Seafood Enchiladas and Migraines

A few Thursdays ago (which now seems like a lifetime!) when my Mom and Dad told me they were stopping in on their way to see my brother and his family, I actually had to think REALLY hard about what to make.

This recipe for Seafood Enchiladas had been staring at me from my online recipe box for quite a while now - and I was starting to get uncomfortable with it.  I honestly couldn't stand it anymore, so they were the meal for the evening.

Let me start by saying that I think these were probably awesome.  I couldn't hardly tell though.  Migraines apparently affect taste buds.  But I had terrific feedback from my parents.  Considering the pan was pretty well devoured by end of dinner time - I'd say they were being honest and that I would add these to my personal files.

That particular Thursday started out just with a headache upon waking - which I'm pretty used to (at this point I was going on day 8 of daily headaches).  My only defense is "take a couple Advil and hope it goes away".  So I ran my Thursday morning errands and came home to do Thursday afternoon chores.  I mistakenly thought the headache would get better - but when I came in at 4 to shower and change, the headache had officially been upgraded to migraine status.  And by that point - I was pretty much screwed.

A visit to the doctor the following day confirmed that I am indeed, having migraines (I'm not sure if the daily headaches I've been having are migraines, but Thursday was DEFINITELY one).  And migraines aren't only restricted to one day - oh no.  Migraines are, at the very least, two day magical events that make me want to scream - except I don't because it hurts.  Yep, I get migraine HANGOVERS.  Yay me.  It's super-fun. 

I'm sure Mom and Dad would have understood if they showed up and I said "hey - here's a frozen pizza and a bottle of wine, I'm going to lay down".  But I had already bought everything.

And I totally intended to take process pictures and final pictures, but I was too busy trying not to barf in the filling.  I did snap a few though.


Butter and Onions frying - the start of something good!



Chopped shrimp - not too small!



Baked and ready to go!



A closeup of the yum....


Anyway - the enchiladas were easy and really yummy - but for an added punch I would add fresh cilantro.  Oh, and the recipe says to use 6 10-inch tortillas, but I went ahead and used all 10 (but they were only 6-inch) in the package - cause I didn't really need them hanging around.  And if you like really saucy enchiladas, you should double the sauce.

Seafood Enchiladas
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 pound fresh crabmeat
1/4 pound shrimp - peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
8 ounces Colby Cheese, shredded (I used Monterey Jack)
6 (10 inch) flour tortillas (I used 10 6-inch tortillas)
1 cup half-and-half cream (I used heavy cream)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic salt (I used garlic powder)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, saute onions in 1 tablespoon butter until transparent.  Remove the skillet from heat and stir in crabmeat and shrimp.
3. Mix half the shredded cheese into the crabmeat and shrimp.
4. Divide seafood and cheese mixture evenly between the tortillas.  Roll the tortillas up around the filling and arrange in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
5. In a saucepan over medium-low heat combine cream, sour cream, 1/4 cup butter, parsley and garlic salt.  Stir until the mixture is lukewarm and blended.  Pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
6. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

I served these enchiladas with Mexican Rice (it was from the box - I know it's "laziness", but don't start with me), sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.

Dealing With My "Little" Problem

I know it's been forever since I've posted.  The house was an average of 30 degrees Celcius every day.  I did make cookies one morning for dinner with Dee and her boyfriend....  And it was so hot I was sweating everywhere - specifically trying not to sweat in the cookie dough.  So there it is.

I figured out how to start cleaning out my "Recipe Hoard".  It came to me shortly after I posted about having this huge recipe collection and just how I was going to get it cleaned up. 

I really wanted to start with cupcakes as my main focus.  Cause I love 'em!  And the bulk of my hoard is cupcakes.  So that's what I'm going to do.  I'll do other stuff as well, but this Winter - it'll be all about the cupcakes.

But what to call this project?  How to decide where to start?

If you know anything about me, you should know that I like to be organized, have a plan, and I don't like random and unexpected. 

I thought about printing a list of all the cupcakes recipes I have saved and putting them in a hat and drawing one a week.  Nope, too random.  I thought about having other people pick.  But then they'd have to look at my cupcake list and would realize I have a problem.  Not gonna work.  But if you read my post on my "problem", then you already know about it and like me anyway.  I wanted to do "seasonal" cupcakes - you know, Red Velvet at Valentine's, Candy Corn Cupcakes at Halloween, etc. etc.

Then it came to me.  And it will totally work because this is the way I think.  If that makes any sense.

Project Name:  Cupcakes A to Z
Process: Alphabetically (obviously) (Can you guess what my full-time career is?)
Time Frame:  When it starts being cool enough to have my oven on until it starts being too HOT to have my oven on!
Special Note:  I'll be halving the recipes anytime I possibly can.  My pants will thank me in the long run.  Oh, and I also have discovered that you can freeze cake batter...  Which will help my pants even MORE! 

Now, I can already see that I will have a problem when I try to do the Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes.  Since it's not Easter there are no Creme Eggs around.  And if there are, I'd be afraid to buy them.  I'm afraid they'd be stale and horrible.  So there might be a couple of cupcakes that I have to tackle out of order.  Darn it - I wonder if it will throw me off.

And where to stick any new cupcake recipes that fall into my lap?  Well - if I haven't gotten to the letter it falls under yet, it won't matter.  If I've passed that letter - I'll just put it up next.  And do I revisit cupcakes that I've already made?  I would really love to do the Apple Spice Cupcakes again, and I would love to do Guinness Cupcakes because the Bailey's Buttercream bombed so badly and now I know better. 

Oh, how I love having a plan.  Now to execute.

I spent quite a bit of time organizing and arranging my collection of recipes.  I also have a "Cupcakes" folder specifically for cupcakes and a copy on a USB stick that goes pretty well everywhere that I go.  That way I can update the folder easily if I find a new recipe to add to my arsenal.

Because I also have multiples of the same recipe, I will do side by side comparisons - because they can all be so different, and then I can figure out what I like.

I'm looking forward to the process - but somewhat intimidated because I know that my decision making abilities are somewhat restricted.  For example - what if I try 5 different recipes and like them ALL?  A sane person only needs one recipe.

Anyway, at this point I have a stunning variety of cupcakes to try - not including variations from different bloggers.  And as soon as my days off start I'll be starting this project.

I'm sure getting things wheedled away will make me feel so much better.

Aren't you excited?  I know I am!

This is the Cane Girl - signing off.

I Think I Have A Problem

I might be a hoarder.

Well, not THAT kind of hoarder.

I collect recipes.  I don't have an official count, but my Allrecipes Recipe Box has just over ONE THOUSAND recipes.  Yep, 1000.  And with a quick glance into my Recipes folder in my E-mail, I believe there's a couple hundred more in there.  And that doesn't count the recipes from the Kraftfoods website that I have saved.  But I think there's only like fifty recipes in that one.  "Only".

And, just to make life interesting, my pants are tight.  So, every day when I look at my favorite blogs and cooking sites, I can honestly feel my pants getting TIGHTER. 

And when I see a really cool recipe that I want to try (Mint Julep Cupcakes, Shirley Temple Cupcakes, Mudslide Cupcakes - and that was just from yesterday), I copy, paste, and note the site where I found the recipe.  Then I e-mail it to myself.

At least everything's digital.  I love the information age.  But I like to think that if this was NOT the information age, I'm sure I would come up with some kind of organizational system that would help keep my sanity intact and everything in one place.  Although, probably I wouldn't have access to super-cool recipes like Mint Julep Cupcakes.

I will admit that I have several versions of the same recipe saved - so, my official recipe count might be a little off.  Like, for example, Faux Hostess Cupcakes.  I probably have 5 or 6 different recipes.  I have no idea if they're ALL different.  But what if I like one more than the other?  Or one PART of one recipe more than another?  Like, what if I like the ganache from one recipe, but not from the other 5?  Or what if I like the cream filling from one better than the others?  You see my problem.  So it's completely reasonable that I would NEED 5 or 6 recipes.

The thing I'm worried about is - I have probably over 1200 recipes I would like to try at some point!  Even if I tried something different EVERY DAY it would take me over THREE YEARS to get through everything!  That's craziness. 

And, honestly, I don't have the time to try something new every day.  Maybe a few times a week.  Maybe. 
And then I remembered - "hey, I'm only 31 (ugh).  I have LOADS of time!". 

Yesterday, I amassed an amazing 27 recipes.  Yep.  27.  That's a whole MONTH of cooking and baking every day!  But finding 27 recipes doesn't happen every day, mind you.

So maybe I don't have loads of time.  Probably I will die of old age before I get every recipe sampled.  Gosh, isn't that a thought. 

(And isn't it kinda sad that thinking about leaving RECIPES behind untasted makes me kinda sad?  I may be the strangest person I know.)

What to do, what to do?
I'm in the process of concocting some kind of plan.  A project.  A challenge if you will.  Right now it's just tickling the back of my eyes.  Like a sneeze. 

I am going to commit blasphemy here.  I am hoping for ONE MORNING - only one - of inclimate weather on my days off in which I can sit down and do some figuring and number crunching.  I know what you're thinking.  Why on earth would you wish for poor weather when a Canadian summer is as short as it is???  But really - one morning and I think I could work out a plan, get organized, and be ready for when the summer is over.  (Cause - let's face it, it's gonna happen.)

And then I would have to get back to soaking up the sun for all that it's worth and ignore my newborn project - because it's August 12th and I swear I can smell Fall sneaking closer.  It's probably around that corner.  Don't look at it.  It'll only make it worse.

I'll get back to you on my idea on how I'm going to start tackling my recipe problem.  Once it's sneezed out of my head anyway.

This is the Cane Girl - signing off.

Why Are My Pants Tight?!?!

Oh, Right. 

Darn you cookies, cakes, cupcakes, luscious dinners, chips, cheese & crackers, and squares!!!!

Wait.  Come back!  I didn't mean it.  I still love you.

But we need to break up for a while. 

Not for a long while - because, well, all I do is think about you.  Even when I'm supposed to be working.  But - my pants are tight.
(on a side note: the title of this entry might be the most perfect blog name ever.  I'm thinking about changing.  Probably.  Maybe.)

And with a holiday coming up - I need to shift my focus.  I really want to think about how to make meat and salads exciting and pretty.  Cause really?  Meat isn't always pretty.  But I don't think it's the meat's fault.  I mean - it came off a dead thing. 

But I need to be as excited about, say, a hamburger patty or a chicken breast as I would be about a cupcake.  Or a cookie.  Or chips.  mmmmmmm.....  chiiiiiips.

D'OH!!!!

A few weeks ago I set myself up with a goal in mind.  But I ALREADY know that I'm totally not going to make it - I haven't been so diligent.  And I only have five weeks left.

The Cane Girl exercising self-control with food?  Unheard of.  Unconscionable.  Unbelievable.

But.  I gotta try. 

Cause my pants are tight.

Some of you may scoff at me - but I do the Low Carb "thing".  It really does work.  And I feel better when I cut out all the starchy carbs.

Although I miss rice.  And potatoes.

And I have considered cutting off my own arm in exchange for a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, while in the midst of a "Carb Battle".  I can't even drive past that place without drooling. 

I wish I found "regular" food more exciting.  When I see a perfect cupcake on a blog and it looks totally delicious, I seriously have heart palpitations.

And I have done "regular" food with passion and interest, but only because I knew I would soon be doing what I really wanted to do (bake) at some point....  So doing "regular" food was kind of like a warm up to the fun stuff.

I will paste on my plastic smile, say "I WANT to be cooking this!!  It's so exciting!  And delicious!  Who needs a midnight snack of chips or cupcakes or cookies ANYWAY?  Baking is boring."

Wish me luck - because since I've come home it's been an epic fail.  I like to think that at home I have so much more control over what I'm eating as compared to when I'm at work.  But it seems like whenever I'm trying to do something it's always "oh Heather - come over for dinner cause it's someone's birthday" "oh Heather, let's go for lunch" "oh Heather, let's go to the movies and eat inappropriate amounts of popcorn".

Not that I mind, because it's quality time with people I love - I get stalemated because I think "well, this day is in the toilet - let's try again tomorrow.  Oh - you want to feed me?  I guess the day after tomorrow will have to do".  Blech.

A bumpy road?  Literally - yeah.

This is the Cane Girl in tight pants - signing off.