he said. she said.

you are who you live with. you are who you love. you are what you eat.

when we are young, people refer to us as sponges. we absorb all that is around us and adapt that into our speech patterns, mannerisms and lifestyle. i believe that in some way you are sponges forever. being in a situation long enough you adapt, change, absorb.

i met my husband nearly 8 years ago when i was a sad little individual. i had just broken up with someone after 6 and half years, just broken up with one of my closest friends, had no where to live, put all my stuff in storage and moved in with my father. professionally things took a turn though and the sun was shining over in that corner. and that's when we met. we worked together for a month on a tv show, he gave me a job at the wrap party and we were off. he sort of picked me up and put me back together.

we were so different. back then. not so much now. as i said you sponge, change, adapt.
you really wouldn't know that 16 years separate us.

6 years married, 2 kids and one cross country move later i find myself saying things that never would have escaped my mouth before - i'm the one who called his 75 year old dad dude for gosh sakes! his little sayings have become mine, his little nuances have become mine. don't get me wrong, we are still different in many ways but in most we are quite similar.

another thing we have taught each other about is food. i have brought new tastes to his palate and he has shown me about simple classics. like the chef salad. before him i never would have made a chef salad. and certainly not for dinner. but let me tell you it's a good dinner. i would have always made something completely complicated with baby field greens topped with wasabi pea crusted lightly fried goat cheese (yum by the way), a crazy variety of nuts and dried fruit - trying of course to impress my inner-martha because back then people didn't call me mini martha for kicks. this is basically clean-out-the-fridge salad and a pretty tasty one to boot. so next time you want something cold for dinner look and see what you have in the produce and meat drawer - you might surprise yourself.

chef salad basics

the only real preparation you need for this salad is hard-boiled eggs - it's a must have for this salad. for the perfect boiled egg: place eggs in a sauce pan and cover with water, topping off at least an inch. bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 12 minutes. rinse with cold water and peel. next look in the fridge and see what you have. start with a lettuce base (or in the case of the photo - baby spinach leaves) then start layering on your goods. look for deli meats (ham. turkey etc.) or leftover chicken and cube it up. some cheese would be good too. produce could assorted coloured peppers, mushrooms, cucumber, green onion, red onion - really anything that is nice raw. then are the condiments - could be pickles, hot peppers, roasted peppers, olives....really here the world is your oyster (i don't think oysters would work though!). the great thing about this is there are no rules - just guidelines!!! it sucks to throw food away - especially since the prices seem to be rising - so before you get to that point whip up one of these bad boys. not only with your belly thank you, your wallet will too.

dinner: a new outfit for old chicken.

for the love of chicken.

My mother was always a whiz in the kitchen. She was pretty much a whiz at everything but her main domain was the kitchen. From having a catering company to a sandwich delivery shop to food stylist for the movies to having her own cafe up north, food has always been her thing. So by default food has been prominent in mine and my sister's lives. I have heard tell of stories of me rolling spanokopitas at the table at age 5 to being quite proud of my styled buffet at the age of 17 - complete with a four tiered fruit cascade - for an Adam Sandler movie (unfortunately not featured in the end result).

But the one thing that has always stuck in my mind was her power over leftovers. She could make something and you would believe that she started anew rather than jazzing up something that was about to walk out of the fridge. 

This recipe here has always been my favorite. Chicken Enchiladas. Not traditional in any sense of the word, just traditional in appearance and the fact that you can't stop eating them! I always make a big pan in hopes of getting two meals out of it when really I should make two pans! I actually will create leftovers (or buy a store bought rotisserie chicken) if I know this is one the menu for the week. Want to wow a crowd? Make these! (great also for leftover turkey!)

my chicken enchiladas

** this recipe has no measurements, it's all by feel and what you have in the fridge.

vegetable oil

shredded leftover roast chicken

sliced onions (about 1 and half depending on how much chicken you have)

sliced red pepper (about 1-2, you can substitute any other pepper - you just really want some in there)

Optional: Sweet corn, black beans, fresh diced tomatoes - Have fun with it!!!! 

Optional: Salsa

Flour tortillas - 6 to 10 depending on how much filling you have, small or large.

Tomato Sauce

Shredded Cheese

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish with some vegetable oil and set aside.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and slightly translucent. Add peppers and cook until soft. Add shredded chicken and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes to get in all hot and slightly browned. Now add any extra ingredients you want in there - I add some salsa at this point for a little liquid and heat inside. Sautee together for a couple of minutes then turn off heat.

Place your flour tortillas in a stack beside your pan and start filling them. Place filling in the center and roll up and place seam side down in the dish. Repeat until all the filling is gone.

Cover rolls generously with tomato sauce and then sprinkle shredded cheese down the center. Place in pre-heated oven for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve! Optional condiments: Franks Red Hot Sauce, Diced scallions, sliced black olives, salsa, sour cream.