Cocktail Cure

Of course I would get sick on vacation. Yep, I've been fighting off a cold/fever/sore throat since Monday, which has made touring super gigantic museums a little like finding your way through a dense fog at night with a bunch of loud, yelling children. But, alas! I have found my cure! And for the past hour I've felt better than I have all week. Thank God for CVS and the "cocktail" mixture of over-the-counter drugs that are doing the trick, which include 12-hour Sudafed, Zicam rapid-release tablets, Tylenol and Hall's lemon-honey cough drops, chased with all the OJ and H2O I can get my hands on. At this rate, I should be back into true patriotic-tourist-mode in no time!

It's Official!

Beginning Monday, July 28th, I will be working with Family Health International along with Jamie! My new job will involve supporting several writers within the Applied Research Department. This means I'll be assisting those responsible for publishing the results of FHI's research initiatives and grants in brochures, reports, etc. Although it will be a bit of a deviation from my previous career path, I am looking forward to helping further FHI's undeniably well-intentioned goals, not to mention knowing that I am advancing a greater good, not just the bottom line.

A little bit about FHI:

Formed in 1971, Family Health International (FHI) is among the largest and most established nonprofit organizations active in international public health with a mission to improve lives worldwide through research, education, and services in family health.

FHI manages research and field activities in more than 70 countries to meet the public health needs of some of the world's most vulnerable people.

FHI works with a wide variety of partners including governmental and nongovernmental organizations, research institutions, community groups, and the private sector.
(taken from the fhi.org website)

Still curious? Visit www.fhi.org for more information.

Homemade Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or strips
1 can of chicken broth
10 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz)
2 cups Mexican style shredded cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of medium salsa
1 small can of premade enchilada sauce
10-12 small, soft corn tortillas
onion powder
salt & pepper
1 8x13" glass baking dish

Prepare Chicken.
Place chicken in crockpot, sprinkle onion powder, salt and pepper to taste. Pour can of broth over chicken. Add 3-4 bouillon cubes. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Once chicken is cooked, remove and shred by hand. Reserve broth for use in cheese sauce.

Prepare Cheese Sauce.
In a blender, mix reserved broth, cream cheese, shredded mozzarella, flour, salsa, 1 cup mexican cheese, and 6 bouillon cubes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend until creamy. Transfer sauce to medium sized saucepan and heat sauce over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. When sauce has thickened, remove from heat.
**Need more heat? Replace medium salsa with 1/3 cup of hot salsa.

Assemble Enchiladas.
First, cover the bottom of your baking dish with 1/2 cup of cheese sauce. Warm tortillas in microwave for 20 seconds to make them more pliable. Laying each tortilla flat, spoon one tablespoon of cheese sauce over entire inside of tortilla. Next, layer mozzerella and chicken. Roll up and place seam-side down into baking dish. Fill the baking dish completely with enchiladas to help prevent them from unrolling while baking. Pour remaining cheese sauce over assembled enchiladas and sprinkle remaining mexican cheese on top. Bake at 375 uncovered for 20 minutes.
**Short on time? Layer cheese sauce, chicken and tortillas like lasagna. Not as pretty, but just as good.

Remove from oven, drizzle premade enchilada sauce on top to taste. Serve with refried beans, Lipton's Taco Rice or salad. Serves 4-6.

Playa Guiones, Nosara, Costa Rica

Pura Vida!

Pics from Costa Rica

Arriving in Costa Rica.

Playa Guiones (Guiones Beach) in Nosara, Costa Rica.

Hope, Caitlen and me on our way to the village of Nosara.

On our way to dinner at Giardino Tropicale.
Who knew you could find fabulous Italian pasta
and wood-fired pizza in Costa Rica?

The view from our open-air restaurant table at Giardino Tropicale.

More coming soon...

Adventures in Costa Rica!

So far the trip has been FANTASTIC!!! Our schedule is as follows: get up, hit the beach, hit the pool, eat lunch, back to the beach, then lay in the hammocks - take a nap, then dinner and maybe the pool again. This is what I call VACATION!!! This morning we switched up our schedule to go zipping through the jungle on a canopy tour. WOW. Never in my life did I think I´d be doing something to crazy! Here´s a pic of us suited up in our gear. We´re so cute, aren´t we?! Haha. Great times, though, and breathtaking views.