Chicken Enchiladas

One of my best friends, Jennell, made these delectable chicken enchiladas when we were in college and I have been entertaining company with them for years. They are super easy (thank you Mr. Crock Pot) and will leave your guests happy and coming back for more.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I highly recommend fresh, local chicken)
2 4-oz cans fire roasted green chilis
8 oz low sodium chicken or veggie broth
4 oz lowfat cream cheese
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Shred chicken when done and add more broth if necessary.

You will also need:
10 whole wheat tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (I use cheddar but mozzarella or monetary jack would work too)
8 oz enchilada sauce (I really like the Chipotle or Fire Roasted Sauce from Kroger)

Coat a 10 x 13 glass pan with cooking spray and begin assembling enchiladas. To assemble put one ladle of chicken mixture and a handful of cheddar on each tortilla and roll up. Cover tortillas with enchilada sauce and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

How Yoga Changed My Life

What images appear when you think about yoga? Crazy poses, strange mantras, and tie dye? While those images may be true in some contexts, I am here to tell you yoga is truly for every body.

I took many yoga classes in college because it was an easy way to reach the 128 credits I needed to graduate and it was great relaxation after Step Aerobics and Zumba. I thought it was fun but I never thought it would change my life. On New Year's Day 2010, I made a resolution to do a yoga practice every day for a year. I would set aside 20-30 minutes to focus on my breathing, stretch my muscles, and spend time focusing on me. I practiced in hotel rooms in Dublin, Virginia Beach, and Nashville;  on beautiful decks in North Carolina and Idaho overlooking the ocean and gazing towards the soaring Rocky Mountains; attended classes in Boston and Charlottesville (Bikram Yoga is not for the faint of heart); and spent a lot of time in downward dog staring at my living room rug. 425 days later I have not missed a practice and the benefits have been overwhelming.

Not only am I more flexible in body (I still have a long way to go before I can do a full headstand or put my legs behind my head), but also in mind. I have always had a fierce temper and regularly deal with anger and anxiety issues. My close friends and family are the only ones who have ever seen "the devil come out" as my friend Becky calls it and I am not proud of this personality flaw. However, yoga has given me more patience and brought a sense of calm to my entire being. Today, I am much nicer to myself and those around me than I was 14 months ago and small missteps, like a schedule change at work, used to drive me absolutely crazy. Now, I can deal with these minute problems with a smile.

My parents have jumped on the yoga train and I could not be prouder of them. My mom has practiced every day since Jan 1 and is already reaping the benefits. She has been fighting a hamstring running injury for about 18 months and yoga has been a huge help in loosening the muscle. We regularly discuss our practices during our phone chats and I can't wait to join her and my Aunt Martha this summer in Colorado for our daily routine! Plus, is there anything more comfortable than a pair of yoga pants?

Today, I encourage you to try yoga. Find a routine instantly on Netflix or YouTube, attend a class at your local gym, and begin improving your life and overall happiness--one downward dog at a time.

Saturday Mornings

Is there anything like Saturday mornings to make you feel happy? I sleep in, enjoy breakfast with Blake,  shop at the Farmer's Market (between April-November), and look forward to the weekend ahead. It is a time for renewal for me when I take a day off from grueling workouts, take a nap, and reflect on the joy in my life.

At least once a month, we meet Andy for breakfast at Blue Grass Grill, another Charlottesville institution, that serves amazing breakfast at a very reasonable price (and we love the ambiance and blue grass music in the background). They serve delicious honey wheat pancakes, breakfast burritos, and french toast but I almost always order two eggs, grits, and a whole wheat biscuit with blueberry compote (yes I look like I ate a smurf afterwards but it is amazing!) and Blake gets the Black Bean Breakfast Burrito with home fries (another one of their delicious staples). I look forward our ritual and always leave very happy.

Andy is at Auburn with the baseball team today so Blake and I will be making whole wheat pancakes at home. In the summer, I make a sweet strawberry syrup to serve on them but it's February so real maple syrup for Blake and bananas and peanut butter for me will have to work. Then we are off to the Virginia Tech basketball game and spending time with our friends Pepin and Sean at Continental Divide. What a wonderful day ahead!

In our lives it is important to set aside at least one day a week for renewal. We live in an overly scheduled society with many demands for our time and attention but we must focus on ourselves and our wellbeing. I encourage you to spend today making breakfast with loved ones,  reading a good book, hitting the links (it was 75 degrees in C-ville yesterday), or even taking a nap. If you take this time, you will have the energy to face another week ahead and truly be your best self.

Recipe for Whole Wheat Pancakes (Adapted from Ellie Krieger Recipe)

1/2 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk (if you do not have buttermilk add 1 t vinegar or lemon juice to non-fat milk and let sit for 5 mins)
3/4 c milk
1 T honey
1/4 t vanilla

Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients just enough to combine them (it's okay if the batter is lumpy). Use 1/4 cup of mixture to make each pancake.

Strawberry Sauce
16 oz fresh strawberries
1 t fresh lemon juice
2 T pure maple syrup

Process strawberries and put in small saucepan over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and maple syrup

Sunday Dinner

Blake and I began hosting Sunday Dinner last summer. We invite friends, decide on the menu, chill the beer, open a bottle of wine and celebrate the week ahead.  Andy is a regular who rarely misses a week and we usually have a large group of folks who join us. Tonight we are looking forward to spending the evening with Andy, Justin, Jess, Sarah, Jerry, Kristen, and Jesse. This group represents old and new colleagues, Darden alumni, and great friends. On the menu? Garden Full of Goodness Lasagna, Homemade Bread, Salad, Baja Berry Crisp, and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

I love to spend time in my kitchen cooking for those who mean the most to me. My life would be void without close friendships and hosting Sunday dinner is my way of saying thank you for being in my life and making me happy! We offer an open invitation to all of our friends to dine with us on Sunday evenings.

Here is the recipe for the Garden Full of Goodness Lasagna. This is a great meal to make on the weekends because it is time intensive.

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 onion
1 cup mushrooms
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 large carrots (peeled)

Cut all veggies in similar sized pieces and roast at 400 degrees for an hour (Thank you Katherine for this amazing suggestion of roasting the veggies instead of boiling them)

Meanwhile saute garlic in olive oil in medium saucepan and add:
1 can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 can no salt added tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon black pepper

Simmer for 20 minutes on medium-low.

Put a stockpot full of water on high with a drop of olive oil and salt (this will be for cooking the noodles)

Stir together:
1 egg
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
4 oz low fat cream cheese

Cook 8 lasagna noodles in boiling water for 6-8 minutes or until tender

To assemble lasagna:
Spread 1/3 of tomato sauce on bottom of 11 by 13 glass pan
Layer in 4 cooked lasagna noodles
Layer in 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture
Add 1/2 of veggies on top
Repeat layering process one more time
Spread additional 1/3 of tomato sauce on top
Put 6 slices of provolone cheese on lasagna and sprinkle with 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
Bake at 375 for 35 minutes (let sit 10 minutes before serving)

*Adapted from a Paula Dean Recipe

Grandma's Granola

Do you have food memories that transport you to a happy place? Maybe fish tacos at the beach, pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, or chicken and veggie skewers from the grill in the heart of summer. One food that transports me back is my Grandma's Granola. Once a year when I was growing up, we would load up the car for the 14 hour drive to Denver to visit my Mom's parents and spend a wonderful week  with Grandma and Grandpa. They had a beautiful yard with huge cherries trees and Frank (my brother) and I would spend lazy mornings creating beautiful blue pottery with them. We would make cups, bowls, plates and animals of various shapes but my fondest memory was enjoying Grandma's homemade granola. She  always had a huge pottery vessel filled to the brim with her mixture of oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds. Today, whenever I take bite of her granola I am transported back to being 8 years old and spending time with them in the backyard. Plus, they both lived to be 90 so it must be healthy! They also enjoyed a daily bourbon on the rocks for happy hour so maybe the combination is the key to a long life...

Here is my Grandma's recipe. You can adapt it by using different nuts like walnuts, pecans, and sliced almonds or different fruit like cranberries and dates.

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup coconut (I don't use the coconut but if you like it, go for it)
1/2 cup brown sugar (I always use raw sugar)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup raisins
1 cup almonds

Mix together oats, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds.
Heat sugar, honey, vanilla, and canola oil over low heat (or in the microwave) but do not boil
Poor sugar mixture over the oats and mix together
Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour (stirring every 15 minutes) on a large cookie sheet
Remove granola from oven and add raisins
Enjoy with yogurt, milk, or over frozen bananas

Call me crazy but I could eat granola for every meal including snacks. I get immense cravings for my "bird seed" as Blake so lovingly calls it and I encourage you to make your own. Store bought granola can be very expensive and contain highly processed sugar which dilutes the nutritional value.
Plus, it makes your house smell divine.  Thank you Grandma for an amazing memory and a delicious recipe.

What food memories transport you back to being with family? I encourage you to dust off some old recipes, close your eyes, and remember...

Your Inner Shakira

I was meant to be Latin. It was confirmed during my morning drive while I was channeling my inner Shakira. Blake is not a morning person so I was trying to make him smile with my awesome dance moves. (Oh and I may or may not have scared my co-worker as I shimmied into PepsiCo Forum to get my morning coffee.) As you have read on many blog posts, latin flavors make frequent appearances into my cooking, I love a good fiesta and Cinco de Mayo is my favorite holiday. I realize that my skin is as white as snow but my mom was born in Tucson so there must be some genetic material that made me predisposed to spicy deliciousness!

 

We just spent a wonderful evening with our friends Emily and Rick at Continental Divide, my absolute favorite restaurant in Charlottesville. I always leave with a huge smile on my face because I just enjoyed a delicious bean and cheese burrito (packed with black beans, cheese, roasted red peppers, and mushrooms) at a very reasonable price. Blake and I get two entrees and drinks and never spend more than $30. This restaurant is a "locals" Tex-Mex joint that doesn't even have a sign (in fact, their "Get in Here" neon sign wasn't even on tonight..) While it's not true Mexican food (see La Michoacan on High Street for amazing $2 tacos), it always puts me a great mood! In fact, we are taking our friends Sean and Pepin there next weekend for another round and I cannot wait. 

My advice to you today? When you are in a bad mood or ready to recover from a rotten day, listen to a latin beat, treat yourself to some delicious food, and channel your inner Shakira (I know you have rhythm!)

The Power of the Written Word

Quick update on Dancing with the Darden Stars...it was amazing...in fact, I am still riding on a 72 hour adrenaline rush! While we had a few missteps and it was far from perfect, we nailed our lift and dip (it was by far the best we had ever done and it brought the house down!). I am still looking to see if anyone captured the full extension lift on camera so look for pictures soon! Have I mentioned that I love my job? Where else but Darden does your work entail learning how to dance??

Another reason to be happy? Staff retreats! While some people may wince at the thought, I had a fabulous retreat today with the Admissions staff. Katherine and Cheryl made us a delicious meal of black bean lasagna; italian sausage and goat cheese lasagna; spinach salad with strawberries, almonds, goat cheese, and poppyseed dressing; seedy bread; and a beautiful chocolate trifle. We spent 45 minutes on business topics (basically getting ready for a follow-up retreat in May) and then spent an hour on team building. We picked a name out of a hat, were asked to write a nice letter to that person, and then share it with the group. What a fantastic idea! The written word is so powerful. We shared thoughts on 20+ year friendships, daily smiles, mentoring opportunities, unwavering service to students and each other, and you know what I realized when I looked around the room? I truly like everyone, in fact, I would go as far as to say I would regard them all as my friends. In life we don't always get to choose the people who work along side us so how did I get so lucky? The relationships that I have forged at Darden during my 2.5 year tenure are unbelievable and I am so thankful for my colleagues!

I was also reminded of the importance of handwritten notes. Do you remember how it feels to receive a nice card in the snail mail? How about a sticky note on your desk that says "Good Morning! I hope you have a nice day!"? What about a nice thank you card after hosting an event? There are two people in my life who have mastered the art of handwritten cards, my mother-in-law, Barbara, and one of my greatest friends and former colleagues, Kristen (Lueckel) Buckler. Barbara remembers to send Blake and I birthday cards, anniversary cards, Valentine's Day cards and she never fails to brighten my day with this simple gesture. She is one of the classiest women I know and I am so proud to call her family! Kristen is one of those rare gems in this world and remembers to send all of her friends birthday cards (its no wonder she has so many friends). I remember one specific time last year when I won an award at Darden and she not only gave me a "Congratulations" card but also a huge balloon. It made my day (in fact, it made my week) because she made me feel valued.

Are there people in your life who deserve a handwritten note? Did someone help you work through a problem or lend a listening ear? I encourage you to think of those in your life who have made you a happier person and write to say "thank you" or "just thinking about you". I promise you will make their day a little brighter, too!