Raisin Bran Muffins

I have a difficult time finding healthy, filling breakfast items for when we're traveling. Since you're pretty much eating out for lunch and dinner on road trips, I definitely don't want to eat out for breakfast, too. However, a girl can only eat so many granola bars :) For our road trip to Iowa, I decided to make some muffins, put them in Tupperware, and eat them every morning. It worked out perfectly. The problem was, I didn't have any muffin recipes. I decided to try this one from Plain Chicken because they seemed healthy and simple, and I really enjoyed them. I added raisins, and that was a nice touch.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

3 1/2 cups All-Bran flakes

1 1/4 cups milk (I used some vanilla almond milk along with regular milk. Yumm-O!)

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Set aside. Measure bran flakes and milk into mixing bowl, stirring to combine and break up flakes slightly. Let stand 2 minutes so cereal can soften. Add egg and oil. Beat well. Add dry ingredients to cereal mixture, stirring only to combine. Stir in raisins and cinnamon. Portion batter evenly into 12 greased muffin pan cups (I actually used cupcake liners to help the muffins hold up better on the road). Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Spring Break

For my Spring Break, Jonathan and I decided to take a road-trip to our soon-to-be home in Iowa. Flights were outrageous, so we rented a car and had a great time together, seeing parts of the country we've never seen before. He had never even been to Iowa before, so I was excited to see what he thought of it. He absolutely loved the area, and I was relieved!! I knew he would, but it was scary choosing somewhere that your spouse had never been :) Here's a review of our week in pictures:

I showed him the beautiful campus of the university:

We shopped and ate delicious local food in the adorable downtown district:

We saw our new home (and loved it!):

We were taken out to dinner by the current residents, and we got ice cream afterward:

We were told about an Amish community about 20 minutes away, so we went to check it out. It was really neat to see. The local Amish bakery had AMAZING baked goods. I tried a blackberry half-moon pie and almost died at the tastiness:

We went to the cheese factory where they make 200,000 pounds of white cheddar a day and tasted free samples. Jonathan LOVES cheese:

We saw some of the beautiful farmland in Iowa:

We also learned something cool. Panera Bread started in St. Louis, MO. There, they call it St. Louis Bread Company:

We passed the stunning St. Louis Arch and we amazed by its size:

All in all, it was a wonderful trip full of so many memories. We're ready to go back!!

Chicken Enchiladas

I've been looking for a good chicken enchilada recipe for some time now, and when I found this recipe from Let's Dish, I decided to give it a try. It was a big hit! Serve it up with some Mexican rice, homemade salsa, or black beans, and you have a delicious meal.

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 large chicken breasts)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn or flour tortillas
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook for an additional minute. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a simmer.

Place the chicken breasts into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12-20 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the chicken breasts you are using. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool. Continue to simmer the sauce over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the leftover onion mixture from the strainer to a large bowl and set aside. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the onion mixture. Stir 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup of the cheese, and the cilantro into the chicken and onions. Toss to combine.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla (if necessary, soften the tortillas by heating them in the microwave). Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly.

Broadway in Birmingham

Wow! I've got some catching up to do on this blog! I'll try to write a few catch-up posts. First, for our belated Valentine's day, Jonathan and I went to see Wicked!! One of my favorite things about Birmingham is that there is always something fun to do. When I heard Wicked was coming into town, Jonathan offered to take me to see it. I have always heard great things about it, but I have never seen it or read the book. I was blown away...it was absolutely fantastic! As soon as it was over, I wanted to see it again :)

Our tickets (we had amazing seats)

Posing with the banner

The stage pre-show!

Afterward, we had dinner reservations at Highlands Bar and Grill. I have wanted to try this restaurant since we moved to Birmingham four years ago, but it is very costly. It is consistently named one of America's best restaurants, so I knew we had to go once before we move. I have to say...it lived up to the hype. The food was delectable. All in all, this is one of my favorite dates Jonathan and I have gone on. Go see Wicked if it comes to your town!