My friend Chelsea (I can totally call her my friend now because we had dinner together once!) has started a weekly feature called “Ten On Tuesday” where she comes up with ten random questions and answers them. I haven’t had the time to participate for the last two weeks, but today I made it a point to because the questions are always interesting.

1. What are you going to be for Halloween?
In all likelihood, I won’t dress up at all. I work that day, as well as the day before and after, so I don’t plan to be going anywhere. I think I may have only dressed up for Halloween twice in my entire life. Boring, I know.

2. Have you ever been on television?
Racking my brain, and no, I don’t believe I have. Not even on the local channel for high school sports.

3. Do you have a toilet paper preference?
Yes. I always buy Quilted Northern double rolls. I think it’s because that’s what my parents always bought. Also, the paper needs to go over the top of the roll, not down the back.

4. When you’re pregnant, will you find out the sex of the baby? Why or why not?
Yes, I think so. I’m a planner and I think I’ll need some time to adjust.

5. What are three items that every kitchen must have?
Other than large appliances, I’d say a saucepan, a baking dish, and some basic utensils. You could make a lot of meals with those three things, I think. (What I’d like to know: what are your favorite kitchen gadgets? Christmas is coming up and I NEED TO KNOW!)

6. Do you enjoy Christmas shopping?
Yes, I do. I love the holidays and when I’m in the mood I like going out into the bustling crowds. I like having specific things in mind to shop for, and I feel accomplished when I find them. Also, ever since 9th grade my dad and I have taken a whole day and shopped together, just the two of us. It’s become very special to us, and something I look forward to every year.

7. What is your go-to recipe? (The thing you cook more than anything else because it’s easy and mindless.) Please share the recipe.
I think this is one of, if not THE first thing I learned to cook, and was the first meal I cooked for David when we were dating. So good.

Enchilada Casserole
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (10 oz) cans enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 (6 in) tortillas
1 (16 oz) can refried beans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook beef, onion, garlic until beef is browned; drain.
3. Stir in beans and enchilada sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 5-6 minutes.
4. Layer tortillas, beef/bean mixture, and cheese in a 13×9 dish.
5. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
6. Remove cover; bake 5 minutes.

8. Do you sleep on your back, belly, or side?
Never ever on my belly. I usually lie on my back to decompress, turn to my side to fall asleep, and then I wake up on my back again.

9. How do you feel about Tom Cruise?
Well, I think he’s kind of crazy. Definitely lost and misguided. But I do like a lot of his movies.

10. What books are in your “books to read” stack?
I’m trying to read all of the books I own but haven’t read yet. You can see my list here (as well as other books I’ve read), or I’ll list them for you:

• The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood by David Simon (Got this one as a gift from my best friend years ago, because she did voluntary service in a similar neighborhood for a year)
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Supposed to read with a friend, but don’t know if that’s going to happen)
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (I have the complete works)
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Lady Susan by Jane Austen
• The Professor by Charlotte Bronte (I also have the complete works of the Bronte sisters)
• Villette by Charlotte Bronte
• The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart
• The Host by Stephenie Meyer (actually on loan from Maggie, she says I will like it)
• Inferno by Dante Alighieri
• Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs (bought really cheap because I heard it was the best of his books)
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville (I’m big on reading classics if you can’t tell)
• The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl (loved The Dante Club by the same author and this one seems similar)
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
• The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

Okay…that is a lot of books! I need to get on that, especially since I’m trying to finish them all (plus some others) for my 101 goals.