Greek Salad

It feels almost sacrilegious to be posting on a non-Christmas-y topic this time of year, but we ate Greek Salad last night for dinner and it was so delicious I had to share the recipe!  Yesterday, after chopping down our Christmas tree, Caleb and I went into Spokane for a shopping trip.  We hadn't been on a major grocery run for almost a month due to our November travels, so we headed out armed with lists galore and hit up Yokes, Walmart, Winco, Costco, Zales (bi-annual ring checkup), The Cozy Quilt (sewing supplies for Christmas gifts), and Michaels.  Caleb was such a help and good sport about all the shopping and we had a lot of fun together. We were so proud of ourselves for emerging from Costco with only vitamins and yeast (such a good deal there) even though we were tempted to buy more of all the delicious little treats we sampled.  :)  Lest you think we have impeccable self-control, we did buy some chocolate-covered cinnamon bears from the bulk candy section later at Winco...

Anyway, on to the recipe!  When we got home, I was so excited to have lots of fresh vegetables that I decided we must have salad for dinner.  I have no idea where I originally got this recipe, but my history with it dates back to my 4-H days when I made this recipe at the county fair for a Sandwich/Salad contest.

                                          Greek Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
raw spinach leaves, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1/2 a red onion, peeled and sliced into half rings
1 large tomato, cut into bite-sized wedges
1 half cucumber, peeled and sliced
12 or so black olives
1/4 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

Toss the salad ingredients together in a bowl (if making ahead, I like to store the cut veggies together in a small container so they don't make the greens soggy and the onions in their own little container so they don't over-permeate the other veggies).  Then measure the following ingredients into a small canning jar:

3 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. lemon juice or wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard (or yellow if that's all you have on hand)
1 tsp. dried oregano (very important!)
Dash salt and pepper

Fasten lid and shake jar vigorously until everything is well-mixed.  Pour onto the salad and toss everything well if serving immediately to a crowd.  If serving later or in smaller portions, refrigerate dressing and salad separately, dish up salad "naked", and pour a small amount of dressing on each individual portion.  This way, the salad keeps longer in the fridge and doesn't get soggy.  By the way, the dressing doesn't look or even taste very appetizing by itself, at least to me.  But just trust me, try it on the salad mingled with pungent onions, crisp cucumbers, salty cheese - I think it is delicious!

Travel

This week, Caleb and I were gone on a road-trip to Oregon to attend the Northwest Baptist Convention in Eugene for three days then to visit with college friends at Corban (including watching my brother in the Pumpkin Smash and enjoying the Cinderella production).  It was great to attend the conference then to spend time with friends and siblings.

Leafy walk at Corban on Thursday

Throughout the trip, we marveled at the beautiful fall colors, and even fluffy clouds and sunny skies on our drive home yesterday through Eastern Washington.  The drive was sunny until we got within 70 miles or so from home:

What a contrast!  It's still fall in Salem but definitely winter in Deer Park!  We came home to four fresh inches of snow at our house.  Thank the Lord for four-wheel drive for the winter ahead.

Mexican Food

Caleb and I just love Mexican food.  Caleb grew up with family Tex-Mex traditions like homemade tortillas and fajitas every Sunday night after church and queso cheese dip.  I grew up eating burritos and taco salads on a weekly basis and celebrating every Mother's Day at a Mexican restaurant, learning to appreciate my Mom's favorite ethnic cuisine dating back to the time she spent in her younger days in Costa Rica and Mexico.  We still eat Mexican food a lot, but I've been experimenting with some new recipes.  Note: The recipes in this post are not authentic Mexican food, but we still like them. :)

Below is a new favorite recipe of ours from Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg.  I’ve heard about once-a-month cooking over the years but have never actually researched it or thought about trying it until now.  I checked this book out from the library to take a look.  While I like the idea of it, I’ve decided I’m not going to try this method any time soon because the recipes in the sample menus/preparation plans I looked at in the book rely on a heavily meat-based diet and weren’t as healthy or economical as I was hoping.  Maybe sometime in the future I’ll have more time (ha!) to put together my own plan based off of some of our favorite recipes. As a side note on freezing, I do freeze meals occasionally, as it is fairly simple to prepare a double-portion and freeze half for later, especially for soups and meats.  It has become a household joke though when we run out of something for me to say “No, we’re not out of it, it’s just in the freezer!”  

Here is one of the recipes I tried from the cookbook referenced above, with my own revisions as I attempted to make a cream-based recipe healthier! 

 

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

2 Tbs. butter

1 sliced onion

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, cooked and shredded

2 Tbs. diced green chilies (the kind that come in the little can)

3 ounces diced cream cheese (you can use low-fat or fat-free cream cheese)

Salt to taste

1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterey jack cheese (I used pepper jack)

4 flour tortillas

½ cup whipping cream (I used fat-free half-and-half and milk)

Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat, add onion, and saute for a few minutes. Add the chicken, chilies, and cream cheese and stir over heat until the cream cheese is melted and the mixture is thoroughly combined.  Add salt to taste. 

If freezing for later: Put the filling and cheese in separate freezer bags and freeze together.

To serve: If frozen, thaw filling and cheese.  Spoon about 1/3 cup of the filling down the center of each tortilla.  Roll and set in a greased glass baking dish.  Moisten by pouring the whipping cream over the enchiladas (once again, I used fat-free half-and-half one time, which worked great; I also used regular milk once, and that worked OK too).  Sprinkle with the cheese (I didn't measure it - just whatever amount you want).  Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.  Makes 4 enchiladas (serves 2 if you don't have time to make other side dishes to go with it, or 4 if you are serving other dishes with it).

Crockpot Refried Beans http://realmomkitchen.com/1549/crockpot-refried-beans/
I decided not to re-type this recipe word-for-word here in my blog because I don't have much to add to this already great recipe, but I highly recommend it!  Here is why:
1. Economy (beans are cheap, why pay extra for canned refried beans when you can make your own)
2. Health (these beans are great tasting without any lard or unhealthy fats)
3. Ease of preparation (the crockpot does most of the work and then you can freeze them in the amount you need)

Mexican Rice - Elisa's way
Boil 2 cups of chicken broth (and some diced onion if you have it handy) in a covered saucepan.  Add 1 cup of brown rice (sorry folks, white rice has zero nutritional value), lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes, until tender.  But first, add lots of the following spices (I don't measure for this type of thing):
Chili powder (LOTS)
Ground cumin
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground red cayenne pepper (just a little, unless you're used to it)
Chopped fresh cilantro (if you have it on hand and like it)

For those of you who may have been wondering like me, is it ethical or even legal to repost someone else's recipe?  I found this website (http://foodblogforum.com/1067-recipe-attribution) to be very helpful.  If you don't feel like reading it, the basic premise is that it is OK to post a recipe from another website or book without permission as long as you cite the source, don't include large quantities of recipes from the same collection, and generally avoid re-posting the recipe directions (the ingredients are fine) word-for-word by expanding the text of the recipe or including your own comments.

Adjusting...

Part of the adjustment after moving somewhere new is getting used to a new community.  As long as I can remember, I have lived with my family in sprawling suburbia - in several states mind you, but still similar settings.  We always lived in neighborhoods with hundreds of houses (or so it seemed at the time), with grocery stores and gas stations and libraries close by car, a mile or two or ten away, a few close enough to walk to if you planned in advance.  But still, the area was... sprawling and full of people.  After living in Fairwood for over 14 years, we would run into people we knew occasionally when we were out and about - maybe even three people at the grocery store.  But the community was big enough that you could easily go somewhere and not recognize anyone, and it was normal to live, work, and play in three completely different communities surrounding Seattle.  Last year when I was living at home in Fairwood, I worked 40 minutes North in Bellevue, coached for a youth symphony 15 minutes South in Maple Valley, attended church 10 minutes East in Kent, and played in an orchestra that practiced on Mercer Island (25 minutes North) and performed in Seattle (40 minutes Northwest) and Burien (30 minutes Southwest).  

Then in June, I was welcomed to Deer Park, population 3000.  To some extent, the situation is similar.  Many people live in Deer Park but work in Spokane, which is also sprawling.  But the many miles of farmland and rolling pasture separating the two cities seem to make Deer Park more isolated from the big city and connected as its own small community.  It is not unusual for us to drive into Spokane once or twice a week to go to a big store like Walmart.  But when we are in Deer Park, life is definitely "small town".  

We live in a neighborhood of sorts.  But in small town fashion, everything is right here.  We can walk to the doctor and dentist in three minutes.  It takes just as long for us to walk to the post office to get our mail (no mail delivery! - a first for me) as it does to get in the car, start the engine, back out, drive down the street, park the car, turn off the engine, and get out.  Last week, I hopped on my bike from home, ran three errands-bank, grocery store, and redbox-and was home again in a matter of 20 minutes, including travel time.  Some times we even walk our water bill down to City Hall and hand it in over the counter to save a stamp.  It is rather convenient, I must say!  

But the part of small town life that continues to shock me is the people.  I have only lived here 4 1/2 months, but I see people I know everywhere!  Two weeks ago, Caleb and I went on a 1 mile bike ride around town late one Saturday afternoon to go to the farmer's market.  It seemed as if almost every person we passed by yelled out "Hi Caleb".  We ran into 6 different families that we know.  An older couple called out from the doorway of the butcher.  We met a couple from church in the grocery store parking lot and they showed us their new rental car.  A group of kids on bikes hollered from the pizza parlor porch.  We felt like celebrities!

When I walk into the bank by myself to deposit a check, I just hand it over to the teller, no deposit slip required.  They know who I am before they even read the check.  It will be hard to adjust to the waiting in line and filling out deposit slips if we move out of town someday!  

What still continues to surprise me is going to the library, trained as I was to use the automated self-checkouts on the other side of the state.  I feel like I am bothering the librarians when I want to check out, but they don't seem to mind!  In fact, when I walk up to the counter, they automatically retrieve any DVDs I may have on hold, before I open my mouth to tell them my name, as well as the ones for my husband...and sister-in-laws...and brother-in-law...and mother-in-law...and father-in-law :), even though I don't have a clue what their card numbers are, and they let me check them all out for them!  I feel like I'm spying on other people's lives when I go to the hold shelf to retrieve my books, because everywhere I glance I see names I recognize - today just glancing at two short shelves looking for mine, I saw holds for three families from church plus the middle school principal's family.  As I got in the car, I began to mull over the idea for this post; on my home, I stopped in at the post office and ran into a homeschooling family I know from Homelink.  Just recently, I also encountered at the post office the principal from Homelink, the youth pastor from a church in town, and the senior pastor from a church in town, all whom I know by name.  That reminds me, the first week I lived in Deer Park, I had a doctor's appointment, I showed up (and got called Mrs. Fatt instead of Stapp because of receptionist's phone transcribing mistake!) and the doctor said she had seen me walking with my husband to the grocery store the night before.  Small town!  

We enjoy the sense of community here - we stop and watch five-year-old soccer matches at the field when we bike by, we frequent the farmer's market, we play ping-pong with the local teens who hang out at the community youth center after going to high school football games every once in a while.  It is a unique feeling to feel connected and a part of the community.   

Well, I'm still getting used to this whole blog-writing thing, so this may have been a rather boring post to read.  Hopefully though, it was insightful about suburbia girl adjusting to small town girl!

And on an unrelated note, Caleb cooked a delicious Spanish Chicken and Rice Casserole tonight for dinner.  He would like me to note that he did tweak the recipe a bit by omitting the pimento, using brown rice, and substituting home-grown green beans for the bell pepper.  Highly recommended!