Fixer {S}upper: Enchilada Pasta

I sent Ryan a link to a "one pot pasta" dish that was making its way around Facebook a few weeks ago and he made it for dinner one night. And he was hooked on this whole "get one pan dirty and make a really yummy meal" thing. So we have tried a few more since then - he has even pinned a few on his on Pinterest account. (Y'all should totally follow him). This one was a major hit and combines two of my favorite things - pasta and enchiladas. Yum. 

One Pan Enchilada Pasta

No. 2 Pencil

They give you all the glorious step by step pics over at No. 2, so go there if you like that sort of thing. 

Ingredients
2 TBS EVOO (if you don't know that shorthand, well, then you don't know Rachel Ray)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
1.25 pounds of taco seasoned ground turkey or lean ground beaf
1 packet low sodium taco seasoning
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 19oz can of red enchilada sauce
8oz (about 2.5 cups) of rotini pasta
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
green onions
black olives

Instructions

1. In a large skillet or pan, saute garlic and onions in EVOO until softened
2. Add ground turkey and brown, breaking up with wooden spoon
3. Once meat is cooked through, add pasta, chicken broth and enchilada sauce to pan
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover
5. Cook on low, with pan covered for 15 minutes.
6. Remove lid and let simmer for additional 5 minutes until pasta is tender and sauce has reduced
7. Remove lid and stir in 1 cup of cheese
8. Top pasta with additional cup of cheese and melt under broiler for a minute or two, or place lid on back and let heat from pasta melt cheese
9. Garnish with black olives and green onions

How did I Fixer {S}upper?

1. I used a medium onion - because we like onion
2. I again used the pre-minced garlic, just a few "plops" in the pan. (My Sicilian ancestors are cringing)
3. I also didn't pre-season the meat, or use taco seasoning. We are big fans of Gerbhardt Chili Powder, which is what I use when I make tacos so I just that
4. I didn't use anywhere close to TWO CUPS of cheese. Y'all. That's insane. Less is more and you can always add more on top. Sheesh.
5. We added corn, I just drained a can of whole kernel corn and added at the end to heat through
6. No olives, but I did sneak green onions in there instead of putting them on top
7. I topped the kids with a little more cheese and some sour cream
8. We used wheat pasta


Big hit - the kids even asked for it again the next night. I was even able to stay on my 21 day Fix and not feel like I cheated. I just portioned everything out using my containers and was completely satisfied! Y'all really should join me on this!

Any new recipes I should try??

Something old, Something new...

Our Easter was filled with old and new traditions. As usual, the kids woke up (well, we actually had to WAKE them up) to discover that EB had paid a visit. Don't be fooled by the size of those baskets, half of those things were purchased as stocking stuffers that I didn't use at Christmas! The other half was purchased by Gigi. ;) 

We are pretty low-key Easter basket fillers - they got glamorous things like socks, kit kats, a kite (that Emmy proclaimed she had "always" wanted) and children's Claritin. 

Then they went on an indoor egg hunt since the forecast called for rain and EB didn't feel like taking the risk. This almost turned tragic when we couldn't find the remaining egg - I was a little worried we would be smelling it later in the week, but luckily Pops remembered covering one up with his blanket when he woke up. 

Whew.

We then got dressed and headed out for church, but managed to take a picture before the rain began to fall. 

But then I made everyone take more pics after church since the porch was covered. Pops put on his best smile. :) 

Radley didn't move...

and we were looking at Gigi's camera. 

I also decided that it's a shame they don't have more personality.

After our mini photoshoot we did something we have NEVER done on a major holiday. 

We went OUT to EAT.

Y'all. Did you know that you can have an amazing meal that you don't have to cook or clean up? Yes... people will bring you things that you ask for like more butter and fresh bread. It was glorious and my new favorite tradition. 

We filled our bellies full, kissed Gigi and Pops goodbye and settled in for long naps. Landry won with a whopping 3.5 hours of sleep. Amazing. While she was catching her zzzz's, we took advantage of the cool day and finally got around to planting our garden.

This is a 21st Century gardener.... looking up YouTube videos about each of the plants and how we should place them. 

Radley is a very serious horticulturist and made sure we did everything exactly as the directions instructed. 

The girls played with doodle bugs. Emmy thought they died every time they rolled into a ball. 

And then they found the cascarones. All I could hear from the back was giggles in the driveway. They used half of them like poppers and just threw them on the ground and jumped on them. Pretty darn cute.

By the end of the afternoon we had a freshly planted garden, freshly bathed kids and freshly poured bowls of cereal. 

I'd say this may be the best holiday yet. Hope yours was blessed, too!

See you on Friday...

Last week was interesting in the King household. Not at all my best to date (and hopefully not my worst).

On Monday, we were informed that Ryan was put on a special assignment team that will require him to work in Houston 5 days a week. FOR A YEAR.

Yeah. That.

He was offered this position in January because it is part of the UPS career development plan and after discussing, we turned it down. This may mean that he wouldn't get any more promotions in the company, but we were okay with that. We are happy and we value our time as a family. My job has lots of crazy hours, I volunteer at Radley's school and church and with him being gone 4-5 nights/week, that would make a big impact on all of those things.

Well, UPS was not okay with him saying no and we were told that it wasn't an option. And the kicker? He was starting on WEDNESDAY. Two days later.

Y'all.

Let's discuss crazy. Because crazy is a wife that just got done running a school festival that weekend, exhausted, behind on work and then being told her husband would be gone 5 days a week. For a year.

(Have I mentioned my tendency to over-react?)

There may be a mirror broken somewhere.

(And I just realized that I now have 7 years bad luck.)

(Awesome).

So many emotions. Poor Cindy endured all of Monday via text. I think I went through all stages of grief in one afternoon. I also may have given a piece of my mind to someone higher in UPS - that went well. I yelled too much at Ryan, because, well, obviously. I called work and told them I had some things to deal with and would be in on Wednesday.

We discussed. We prayed. We told the kids. We called in the village. We prayed some more.

My discussion with that person must have made a tiny impact, because Ryan got to have the rest of the week off and spend with us, which was wonderful.

Monday was my rage/cry/pity party day.
Tuesday was my let's make a plan/beast mode day.
Wednesday was get dressed and go back to work.
And today - today it begins. Today I am ok. Today I know that this is the plan - even if it isn't MY plan. So today, we make it work.

As the week progressed, I got more information about what this all means, so here's the inside scoop on UPS, y'all. The company is going through a giant project to revamp their routes - make them all more efficient so customers (you and me) get their packages quicker. He will be travelling to centers throughout SE Texas - farthest being 90 miles away - and riding the "trace" with drivers. Then he will issue a report/recommendation to make those traces (or routes) better. He will be at each center for 6 weeks and rotate to a new location. Some days he may be done early enough that he can drive home, but more than likely, he will be gone Monday morning - early Friday afternoon.

In so many ways, I am glad that this was a band aid effect - let's rip this sucker off and get it over with! The next 6-8 weeks is my crazy time at work, but we will get through it. Then we get a "break" in our schedules with summer before getting crazy again. Then comes peak season, and each team member gets sent back to their home center to assist with that crazy, so he will be home for most of November and December. (Which let's all agree, it's like he lives somewhere else then anyway!)  And one of his rotations is the Bryan center - so he'll be home for 12 weeks out of the year.

So I have 40 weeks.

Y'all, I've grown 3 babies already, what's one more, right? And when this one is done, I won't have to change any diapers or have sore boobs. Win!

Some days are going to suck, but that's true no matter what. There are lots of single parents that do this every day all day. Military families are separated by much more than Hwy 290. We got this.

God's answered prayers pop up in the craziest ways. I have prayed for the ability to say "no" to more things. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for my marriage to continue to grow and strengthen. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for the ability to be guilt-free about finding time for myself. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for myself to relinquish control. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for the courage to depend on Him. This is the answer to that.

And while I clearly don't love all these answers - I am thankful for them.

And I am thankful for the answered prayers that I haven't even thought to pray.

I am thankful for my family and friends. My village.

In the seven days since this news was given, so many prayers have been lifted for us. And we have felt them. And I thank you.

Ryan, I am proud of you. I am thankful for you. I appreciate all the bath times, late night water refills, extra minutes of sleep and endless cover sharing that you have given me. I will miss you. 5 nights a week, I will miss you. But don't worry about us, we got this. Be safe. Work hard. And come home.

See you on Friday.