Mexican Monday! Our Daily Dinner

Mexican Monday!

chuckieb 7 years ago
Good Morning Everyone! I read recently that the third Monday in January is known as "Blue Monday" because it is the most depressing day of the year. The name has no scientific basis but simply because of the time of year, post holiday blues, the weather, debts, etc. We used to notice in February especially that people were quite 'down' when I worked at the Hardware store. They didn't want to buy another snow shovel and it wasn't time to plant seeds yet. It was a winter limbo. :) Anyway....I decided to warm up my Blue Monday and make a Mexican themed dinner this evening to combat it.

Making
Turkey Enchilladas Verde
and maybe some nachos and salsa as an appy and we're also going to make up a batch of Margueritas. :)

I rented a movie from the Library to watch this evening. "Somm".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOMM_(film)
Did anyone watch the premiere of the "Victoria" series on PBS last night? We really enjoyed it.

And...the pellet stove quit working again. Grrrrrr. The company we deal with is closed on Monday's so we'll have to call them again tomorrow.

Gonna run into town and do a few errands today.

Really disappointed with the Chinese Roast Chicken I made last night. I made the marinade up the night before and had the chicken in it for pretty much 24 hours. Then you baste it every 15 minutes during the cook time. It gets a lacquered finish on it. Perhaps my bottom oven isn't working properly because I pulled it out after an hour and a half (and it wasn't a large chicken) and it was still not cooked. Finally after 2 hours and 15 min. it was done. :( By then I had hacked into it and let all the juices run out. :( It was okay but I wouldn't make it again. It just didn't have a whole lot of flavour. I tested my top oven temps with an oven thermometer last week so will have to test the bottom again next time I use it. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Goodness on Frank's liver tumour Laurie. Thank heavens they fixed him up and it was benign. How lovely Becca found a dress she loves for the Prom. Gross on the discoloured tomatoes. They should have responded to you for sure and I don't blame you boycotting them!

Goodness on your drive to Church yesterday Karen!

I wouldn't complain about steak and potatoes ever Kimmer. :)

Nice to see you in here Tina, and to hear you've been cooking! Sounds like the wedding plans are coming along!

Did you buy anything at Ikea Michelle? I always like wandering through their stores. Fun fun on the Breakfast themed family get together. What was your contribution and what was the favourite dish? Nice that the kid's have a day off school today. Why?

Shona, how are you feeling? Linda, you hanging in there okay? Bren, how did your sirloin roast turn out and did you manage to finish your housework? With all the dust from the furnace, the fireplace and the pellet stove it's an ongoing thing here. Argh. How did you fix your porkchops last night Joce? Marie, how's your year end stuff going? Is the end in sight?

Wishing everyone a really great day full of sunshine and laughs and NO BLUES! :) Pic of last night's chicken below.
Flag
MissouriFarmWife 7 years ago said:

Good morning.

Boo on the oven problems. Hate it when that happens! We probably need to check our's, although it is about two years old, or less, and should not be having a problem. Guess I should really run the clean cycle, though. It seems like you have had problems with the pellet stove all winter. It must be frustrating! Our generator problem ranks right along there with it.

It is a quiet morning. Trouble chased everyone off my lap, three times! Fritz and Wayne just got up, and Fritz and Trouble are alternating claiming my lap / chair. Trouble will probably win, she kept the dog perched on the front of the recliner and gave him the evil eye until he elected to depart.

Had a cup of coffee so am ready to start the day.

Both of us have sore throats probably from sinus drainage. Don't really want to go to the board meeting tonight....it is a holiday today, Janet, Martin Luther King's birthday.

A.C. is doing his best to get us to let him outside, but it is too early unless Geezer has vacated the porch.

See you later.

Flag
chuckieb 7 years ago said:

Sorry to hear both you and Wayne are suffering from sore throats Karen. I'd don't blame you for not wanting to go to the Board meeting. How are the roads today? Canada doesn't celebrate Martin Luther's Birthday as a holiday.

Flag
Cosmicmother 7 years ago said:

Hi Janet, I love to make tropical things this time of year to combat the winter blues. This is a favorite, Pineapple Coconut Loaf Cake, and I like to make this to accompany spicy foods like jerk chicken Cucumber Lime Salsa. The Turkey Enchiladas look so good! I don't think I've made them in years and years, I should try them on the kids one day soon. Too bad the chicken didn't work out, I hate it when that happens. It sure looks good though!! I taped the Victoria show but haven't watched it yet. I wasn't looking forward to it all that much, I feel like we already know sooooo much about her early life already ( her favorite dog, her closeness to the PM, the bad step father and relationship with her mom, the meetings with her cousin and eventual husband..etc...) But since you liked it, I am looking forward to it now!! :)

Hi Karen, I hope you guys can kick that sore throat soon and it doesn't turn into a major cold. I use to love it when I worked at this café in the business district, we always had the US holidays off work too since we were in the Stock Exchange building. Hope you have a quiet holiday today :)

I'm feeling much better today. As Saturday went on I got more and more sore. I couldn't use my right hand or wrist, and my neck and back hurt too. I felt a little better yesterday and contemplated going to the hospital, but thought I'd wait to see how I felt today. And I am just fine, so I don't think I am broken anywhere. :)
Tonight is leftover chicken with Rustic Italian Roasted Potatoes and a salad.
I drove the car for the first time with the new tires, and I feel so much better about driving. Pheww, that will relieve a lot of anxiety! Now I feel like I can leave the house and go into the city. I haven't been anywhere since the middle of December! Thanks for the kava info Linda, I will look for it at the pharmacy! :)

Have a great day everyone!

Flag
Good4U 7 years ago said:

Bummer on your oven and pellet stove, Janet! Too bad your dinner didn't turn out as expected. I hate it when that happens. I don't feel blue today b/c it is nice and sunny and going to be quite warm out at least for us. We watched "Victoria" last night and we loved it as well. I just dipped the pork chops in an egg and milk mixture then breaded them and fried them in a bit of peanut oil and butter. They were really moist and tender.

Sorry to hear both you and Wayne are under the weather, Karen. I hope you do stay home and snuggle in today and get better soon. My Goodness on your roads and the poor trees getting hit with the freezing rain too! I hope the guy comes and fixes your generator as well.

Very cool having a Breakfast Themed family dinner, Michelle. What did everyone bring?

I hope you are feeling better today, Shona.

Did your daughter enjoy the roast you cooked last night, Bren.

Nice to see you pop in yesterday, Tina. Glad you are preparing some good food for yourself now.

A Very Happy Birthday to Corinne! I know she is in California visiting her daughter she has not seen in many years so this should be a special one for her.

We are having honey garlic chicken breasts tonight with rice and steamed broccoli. Nothing much else is happening here.

Wishing everyone a great day!

Flag
Cosmicmother 7 years ago said:

I just read back, glad to see you pop in Tina!! That is so great you are cooking again! The wedding plans must be giving you that extra motivation too, glad the plans seem to be coming along. I can't wait to see how the dress hunting goes and I hope Olivia can get to her goal weight soon! Best of luck with everything! :)

Hi Linda, it must be hard making all these decisions, but it sounds like you know what needs to be done. I'm sure you'll find a great home that will suit you guys better, down the road at least. I hope things go smoothly while he's at home and you both adjust nicely. That's great you will have some home support so you can do your things as well. Take care! :)

Hi Joce! I'm glad you liked 'Victoria' too, now I am really looking forward to seeing it! Your dinner sounds great, have a great day :)

Flag
Good4U 7 years ago said:

Oops! I missed you there, Shona. I am SO glad you are feeling much better and also you feel better driving with the snow tires on now. I want some of that Pineapple Coconut Loaf Cake right now! \

Flag
MissouriFarmWife 7 years ago said:

Hi Shona, Joce, Janet.

It is raining and a genuinely miserable day. Thinking I have the same creeping crud that Wayne did. No fun. Life goes on. We shall survive.

We didn't watch Victoria. It sounds interesting, though, esp if you are into British history.

The generator repair guy said, "This doesn't look good," when he first looked at it. Aye yi yi yi! Not optimistic!

Meeting canceled so we don't have to go anywhere this evening.

Flag
gaspesiangal 7 years ago said:

Good afternoon everyone. Your dinner sounds awesome Janet. Sorry that the chicken didn't work out for you. I didn't watch Victoria, I did know that it was on. I had a peek at the movie that you rented and it does look interesting.
When I was working at the bank I noticed that people were crabby at this time of the year.
I didn't have high expectations for the roast but it was actually quite good. It was the first time that I used the pressure cooker for a large piece of meat and I did a lot of research about how long to cook it. My daughter loved it and took what was left home with her.
Sigh, I didn't finish the house work and have decided that I have to lower my expectations on what I can actually get done in one day.
Sorry that you and Wayne aren't feeling well Karen. I'm not sure if I mentioned this but I used the Instant Pot to make chicken broth, 30 minutes cooking time, and it was Awesome.
I love your Pineapple Coconut Loaf Cake Shona. So happy that your feeling better, has the swelling gone down? That's wonderful news about the car!!
I feel the same way about today Joce. I love honey garlic anything!!
I'm thinking of making fried smelt for dinner. I usually don't like to fry anything but I bought the smelt and they need to be eaten. I may do oven fries and steamed cauliflower as sides.
The day didn't start off well for me. The battery on my car died, again. I've decided to replace the darned thing and have it done with. Joe says that the problem is that I never drive it far enough for the battery to recharge and he's probably right. I'd best to freezer diving and pull that fish, if I can find it.

Flag
chuckieb 7 years ago said:

Fun tropical recipes Shona! :) Thanks! I think you will enjoy "Victoria". It's very well done. And good on you, I don't know all that much about her. :) So glad you're feeling better today. Excellente on the winter tires. They make a BIG difference!

It is nice and sunny out alright Joce. SO much warmer than it's been! Honey Garlic chicken breasts sound nummy.

Eeesh on the repair guy Karen. But it's brand new though right? So should be covered under warranty? Glad the meeting was cancelled.

Awesome on your roast turning out so well Bren. Cool on fried smelt for dinner. Oh dear on the car battery! :( Costco has great prices on batteries. We bought our last one there and comparison shopped and it was a lot cheaper than elsewhere. Our mechanic was quite impressed with our deal. :)

Back from a quick spin into town. Wandered around Chapters for fun and actually bought two Christmas presents for Jim's sister for next year. Yay me! :) Went to Costco for bird seed and bought a big bag of limes for Margueritas as well as a bag of mini Coriander chicken wontons that's on sale this week. Had a taste test of them and they're very yummy. Bought some mexican dip and nacho scoops at Sobey's. Heading out for a hot tub. Bring on that Vitamin D!!!!!

Flag
kimmer 7 years ago said:

Good evening all. A quick hello to everyone. Dinner tonight ended up being grilled ham and cheese sammichs with tomato soup. Boys surprised me with football practice tonight, I was unaware, lol! Figured there would be no sports stuff because of MLK day and most county things were closed. But, they were offered a free practice tonight on the fields so the team jumped at it, understandably. Might tell your mom though, lol! Had planned on making some pork chops that I bought over the weekend. But oh well, will end up in the freezer for another day. Tomorrow is cheese night and Wednesday right now is unclear so rather freeze than lose!!
Enjoy the evening all. Will catch up tomorrow. Busy day for hubs and I at work (even though was a holiday for some!) and really can't see straight to read, lol!

Sleep Sweet All................as always.................

Flag
chuckieb 7 years ago said:

I love your dinner Kimmer! Hope the boys have a good football practice.

Flag