Hello, hello friends! Happy Tuesday!
So… it’s been couple of days since we last talked, and while the break has been nice, I’ve definitely been missing you guys. To be honest, I wasn’t really planning on taking so much time off, but blogging just wasn’t in the cards this weekend. I don’t usually blog on Saturdays, but I did have my mind set on posting on Sunday until… it just didn’t happen. So Monday was pretty much guaranteed until… it just didn’t happen. I can explain, though!
I sat down at my computer on Sunday night to write up a post for yesterday, when I started to feel horrible. My stomach and head were feeling all sorts of goofy, and there was no way I was going to be able to come up with anything coherent. I went to sleep early and woke up feeling better, but I still had a few weird spells throughout the day. I’m actually thinking about going to see the doctor soon because my appetite is still way off and while I don’t feel sick sick, I definitely don’t exactly feel like myself, either. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. Better yet, hopefully it’s nothing at all 😀
But enough talk of doom and gloom. Despite all that, it’s been a pretty awesome couple of days. I had a friend visiting from out of town, and being able to catch up on old times was just what the doctor ordered. Throw some good food into the mix, and I was one happy camper. The only downside is that… I was a happy camper that completely failed at taking pictures. See, the thing is, I was originally planning on doing another photo an hour on Sunday, but since that didn’t happen, most of the pictures I have look something like this…
The only thing I did end up snapping a few more pictures of, was what I cooked for dinner…
I’m not really that big on spending a lot of time in the kitchen when it comes to cooking dinner, but since I had invited my friend over, and couldn’t exactly serve her a bowl of cereal, I did some recipe browsing before settling on this Chicken Enchilada Casserole from Iowa Girl Eats. The only problem was that I basically had none of the ingredients that the recipe called for – but it was nothing a quick trip to the store couldn’t fix…
… and even then, I still had to improvise…
I have no idea why, but it’s almost impossible to find good corn tortillas around these parts. With all the GMO nonsense out there, I try to stick to buying organic when it comes to corn products, and since I couldn’t find find any organic tortilla wraps, I settled on tortilla chips. Obviously I can’t compare my version to the original recipe, but I have to say that it came out pretty darn good…
It’s funny. I can’t usually be bothered to put much thought or effort into my own meals, but I get really excited whenever I get a chance to cook for someone else. I will say, though, that between cleaning out my pantry and this weekend’s culinary adventures in the kitchen, I’ve been feeling a lot more inspired to try new things myself… but you’re just going to have to wait until tomorrow’s WIAW to see what’s been coming out of my kitchen lately 😉
Happy Tuesday, friends!
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Do you enjoy cooking for others?
What’s your favorite cuisine to eat? Mexican, hands down. Chips, cheese, salsa, and guac? Swooooon.
Tried any new recipes lately? Feel free to link up!
I may have to steal your photo an hour idea for later this week. I am really into taking pictures when I am home even if they are crappy. Very crappy I may note. Now all I want is nachos.
Hi Amanda! I hope you will feel better soon!!
I really like cooking for others or with others. It forces me to challenge myself with “fear foods” because I don’t want my friends to think I’m weird or always “on a diet”. So I eat what they eat and I take it as an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone.
My favorite cuisine to eat is SUSHI! Not Japanese, just sushi 🙂
Being Italian, I also love Italian cuisine because it’s the food I grew up with. Mexican is delicious too, but my stomach doesn’t really handle beans so I try not to eat it too often. I love Chipotle though.
The last recipe I’ve made is bolognese sauce from Chelsea (One Healthy Munchkin). I made a lot of it and the leftovers taste even better!
http://chelseashealthykitchen.com/2013/02/04/bolognese-sauce-success/
Cooking with others is a really awesome way to challenge your food fears 🙂 Not only does it encourage you to try foods that make you uncomfortable, but it gives you a chance to take food off the pedestal and focus on the social aspect of it instead. That’s really great, Letizia 😀
Oh no I hope you’re ok and feel a bit better soon; its awful when you don’t really know what’s wrong and you just generally feel “off”.
That enchilada casserole you made looks delicious – yummm! I love cooking for others; I honestly find it such a pleasure, fave cuisine to eat it is such a hard choice, although I do love a bit of mexican food as well!! I think it depends what mood I’m in.
I love Mexican food! I think I prefer cooking for myself because I’ll eat anything I make but I feel bad if my food doesn’t look very good/isn’t tasty for friends! I actually made dinner for my parents this weekend, which was a lot of fun. They gave me some good feedback too! Apparently I go a little too strong with the salt. Lesson learned!
I don’t cook a ton for others, but I do enjoy it, especially baking. I make some MEAN calzones (fennel seeds in the meat sauce is the key) and zucchini parmesan breadsticks, but I really love cookies. I generally do almond cookies or peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Cupcakes are fun, too!
My favorite cuisine to eat…that’s a very tough question! Good Mexican is amazing, but it’s often hard to find a good, authentic place, and I hate greasy wannabe stuff. Japanese, when the fish is really fresh, is probably my favorite. Vietnamese, Thai and Indian are also fantastic, but I guess a lot of these options would be tough for you because of the peanut allergy 🙁
Fennel seeds in meat sauce… no kidding? Definitely sounds like an interesting combo. And yeah, eating out with allergies can be a real pain in the butt. It’s getting a lot better now that there’s more awareness out there, but back in the day, pretty much the only place I felt safe eating was McD’s…
I love baking for others! And I love when my mom asks for a bite of something I’m eating and ends up loving it. I’m turning her into a foodie slowly. Lol. I’m glad you had a nice weekend with a friend! It’s always just nice to feel a sense of comfort around someone who has known you for a while. I hope you start feeling better soon!
Favorite cuisine: Do bakeries count?
I love cooking for others! I usually just eat yogurt fruit and granola I I’m cooking for myself since cooking for one person isn’t really much fun.
I LOVE salt and so I get super scared about seasoning correctly when I cook for others and tend to err on the side of caution.
I also wash my hands WAY more during the process and try to use them a lot less and that makes the whole procedure less fun.
I need to drink more wine I guess when I cook. But that could also end bad. My very own “My Drunk Kitchen”
I remember being completely paranoid when I first started working with raw meat, and I’d wash my hands 100 times and sanitize basically every surface around my kitchen. Definitely makes the whole experience a lot less enjoyable, but over time I think I just got frustrated with it and gave up. Here’s hoping I never end up with food poisoning as a result of my laziness 😆
I eat mexican food at least once a week…and I ALWAYS opt for Mexican when people are over. It’s the easiest for people who are gluten free and vegetarian/vegan…which is pretty much my family! Something for everybody. This casserole looks delicious, and I think i’ll make some version of it like right now.
I hope you feel better soon! I love cooking for people, but not a lot of people like it when I cook for them! I’m not a bad cook, but everything I make is vegetarian and most people think of it as “rabbit food”.
I’m so sorry to hear you’re feeling a bit under the weather, Amanda. I definitely know that mysterious I-feel-funky-but-can’t-pinpoint-why feeling–not fun! I’m glad to hear that you had fun with your friend this weekend, though; the casserole looks fantastic! It actually reminds me of one of my favorite childhood meals–taco casserole–which my mom made at least once/month when I was growing up. It was basically layers of corn chips, chicken, cheese, sour cream…Ahh, so good!
I love cooking for friends! I’ll typically go all-out, and do appetizers, entree, and dessert. However, while it’s lots of fun, it can also be super stressful. For that reason, I usually opt to meet friends at restaurants. I’m able to relax, socialize and enjoy my meal much more when timers aren’t ringing right and left. 😉
Happy Tuesday! <3 xoxo
I feel totally deprived – I don’t ever remember eating a casserole when I was growing up, and especially not one that sounds as good as your taco casserole. We did have tacos, though, so I guess I can forgive my mom for that one. And I know what you mean about it being stressful! I haven’t had to host a full out dinner party yet, but I’ve had to help my mom with more than a few and the chaos can be totally overwhelming.
I hope you feel better soon!
And thank you for sharing your dinner – you’ve inspiried me. I think I’m going to make something similar later this week!
Stomach issues are the worst, and it’s even more frustrating when the problem lingers. I hope you start feeling better soon!
The casserole looks absolutely delicious. I love a lot of the recipes that IGE posts! They are usually simple enough and taste great. I love cooking for others much more than cooking for myself. I always do a much better job when I am making a meal for a group!
Hope you feel better soon — I’ve been having that woozy “This ain’t right” feeling too, so I can completely relate. 🙂
As for culinary adventures, I love cooking for other people…with the small (huge) exception of my husband. He and I have very different food preferences, and I find that his, um, discerning palate can be very hard to please. Le sigh. 🙂 We both love Mexican food, though, so I’m going to have to try that recipe — it sounds delicious!
Boo, fingers crossed you’ll feel like yourself again soon, Amanda!
It’s so funny how you mention it: whenever I’m having a really good time with lots going on and many picture-worty scenes I often happen to hardly take any – or even no – pictures. Like past Saturday when my mum was around and we had a great time or my current vacation at my parents’ I’d meant to blog about it but didn’t have a single picture to go with it. I guess that just means we’ve really been enjoying the moment and not worried about documenting it – be it for the blog or else.
Yes, I definitely enjoy cooking for others because it’s so nice to share a meal with friends or family. However, I can get really self-critical and think I got the recipe wrong which makes me feel self-conscious. Overall, though, I think it’s great and wish I had the chance to do so more often.
My favourite cuisine? That’s a tough question and I’d honestly say it depends on what I’m feeling like. Today it might be Asian, tomorrow German (hello, Semmelknödel), oriental the next day, … So basically the best of every cuisine :).
I love cooking for others. I especially love cooking for parties and bonus for themed food! I’m already planning a huge Walking Dead Premiere Party complete with Zombie themed food. Sometimes the every day cooking can get a little blah though. I really like my crock pot quinoa jambalaya, it’s easy, spicy, and delicious. http://wp.me/p2QeYg-lV
Mexican is my favorite too, hands down. I make it probably 2-3 times a week. Fajitas with Guacamole and Salsa… YUMMM.
It’s also another reason that I seriously need to invest in a crock pot – sounds delicious! And I love that you do themed parties. I’ve only been to a handful of those and they’re always so much fun.
I LOVE cooking for others. I get really stressed out about it, though. I hate having to pick out what to cook and prefer if someone just tells me what they want. I also love Mexican food. I can never have enough of it. Chip, cheese, black beans and rice, guac, you name it. I tried a new recipe this weekend that was Spicy Chorizo, Black Bean, Beer Queso. It was just okay, probably by and large because of the gluten free beer substitute, it was all I could taste!
Hope you feel better soon!
Personally, I find the best weekends are the ones in which I have no photo proof! I’m terrible at taking pictures, and even more so when I’m having a great time! I’m too focused to worry about that nonsense.
I love summer BBQs because it gives me a reason to cook and bake up a storm! I made a sweet potato salad along with paleo brownies and cookies. My friends were lovin’ it! I think it’s the nurturer in me that takes pride in making people feel good through good (healthy) food.
I hope you’re feeling better!! 🙂
Despite improvising, I would have to say your dinner looks like it turned out pretty darn good! I made enchiladas one time and my husband and I weren’t that thrilled with them. Maybe I need to give them another try using this recipe. Food for thought…pun intended! 🙂
I love cooking for friends (especially baking)! It makes me so happy to watch people enjoying your food, having a good time and just being together. In fact on Saturday, my husband and I had a BBQ at our house and had a few of friends over. Good times!
I saw! There’s nothing quite like celebrating summer with good friends, and everything looked amazing – I would have been all over that dessert spread 😉
I hope you start feeling better soon and your appetite returns! I would definitely head to the doctor to rule out anything serious. That casserole looks delicious, though. I might need to try it; I love tortilla chips!! I would say Mexican is one of my favorite meals that I could eat over and over again! It’s usually pretty easy, too 🙂
I do the same thing when I am with friends! I will take pictures of my food and stuff when I’m alone but half the time don’t remember to take pictures when I’m doing fun things with people haha but I am glad you’re feeling better and had a wonderful long weekend!
If you can locate the Ezekiel/ Food for Life brand of corn tortillas, I highly recommend them. You will love them…my favorite cuisine these days is definitely Japanese.
Nice improvisation! Anything with tortilla chips sounds fabulous in my book 😉 I get nervous to cook for others, but baking? I love to bake for others! It helps that most of my friends don’t like to do so and usually end up loving whatever I bring…nothing boosts confidence more than an empty place with random chocolate splotches on the bottom 😉 My favorite cuisine to eat is probably Italian (I <3 pasta and bread sticks), but I'm a huge fan of guac and will put it on anything. And you'll have to wait till tomorrow to see the newest recipe in my book…I think it's worth the wait, though 😛
I LOVE cooking for others. I think that food brings people together and that it is one of the best ways to express to someone how much they mean to you. I just want to find myself a man who does not mind doing the dishes and I will be set for life. I LOVE Mexican food..I can never get enough of it. I also really like Thai food too…but this is a relatively new experience and I’m still trying out options!
I have a ton of recipes on my blog that are all original recipes, but my most recent favorite are these chickpea and lentil burgers I made. We grilled them up (put tin foil on the grill because they fall apart), and resmashed them together when we flipped them, then added cheese to make sure everything held together! They were AMAZING!!
http://undercoverdiva-asitcom.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunday-food-prep.html
Those sound really great! I actually have some lentils and chickpeas that I have to use up, so I’ll definitely be keeping your recipe in mind!
Sorry to hear you are feeling off. I know the feeling…not awesome…not terrible…just weird. Taking time off from blogging always does good though in my opinion. That storm front from your photo is insane and of course your food looks delicious. I know you said I talk about running like no big deal…but your eats…you talk about…no big deal…I wish I had your skills LOL.
😆 I’ll trade you some of my culinary skills for some of your running ones!
Aww Amanda I am so sorry you are not feeling too well 🙁 I also hope it’s nothing at all and maybe the change in seasons or some other unknown reason.. that will pass asap!
Looks like a great meal and recipes from Iowa Girl Eats are both gorgeous and tasty, I have tried a few myself! I don’t really cook for myself, unless it’s something really quick, but when it comes to others, I like to make the extra effort too!
I hope you weekend away from blogging was nice, gotta love a good break 🙂
I love cooking meals for others. I take my time & slow down and put in some real effort to make it look nice. When I cook for myself I just slop it all together so fast.
Awh I hope you feel better girlie! I think I’m starting to get sick, too–my throat’s been itchy the past few days. I’ve been drinking copious amounts of lemon water to attempt to fend off whatever this is.
If I ever visit, I’d be more than happy to be served cereal. 😉 Your casserole looks delicious, though! I guess that’ll work in place of the cereal… 😛
Aww no, girlie! Don’t get sick! Hope that you feel better soon as well <3 And I totally wouldn't mind going over to someone's place and being served cereal for dinner, either 😉
I don’t really cook for myself or for other people but when my roommate and I have dinner parties, we get way fancier. I’d much rather just be able to sit down and eat when I’m hungry. Sometimes the time away from blogging is nice. If you’re not feeling it, there’s no point in posting. Sometimes I have too many things I want to post and I’m set for a couple weeks, but others the inspiration is just lacking. I, for one, am glad you’re back though 🙂
I feel ya – cooking for yourself is fun but then I feel obligated to eat the exact. same. thing. for the next 10 or so meals. That’s not fun! And I hear ya, I’m alllll about Mexican! And sushi. I could live on sushi with a side of chips and guac 🙂 I hope you start feeling better soon! It’s not fun to be feeling off.
Feel better soon my love!
Hopefully it’s just a quick little thing. And yes, blogging should be the last thing we’re doing when we feel like that;)
Mmm…all the cheese looks phenomenal! I wish vegan cheese tasted better…I miss dairy sometimes hah.
Soooo my friend…when are you cooking for me?? This dish sounds phenomenal especially as I am a huge huge fan of Mexican!! Other favorite cuisines of mine are Japanese & Italian! And I’m going through just the same with food right now- I am putting close to no effort into my own meals buuut I love cooking for others. My sister is currently in town so I’m having a ball thinking of meals to cook up for her- yesterday involved a Lebanese mezze spread! Can’t wait to see more of your meal creations…and get some inspiration for my own meals :)!
When? Hmmm… how does Friday sound? 😉
OH friend!! I hope you get to feeling better very soon! xoxox
Your meal looks delicious! I love to cook for other people. It is how I show love. 😉
My favorite cuisine to eat is Thai… spicy and sweet. YUM!
If I plan a trip out to Canada, will you cook this for me? ;). I’m down for anything with tortilla chips in it.
Blah…I’m so sorry that you’re still feeling off, Amanda! I think a visit to the Dr. doesn’t sound like a bad idea, especially considering the few episodes you had, paired with the lack of appetite. Could just be some weird virus, but always good to get some reassurance. I LOVE cooking for other people- it does my heart good (as cheesy as that sounds). I feel like I’m nurturing their mind and body when I make them yummy & healthy food! During my ED, I would often cook elaborate meals for others and bake often, but never try even a lick of the food, but now? I actually partake in the eating experience! Hope your body starts to cooperate soon 🙂
It was the same way for me… I remember spending hours in the kitchen making fancy meals for my family and friends, but then never allowing myself to enjoy even a bite. I think that’s part of what turned me off from cooking, actually… But these days it’s definitely nice to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor!
I do enjoy cooking for others, and I’ll be hosting this weekend. Fun fun! My fav cuisine is Italian, but I think “casserole” would be my fav cuisine if that was a legitimate category.
PS – Get well soon!!!
I would have never thought to sub the tortillas with chips – great idea!! Jane Eyre was one of those books I hated reading in high school for my literature course. Perhaps I would enjoy it more if I didn’t have to study and analyze every word choice? Haha.
Aww well I hope you feel back to normal soon!! That’s so fun you had some friend time this weekend. I love to cook when I have people to entertain. I love your tortilla chips substitute, I bet that turned out really tasty. mexican is sooo yummy. my favorite thing to cook for other people though is italian (probably bc my mom is italian and i feel most confident with her recipes that i grew up making, They’re mostly along the lines of lasagna, linguine with seafood, etc etc) anyways glad you’re back girlie, have a wonderful tuesday!
So uhm… when can I come over for dinner?
I am sorry you don’t feel well Hunn! I totally hope it’s just a weird phase of your body and that you will feel better soon! What a PERFECT adaption with the chips. I am sure this casserole tasted heavenly.
I like to cook for friends, though I prefer to do something like Fajitas, BBQ or Fondue so I don’t have to be in the kitchen all the time and don’t get to catch up with them. Mexican cuisine is delicious, though I must say I am also in love with Italian and Greek cuisine!!
I do not enjoy cooking for anyone else but my parents. I get so paranoid that people are judging me, and just pretending they like it! I think I probably just have a case of over thinking (;
I just made some ginger oatmeal cookies today (recipes up on my blog) and they’re so delicious!
My favourite cuisine is the cuisine of Aimee! A little bit from everywhere (; happy Tuesday!
Awwr girl, I want to say don’t worry about it, but I can definitely relate to the nerves that are involved when you really want someone to like something. But in the end, it’s always the thought that counts!