This is how I feel.

April Meat Meal

This month's meat meal is Enchilada Casserole. (FYI if you didn't know, I'm determined to conquer my terror of meat in 2011 by cooking one meat meal each month. This is a big deal for me.)

April is crazy busy, so I didn't have the time to do a roast or something terrifying like chicken. I found this recipe online and it looked delightful.

First I browned a pound of hamburger. I'll spare you the revolting sight of the raw hamburger. Just because I was gagging doesn't mean you should have to.

Once it's browned you drain it and add a can of enchilada sauce. The recipe also called for adding salsa but I didn't have any on hand and that didn't sound good to me anyway.


Next, grate some cheddar cheese. The recipe calls for 4 cups, but I just used what I had on hand. If I'd been thinking ahead I'd have gotten some of that grated and bagged Mexican blend cheese because I'm a firm believer in making life as easy on yourself as possible. If, like me, you go the long route, at least enjoy some of that delicious cheese while you grate it.


Grease a lasagna pan and layer the bottom with tortillas. I had fajita-size tortillas so I had to rip them up to cover the bottom.


Then layer your meat mixture, corn, and some cheese on top of that. Put another layer of tortillas on and repeat.


You're supposed to end with the meat/cheese layer on top, but you're supposed to do three layers. I didn't save enough beef, so I only did two layers, but it worked fine.


Pop it in the over at 350 and bake 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly.


I was ravenous so while I waited I had some hummus and a Peeps bunny (not together). The bunny was not stale enough for my liking.


This is basically like making enchiladas, but easier, and with corn. I have made enchiladas before so maybe this shouldn't count as a monthly meat meal, but I will deal with that question in the cold light of morning. For now I'm too busy stuffing my face. This is SO good!

I brought Jules a little surprise tonight.

She was pretty excited.


What else was there to do but throw on a wig and a dress and start watching?

A bit of the old country

The best part about having a fireplace? Decorating the mantle.

Mine is problematic because the space above the mantle goes up so high, so the framed photos I had there weren't cutting it. So this weekend I finally got around to framing an old map I had, and the results are quite delightful.

The truly best part of this is that the map is actually a high-end piece of wrapping paper. It cost about 5 bucks. Pricey for a piece of wrapping paper, super cheap for a frameable map.

Delight.

I haven't made a huge mistake.

This is today's lunch. (Kris, hopefully this makes up for all those meat photos.) A perfect bowl of mushrooms sauteed in butter and garlic. A great companion to an Arrested Development marathon.

I do love a lazy day.