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Friday, March 16, 2012

THIS IS WHERE I LIVE...

I moved from Montana to Lubbock, Texas the fall of my sophomore year, because I didn't like the home economics department at MSU-Bozeman, and Tech had a highly rated school of home economics, with cheap out of state tuition, and warmer climate than Ames, Iowa (another possibility).  So, Mom did all the paper work, and the folks loaded me and my belongings in the Buick, and headed for Lubbock.  I was standing on the steps of the Tech library when they left me, and I waved until they went out of sight.  I graduated and re-enrolled in graduate school.  It was during this time I met Bobby, and we married.  I have lived in West Texas longer than I did in Montana, and have learned to love this country in spite of the sandstorms, drought, heat, and cold.  I hope you will take time to look at Wyman Meinzer's photo collection about this part of the world (I guarantee you will like the music), and you just might be surprised at the beauty, and see why I call this home, even though I will always be a Montanan.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

"Laid Up"!


I had toe surgery during spring break, didn't figure it would slow me down, but it has.  How will I ever lose those pounds I put on after Thanksgiving, and during the two months Mom was here? 
I find that hydrocodone is poison, and all I want to do after taking it is to sleep!   I want to sleep when I should be doing school work, like making a power point on how to take care of your liver, by avoiding alcohol and drugs.  I want to sleep when I am reading a thriller by Lee Child.
 One good thing about this is I have empathy for people who are limping in pain, using crutches, and are "laid up" too.  I have had time to think about my dad and how he must have felt being side lined with his foot surgeries.  Sitting in a chair must have been torture for him.  I just didn't realize how hard it is to sit until now.  I will make up for lost time later, just like my dad did!  Until then I will try to stay awake and get some enjoyable reading done, and work on the power point later. 

Saturday, March 3, 2012

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS with green chili sour cream sauce

Vickie from Rankin sent me this recipe and when I made it I  added to it, but here is her recipe.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
10 soft taco shells
2 C cooked shredded chicken
2 C shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 C chicken broth
1 C sour cream
1 (4 oz.) can green chilies
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 in pan.
2.  Mix chicken with 1 cup cheese and roll up in tortillas.
3.  In a sauce pan, melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook until  bubbly.
4.  Add the broth and whisk together.  Cook until thickened.
5.  Stir in the chilies and sour cream and heat but do not boil.
6.  Pour over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese.
7.  Bake until the sauce is bubbling and broil for 3 minutes just to brown the cheese.

Here we go with my version.  I used olive oil instead of butter, just to cut a little saturated fat.  Believe me there will be enough to go around with this dish!  This is also a good time to add the onions.
After the flour, salt, black pepper,  and oil cook until it  bubbles, add the unstrained chicken broth and cook until thickened.  My camera focused on the whisk and not the broth.  I don't know what I am doing with it half the time.
I left the gravy on the burner on warm and then cooked the corn tortillas in olive oil, just until they are limp, but not so soft they tear up.  These are local tortillas from Odessa.
And they  had a really good flavor.
Now, for the chicken.  I added about 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. cumin, some salt, and about a tsp. of chili powder along with a shake of Vulcan salt to the chopped chicken.  I left the chicken in chunks instead of shredding it.  The Vulcan salt and chili blend are a gift from Robert and Marina.  They special order it from the Spice House in Chicago,  a place they discovered on one of their tours.  It is excellent and so is the chili blend.
The Vulcan salt has habanero pepper in it so I went easy on it (Mom isn't much for hot stuff).
I used 1/2 C chopped green onions, and sauteed them before adding them to the gravy with the chilies.
I dumped (maybe that is not the most sophisticated cooking term, but it is what it is) the chicken into the gravy, and then scooped it out into the tortillas.  I really can't stand dry enchiladas, so I like a little gravy with the filling. Next time I am making an extra cup of gravy just for the filling.
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the enchiladas.  I used  lot more cheese than the recipe called for and half of it was Colby.
Now, it's time to put the sour cream into the gravy, heat it just a little and pour it over the enchiladas, pop them in the oven, set the table, make a nice little salad.
I like the green onion and may add more than half a cup the next time.  They are pretty mild, but add color.  I made more gravy than I needed to, but I like lots of it so the dish doesn't dry out in the oven.
I think chicken enchiladas are supposed to be fairly bland compared to beef, but I still like some spice to them.  These were pretty darned good, and I recommend you fix them for a bunch.  This batch made over a dozen.  Now, it is time to go to Mustang Fitness Center.