Ready-To-Go TJ Salad

I was eleven or twelve years old, and beyond excited to go to the movie that everyone said made them literally scream and jump out of their seats with fear. Of course my cousin Coco, 13 years my senior, took me. The same cousin who let me watch Candyman four years earlier (I would go on to brag, for years, that Candyman didn�t even give me nightmares, a fact that I wore like a badge of honor and maturity). The same cousin who couldn�t wait to binge on the movie Fear with my sister and me every summer since it came out� in 1990. When I was 5. (While the Marky Mark/ Alicia Silverstone Fear is amazing and the ferris wheel scene taught middle schoolers across the country everything we knew about sex at the time, I�m talking about the earlier movie Fear, starring Ally Sheedy, in which she�s a psychic who uses her powers to track down murderers and ps. it�s the best movie ever). The same cousin who later took us to see The Blair Witch Project� the night before we went on a family camping trip. 


But back to 1996 and the most iconic scary movie of my generation: SCREAM. Do you remember watching it for the first time? Remember Drew Barrymore�s amazing hair? And how we all fell in love with Skeet Ulrich and wondered if he was related to Johnny Depp? The next year for Halloween I wore a glow in the dark scream mask (but with platform shoes, a long hippy dress my mom had since the 70s, and a peace-sign necklace. The 90s were so good you guys). 

Scream was followed by another classic, I Know What You Did Last Summer, which was followed by countless sequels of both (remember Jennifer Love Hewitt getting trapped in the tanning bed!? That scene is the best skin protection PSA around), and a host of other mid-late 90s teen slasher films (not be confused with 80s teen slasher films). To this day, my almost thirty-one-year-old heart still beats wildly for the genre, just as it did when I was a pre-teen. Even with all the predictability, red herrings, teenage love triangles, cringe-worthy dialogue, and over the top scare-tactics, it�s my favorite guilty pleasure.

So it was no surprise that, on Sunday, nursing a hangover from a wedding the night before, I binge watched the entire first season of Scream the TV Series, and devoured nearly an entire frozen deep dish pizza, by myself.

Make no mistake, I have zero regrets about these life choices (my only regret is that I didn�t also make chocolate chip cookies), but there�s nothing like not moving from the couch for a day and eating a giant brick of pizza to inspire lighter, somewhat fresher eating. It�s back on the salad train for me, while I wait patiently for the season 2 premiere of Scream at the end of the month (and for the summer season premiere of Pretty Little Liars in June, because I�m an adult and can watch what I want, damnit).

This salad is my favorite desk lunch these days. To be fair, it�s not really a recipe and is hardly blog worthy, but I can seriously eat it every day for weeks, so I figure it's a combo worth sharing. I love the flavors and textures, it fills me up but feels light and healthy, and it�s so easy to pack for work, because it strictly uses ready-to-go items from Trader Joe�s (no affiliation), though you could definitely try out a homemade creamy cilantro dressing and home baked tofu, if you can pull yourself away from Netflix long enough to actually meal-prep.

PS. Thanks, Coco, for instilling that early love of scary movies... I think we're due for a Fear night! 

Ready-to-go Salad
Arugula
Baked tofu, 1 piece cut in cubes (I like the flavor called �Savory,� lol)
Cucumber, sliced (I like the mini Persian cucumbers for this)
Avocado, diced
Feta
Dried bing cherries
Toasted almond slivers or pieces
TJ�s creamy cilantro dressing
Chia seeds

For work lunch, I like to just store all of the separate packages in the fridge at work, but if you have a bigger company/ less shared fridge space, it�s really easy to pack at home. In a to-go container, add a couple big handfuls of arugula, sliced cucumber (I use one mini Persian cucumber for a full lunch salad), and a spoonful of crumbled feta. Bring the full bottle or a small container of the dressing, or pour a little to the side of your arugula (it�s pretty thick, so it won�t run and sog out the salad too bad while you wait for lunch). I bring a full avocado to work, and use half each day�it�s the one item I don�t like to prep ahead of time, because I don�t want it to brown. Add a handful of the almonds, chia seeds, and cherries just before serving.

Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Over the holidays Evan and I decided to work on a puzzle�just a simple 500 piecer that we borrowed from a friend. We were never big puzzlers in my family� I honestly can�t remember ever completing a puzzle until now.
You guys! Did you know puzzles are SO FUN!? I�m obsessed. After we finished the first one, I bought 4 Thomas Kinkade Disney puzzles. I�m a bit of a competitive puzzler, but I also like the camaraderie of a good puzzle sesh. Ya know? I get to a point, though, where we just need to really wrap one up and move on to the next. It�s serious business.
Amanda happens to be a very skilled puzzler, so I invited her over for dinner one night� dinner was really just the carrot I dangled in front of her to force her into puzzling. I mean, dinner wasn�t literally a carrot, it was enchiladas (with carrots), but I wasn�t going to let her leave til the Jungle Book puzzle was complete.
These enchiladas were just a thrown together thing, but turned out so, so good! They�re semi-homemade, with a rotisserie chicken and canned enchilada sauce that we spruce up a bit. I had a big thing of roasted vegetables in the fridge that I made earlier in the week for lunches. You could really use any combo of vegetables, but I highly recommend including sweet potatoes and onions. Below is what I used, but feel free to switch it up. These make an extra large batch, which is perfect for weekday consumption! 

I hope you know that reading beyond this point makes you contractually obligated to come puzzle at my house�

Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas
Makes 24 enchiladas

1 (28 oz) large can red enchilada sauce (I like Herdez brand)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice from 1 lime
2 cups roasted vegetables (below)
1 small rotisserie chicken, chicken removed and shredded
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
24 small corn tortillas (taco sized)
2.5 cups shredded cheese (Monterey jack, Colby jack, etc)
1/2 cup sliced black olives

Optional Toppings:
Sour cream (mixed with a little lime juice to thin it out)
Cilantro
Hot sauce
Avocado slices
Crumbled cotija cheese
Fresh sliced radishes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together sauce, cocoa powder, cumin, and lime juice. Remove about 3/4 of the sauce and set aside. 

Add vegetables, shredded chicken, and black beans to the bowl of 1/4 of the sauce, and toss to mix everything together and coat.

Spread a thin layer of the remaining sauce on the bottom of one large (9x13) or two medium sized (baking dishes 8x8-ish). You should still have a lot of sauce left after doing this.

Warm tortillas: If you don�t have a tortilla warmer, you can wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds.

Put a spoonful of the mixture in each tortilla, with a about a teaspoon of cheese. Roll, and place side by side tightly in the baking dish. Should make about 24 enchiladas Once they�re all rolled up and placed in dish, top with remaining sauce and cheese. Evenly distribute olives over the top.

Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is super bubbly. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving. 

Simple Roasted Vegetables

1 unpeeled small-ish acorn squash, seeded and cut into bitesize pieces
2 yams or sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bitesize pieces
1 large red onion, halved and sliced into thick wedges
4 large carrots, sliced into bitesized pieces
Olive oil
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Heavy pinch of salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spread squash, yams, onions, and carrots on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat, and sprinkle with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. 

Roast for about 45-50 minutes (flipping everything once) until the edges are browned but not burnt.