Sunday, February 5, 2012

Chilaquiles!

Ok, ok. While I sure am good at wasting passing a lot of time browsing online, making (and eating!) food is still my true passion. Life has been feeling a little incomplete lately, and I think a huge part of it is a lack of time spent in the kitchen (seriously, wouldn't I just make the best 50s housewife??). So, here is a food post I've been putting off for far too long - chilaquiles!

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Mmmm, one of my favorite breakfasts, and Tim's favorite by far! It's a little different every time, but the key ingredients are tortillas (or chips), salsa, and eggs, often with ground turkey or sausage, black beans, onions, fresh bell or jalapeno peppers, and other delicious bits thrown in - whatever you happen to have around. Here is how I made these recently. Try your own version and let me know how it goes! (scroll down for recipe)

Tim-approved! ✓
Ingredients - by the way, this is the BEST salsa!
chop or tear your tortillas
Add tortillas and combine
Create a space and add eggs
Ready to serve - doesn't look like much, but yum!
Sometimes I add all three. Don't judge.

Chilaquiles
serves 2-3 as listed, but super easy to double or triple!

1 tablespoon neutral oil - I use light olive oil or canola
1/4 of a medium-sized red onion, finely chopped
about 1/2 cup ground meat or sausage (I like using chicken or turkey)
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
salsa to taste - I use about 1/2 cup
4 taco-sized corn tortillas, chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon cumin
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs

for serving:
monterey jack or pepper jack cheese, grated
extra salsa and various hot sauces
chopped cilantro (optional)

  1. Heat the oil in a large, flat skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and cook until just softened. Add the sausage or ground meat and brown for several minutes, stirring and breaking up large pieces.
  3. When the sausage is no longer pink, add the black beans and stir to combine. Add salsa and cook until heated through.
  4. Add tortillas and spices and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir to coat the tortillas in salsa and mix in the spices.
  5. Push everything off to one side so there is an empty space, and crack your eggs into that spot. When they start to get opaque, scramble the eggs with your spoon. When they are about half done (still a bit shiny), stir the eggs into the rest of your chilaquiles.
  6. If you want a bit of a crispy texture, let this cook, untouched, for 3 to 4 minutes, then stir and repeat.
  7. Remove from the heat and serve hot with grated cheese, salsa, hot sauce, and cilantro.
sadly lacking cilantro :( otherwise delicious!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

More window shopping

Since my job consists of testing ModCloth's website (and taking breaks often mean browsing the new arrivals), I get a good look at pretty much everything that comes along on the site. So why not keep track of my faves and share them with you guys? These are my favorite new items from this week. I haven't bought any of them (yet!) but I'll be sure to share if I do!


ModCloth favorites


  1. Bobbin to the Beat Dress - Since getting this red beauty, I'm in love with peter pan collars and simple A-line shapes. I love the muted florals paired with a bright collar and buttons on this one.
  2. For the Wind Dress - I have yet to find a maxi dress that looks good with my wide hips and relatively short legs, but I still love the color blocking and sleek silhouette here.
  3. I'll Have My Regular Dress - This is, unfortunately, too appropriately named. It looks very familiar, as if I already own it. A little too much my usual style, I'd say.
  4. Catch a Glimpse Heel - These are so bold and unique. I love almost everything about them - the color, the polka dots, the shape and height. The one thing I could do without is the lace. I'd probably need a good deal of practice before being able to actually walk in them.
  5. Love is in the Era Dress - Ooooh yes. If my curves didn't look so frumpy in shift dresses like this, I'd be all over it. I love 20s styles so very much and wish I could pull more of them off!
  6. Gondola Lift Tour Dress - This is the new long-sleeved sister of ModCloth's popular Coach Tour Dress. I hardly have any dresses with sleeves so this definitely caught my eye. Doesn't it look cozy?
  7. Cupcake Contest Shoulder Bag - This reminds me a lot of my other favorite bag. See #3, I have a thing for stripes.

Thanks to Polyvore for the awesome collage tools! And once again, I have no incentive for writing these posts other than having an outlet for all of my clothing lust - better to post than overflow my closet with even more clothes, right?

Friday, January 27, 2012

Blogging Motivations and Online Window Shopping

My blogging motivation definitely has high and low points, and lately I've hit a low again, as you may have noticed from the lack of posts. I'm once again reconsidering why I blog, since some of my initial reasons - primary sharing recipes and food photography - feel like a chore that I am never really in the mood for. Outfit photos have also become a hassle, as I'm now biking to work most mornings and usually don't look nice until after I arrive and clean myself up. I'm considering sharing more of the personal photos and news on facebook, since that seems to actually reach more people than my blog... but we'll see.


In the meantime, I'll share some online window shopping I've been doing lately, inspired in part by well-dressed coworkers.... and the fact that my job involves thinking about e-retail for most of my day.

First: boots. I have boots. Some would maybe even say too many (*cough*Tim*cough*). But I'm on this "out with the 'meh', in with the awesome" kick lately, trying to replace all of my just-ok clothes and accessories with things I love and actually want to wear. This means hopefully getting rid of my slouchy, falling apart boots and the heeled ones that aren't really comfortable enough to wear. To help with my quest, of course, a Pinterest board!

Some of my favorites:

I found this ring online and fell in love with it. I've been wanting to get more decent rings (the kind that won't turn green and stain my hands if I leave it on all day), and this one is beautiful. Turns out, though, I don't know my ring size, so I keep putting it off. Gorgeous, right?



I am in love with the pastry-inspired jewelry in this Etsy shop. It reminds me a lot of my macaron ring (I'm wondering if it's by the same artist), but there is so much more!

 



What have you been eyeing online these days? Any boot suggestions for me while I try to make up my mind?

Saturday, January 21, 2012

January in photos - part 2

A bit more of my month! Now with more puppies!

The moon was just rising right above this - it looked amazing in real life.
Unfortunately, my hands weren't up to the task of holding my camera steady
enough to try out its HDR mode.
This. A couple blocks from my house several nights a week. !!!
I got Dulce de Loco (caramel with goat milk), and it was delicious.
How could it not be? 

My and Tim's new night light (from Target, although I can't find a link).
It's squishy and wireless/chargeable and so much fun.


At the office! Winston, all dolled up for CEO and cofounder Eric's birthday.
Most mornings there is a Blue Bottle coffee truck in place of the Creme Brulee Cart.
Some of the best coffee I've ever had.
Hand poured drip coffee (although I usually go for a capp).
PUPPY at work. His name is Gino and he's ten weeks old. Such a cutie. Oooooh I want one!