In Denial, Pantry Challenge, and Yum-tastic Enchiladas

Sorry for the lame title guys, the creativity is just not flowing right now. I blame it on the fact that I've been in denial about being back in the real world after a great long weekend away. At least I came back refreshed and relaxed, right?

Yesterday afternoon was pretty much dedicated to getting my life in order: unpacking, catching up on life, and getting some food in my fridge. Since I was beyond famished for lunch I treated myself to lunch out at Thai Chef. It was my own little vacation meal ;-)

I ordered the Prik Khing, easy on the sauce, and ended up eating half. Plus about a quarter cup of rice. Still in denial of being back in the real world, I sat at the table with no distractions - I was focused on the delicious taste of my meal and completely in tune with my hunger cues. I packed up the rest to take home.

Fast forward to this morning where I coaxed myself out of denial with a bowl of overnight hot cereal. I made my standard mix (1/4c BRM hot cereal and buckwheat, 1/4c unsweetened almond breeze, 1/2c water, 1/2T chia seeds, cinnamon, 1/3c berries (frozen from the farm)) which I topped with some crushed almond slices and 1/2T of crunchy flax almond butter this morning.

All was right with the world. When I travel I always look forward to this breakfast once I'm back home.

I played catch up at work until I headed to a luncheon for a mentor program I'm participating in this year. I'm excited to get to connect with a bunch of freshmen when they arrive on campus!  I made a salad of a bland iceberg lettuce mix and topped it with roasted veggies. They were good but pretty oily. I had this plate plus another half and half a mini bag of Ruffles.

The afternoon went by quickly with meetings and work and I munched on a pear before the end of the day.

After work I stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up 3 things and left with only those 3 things. This is a big victory for me! I didn't want to do a big grocery shop this week because on Thursday I am picking up a friend's CSA half-share while she's out of town. I am anxiously awaiting local, farm fresh produce and didn't want to stuff my fridge full of other things that would just get thrown away.

This also means that I have to get creative and utilize my very well-stocked pantry this week. Enter tonight's dinner. Yesterday's leftovers didn't sound appealing so I assessed my stock and had some fun. It was a really great way to have some fun and unwind after work!

Kitchen Sink Vegan Enchiladas

• corn tortillas (I only 3 left in my freezer)
• can of diced chilis
• jarred tomato sauce
• chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, 1 bay leaf
• carrots
• bell pepper
• 1/4c kidney beans
• roasted broccoli and asparagus (leftovers. Use whatever veggies you have on hand)
• spinach

Preheat your oven to 400F. Defrost corn tortillas (if necessary).

In a non-stick skillet, toast some chili powder for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. When the powder is fragrant, add your tomato sauce and diced chilis and stir. Season to taste with garlic powder, oregano, and bay leaf and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.

Chop your carrots and bell pepper while the sauce is simmering. Once it's done, soften the veggies in a skillet with sprayed with non-stick spray. Add other veggies and kidney beans until they are all warmed through and set aside.

Coat the bottom of a baking dish with a few spoonfuls of enchilada sauce. Take 1 corn tortilla and place a few spinach leaves in the center. Add a couple of tablespoons of your veggie mixture and then gently roll your tortilla. Place in baking dish with the seam down (so your tortilla stays rolled up). Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spoon more sauce on top of the enchiladas and top with some sliced olives.  I had half of the vegetable mixture leftover.

Bake for ~15 - 20 minutes and enjoy!

For not having a recipe on hand and just winging it, these were delicious! Feel free to use any and all vegetables you have on hand! Baking the enchiladas added more depth to the semi-homemade enchilada sauce and cooked the vegetables to a perfect texture. Oh so good. One enchilada has 115 calories, 1.5g of fat, and 4.3g of fiber - nice!

I had one enchilada on top of a bed of spinach with a quarter cup of brown rice topped with more enchilada sauce. Plus about 1/3c of frozen blueberries.

Now I'm watching Make It or Break It (guilty face - please come back Fall tv!), catching up on blogs, and enjoying a little toaster waffle for dessert.

How many grocery stores do you visit in a week? (I didn't need much but I've already been to 2!) Did you purchase a CSA (community shared agriculture) this summer? What'd you get last week? I am sooo excited for my box of produce on Thursday!