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After spending my days at work and away from Jordy during the week, I was super pumped for the weekend. I had a whole lot of plans to do nothing, but it seems to me that Blizzards with Andrea are becoming a tradition. Good thing I signed up for the Blizzard Fan Club.

After a full-on grocery shopping trip Friday night, I tackled my kitchen on Saturday evening and whipped up some coconut curry vegetable soup with pan-fried tofu.

I found the recipe here.

There are large misconceptions about tofu. Buying a package is no different than buying a package of raw chicken… it’s all in the preparation.

Sizzle it in the pan with a bit of olive oil, soy sauce and minced garlic and you’ve got yourself a yummy topping for the soup. And like it or not, cilantro is the true cherry on top.

I decided to devote Sunday to Jordy and me, so I wasn’t leaving him alone for a second. I thought his first trip to the off-leash shores at Sunset Beach would be the perfect way to take in the day.

Unlucky for him, however, he had to wait until Mommy got ready before heading out the door.

Jordy took to the beach like a fish to water. While I half expected him to cling to my side, he was happy to roam, sniff and interact with the other dogs that were enjoying surf and sunshine.

I am pretty sure this is going to become a regular spot for us this summer.

Tania’s boy, George, was certainly intrigued by the waves until they decided to turn on him. He came scooting right back!

It’s true love.

A romp in the sand requires a warm bath. I grabbed some “Mango Tango” scented shampoo for Jordy, but despite the fruity fun, having a bath was his least favourite part of the day.

I grabbed a few presents for myself also.

I think the new squeaky toy I got for Jordy more than made up for bath time.

I think I’ll spend the rest of today pretending that tomorrow isn’t Monday.

Being that many I know were housebound due to snow yesterday, including Raul, I felt inspired to share my famous enchilada recipe. A batch of ten is yielded, giving you ample food to freeze and re-heat should you find yourself snow-trapped.

Always begin with good music. With the snow falling, I wanted to listen to something snowy, but not Christmasy. The last winter I lived in the Comox Valley, I’d go for walks everyday in the snow with Sam Roberts loaded on my Sony Discman, so that was my record of choice for this snowy evening.

Wash your hands and clean your counters! I’m in love with Method’s all-purpose cucumber spray.

Here’s what you’ll need: 10-pack tortilla shells, 1 pound ground beef, 15oz. enchilada sauce (I prefer Safeway’s brand), 500g cheddar cheese, 11oz. cream of mushroom soup, 14oz. refried beans, small container of sour cream and a bit of taco or fajita seasoning (as you wish).

I should preface this by saying that, were I to live anywhere in BC other than downtown Vancouver, I’d most likely have access to a Superstore and the price would be slashed nearly in half. However, $29 – exactly – is what I ended up paying for all of my ingredients at the Davie Street Safeway. Though even so, it’s still only $2.90 for one meal.

First, grate your cheese block – you’ll probably need it all.

Preheat your oven to 350/180 degrees.

After spreading out all 10 tortillas on your freshly-cleaned counter, dollop about one tablespoon of sour cream on each tortilla and spread it length-wise across the shell.

Real girls use pink pans.

Fry up all your ground beef over medium to high heat until all the pink disappears. Then, add taco or fajita seasoning to the beef (if that’s your thing) before stirring in the entire can of refried beans. It doesn’t look pretty – trust me.

In a saucepan, whisk together the can of cream of mushroom soup with the jar of enchilada sauce over medium heat until smooth and bubbling. Spray the sides and bottom of a 9″x13″ casserole dish with cooking spray before coating the bottom with just enough of the mushroom/enchilada sauce to cover it – about 1/3 cup.

Scoop the meat and refried bean mixture into 10 equal portions on the tortilla shells.

Follow that up with a bit of cheddar cheese – a little bit on each, but you can decide how much or how little you want.

Roll all ten shells and squeeze them into the casserole dish like piggies, seam side down.

Pour the remaining mushroom/enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, covering them as best as you can.

Sprinkle all the remaining grated cheddar cheese over the enchiladas.

You can prepare this the night before and bake it the next day if you want. If that’s the case, you’ll need to bake the enchiladas for longer (maybe 20 minutes). Being that I just prepared them and I’m putting the enchiladas directly into the oven, only about 10 minutes is necessary – until the cheese gets melty and the sauce becomes bubbly.

Et voila! You could eat just one and garnish it with some shredded lettuce or tortilla chips and guacamole, but I was super hungry so I dove into two.

Scoop each remaining enchilada onto a sheet of wax paper or cling wrap, roll it up and put them all in a Zip-loc freezer bag for each dinners next time Old Man Winter decides to surprise you.

Being that it’s Duane’s birthday, I’ve been requested to make my much-sought-after guacamole. It’s to die for. Simply ask yourself “is there anything this girl can’t do?”

The answer is a resounding “no.”

The more ingredients you have, the better.

Organic is always the best way to go. And for some reason, organic avocados seem more ripe.

I love limes. I love tomatoes. Enough said.

Few know the secret key to my stellar guacamole recipe. I believe Chloe and Amy know, and I did tell Stephen today (but only because he likes lime as much as I do). And he’s super cute.

Slippery little suckers…believe me.

When I was a little girl, I used to wear my swimming goggles when chopping onion in hopes that I wouldn’t cry. It took me a long time to realize it was the inhalations that were causing my tears.

My recipe for guacamole ensure zero public displays of affection after consumption.

And that’s all, folks. It may not look pretty, but hot damn is it good.

I can’t get enough of this rain. I love that it’s falling outside my window, greeting me when I wake-up. It makes the weekend that much cozier. Because I don’t think it’ll stop falling anytime soon, trekking to Winners in an attempt to find some galoshes looks like a necessity today.

One thing I’ve realized is that it’s this very weather that seems to be the chief contributing factor to winter weight gain. When the rain is falling and the wind is blowing outside, who wants to eat a cold salad? Give me something warm and gooey for dinner. Tonight’s menu will be beef fajitas, but sometimes a girl needs tasty snacks to get through rainy nights on her own. As I sat curled up on my couch last night watching Pretty Woman and daydreaming about what it’d be like to be a hooker with a heart of gold (okay, not really), I had the thought that it would be oh-so-nice of me to share my scrumptious caramel popcorn recipe with you all.