Surviving Sandy, Enchilada Style

Hurricane Sandy is finally starting to die off in the PA/NJ/NY region, but not after leaving millions without power and hundreds of trees collapsed over houses, cars, roads, and fences... We're thankful downtown Philadelphia didn't get hit too hard, and our hearts and prayers go out to all of you that were more affected by Sandy - especially you guys in NYC or north Jersey!

Both of our schools were closed yesterday and today. For some reason, being "stuck" at home (as opposed to choosing to stay home) made studying unbearable enough that we barely got anything done! But we plowed through the day and, just as the storm started hitting the hardest, rewarded ourselves with a comforting dinner and movie. (Side note: We never watch movies because it's too much time away from studying and other responsibilities. So this was not a small deal.)

So if your electricity's still on, and you're stranded at home for another day or two (like us), give this recipe a try! I didn't change anything from the Pioneer Woman's Enchilada recipe, so visit her website to learn how to make it - and to see photos that do better justice to the meal than our measly point-and-shoot attempts :)

Our version - Enchiladas con Sandy

I started by simmering this enchilada sauce for 45 minutes, which smelled so good...

This recipe involves a lot of chopping. You should chop chop chop while the sauce is simmering.

Oh, a tip: The original recipe calls for canned diced green chilies that, I assume, are not supposed to be spicy. I used fresh Serrano hot peppers instead, and put less than the recipe called for to even out the spice. If you want to use hot peppers like me, I'd suggest halving the amount altogether. Hubs found that the spiciness took away from the other flavors, although I didn't mind.. but then again, I like everything extra spicy. ;)

Dipping corn tortillas in the sauce: don't let it soak for too long!

Meat, olives, peppers, and cheese; then rolled up and placed seam down into the pan.

We improvised on the cheese: cheddar + leftover mozzarella + leftover Habanera sandwich cheese. I like wandering off the recipe.

These smelled so good in the oven. Oh my gosh. Look at that cheese (and don't think about your arteries).

I don't usually make high-calorie meals like this, but hurricane weather allows for some special circumstances. Right?

I think this was a pretty darn good meal, all things considered. It was my first time making enchiladas, and I didn't really know what an enchilada was before I decided to make it, and I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food to begin with (it's Mexican, yes?).

A great dinner for stormy weather. :)

Dating my husband

Today was date day.

We just couldn't waste this Saturday indoors, especially with such perfect end-of-the-summer weather and a ton of [free!] events going on in our city. So I set my virus charts aside, he closed his computer, and we spent our afternoon just dating each other. No grocery shopping, no errands (minus a teeny trip to the bank), no time crunch!

First stop: the front door of our apartment. Gotta document everything we can! :P

Rittenhouse Arts Festival & Farmers' Market

We tried our best to sound artistically cultured. I think we [almost] pulled it off.

No outdoor market/fair is complete without some fresh-squeezed lemonade!

I'm definitely a city girl. I love urban life. Even if the most we can do right now is to window-shop (and window-drool). Yes, we window-drool.

Gorgeous.

I'm a med student and he's a seminarian. Plainly translated, we be bookworms. Do you think we'd pass by a bookstore without poking our heads in? 

Now, for the highlight of our date (at least, for me): I brought home the first of many - I hope! - baby herb plants!! Today's baby was basil. I'm hoping to find some cilantro plants next!

I was so happy to find these at the farmers' market, because I hate buying produce like basil, cilantros, mint, or parsley in fixed quantities. They go bad so easily, and it makes me sad to see those poor little leaves rotting away in the fridge. So of course, the natural solution would be to just keep them as plant babies!

Dear babies, please grow us lots of fragrant basil leaves for many many years, and don't be offended by my lack of plant-nurturing skills. I will try my very best not to kill you. 

My basil looks so satisfied on that windowsill. And my loving husband does our dishes yet again :)

How was your weekend?