MLK Day and Enchilada Casserole Recipe

Hi everyone, I hope that everyone who also had a day off today was able to enjoy it with some family and friends -- or at least have a productive and relaxing day!  For those of you who had to work today, I hope that you had a great start to your work week.

I wanted to take a moment in the beginning of this post to include something about Martin Luther King Jr. Day and why we have this day off.  A few great articles to read today came from the Daily Kos and from The Atlantic, so please take a few moments to check them out!

Anyways, I spent my day catching up on things on my To Do list that had gotten long while I was out of town.  I went to the running store to pick up some new sneakers as I noticed during my run yesterday that my knees were hurting, which means it is time for new kicks for me.  As the woman at the running store laced the shoes onto my feet to try them on (even though I get the same brand & size over and over...) I suddenly had the thought, "These are the sneakers I am going to be wearing when I run a marathon."

Holy smokes, right???  It definitely gave me the chills when that thought hit my head.  So, without further ado, the sneakers that will come with me to Paris and carry me 26.2 are...

I also stopped at the eye glasses store (is that what they are called? it sounds weird...) to see if my glasses could be salvaged and I could stop wearing them looking like this in the evenings:

Creepy photo.  Sorry about that.  But you get the point, one-sided glasses may work for some (Mr. Peanut?) but not for me.  However, turns out they are goners.  They would have to replace the whole frame, so that to me, meant time for new glasses!  I tried on about 500 pairs, including some mens pairs as I accidentally wandered into that section.  Did you guys know Harley Davidson makes eyeglasses?  Because they do.  And I tried some on today.

Anyways, I picked out a pair that I am pretty happy with and I finally realized that they were the ones to get when I realized I was taking nonstop selfies.

Well, I also texted them to the best shopping partner in the world and she approved.  We all have friends like that, right?  Some that are great for shopping because they will give you really good opinions and feedback?  Well, they got approved by Meaggie and by the selfie police, so I am good to go.  I will share a real picture once I get them in, which shouldn't be for a couple of weeks.

I also did some random other errands today, attended another Nia class (love it!), had my amazing friend help me with some car work, and did some cooking for the week.

I have been eyeing this "Bubble Up Enchilada" recipe on the Emily Bites blog for a while and wanting to try it.  Plus, after having Mexican food in San Diego, I just want more and more of it.  I modified Emily's recipe and combined it with some gluten free enchilada recipes I found online and made my own gluten free enchilada recipe, which I will include below.  It was soooo delicious, I actually ate 1.5 servings of it today, one when it was out of the oven and one for dinner.  I'm taking it for lunch tomorrow too.  The recipe is below, and don't make fun of the fact that I made it into 6.5 servings... it was the best way to make the numbers for the points work!  Plus, I wanted to eat some right away and didn't want a full serving.  This recipe you can do a ton with, so I am excited about it.  But it's really easy.  When I eat this for dinner I will be eating it with a small side salad of mixed greens because there is definitely a lack of veggies here, so just take note of that.

Before I get to the recipe I will say that I am proud that I spent another day eating on track to my points!  I am not going to post my food every single day, but if you're ever curious, just ask. Duh!  Now, on to the foods!!!  Happy Monday everyone!

Recipe: Enchilada Casserole

6.5 servings at 8 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per serving (4 for the 1/2)

Ingredients:

1.4 lbs lean ground beef (I used 94% lean)

15 oz can of tomato sauce

10 oz. can of enchilada sauce (make sure it is gluten free if that's what you're going for!)

15.5 oz. can of black beans

1 cup of Fat Free cheese (I used mozzarella because I couldn't find cheddar)

10 taco sized corn tortillas

Step 1: Brown the ground beef on the stove top and drain any excess oil.

Step 2: Add the enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, and drained black beans to the beef.

Step 3: In a nonstick pan, crisp the corn tortillas on both sides and then lay half of them across the bottom of an 9x17 inch pan (I think that's what I used...)

Step 4: Spread half of the meat and bean mixture across the corn tortillas, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the cheese

Step 5: Layer the rest of the corn tortillas on top, and then add the other half of the meat and bean mixture and the other 1/2 cup of cheese.

Step 6: Cover in tinfoil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, remove the tinfoil and cook another 10 minutes until cheese melts.