#30 Learn to make excellent chicken enchiladas

Status: I am well on my way with this way thanks to EH. Being in Colorado means that there is no excuse for not trying out the recipe that EH shared with me. The grocery stores actually sell corn tortillas here (compared with Edmonton where I find it harder to come by them) and fresh roasted chilies are to be had. I made the Lazy Woman’s Enchilada casserole two weekends ago with the help of my Mom and SV with modifications for my parents’ tastes (e.g., no cumin – which I would use lots of for myself!!!).

Here is Ellie’s Lazy Woman’s Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

INGREDIENTS:
cooking oil
1 onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic minced
8-10 roasted green chilies peeled & minced (2 chilies per person)
1/2 to 1 tsp oregano
2 shakes of cumin
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can evaporated milk (can also use some half & half or light cream for a more decadent version. Or milk and cream if you don't have evaporated milk)
Grated cheese-- lots- a few cups grated maybe?. mmm...
15-18 corn tortillas***

>In med/large sauce pan, saute onion and garlic in a couple tablespoons oil on med heat until onions are soft/translucent.
>Stir in chiles, oregano, and cumin. Cook for just a bit (a min or two) to let flavors meld.mmm....
>Add cream of mushroom soup and evaporated milk gradually, stirring constantly.
>Allow to simmer at least 15 minutes while stirring frequently!**
> if sauce is too thick, add milk a little at a time to desired consisency. If it gets too thin just let it simmer a bit longer.

For chicken enchiladas, you simply need shredded chicken:

Boil chicken (breasts, parts, whole chopped up-- what have you) with 1/2 chopped onion, oregano, couple cloves garlic, and 2 bay leaves. Cover chicken with water or broth and simmer until chicken is tender and falling apart (30 min-1.5 hr? depending on chicken amount). Remove chicken and use fork to shred apart.
**You can add some of the shredded chicken to the sauce and allow it to simmer longer, if desired. Save most or all of the chicken for the actual enchilada assembly.

>Add half of cheese into sauce and allow to melt. Tear 15-17 tortillas into 'chip size' pieces. Lightly sauté tortilla pieces in large frying pan-- usually in 3 batches. Pieces should become soft, and never fry hard. Keep heat medium-low to reduce hard frying.
>In rectangular casserole dish, layer cheesy sauce, batch of tortilla pieces, (and chicken, optionally), sauce, tortillas, chicken, etc. End with sauce, and cover the top with the other half of the shredded cheese.

>Bake in 325 oven (or so) until heated through and cheese on top is melty. (if it gets too burn-y on top too quickly, cover dish with foil).

#1 Finish my PhD

Background: I have always known I would pursue a PhD the way some people know that they will be rock stars. Not as cool, it’s true, but when times are rough I have to admit that I always feel that I am on the right road or at least close enough to not feel too lost.

Status: I have finished my first year and have one section of my reading list fairly well sorted out. I have bought 5x8 index cards and a box for said index cards. I am keeping track of notes and my own insights as my supervisor suggested (thanks for the tips on how to prepare!). I have printed out some papers. I have even read a few and taken notes on them. I did send out a draft of my reading list without the proposal. I feel guilty for not having read more up to this point.

Plan of Action (POA): Keep reading and taking notes on papers while I am here in CO even though I am not as productive as I would like to be. Accept my state of un-productiveness and get some good rest and enjoyment with family and friends in preparation for an intense five months of 6 and 7 day weeks starting in August. Draft a proposal to send out by July 30^th.

#10 Start A Retirement Fund

Status: Done. Sort of. When I arrived in CO this summer, I went to the library and checked out a number of books on financial planning for women, for young people, etc. Everything convinced me that I should start saving RIGHT NOW as these years when I am young are key (as in tens of thousands of dollars key when I am older) even though it might be very hard to do so financially speaking. For the past few years I kept thinking “When I have $1000 saved up I will put it into a Roth IRA since that is the minimum amount needed to start a Roth at my credit union.” But, even when I did have $1000 saved up I did not do that so clearly that plan was not working. So I visited my credit union and it turns out they have a Roth savings account! So I opened one. With $100. It is a start. I have to email someone to have money transferred into that account and once it is there I cannot take it out without being penalized which is a good incentive for me NOT to transfer it to cover the cost of clothes etc.

Plan of Action (POA): Keep adding to my Roth Savings account EVERY month even though it feels like a huge burden up to the maximum amount each year ($2000). By the time I am 30, put something into the S&P500 and also invest in a “green” mutual fund or something of that nature.

#2 Climb Longs Peak

Status: Ok. I am sitting in a coffee shop in Lakewood Colorado and have been to the mountains only once for a wedding in the last three weeks. MK and I decided to try to climb either Mt. Bierstadt or Mt. Lincoln this summer as Longs Peak is still snowy this time of year and we would need technical equipment. I actually was feeling like I was in climbing condition when I arrived in Colorado three weeks ago but inordinate amounts of eating out, eating ice cream and not walking to and from school have now made me a “size vacation” instead of my energetic “size inspired”.

Plan of Action (POA): Email MK to firm up plans to camp on July 10^th and climb Mt. Bierstadt on the 11^th (that is my first choice). Email KC the plan too to see if she wants to join us (the more the merrier!). Try to at least maintain this level of fitness and then just suck it up the day of the climb.

#9 Stay out of debt

Background: …I mean pay off my small credit card debt racked up this month on hair and clothes (but I feel fabulous!). And then stay out of debt.

I have been blessed in so many ones but one of the greatest gifts ever given to me by my parents is no student-loan debt. I stayed in-state for my undergrad which made university financially feasible with the support of my parents. And of course, in grad school, you get paid oodles of money to GO to school! Yay! No really, I have been really lucky in this regard and though my car is 11 years old (it’s paid for!), I have no permanent roots of my own (no mortgage!) and no savings (the experience of living in new cities every few years does come at a cost), I don’t have any real financial obligations - except to my clothes habit. See below.

Status: Current credit card debt includes an airfare that will be reimbursed to me in October…the rest of the balance is less than $300. And rent is drastically reduced from here on out…again got lucky in many ways (though my Dad always says that luck is when opportunity meets preparedness).

Plan of Action (POA): Pay off my credit card. Live at home for a month to save on rent. Go over my budget spreadsheet with my Mom and ask for her help. Maybe try those mason jars of cash like they use on the TLC show “Till debt do us part”? Draft a savings plan. And critically, stop buying fantastic new clothes that are on sale (may I just say for the record, that I went nearly two years without splurging on clothes before I started doing that these past few months?). Hit up the dollar store and Ikea more (did you know that Ikea has wickedly inexpensive food and $1 frozen yogurts?!?).

#2 Climb Longs Peak

Background: The idea of mountain climbing has been percolating for many years. Things have finally risen to the top to prompt me to pursue this notion seriously. And now the damn bee is my bonnet and I really want to do this…

Status: My friend MK has agreed to do this with me. His girlfriend might join us, too. Which would be awesome. I am trying to round up a number of people but I think this sort of activity is the type of thing that is easier to toss around than actually do. I have known MK since third grade. Twenty years in fact! MK did the whole Peace Corps thing, lived in a hut etc., so I am hoping his expertise and sense of adventure make this climb realistic.

I don’t know what date we would go exactly but pretty soon? I leave for CO this weekend so…

Have been doing some reading and have come across some great sites:
14ers.com has a great description and photos of the route.

I did not realize that Longs Peak was classified as a difficult climb or that it was Class 3. The pictures of the face of the narrows and ledges on the route description intimidate me. I rather wish I had not looked at that before hand. But being prepared is half the battle. This way I can visualize the climb before going on it.

Some folks summit before dawn to catch the sunrise. Wow.

Also, fitness-wise I am doing well right now. I am running 3-4 times a week with one longer run on the weekends so I feel good in that regard but I should be careful of altitude sickness since I am no longer at 5280 feet and instead reside about 2100 feet above sea level…

Plan of Action (POA): Buy some stuff?

Firm up plans when I get home to Colorado. Remember what I wrote to MK in the last email: “Ok, I just looked at the route - Longs Peak is actually classed as difficult...I did not know this. I wish I had not known this - I it kind of freaks me out. Plus I looked at the pictures of the climb - it looks intense. But we can do this. I think is gonna be awesome and if for some reason the conditions or weather is bad, there is no shame in having tried and not summiting - it is after all, about the journey; not the destination.” And, drink lots of water!

#1 Finish my PhD

Background: I am supposed to be reading every day for my candidacy. I think about reading everyday…

Status: I did send out a draft of the reading list last Thursday (about a week later than I had hoped but better than never!).

Plan of Action (POA): Scan articles today. Re-assign readings to calendar for June & July. Make sure I have readings before I head down to CO this weekend.