It’s hard to believe January’s almost half over and I haven’t posted my Christmas pictures yet. Actually, that’s not that hard to believe. The only resolution I’ve accomplished was canceling my gym membership. Ciao (for the 4th time), 24 Hour Fitness! You know I can’t stay away for long & will always support you! (Financially, that is.)

Also, I had hoped to have my new blog “theme” up to make the recipes more easily searched etc. but alas, I no longer have any free alone time now that I always have a child with me. Therefore I’ll need to enlist professional help. Stay tuned for my new blog & URL “Real Housewife of Santa Monica” hopefully out in 2012!! Seriously, hopefully up in February.

I love the idea of enchiladas but wanted to make them without that jar of red/brown sauce they’re usually swimming in. Not that I don’t LOVE that sauce & pretty much all sauces but every once in a while I like to make something a little lighter, fresher & more easily visually discerned. What the *@#$% am I talking about?

We were heading out to a friend’s birthday “Under the Sea” birthday party so I made all the components before we left. Our friend, Katarina (remember her from the alphabet wall post?) wowed us with all the details!

Maddie dressed herself for the party.

We were the first to arrive so I took some quick snaps before anyone else got there. Don’t you hate the guests who arrive RIGHT ON TIME?

A watery wonderland!

Fishing pole licorice imported from Sweden in person by a helpful brother.

Starfish honeydew!

Floating jellyfish.

Make a fish station.

Starfish PJBs.

Shimmery fishy background.

The CAKE!!!!!!

This cake was not only cuteness overload but also REALLY DELICIOUS!!! (Katarina: if you are reading this – please tell us what kind of cake it was in the comments section below??) I know it had chocolate and a fruit jam layer…YUM!

An adorable party thrown by our friends! Phew – that was a ton of work.

When we got home, we assembled & baked the enchiladas. These are easy, appealing (despite poor photography skills) & tasty.

Adapted from Whole Foods.

Here’s what you need:

Chopped veggies.

Corn (fresh or frozen.)

Diced tomatoes, black beans & tortillas.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
3 TBS favorite salsa (OPTIONAL)
2 tsp cumin
2 TBS chili powder
2 TBS olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 ear corn (or 1 c frozen corn) removed from cob
cilantro to taste (I totally forgot to buy cilantro)
ground black pepper to taste
1 can diced tomatoes (or Rotel if you want some spice!)
3/4 c Mexican shredded cheese
8 corn tortillas (makes 4 enchiladas)

We were getting ready to go to a friend’s birthday party so I didn’t take pictures of each & every step but I know you get the idea of sautéing the veggies… Here we go:

1. In a medium bowl, mash the drained & rinsed black beans. Add 2 TBS cilantro, half the cumin & half the chili powder.

Add the salsa to the black bean mixture if you have it! Combine.

2. Sautee onions in olive oil for about 4-5 minutes being sure to stir to coat with oil. Add minced garlic for another minute & stir to coat.

3. Add corn, stir & cook for about 2 minutes. Add zucchini & red pepper & stir to coat. Cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Add tomatoes to mixture along with the remaining cumin and chili powder & cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. (Option: I pureed my tomatoes in a blender. This is only recommended for the PICKIEST of eaters. They will never know there are tomatoes in this dish now.) If you blend them, add to the onion/veg mixture at this point!

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I am a huge fan of this stuff now. You all probably use it all the time but I just started using it and it saves on REALLY bad dishes when you’re done cooking. But I digress… place 4 tortillas on the baking sheet. Using half the bean mixture, top each tortilla. Then top that with the tomato/veggie mixture. Finally, sprinkle about half the cheese on top of the tortillas. Now add your 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th tortillas on top (think “lasagna.”) And repeat the process, using the rest of all your ingredients.

First (bottom) layer complete!

You probably noticed 6 stacks in my pix. That’s because I planned to make extras. I started making the first layer and soon noticed I must’ve only had 10 tortillas to begin with. You do the math(s). Anyway, I decided to make two open-faced ones.

Mmmmmm…jalapenos!!! I LOVE THEM!! I can’t help myself.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Top with remaining cilantro, lemon wedges & sour cream if desired!

These are really tasty & good the next day too!