I hate Botox

What the heck is it with all the over-30 actresses? Why do they ALL get Botox? It just makes them look angry and mean. I can tell immediately when someone's had too much Botox because their eyebrows get that very distinctive look - way too widespread, and pointy and evil. Ugh. STOP IT.

The Substitute

Last night's episode of LOST totally made up for last week's horrible waste-of-time Kate-centric episode. The Substitute was full of awesome Locke stuff, and Flocke, or Un-Locke, or the Locke-ness Monster, or whatever you want to call him. And LOTS of answers!

But some serious questions cropped up for me too, like: why isn't Kate's name on the ceiling list of "candidates"? She was touched by Jacob at a young age, and certainly was brought to the island for some purpose. Loads of other people were up there, including [Danielle or Alex] Rousseau, [Boone] Carlyle, [Shannon] Rutherford, [Claire or Aaron] Littleton, etc, etc. Why not Kate? Or if Kate is up there, what's her number? And which Kwon was listed? Sun or Jin?

Who the heck was that crazy blond kid? Some theories: young Jacob, young Sawyer, future Aaron -- or someone completely different? And why could Sawyer see the boy but not Richard Alpert? (Maybe because Sawyer is a "candidate"?) Still dying to know what Richard's role is in all this -- apparently he's never been a "candidate" either. Maybe Kate will be the new Richard; never aging, always bringing instructions but never knowing what the hell is actually going on.

Anyway. Lots to chew on...

Easy Chilaquiles

This couldn't be quicker or tastier! Great for a chilly night when you're craving some Mexican flavors, because this is even faster than takeout.

Easy Chilaquiles
2 Tbsp EVOO
3 minced cloves garlic
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes with puree
2 minced chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 1 Tbsp of the adobo
1 cup water
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3 cooked boneless/skinless chicken breasts, shredded*
4 cups tortilla chips
salt & pepper
fresh cilantro leaves, sour cream, and/or cheese, for serving (all optional)

Add the olive oil and minced garlic to a 3-4 qt pot and cook over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle a little and becomes fragrant. Add the tomatoes, chipotles, adobo, water, cumin and coriander. Season well with salt & pepper. Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer and let it cook for 6-8 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened and the flavors have all combined. Add in the shredded chicken and heat through.

In each of four bowls, put a handful of tortilla chips, then ladle the sauce and chicken on top. Top with cilantro leaves, sour cream, and cheese if desired (I used queso fresco, a mild Mexican cheese, but you could just use shredded cheddar or jack cheese).

* If I'm really in a rush, I'll just grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shred the meat off of it, but this time I made chicken stock with a six-pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (they were on sale!). This way I have cooked, shredded meat for easy meals throughout the week, and homemade low-sodium chicken stock.

Chicken Stock
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 carrots, scrubbed but not peeled, cut into chunks
2 celery stalks, scrubbed & cut into chunks
1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
3-4 sprigs of thyme leaves
3-4 sprigs of fresh parsley
3 quarts of cold water
1 Tbsp salt

Put everything into a big ol' stockpot and bring to a full boil. Turn the heat down a bit and cook at a low boil, uncovered, for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Remove the chicken breasts and shred them for future use. Strain the rest of the stock through a colander into a large bowl, and then put in plastic containers to store in the freezer. Makes about 6 cups of stock. (Yes, you read that right -- you lose half the volume of your liquid during the process!)

Spring already?

I had my first allergy attack of the season today. It's only the first week in February, can't we at least wait a few more weeks? And it was a baaaaad attack, it was a Benadryl + 3 ibuprofen + 3 hour nap attack.

Guess it's time to start up the allergy medication. It's going to be a long, bad hay fever season.

Oh, and also? I have a cracked tooth and I need a crown. Turns out all those silver fillings our dentists gave us for years eventually expand and crack your teeth. So in another couple of weeks I get to go back in to the dentist (ack!) and get a crown to hold my poor tooth from splitting any further. And if that doesn't solve the pain I've been having (because the tooth may have cracked all the way to the root), I will have to have oral surgery to remove the nerve! Ouch!