So, as some of you know, I am really trying to live a more organized life [code language for anal retentive, OCD, etc.]. In the process of organizing, I stumbled upon the concept of "prepare ahead meals." So, I decided to print out a calendar and actually sit down and plan out a meal for each day of the month [this goes back to that whole OCD concept above]. Lo and behold, about 45 minutes, the Publix ad, and two cookbooks later, I had chosen dinner for every night in September. This has completely eliminated the "what's for dinner" quandry that Marc and I go through each and every night. Not to mention the ease of grocery shopping, as well.
So, with my two weeks worth of groceries in hand [well, not literally...], I attempted to prepare a few meals and freeze them. As we go through the meals, I will post them here if the recipes were keepers. Last night we enjoyed these amazing Vegetable Enchiladas! Good thing I froze two batches of those! Here is the recipe:
Vegetable Enchiladas (a recipe copied directly from Everyday Food and Martha Stewart)

To freeze: Prepare enchiladas through step 3; top with cheese, and cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place sauce in an airtight container. Freeze enchiladas and sauce for up to 2 months.
To bake from frozen: Thaw sauce in refrigerator overnight (or microwave on high 2 minutes, stirring once halfway through). Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove foil and plastic wrap from baking dishes, and pour sauce over enchiladas; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes more. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
Serves 8
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 cups grated pepper Jack cheese (12 ounces)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated [I substituted one white onion, chopped]
16 corn tortillas (6-inch)
Directions
1) Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, flour, and tomato paste; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in broth and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
2) Make filling: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups cheese, beans, spinach, corn, scallion whites, and remaining 1 teaspoon cumin; season with salt and pepper.
3) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square baking dishes; set aside. Stack tortillas, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute. Or stack and wrap in aluminum foil, and heat in oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Top each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of filling; roll up tightly and arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes.
4) Dividing evenly, sprinkle enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese, and top with sauce. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; serve garnished with scallion greens.
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=58bbb31018936110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
These are absolutely delicious and freeze so easily!!! Marc even reheated them for lunch today! Definitely one of the best Enchilada recipes I've tried. Enjoy!!











From Skagway, we took a bus tour that took us deep into Alaska (so deep, in fact, that we ended up in Canada . . .). The tour was great!! We saw such beautiful scenery, and got a few great photos, too. The only downside was the large number of mosquitos we encountered along the way . . . .





After a long day touring the Alaskan wilderness, we headed back to the ship to find a pretty cool surprise waiting for us in our stateroom . . . .
We spent the rest of the evenings watching the scenery from our balcony as we made our way to Juneau . . . .




We had such a wonderful time looking at the glacier!!! It was SO cold though - it had to have been at least 40 degrees with the wind chill out on the deck. We toughed it out though...and then spent the rest of the day eating and sleeping. Duh.
Oh, one more thing....we can thank my parents for their flamingo donation, too . . . .


We were so excited to finally get off the ship and start exploring! It was pretty cold and overcast. Nonetheless, we were determined to be amongst the first to head off the ship.





Needless to say, we were [extremely] happy to head back to our beautiful stateroom . . .
. . . and sleep . . . .
When we awoke, we were pleasantly surprised by the scenery as we left Icy Straits (Hoonah), Alaska.



After a relaxing day, we got all dressed up for the first formal night on the ship - I wore glitter, of course! Before dinner the captain hosted a little champagne party in one of the lounges. My favorite part, however, was meeting an authentic Canadian mountie. I totally thought of Dudley Do-Right . . . .
After a whole day of doing nothing, and eating a delicious dinner at formal night, we were exhausted and called it a night!
This was my first cruise [ever], so we went right out to the deck before exploring the rest of the ship. I was excited just to see the port . . . .





At about 5:00pm, the Serenade of the Seas set sail for Alaska. We went up to the top deck to join the party! I thought it would be a good idea to get one of the Margaritas in the fancy glasses that they were selling - that drink was wicked strong!

