Enchilada Casserole

Last night, I mentioned on FB that I made a Chicken Enchillada Casserole, and it was JUST LIKE HOME. It's true- it was so tasty- even with India ingredients.
Even Mike said "Mmm, this is good! This is REALLY good!"

I credit my mom with this recipe- thanks, Mom! :)

Enchilada Casserole

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I boiled 6 small chicken breasts in boullion and shredded)
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp cumin (I add a bit more)
4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c. water
2 c. salsa
12-18 corn tortillas (depends on how many layers you want- 6 per layer)
1 lb cheese, shredded (cheddar, monterrey jack, pepper jack- it all works!)
1 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown beef and onions. (If using precooked chicken, soften onions in a bit of olive oil, then add meat)
Add next 6 ingredients and simmer 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour a bit of salsa (just enough to moisten) into 9x13 pan.
Arrange 6 shells to cover bottom of dish.
Spoon meat mixture onto shells, top with dallops of sour cream, dallops of salsa and sprinkle with cheese.
Repeat layers (I usually do 3-4 layers, and break up meat, sour cream, salsa and cheese accordingly)
Cover with foil and cook 40 minutes.
Remove foil and cook 5 minutes.

SUPER easy, and can easily be doubled.
Can also be frozen in casserole dish.
ENJOY!

Holi- the Festival of Colors

Monday, March 1st marked the day of Holi- the Hindu Festival of Colors. We missed it this year, as we were in Dubai, but it's quite the event around Mumbai.
Powdered paints are thrown, then water is thrown. It's a fun time for all- a time to be silly and dance around on the streets.
Catherine's class celebrated Holi, and boy did they have fun! I'm pretty pround of how involved my "shy" girl got!

Here she is with friends Kerala and Holly:

Plotting to get someone!

Teachers Aiyesha and Basantika- we love them!

Getting a squirt from Holly:

Look at this chaos!

Resting after all the action:

Hello Dubai!

Sightseeing: Check
Shopping: Check
Sun, surf and sand: Check

We decided to go the luxury route for this trip and hit the UNBELEIVABLE city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This place is shocking. Like, no kidding. The amount of money that is walking around there is unreal.

We spotted at least 5 Maserati's and endless Mercedes, BMW's, Porches, Lexus, Corvettes, etc, etc, etc. Mike was in "Man-who-loves-cars" Heaven.

Me? I was in "Woman-who-loves-clothes/shoes/purses" Heaven. Too bad I'm so out of style I don't even know what's current. I felt a tad out of touch. Oh well. Not like I could afford anything there- prices were 2x those of the U.S.- at least.

But it was a fun trip, just oggling at the sights and realizing that the entire city has been built from NOTHING. It's literally in the middle of the desert.

We got access to the Palms Islands (islands built in the shape of a palm tree) and drove along one of the palm fronds, checking out the mansions. We got to see the world's tallest building- a record 162 stories! We visited the Dubai Mall (which features a huge aquarium and 1,200 shops!) and the Mall of the Emirates (which features Ski Dubai- you've probably seen it on the Travel Channel). We strolled through the Gold Souq (and bought nothing) and the Spice Souq (and bought some saffron), walked along the dhow warfage and took a boat ride across the Dubai Creek. We lounged in the grassy expanse of the hotel between the pool and the beach- and loved every minute of it. We built sand castles and collected seashells, and Ryan now gets to say that his first visit to a beach was in Dubai.

There were lots of things we didn't get to do....like a desert safari, a camel ride, a mosque visit, etc. But you know what? That's OK. We have small kids, and maybe some day we'll go back and do those things when the kids are older.

After all, we got to spend 4 solid days as a family....and that's what's important.

Here are some pics of our adventures!

The bird boy

Ryan and his favorite past-time...watching the birds.

Maybe he'll grow up to be an ornithologist.
...That would be a bird scientist.
Don't feel bad, I had to google it.

Shisha Pipe

Last weekend we went out to dinner with American friends Becca and Joel. We went to a Lebanese restaurant in a stadium-type hotel, and it was SUPER-COOL. The food was great, the conversation was great and at the end of the meal (think hummus, babaganoush, kebabs), we decided to try the Shisha Pipe.

For those of you who don't know what a shipa pipe (aka hooka pipe) is, here's a pic:

You can get any flavor you want....we went for orange.

We really didn't know much about it. It's a contraption that several people sit around and smoke from and socialize...kind of a bonding thing. At this restaurant they gave us each a little plastic mouthpiece so we didn't pass germs. Huh, imagine that- safety precautions in India?!

Afterwards, I heard a rumor that 1 shisha pipe is equal to 20 cigarettes. WHAT? I didn't even know it was tobacco! I thought it was like flavored air or something...geez, no wonder we were all relaxed after a while...




Joel was especially good...

It was a really fun night...and I'd totally do it again. Shisha pipe and all.