Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

easy honey-lime chicken enchiladas

Posted on by

6

Tired of turkey leftovers? I was in the mood for Mexican food tonight, and when I saw this recipe for a honey-lime marinade for chicken, I was inspired! I turned it into a crock-pot recipe, added some diced onion and bell pepper, tortillas and cheese and green tomatillo sauce, and made honey-lime chicken enchiladas. They turned out del-i-ci-ous, and SO easy!

I made a small batch since it’s just Mike & me, but you could easily double or even triple this recipe to feed a bigger family. These enchiladas heat up great as leftovers and even freeze well for later meals.

honey-lime chicken enchiladas

– 2 large chicken breasts
– 2 tsp minced garlic
– 1/3 cup honey
– 1/3 cup lime juice
– 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
– 1 small onion, diced
– 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
– 3 wheat tortillas
– 1 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese
– 1 small can green enchilada sauce

1. Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock-pot. Add chicken broth, honey, and lime juice, and stir to combine. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

2. Saute onion, garlic and bell pepper in a little olive oil over low heat for 3-5 minutes, until onion becomes translucent. Add ingredients to crock pot mixture and cook for another 1-2 hours.

3. The chicken mixture is done when chicken is fully cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated. If needed, take off the lid and turn heat to high for the final 15-20 minutes of cooking.

4. Turn off crock-pot and use a knife and fork to pull apart/shred the chicken.

5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare an 8×8 glass baking pan by pouring about 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce into the pan to coat the bottom.

6. Fill each tortilla with the shredded chicken mixture and a spoonful of enchilada sauce. Roll and lay into the pan. Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce evenly over the tortillas and top with cheese.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is fully melted and edges of the tortillas are a little crispy.

I served mine with brown rice and broccoli for a filling, healthy and delicious meal!

What are some of your favorite post-Thanksgiving, non-turkey meals? {Actually, this recipe would probably work well with turkey, too, now that I think of it!} 🙂

Hope you’re having a great week!
-Dallas

what I wore to thanksgiving dinner

Posted on by

6

Happy Black Friday, everyone! Did you go out last night to score crazy deals? Are you shopping online right now in your PJs? Mike & I braved Walmart for a Christmas present for a special someone I can’t disclose for obvious reasons, but I will just say we got a good deal! It was my first time going to the stores on Black Friday and it was actually a lot of fun. We brought books and just read and chatted and people-watched for a few hours waiting in line. Luckily the store was open, so we were waiting in line in the warmth of the store. I’ve heard horror stories about people going crazy on Black Friday and trampling each other, but the people we were waiting in line with were all very nice and considerate. There was a fun holiday atmosphere and I actually had a lot more fun than I expected to!

Today I’m participating in the “What I Wore to Thanksgiving” link-up over at Camp Patton.

I wore my go-to autumn skirt {you might recognize it from my first day of school outfit this year} paired with a silky pink blouse I got a couple years ago when I won the “Best of You” award from Glamour magazine and was given a photo shoot. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life — I felt like a princess! I’ll have to do a whole post on it sometime.

Glamour photo shoot

In real life I never wear much make-up, so this photo feels like an alternate-reality version of myself! Whenever I wear this shirt, I think of that weekend and get a jolt of confidence. It’s the perfect shirt to wear when I have first days of school jitters, a big interview, or yesterday when I was meeting some of Mike’s relatives for the first time! They were all very sweet and welcoming to me. I guess the shirt’s magic worked! 🙂

I finished the outfit with a red belt, grey tights, a black cardigan, and black-and-gray flats.

I’m currently in my pajamas {yes, it’s past noon in Chicago} and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon! Hope you are also enjoying some post-Thanksgiving lazy Friday-ness.

Till soon!
-Dallas

thanksgiving gratitude list

Posted on by

0

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am spending the long weekend with Mike’s family up in Chicago and they have welcomed me into their household with open arms and absolutely delicious food. Especially during the holiday season, it is very hard to be so far away from my parents and Greg! Luckily I’ll get to go home for winter break and spend Christmas in Ventura with them. 🙂

Something I like to do often, but especially on Thanksgiving, is to make a “gratitude list” of all the blessings I have in my life and all the reasons I have to be thankful and happy. Often I make a mental list {it is a great way to fall asleep … counting your blessings!} but today on Thanksgiving I want to write a list down. So here it is:

my {ever-expanding!} gratitude list

  • my amazing, supportive, one-in-a-million parents and brother, and all of my terrific extended family, too!
  • my fun and thoughtful and lovely friends, near and far
  • my health {something that I didn’t used to appreciate nearly enough, but feel more and more grateful for the older I get}
  • that I always have not only enough food to eat, but also enough grocery money to buy organic fruits & veggies & dairy even though they are more expensive
  • my safe, warm, cozy apartment that is feeling more and more like home
  • my parents’ home in Ventura that will *always* feel like home and welcome me back with open arms
  • the opportunity to pursue my passions for writing and teaching as a career
  • the incredibly supportive teachers and mentors I’ve had throughout my life — from my first-grade teacher who gave my shy self confidence by casting me as the lead in our school play, to my middle school and high school teachers who encouraged my love of writing, to my teachers at USC and now at Purdue who have helped me develop my own writing voice and  nurture my own creative identity
  • my goofy dog Murray, who never fails to make me laugh with his antics and happy doggy smile
  • long walks through an autumn park or on the boardwalk by the Ventura pier
  • rain falling softly outside on a lazy Sunday
  • snuggling up on the couch with my sweetie
  • all the books I’ve devoured and all those I have stacked on my nightstand, waiting for their turn
  • old movies, especially It’s a Wonderful Life, Some Like it Hot, and It Happened One Night
  • watching Bing Crosby Christmas movies every year with my Gramps
  • warm chocolate chip cookies and a big glass of milk
  • shopping dates with my mom
  • lunch dates with my dad
  • my brunch date tradition with my brother
  • 3-hour Simone’s coffee dates with my friend Erica whenever I go home to visit
  • a hot cup of tea, an empty hour or two, and a journal or good book
  • browsing Target with my friend Holly and stocking up on Taylor Swift cards
  • sending and receiving handwritten cards from those I love
  • sunsets {and the occasional sunrises, when I’m up early enough to see them!}
  • Christmas lights twinkling cheerfully against a night sky or the snow
  • hugs and kisses and even tears saying goodbye because it’s a blessing to have so many people to love
  • being part of such a wonderful community of bloggers, and that you would spend a few minutes of your day visiting my little corner of the internet here!

Happy happy happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a blessed day with those you love!

❤ Dallas

butterscotch pudding cookies

Posted on by

5

I am usually a triple-chocolate cookie kind of girl, but I found myself in a butterscotch cookie mood last night after seeing this recipe on the fabulous food blog Two Peas & Their Pod. What makes these cookies unique is the secret ingredient: pudding! This gives them a lovely moistness and keeps them fresh-tasting for days. {If they manage to last that long!}

This is a quick and easy cookie recipe that makes a few dozen cookies — perfect to take to a Thanksgiving gathering as a sweet alternative to classic chocolate-chip cookies. Or make a batch and send some to a friend, as I did. The pudding helps the cookies stay moist, which makes them a good choice to send through the mail.

butterscotch pudding cookies

(recipe adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod)

– 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 3/4 cup brown sugar
– 2 snack-size cups of butterscotch cookies
– 2 large eggs
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
– 1 cup white all-purpose flour
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 cup butterscotch chips
– 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips {if desired}

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Using a mixer or a whisk, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add in butterscotch pudding, eggs, and vanilla extract.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. Stir in the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips.

5. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges and set. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

How are your Thanksgiving plans coming along? I hope you are having a wonderful week!

❤ Dallas

———————————-

– Time spent: 40 minutes
– Cost: about $5.00

goals for the week of 11/18

Posted on by

0

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new domain name, daybydaymasterpiece.com! I’m so excited and am delighted to have you join us. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! 🙂

As I mentioned in my earlier post, something I want to start doing on here is posting some goals at the beginning of each week that I’ll be focusing on that week. {I got this idea from Crystal Paine, the Money-Saving Mom, whose goals always inspire me at the beginning of every week when she posts them on her blog.} I’m hoping you will be inspired to share your goals, too, and in this way the blog can become a goal-setting community of encouragement and motivation!

Here are my goals for this week:

  • get up to 200 pages written of my thesis
  • start reading The Happiness Project for PBF Book Club
  • write Thanksgiving cards for loved ones
  • clean bathroom & vacuum
  • finish grading student work
  • enjoy time with Mike’s family
  • finish knitting scarf for Mike during car ride
  • post announcement for winter writing camp