Roasted Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas

dailygarnish.com

I tried this recipe from Daily Garnish today. You can find the recipe here. I also made the enchilada sauce that Emily Malone included. I thought the recipe was great...Gil gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The enchilada filling is a combo of roasted butternut squash, sauteed onions, and black beans. The spices were really great in this recipe, with some nutmeg, cumin, and cinnamon. The enchilada sauce was great and had a little zip. You should try it!

In total, this meal probably took about an hour and a half to make. I made it today since I tend to have more time on the weekend. There are also a lot of quick and easy recipes on Daily Garnish that would be easier to make during the week. We will be trying this and this later in the week. I'll let you know how those go!

A Change in Diet

I have had a like-hate relationship with meat for a while. I have long been picky about what meat I eat and I always have a "discard pile" on my plate for meat that looks questionable. When we have meat in the fridge, it usually grosses me out to think of having to prepare it.

I was watching the documentary Forks Over Knives last week and then we went to the movies last night and the movie showed a dead pig. I've toyed with the idea of being a vegetarian here and there, but when the choice to eat meat came up, I always ate it. Something about that dead pig in the movie clicked the "vegetarian button" in my head.

Last night after the movie, we went out to eat and I ate a meatless dinner. This morning we got breakfast sandwiches from Bruegger (yes, we eat out too much) and I didn't get meat on mine.

So I think I have started Day 1 of being a veg. For lunch, I had half of a whole wheat pita with falafel and carrots on the side. And it was delish.

My best friend, Erin, and her husband have been vegetarians for over a year now and she described being a veg as so much less stressful. I have to say, I get what she's saying. I devote a lot of time and energy to worrying over the meat I am eating- if it is questionable, if it looks okay, etc.

Erin told me about the website Daily Garnish for finding veg recipes. I spent some time on the website today planning meals for this week. And I have to say, I found some really yummy looking things that I am looking forward to making!

Now, I tend to get excited about things prematurely and then end up abandoning them (á la the Detroit half-marathon) but I'm hoping this sticks.

Also, I have to say, Gil is totally on board (not that he's becoming a veg) but he has okayed me trying vegetarian recipes for us for dinner & he's okay with me not making meat. We really didn't tend to eat a lot of meat anyways- we mostly ate it when we went out to eat.

I'm also cutting out or at least cutting way down on cheese consumption. I like cheese and mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil is pretty much my favorite flavor combo ever, but I pretty much get a stomachache every time I eat cheese. When we get pizza, we always ask them to go light on the cheese. We don't drink milk from cows anymore either, we always buy almond milk (which is great).

So wish me luck on my new journey as a vegetarian...let's hope it lasts for more than a day!

Blah

I'm feeling burnt out. And it's only October. Ah! My class of 28 has been reduced to 23 and it has made a world of difference. I'm making progress with my kids & I enjoy spending the day with them. But...I feel so strapped for time. Constantly. I try to get to school early to prep things and I also end up staying late until 5:30 or so and I'm still feeling behind. I need a full day to organize/plan/prep to get me back on my feet. Our school day is so long- 8 hours with kids and it's making me crazy!

Having homework when I get home does not help! Our poor house is so neglected because when I do have a down moment, I do not feel like cleaning! I can't wait until May when I'll be done with my Masters!

Any words of encouragement would be appreciated!!

Little Bumblebee...

Short & Sweet

I've been neglecting my blog. All I do is stuff for school and for my Masters lately, so there's nothing exciting to update and I don't have time anyways!

I'm excited for fall.

Gil is dragging me to a haunted house tonight.

I heard exciting news yesterday (twice).

I'm excited for a vacation sometime in the near-ish future.

That's all for now!