Pre Labor Day apartment searching weekend

Pre Labor Day, Apartment Searching, Parent's visiting weekend ended with a Mexican Fiesta

My hubby Dave and I have been trying to figure out where our next home should be. It's been a bit of a struggle, because we both work in NYC and we are there 5-7 days a week. The commute from Montclair is averaging $800.00 a month, and we are thinking it will make more sense for us to live in NYC. The challenge....Having giant furniture and 1500 square feet in NJ and not being able to fit any of our furniture through the hobbit sized doorways in any of the affordable apartments in NYC.

Yesterday, We found a place we loved in Astoria! (an awesome town in Queens where we kept running into friends on every corner.) We thought "This is perfect!" Until....we took out the measuring tape. The doorway to get into the apartment was 28 inches...our couch...30 inches...waaaaa waaa..... Do we buy a whole new set of furniture and sell two cars in 2 weeks?!?! Hurry..Hurry...make a major life decision in 5 minutes or less...or the apartment will be taken!!!!! We still don't know what we should do. But....at least we can go back to our full size kitchen in New Jersey and make a delicious meal. It takes an hour and 1/2 and $30 for us both to get back home...but it will be yummy!

Here's what we made!

Chicken Fiesta Enchiladas (Philadelphia Cream Cheese cook book)

1 small onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 pound cooked boneles chicken breast shredded

1 cup salsa

4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese cubed (use lowfat)

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 cup shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese (low fat, makes it not as bad for you. :) )

8 flour tortillas

1. Heat oven to 350

2. Heat large skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Add onions and garlic..cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken, 1/4 cup of Salsa, cream cheese, cilantro, cumin...mix well. Cook until heated through. Add 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, mix well

3. Spoon filling into tortillas, roll up and place seam down in 13X9 sprayed baking dish. top with remaining salsa and cheese

4. Bake 15-20 minutes.

We just got the call that we are approved to take the apartment...What do we do? What do we do? I don't know, I don't know....Let's just keep cooking until we figure it out!

Next up...Corn Bean Salsa. (Giada style)

1 bag of steamed corn

1 red pepper chopped

1 can black beans drained

1 can chick peas drained

1 mango cubed

Mix all of the ingredients above and add dressing

dressing:

2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar

Chopped basil

1 tsp. cumin

2 limes..zest and juice

salt, pepper

whisk together with 1/3 cup evoo

We still don't know what we are doing...waiting to hear the exact measurements to see if we can fit our life into the doorway of our maybe new apartment. Why don't landlords and brokers understand that we don't want to sell EVERYTHING we own to move into an apartment? We're not going to feel guilty for asking for measurements. We will be giving you a lot of money per month. Oh...NYC.....

Let's make some Guacamole! (Alton Brown)

3 Haas avocados

1 lime juiced

1/2 t of kosher salt

1/2 t of cumin

1/2 t of cayenne

1/2 medium onion diced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 T chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice. Toss to coat. add salt, cumin, cayenne, and mash with a potato masher. Fold in onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic.

Enjoy your Meal!

I'm gonna get fat with all of this stress and unknowing. At least my tummy with be happy!

Thanks for reading!

Love, Melindersz