to be believed, they've changed their magic recipe.  For shame!

So I'm on the makeup hunt.  And I'm not very good at change.  In the meantime, I've switched to Revlon's Photo Ready Foundation that my cousin, Mary Claire, recommended on her blog a few months back.  I'm using the under eye concealer from the same line.  It's okay, but I suspect I need better coverage than that.  I've heard good things about Benefit's under eye concealer, so perhaps I'll start there.  And in the meantime, I'll be taking suggestions for concealer or foundation.  Wish me luck (or send me your suggestions)!

Our One Year Anniversary!

Whoda thunk I'd make it to a one year anniversary?

One year ago, on Sunday January 8th 2012, I met this guy:

He was not my first choice (Shhhhhh! Don't tell him!), but my 4th choice at Dallas Animal Services.  Let's just say this, he and DAS are lucky I am the persistent person I am.  Also, a year later and with some perspective, I count my blessings that I didn't end up bringing  home a Jack Russell Terror...er...I mean Terrier...puppy.  The BDog (originally named Eddie by DAS) was around 3 months old and all of 4.9 lbs soaking wet when he came home with me.

Thankfully (and much to Richard's dismay), he never grew up to be the big, mean rotty we joked he might be (you never know what you're getting with a mutt!).  I don't know if you can tell but he was a shy guy his first month or so and incredibly crabby with any new dogs.  Socialization was definitely a learned skill.  Who can blame him though?  His bark, not his bite, is probably what helped this 4 lbs of cuteness survive the street.

Bentley may be a mutt and pound dog, but he cleans up well, don't you think?

For a chihuahua (or any breed of dog, for that matter), he's not yappy.  Bentley loves doggy daycare, dog parks, fetching balls, slaying dragons, hanging on patios with moi, cuddling on blankets and annoying my mom's older dog, Snow.  We crate train so he doesn't get to indulge any nasty habits that I'm sure he would love to pick up.  Like destroying virtually anything you leave him alone with.  He is a dragon slayer, after all.

Did you know Dallas Animal Services has a selection of over 600+ dogs and cats for you to choose from?

Only $85 for a dog, $55 for a cat and they run specials on dogs and cats who are at-risk of being euthanized, sometimes as low as free to a good home.  You can check out these "VSPs" on their facebook page.

That's right, dogs and cats at your city shelter are at risk of being euthanized if they don't find a homeowner.  Dallas euthanizes nearly 75% of the animals that come through it's door.  Healthy animals that would make wonderful pets (like Bentley) if they only had a welcoming home.

If you're considering welcoming an animal to your home, consider adopting from a shelter instead of shelling out tons of money for a purebred from a puppy mill.  It's cheaper, mutts are healthier and dogs and cats are dying every day for lack of a home.  And if you have a dog or cat already, get'em spayed/neutered AND microchipped.  Lord Bentley The Dragon Slayer is begging you!

Okay, not really, he's living the good life and napping...

In Defense of the Bubble Gum Girl

A month or so ago, my brother shared this article by Camille Paglia with me: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taylor-swift-katy-perry-hollywood-398095.

Let me throw this out there first.  This may surprise you because of my conservative and libertarian leanings, but I love reading Camille Paglia's political writings.  When she took a leave from Salon Magazine to work on her new book, I was sad not to have her monthly ruminations to read.  She has a refreshingly honest, albeit liberal, take on politics.  She can admit when her team is screwing the pooch.  She is an advocate of "picking your battles" politically and occasionally I find myself scratching my head along with her watching the political theater go down.  Most importantly, even if I don't agree with her, Camille appears to have a consistent argument and set of values she is advocating.  That I can appreciate.  So to read her critical, confusing, hyper feminist take on Taylor Swift (who I love) and Katy Perry, followed by her defense of Rihanna was mind boggling.

A friend just shared this Tina Fey quote from Bossypants on facebook: “It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don’t like something, it is empirically not good. I don’t like Chinese food, but I don’t write articles trying to prove it doesn’t exist."  I haven't read Bossypants and I don't know what context Tina was sharing this in, but it seems fair to apply it here.  So Camille doesn't like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's bubblegum girl image, but why exactly did she feel the need to convert other people to her side and write a lengthy article on it?

Because they don't fit her feminist movement image of what she fought for.

And that's where I get angry.  Because Camille isn't the only one and this isn't just about Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.  Wasn't the feminist movement about the freedom and choice?  The freedom and choice to break the glass ceiling, to excel in academia, to work that 9-5 job and raise a family OR the freedom to stay home, be a bubblegum girl, enjoy baking and sewing, shopping and other girly things.  How about both.  Or neither.  It seems to me lately that all the women who held the torch and fought for my right to wear pants, work, stay single or raise family, etc want to come back now and tell me and my peers what we should be doing and how we should be exercising the rights they fought for.

I'm an unabashed fan of Taylor Swift.  Her music isn't a "guilty pleasure" for me.  I openly embrace and enjoy her music.  I don't expect everyone to, but I can't tell you how many times I hear something along the lines of, "She's too nice.  It's just an act."  Well YEAH.  Britney Spears being a virgin was "just an act."  So was her subsequent turn to slutty, which was "just an act."  Ok, let's get real here, Britney wasn't acting slutty, she was in fact tragically crazy and slutty.  Camille's beloved Rihanna's S&M shtick is "just an act."  Katy Perry's bubblegum world is "just an act."  Ke$ha is "just an act."  They're all just acts.  These women all stand on a stage under a spotlight, after all.  What did you think they were showcasing, a regular day in the life of an American girl?  Puh-lease.

The truth is all these men and women who spend time judging Taylor Swift for being an act are really irritated that being nice and wholesome is selling.  Camille says it herself, "There’s Taylor Swift, America’s latest sweetheart, beaming beatifically in all her winsome 1950s glory from the cover of Parade magazine in the Thanksgiving weekend newspapers. In TV interviews, Swift affects a “golly, gee whiz” persona of cultivated blandness and self-deprecation, which is completely at odds with her shrewd glam dress sense. Indeed, without her mannequin posturing at industry events, it’s doubtful that Swift could have attained her high profile."  Even worse, I think Camille and those who share her disdain for Taylor are upset that she really might be that modern-day version of the wholesome 1950s girl her generation learned to hate so well.  Weren't the feminists fighting for Taylor and Katy as well as Rihanna?  Why is "acting" slutty or trashy or sexual inherently better than "acting" bubblegum?  That's my question.  Why is Taylor Swift and her music something to be looked down on while Rihanna and her music is elevated?  Did we all forget that Rihanna is such an empowered woman that she allowed a man to beat the shit out of her and THEN GO BACK TO HIM?!  So who's really acting and who's really the empowered woman here?


Basically, to quote Tina Fey again, this time from Mean Girls, "You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores.  It just makes it OK for guys to call you sluts and whores."  Can I add an addendum to that?  We've got to stop tearing down the bubble gum girl and turning wholesome into a 4 letter word.

Keeping January Fresh

My two week vacation from work has come to an end.  More on what I've been up to in a later post (because I assume you're interested :)).  I suspect tomorrow is going to be rough.  In lieu of thinking of the return to reality, I'm looking forward to a fantastic January.  Looking for something a lil off the beaten path to do in January in Dallas?  I'm hoping to check the following off my list 'o fun things to do:

• A group of my friends and I get together every month for our DTF (get your minds out of the gutter!  It stands for Dining This Friday).  Basically, we check out a new restaurant in Dallas every month.  This weekend we're exposing our taste buds to Medina Oven & Bar serving Moroccan & Mediterranean cuisine.   Hopefully it's nom nom!
• Social Science at the new Museum of Nature & Science kicks off on Friday, January 18th.  The topic is "Ingenuity."  Honestly, the theme could be anything.  I've been wanting to go check out the new museum since it opened in December and this adult evening seems like a great opportunity to listen to some guest lecturers, check out the new exhibits and enjoy a drink or two with friends.
• I've pledged to myself to run a 5K a month in 2013.  I'm already off to a good start running the Turkey Trot and Jingle Bell Run in November and December of 2012.  The trickiest part will be finding runs that work with my work schedule.  I'm usually at work on Saturdays, when many of these runs are hosted.  Good thing January's Electric Run is on the evening of Saturday, January 19th.  It's a little pricier, but you can't go wrong with a glow necklace, glow sunglasses, an LED bracelet, lit displays along the course and music.
• Pegasus Theatre's XSR: Die! Black & White production.  We used to go see this annual performance with some family friends back in the day.  I remember it being awesome.  Back then it was hosted in a small theater near Deep Ellum.  Looks like they've grown to a larger venue.  If I can sucker any family or friends into coming along before the show ends on the 20th, I'll be there!

I missed checking ICE! and Chihuly at NIGHT off my December list (I DID squeeze in a beautiful afternoon of Chihuly, but evening tickets were sooooold out :(), but 2.5 out of 4 in the busy holiday month ain't too shabby.