Tried and true

Although Jim ate leftovers tonight and packed more of them for his lunch, I went ahead and assembled some black bean enchiladas for later on this week. He still has enough food for 3-4 meals, but that's not enough to get him through the week. The fact that Jim likes these enchiladas continually surprises me, because they're really simple and vegetarian to boot. I make the enchilada sauce from a seasoning packet--this brand is tomato paste, water, and the seasonings boiled and then simmered for 10 minutes. Then it's heating up corn tortillas in the microwave, laying some sauce down in the baking dishes, dipping the tortillas in the sauce, filling them with black beans, onion, and cheese, rolling them, and then putting four in per dish. When Jim's dad gave him these two Corningware dishes, I thought they were too small to be of any use, but I reach for them time and time again. They're perfect serving sizes for him, and Jim has brought an entire dish to work on many occasions.

So tonight I used red onion, which is a little different than usual, so I'm interested to see if there's a discernable difference in taste. I put sharp cheddar on the inside of each enchilada and topped the trays with cheddar and a low-fat blend of Mexican cheese (cheddar, jack, mozzarella, and colby). I serve them with boxed Rice a Roni Spanish rice crap. Jim absolutely loves Rice a Roni, and since I haven't the slightest idea how to make it from scratch, in this case, I happily take the shortcut.

What's nice about this meal is that it can go in the freezer or be made early and refrigerated before baking it off. Throw in some instant Spanish rice, and it's an incredibly easy meal that's reasonably healthy. I have this chicken enchilada recipe that I swear I'm going to try someday, but this version is so easy and Jim likes it so much that it's hard for me to deviate. This is one of the very few dishes that Jim actually requests. In fact, aside from mac n' cheese, I'm not sure that he's ever asked for anything else. He might say something about wanting pasta in general or something like that, but that's about the extent of it.

I packed up a bunch of the cookies that I baked on Friday and got them ready to mail to S, who's stationed over in Kuwait. I have been terrible about sending him baked goods--I haven't done it since last August, and I'm feeling terribly guilty about it. I originally planned to do it every month, but then I got busy and out of the habit. He, more than anyone else, loves my baking. It's so awesome to bake for him because he will literally inhale anything I make. So I really do enjoy baking for him. CL also raves about my cookies, but I don't see him very often. It's kind of funny in that while I love getting compliments on my cooking, it's so much better to have my baking appreciated. And it's also weird that I don't actually have much of a sweet tooth, but that's another story!