Black Bean Enchiladas

I used to have a delicious recipe for Black Bean Enchiladas.  Used to.  Can’t find it. 

But darnitall, we had already planned to have them for General Conference weekend.  It’s like a two day holiday, twice a year, for us Mormon folks.  Well, for some of us, anyway.  And holidays mean food!  Yummy food. 

Black Bean Enchiladas are definitely considered yummy food.  So, when I realized that the recipe was missing from my recipe binder, I was determined to recall the recipe from the dusty filing cabinets of my mind.  I say dusty because, let’s face it, I’m not sure how often they are actually used.  And even if they are used, I don’t have time to dust them.  ;)

I can’t say it was a complete success (recalling the recipe) because I don’t remember the exact measurements but after making my own version, I think I like these better!

I really hope you will like them, too.  And hey, they’re vegetarian (LeShel)!  And they’re clean (if you use whole grain tortillas). 

{Before it’s baked}



{After it’s been baked}



Black Bean Enchiladas

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 can refried beans

1 can black beans

1/2 cup – 1 cup salsa

1 can chopped green chilies

lots of cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar)

1 can red enchilada sauce (or make your own)

1 pkg. tortillas

 

Heat cream cheese and refried beans in microwave or on stove until soft enough to stir together. 

Stir in black beans, salsa, chilies, and large handful of cheese. 

Spoon filling into center of tortillas and roll like you would for any other enchilada recipe placing seam side down in a 9x13 pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  I usually get 8-10 enchiladas, depending on how much filling I put on the tortillas.

Pour the entire can of enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas. 

Top with cheese. 

Place in preheated 350* oven for about 20 minutes. 

 

My family LOVES these!  Serve with Mexican style rice (and a vegetable, of course) and you’ve got dinner!!  Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

My Little Picassos!

Well, I don’t know about you but I thought General Conference was absolutely amazing!  Of course, it always is but I swear to you, every single talk had something that I needed to hear.  And some even had more than I cared to hear.  No one likes to hear that they need to improve in one way or another.  I much prefer to hear that I am doing everything perfectly and nothing needs to be changed!  Is there a conference for that?

I’m totally joking.  Conference really was amazing and some of the talks were meant just for me.  How do they know?  It’s baffling!  I guess it can only be credited to one thing… the Church is true!!  Our Father in Heaven really does know and love each of us and relies on the Prophet to be his mouthpiece.  **More on all of this to come…***

{If you are not of my faith, and would like to know more about what we believe, please feel free to email me and ask questions.  I can’t promise to know all the answers but I do have a testimony and I’ll do my best to find out the answer to any questions you may have.  Or you can visit the official website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormon.org.} 

This blog is not meant to be a preachy blog and will not ever become one.  I’m far too ignorant in my knowledge of the Gospel for that.  However, at certain times, I find it necessary to document how I am feeling personally and how the Gospel has brought me to one place or another.  It’s part of me.  Part of who I am and who I hope to become.  I hope you can understand. 

Anyway, I digress…

As wonderful as conference was, it certainly had it’s hiccups.  Saturday was like a dream!  Everything was running smoothly and all was well.  The kids (including the boys) were relatively calm, Anthony and I were able to take notes (yes, take notes!  First timer here…).  The kids worked on their Conference packets, Conference Bingo, ate Skittles, the whole works during the morning session. 

I put the boys to bed for the second session and then it was time for the girls to get to work on their canvases.  They were so excited!  It was the moment they had been waiting for all day long.  We figured if we had them do theirs on Saturday while the boys napped, we would bypass the inevitable tornado that is C and B who would no doubt, run around like mad men ruining the girls creations just to get a rise out of them.  And they would be successful, too!  I promise you that.  And it wouldn’t matter that they had their own canvases to work on.  Hearing the girls scream is much more fun than painting! 

Plus, I decided that since Anthony had been unaware of my ‘plan’ to plaster the walls with kid painted canvases, it might make for a better chance of him not flipping out if we only had to deal with the girls on Saturday and work with the boys on Sunday.  Not that he’s a flipper outer.  Just FYI. 

Please note, I am NOT dead!  I think that means that I did a pretty decent job masterminding this whole fiasco, no? 

I gave no instructions to the girls, just paint… whatever they wanted. 

No wait, I take that back… I gave ONE rule.  No crying!!  Seriously, it happens often around here.  They’re girls.  They’re dramatic.  They cry!  K is such a perfectionist that if she makes the tiniest mistake on anything, she thinks the world is going to end.  A just gets frustrated if she messes up.  And H, she’s a last born.  Carefree as they get.  “If I make a mistake, I just turn it into something else!”  And she does. 

Luckily, there were no tears.  K messed up (according to her) just once but she decided to take H’s advice and turn it into something else.



They painted and painted and painted.  Painted the whole second session away until the very last speaker.  Look at my little Picasso wannabes!!



H had a really cute thing going on hers but I think she ‘finished’ earlier than her sisters and she didn’t want to be done yet so she kept adding more and more and more and more until…. well, you’ll see.  I must admit that I was kind of sad about the stuff she covered up.  But I didn’t say anything.  It’s her picture.

 

Now let’s talk about Sunday.

Sigh

Yeah, it wasn’t quite as smooth as Saturday.  I’d like a refund on Sunday!  Can I get a do-over?

I was all ready.  Note taking packet in hand and no sooner had the first session started than the boys are having an all out brawl!  C was mad at B for playing with who knows what so he pushed him.  B got upset and stood up to push him back. 

There was bear hugging (not the nice kind, mind you) and biting…. of clothing.  Luckily B didn’t get any skin.  There was arm squeezing, wrestling, hitting, yelling, scratching, you name it!  They persisted throughout the entire session.  I was exhausted!

Between sessions is when we decided to have the boys paint… before naps.  Boy did they need them!  I couldn’t wait to get them in bed. 

The painting went well, even if B did try eating the brush full of paint more than once. 



C enjoyed himself as well.

 

Finally, it was nap time.  I was finally going to get some peace and be able to pay attention to the speakers. 

All was well until the scissors went flying. 

A had been using them to cut out her paper dolls from her conference packet and H was so patiently (IMpatiently) waiting for them.  A finally got tired of H’s whining and threw the scissors at her!  (No, they didn’t hit her.)

BIG TROUBLE!  It became a yelling match between A and us (Anthony and myself).  She told us that K and H both throw scissors sometimes so ‘why can’t I?’

I swear, that girl is going to be the death of me!  She’s 7 going on 14… with major attitude!

Once that situation had been taken care of, B woke up from his extremely short nap.  Dang it! 

He was whiny all afternoon.  Not only whiny but he must have found the shelf that A keeps her attitude on because boy oh boy did he have one today!  It’s been developing for several weeks now but today he really pulled out all the stops!  Grunting, scowls, hitting, the works!  I must admit, the scowling is pretty darn cute. 

C woke up toward the end of the last session just before the Prophet spoke.  A decided to pull an attitude again at that point…

Um, I hate to admit it but, there may have been some yelling during the President Monson’s talk.  I promise the spirit was felt.  Maybe not at that moment…

UGH!  We really aren’t yellers… hard to believe after this post, I know.  I should say, we try not to yell. 

But anyway, I plan to blog more about conference later.  Oh, and did I mention that I did a lot of cooking and baking (and other things) over the weekend?  I did!  That means recipes are coming.  I promise, they are good ones. 

And now for the real reason you are here (get to the point already, Brooke!):

Here they are, in all their glory… CANVAS PAINTINGS!!





















{I had the kids pose underneath a beautiful overgrown bush of our neighbors that happens to be growing into our side of the fence.  Yes, we need to trim it… don’t judge!  Oh and Moe, our dog, decided to hop in a couple of shots… Howdy, Moseley!}

Didn’t they do a great job?  (I’ve always wanted a picture of President Monson.  And now, I have one!)

And look!!!!  I have a happy wall now!  Hooray for happy walls!



Tell me you love it!  I know you do.







 

General Conference

Don't you just LOVE General Conference weekend? Not only do I NOT have to get my 5 kids ready for church by 9:00 a.m. on Sunday but I get to hear the inspired words of our great prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, and his apostles. It's so nice to know that if I have any questions or doubts or anything of that nature, they will be put to rest over the weekend of inspired counsel. Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the greatest blessing in my life. Without it, all my trials and tribulations would be too heavy to bear.

What a blessing to know that my Heavenly Father is there to guide me and direct me in my life. And an even greater blessing to know that there is life after this one. It's such a comfort to me, especially since my sweet Grandma just passed about a month and a half ago. I know I will see her again someday. Love you Grandma!!

I think I need to make some treats for such a great event as General Conference. I've always wanted to do what I hear about from other families. It seems so many have wonderful feasts as they devour the words of the Prophet. So, I best be on my way to get the baking started. I'll be listening to conference as I bake. And then, I shall bake some more...