Daring Cooks: A lesson in epic fail

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Foodhave chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

My second daring cooks challenge did not come out like it was supposed to. Unfortunately, it was all my fault. I thought I was better than I am. I thought I had developed magical dough handling skills over night. Alas, it was not so. The recipe had plenty of things I'd never done before: roasting chile's (I used jalapenos. Why? Cuz they were both green and I didn't see anaheim chile's when I was shopping) and working with tomatillo's. But that wasn't enough for me, I decided I needed to make my own corn tortillas. And that's where it all went wrong. My tortilla's came out horribly! They were hard, too thick, and it took me almost 20 minutes to do each one. I ended up only making six tortilla's and then I fried them and made green chile and grilled chicken tostadas.

We ended up using the rest of the chicken and sauce in other recipes throughout the week. I can't wait for next months challenge because I need to redeem myself. Look at that pitiful picture, I'm ashamed.

Overdue Pictures from Florida

If you're thinking that hat doesn't match his outfit, you'd be correct. If you're thinking he is smoking hot, you'd still be correct. If you're thinking anything negative about me, stick a pickle in your nose and choke.

Woot woot! Family picture (plus my sisters boyfriend) after her graduation party. The lady was determined to get the background in the pic, and that's why we're off center looking crazy.

Doesn't my hair look awesome!?

The girls are my sister's friends, and the guys are my cousins.

I loved my hair, and my beach shirt, and the fact that my legs are no longer completely covered in cottage cheese. I really want to know what I was doing because my dad has 4 pictures of me staring down at the sand.

Cute hair. Strong husband playing with children. Me on my phone as usual. All the makings of a great picture!

What's your vice?

vice

¹    /vaɪs/ Show Spelled[vahys] Show IPA

–noun

5.

a fault, defect, or shortcoming

 

Picture this: Chicago, Monday night. I was sitting in a crowded bar for the first time in my life. I was sitting at a table watching my coworkers dance and sing drunkenly while I sipped on my bottle of water. A handsome coworker came and sat at my table and kept glancing at me, but I was avoiding eye contact. He finally spoke up, when he realized I was never going to look his way:

 

Guy: You're not drinking tonight?

 Me: Nope, I don't drink

Guy: *shocked* Like, never?

Me: Nope, not ever

Guy: *pulls over another coworker* Carrie, she doesn't drink

Carrie: Never?

Me: Nope

Guy: Well how long have you been working here?

 Me: 2 years

Guy: And they haven't gotten you drinking yet?

Me: *making a stank face* No

Carrie: Do you smoke?

Me: No

Carrie: Curse?

Me: No

Carrie: Have wild sex with lots of men?

Me: Nope, I've only ever been with my husband

Carrie: *giving me a strange face* I'm trying to figure you out. I'm trying to figure out what your vice is.

 

She came back to me throughout the hour I was there still trying to figure me out. When I was leaving, she shook my hand and said, "it was a pleasure meeting you. But I still don't get you." It made me laugh so hard, because none of what I said was strange. Seriously, who doesn't know plenty of people that don't drink or smoke? She acted like she asked if I breathed and blinked. It did make me wonder what my vice was.

 

 The next morning it became clear. My vice is sleep. I was the first person to leave the bar. I was the only person that didn't have a drink. All 40 of them were up and downstairs for 7 a.m. breakfast. I didn't get out of bed until 9:30- and that was only because I knew they would notice if I wasn't at the 10 o'clock session. I once stayed in bed for 48 hours. I only got up to use the bathroom then I went right back into the bed. My cousin brought all my meals to me, I just couldn't get up. That's a sad claim to fame. I oversleep every single day. It doesn't matter if I go to bed on time or not. I love sleep too much to get out of bed. I'm going to sleep my life away if I don't get it under control. I could sleep for 10 hours every night no problem. I remember one Saturday it was 5 p.m and my mom was making me wake up. She didn't even know I was home that day, let alone that I had been asleep for over 16 hours. I'm thinking over some of my sleep tales and I'm actually ashamed.

 

So now, I ask you, what's your vice? What's your bad habit that you just can't shake?

 

**I tried to change my blog for almost 3 hours last Friday night and it kept erring (erroring?) out. So I gave up and went to bed. I'll try again this weekend**

This weekend I will...

Clear out my google reader. It is out of control, I'm so behind.

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Do a protein treatment on my hair and trim off some knots.

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Pack for my business trip on Monday/Tuesday.

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Make sure my clothes/hair/jewelry look fabulous for my trip. I am feeling quite diva-ish.

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Update my Home Vision/Fashion notebook.

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Cook my meal for this month's Daring Cooks challenge

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Go to the Library to get an Atkins cookbook for MrC before I decide that he should become anorexic in order to win the weight loss challenge at work.

 

This weekend I might...

 

Give my blog a fresh new look.

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Do something crafty with some earrings and equipment stolen from my parents house.

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What y'all doing?

 

A week in hair

Last Friday morning before we flew out, I twisted my hair. The plan was to wear the twists Friday, and a twist out on Saturday-Monday. I woke up 10 minutes before it was time to leave for my sister's graduation on Saturday, so I kept the twists in. Sunday it was rainy, and Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I was lazy. This morning I finally got around to taking my twists down. I'll probably redo my hair on Saturday because I have a work training in Chicago and I need to look kempt and cute, because the last time the Pres and V.P of our department saw me, I looked a wild ragamuffin mess!

I washed and conditioned with Organix (coconut milk line.) For my leave in I used Giovanni and then parted my hair in 4 sections and applied Oyin Whipped Pudding and Burnt sugar to each one. Pulled my hair into 4 pony puffs á la Serenity23 and let it dry for a few hours before twisting (while I slept). Every other night I put whipped pudding on my twists and every morning I spray my juices and berries before I shower. If my scalp wasn't so janky in the heat, I could probably go 2 weeks without having to redo my hair because it stays soft and moisturized. After 3 days, I retwist the bottom row and any other pieces that look a little frizzy, but it's never that many (I think I had to retwist 10 this time.)

You doing anything new with your hair? Trying out any new products?

Back in the swing of things...

I am feeling some kind of way today. I think this will be one of those days that I listen to the same song over and over on repeat.

 

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This past weekend, while we were in Florida, I think my Aunt finally started to like me. Y'all remember the aunt I call HaterAunt cuz she hasn't liked me since I dated that white boy when I was 16? The one who forgets to call me on my birthday but remembers to call my dad (we have the same birthday) and remembers to call my sister (her birthday is the day after mine). I think she finally gets me now. She used to tell my mom that I thought I was better than everybody- which I certainly don't. We rode from the Jacksonville airport to Tallahassee with her. TheCount and I were talking in the backseat:

 

TheCount: Blah, blah, blah. Man, he is funny!

Me: If I would have said the same thing, you would have said I was being mean. In fact, I have done that and you said I was rude.

TheCount: That's because nobody ever knows you're joking. You say stuff with a straight face.

Me: So you could tell from his text he was joking? He was serious. I'm always joking. I'm a comedian!

TheCount: How are we supposed to know that?

Me: That's background information about the artist! You should know that already. That's my appeal, I'm a sarcastic, stone faced comedian. I can deliver the lines without cracking a smile. I am always joking.

 

I think hearing that conversation made my aunt look at me a little differently, because she actually started laughing when I said stuff.

Me: It was soooo cold in our room last night, I kept waking up.

Ma: Why didn't you get up and turn the air off?

Me: I can't function in the middle of the night. If I would have tried to get up I probably would have tripped, crashed into the wall, and died.

Aunt: *eyes wide* HAHAHAHAHAHAHA- Died? Died? You took it so far! How does turning off the air, lead to your death- you are funny!

 

 

Jeez, it only took 24 years to get her to like me.

 

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Pomegranate lemonade wallflowers from Bath and Body Works = heaven

 

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Not taking out the trash that contained onions, fish containers, scallop containers, spoiled spinach, spoiled green peppers, old chicken, and pork chop containers = angry wife

 

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Today's lunch: Blackened Halibut and Salad. Tonight's dinner: Broiled buffalo wings. Cinco de Mayo will be celebrated tomorrow.

Mini Vacation

We're travelling back from Florida today. My sister graduated from FAMU this weekend so we went down to celebrate. I have pictures, but they were all taken by my 9 year old cousin, so we'll see if there is anything worth posting, lol.

Tomorrow is TheCount and my 7 year anniversary. As long as he doesn't see this picture of things I do to hime while he sleeps, then we'll make it to our anniversary! I should be back to regular blogging this week because my chaotic month at work is over! *crosses fingers, prays, and pleads with God*