Chicken Tamale Casserole..

So after the Super Bowl, and really this past weekend in general, I'm really trying to eat a little healthier. Countdown to Vegas has officially begun and I need to be looking my best... Anyway the one main problem with this is that I love pretty much anything that is Italian or Mexican. I would seriously just switch off the two every night if I had absolutely no self-control. So last night (even though I was still full from the weekend...the grossest feeling in the world!!!) I was craving Mexican. Well I decided to go on Cooking Light's website and find some inspiration. Here is what I found:  http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001854020.

I hope that shows up because I'm too lazy to type out the recipe right now. Anyway basically you take a box of Jiffy cornbread, 1 egg (I already had eggs so didn't use the substitute), 1/4 cup of Mexican shredded cheese, 1/3 cup fat-free milk, 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1/8 tsp of ground red pepper, 1 can of cream style corn, and 1 can (4-oz) of chopped green chilies (drained) and you mix all of these together. I added some chopped sweet onions as well.

Then you spread this out into a 9x13 pyrex dish that has been sprayed with PAM. You bake this at 400*  for about 15 minutes, or until cornbread is set.

So this is what it looks like after it comes out of the oven the first time around. I probably should have let my cornbread cook a little more but oh well! So now you pierce the cornbread all over with a fork. Then you pour a can of red enchilada sauce over the cornbread. You then top with 2 cups of shredded chicken. (I used a rotisserie chicken and used 2 1/2 cups of chicken...I would recommend using more chicken)

Then on top of the chicken, you sprinkle another 3/4 cup of Mexican blend cheese.

After this is done you put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes. I added another 5 minutes just to let the cornbread set a little more...I would recommend doing this before adding the enchilada sauce, etc. Here is what the finished version looked like...

Then you cut into squares and serve with a tablespoon of light-sour cream on top and a side salad!

It turns out a little messy and it's not so pretty but it is delicious!! I would definitely recommend trying for all you Mexican lovers out there!! I'm getting ready to eat some leftovers for lunch...YUM!

New Ketchup Packets at Chick-fil-a...

So on Saturday morning I forced myself out of bed before 10:30 in order to make it to Chick-fil-a for breakfast. Boy am I glad I did!!! This may be old news to some of you, but I was thrilled to find that the answers to my prayers have come true! Ketchup in dip packages!! Finally no more squeezing every last bit out of the little packets. I would like to thank whomever took the initiative and made this happen!! I was so excited I took some pictures...

Somewhere...

On Wednesday, Ashley and I went to go see Sophia Coppola's new movie Somewhere. I have been dying to see this movie since I first heard about it. Marie Antoinette is one of my favorite movies, and I also enjoyed The Virgin Suicides. Sophia Coppola is also known for Lost in Translation.

Sophia Coppola (above) and her well-known movies (below)

Anyway for those of you who have seen any of her movies you know that they are more about the experience and mood, than they are about the story. So I went into this movie expecting it to be artsy and different. That being said, I have mixed feelings about the movie. Overall I appreciate it for what it is. Stephen Dorff plays Johnny Marco, a movie star who lives at The Chateau Marmont and basically does nothing of importance. He takes a lot of pills, parties a lot, has strippers strip in his room nightly, etc. It's not until his daughter Cleo, played by Elle Fanning, visits for an extended period of time that he starts to want something more out of life. This is literally all you get out of the movie. There are long stretches with no dialogue. The only love story in this movie is between father and daughter. The best way I can describe my feelings is that the parts I liked in the movie, I really liked. I always love the music in her movies and the scenery. But on a whole I wouldn't recommend this to any of my friends, especially Caroline and Rebecca Jane. Nothing really happens in this movie. The beginning scene (which lasts what seems like forever) is of Johnny Marco driving his black Ferrari in circles on a makeshift race-track. One review said “The metaphor is clear: this man is going nowhere fast.” That’s the best way I have heard this described yet. Sophia Coppola has described the film as “a portrait of today’s L.A.” Somewhere won The Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival (it’s the top prize). I think all of the actors did a great job! I love Elle Fanning.

This guy above was HILARIOUS in the movie. I think he just played Johnny Marco's best friend. This website had a good review of the movie:

http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/Film/somewhere-directed_by_sofia_coppola

Hope this helps those of you trying to decide if you are going to go see it!

One of my dream rooms...

When I saw this room in Elle Decor I just knew I HAD to have a navy blue room with high-gloss paint in my house. I seriously mean HAVE to...I LOVE it. I actually am a big fan of high-gloss paint in general but that's another topic for another day. And no I'm not worried about what any potential husband will have to say, I know that whomever I marry will respect my needs, and if the future Mr.Right doesn't see this as a need he's obviously not a Mr.Right now is he? (I know this sentence has to be grammatically incorrect, but my eyes are stinging from playing with my mood boards and now I'm pretty sure I need to get vision insurance because I need glasses because I can barely read the screen right now, much less correct any grammar.OMG this will be corrected at a later date...these run-on sentences are getting out-of-control.Welcome to kateland where nothing needs to make sense and I don't have to take breaths in between words.)  Anyway since I have been addicted to http://www.olioboard.com/ for the two days here is another mood board I made. Keep in mind that everything will go with my navy blue high-gloss paint.

Update on The Kennedys

So some very exciting news was announced last night...The Kennedys will air on April 3rd on ReelzChannel. It was exciting until about 2 minutes ago when I decided to do a little research on ReelzChannel. A channel that is dedicated to movies, a channel I would LOVE. So I was curious as to why this channel was just being brought to my attention (yesterday thanks to Perez). It turns out that ReelzChannel is offered only through Direct TV, Dish Network and AT&T in Charlotte. WHAT?!?!?!?!?! I have been waiting for what feels like YEARS and this is what I get. Luckily, I quickly remembered that Rebecca Jane and Rob, being the technological pioneers they are, have AT&T. So even though it will be tax season, and even though it will be a month away from their wedding, I invite everyone who reads this blog to join me at their apartment for a Sunday Funday on April 3rd. See you there!! (Feel free to dress in any 60's apparel, Kennedy garb, what not....we want to make sure to do this right!)

P.S. For all you New Yorkers...IF you use Time Warner Cable, NY's TWC has ReelzChannel and it is channel 131 (even though I feel like there may be another cable company you crazy northerners use...jk)!

My thoughts....

Here's the moodboard I just created. It started as home office inspiration and as you can see it just turned into kateland. Happy Tuesday!!

Birthday Presents

This post will only be interesting to those of you from Greensboro.

So last night, as usual, I went from point A to point G without any of the in between. As I was lying in bed I was thinking "you know what Charlotte needs...a good gift shop" because I have some birthdays coming up and I need some trinkets. Of course, like all of you fellow Greensboro natives, the first two places that immediately popped into my head were Ivy Lane and Flamingo Road Ltd. Ivy Lane was my go to for beanie babies, jewelry, awesome round candles (the kind that are all wax and decorated in like tie-dye designs), etc.

                                            Not actually Ivy Lane...but you get the idea.

Then there was Flamingo Road Ltd. I loved this place because every time my dad made us go to the Fresh Market (it used be such a chore!!) we got to go to Flamingo Road as well. I would always look for awesome fish or parrot earrings (yeah that's right I got my ears pierced when I was 3), or if I was feeling adventurous I would read the "dirty" greeting cards...

So the good news is that according to this website, Ivy Lane is still on State Street. I do actually think there may be a Flamingo Road on Friendly that I will definitely be checking out next time I'm in Greensboro...a little investigative reporting if you will. And that will be on Thursday....so check back in Friday for any updates! As for those of you with February birthdays...well you can only hope that Flamingo Road is still in business!
http://www.greensboroataglance.com/list_gift_shops.htm