Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole

My sister and her family came over yesterday for a visit. They are moving from Phoenix to Portland, and I was sorta kinda on the way. ;-) It was great to catch up with my sister, because I just don't see her very often; once a year is about all we can manage. Her daughter, who is autistic, has made a LOT of progress since the last time I saw her, and I was really enjoying spending some quality time with my niece. I didn't get to spend as much time with my BIL and my nephew, as they took off to visit BIL's Bay Area friends shortly after they arrived.

Anyhoo, I thought about making chicken enchiladas but then discovered that I didn't have enough tortillas to make enough for us all. So Sister & I improvised, and came up with the NOT DIET-FRIENDLY Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

2 cooked chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 jar enchilada sauce
2-3 tortillas, cut into strips
Shredded cheddar (or Jack, or Mexican Mix - whatever you have) cheese
Fritos
Sour cream (optional - for serving)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Take the 2 chicken breasts & shred the meat with forks. Mix together the can of soup, plus 2 or 3 chiles (minced) and a little of the adobo sauce (you will have TONS of the chiles left over; save them for another recipe). Mix enough of the soup/chile sauce in with the shredded chicken to make it like chicken salad or tuna salad consistency. You don't want your chicken swimming in the soup stuff, but you need enough to keep the meat moist & tasty.

Spray a 9" square casserole dish with nonstick spray. Pour in enough enchilada sauce to lightly coat the bottom of the dish. Lay slices of tortilla over the sauce to cover, then carefully spread the chicken/soup mixture over it. Top with more sliced tortillas. Pour more enchilada sauce on top (you'll probably have a lot left over - I think I used half a jar). Then add a layer of shredded cheese. Finally, crunch up some Fritos and put them on the very top. Pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the cheese and sauce is bubbly. Then broil the casserole for a couple minutes to make the Fritos golden brown. Serve with sour cream. Will serve 4-6, depending on how often you go back for more. Heh.

Books, books & more books

Last year I started keeping track of the books I read. This year, so far, I've read 133 books (although seven of them I either did not finish, or am still reading). I knew I read a lot, but more than 11 books per month, on average, is probably a little excessive. Maybe I should cut back next year and do something a little more productive with my time, like keep up with housework or, maybe, find a date. Heh.

Anyhoo, the standouts on my list this year were (in the order I read them):

• The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini - this book was fabulous and heartbreaking
• Something Borrowed and Something Blue, both by Emily Giffin - fun chick-lit fluff, but with substance; taken together, the books form two sides of the same story
  
• A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey - not exactly non-fiction, but VERY well written and compelling
• Undead & Unwed, by Mary Janice Davidson - another fun fluff piece, this time about a rather shallow young woman who becomes a vampire
• The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls - disturbing non-fiction memoir
  
• Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger - a coming-of-age story about the bonds of family and duty
  
• A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving - another lovely coming-of-age story, focused on faith
• A Dirty Job, Christopher Moore - more fun stuff: a man who becomes one of Death's helpers (Christopher Moore is always a good bet for offbeat, humorous "horror" stories)
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer - powerful story about a boy searching for clues to his father's past after he dies in the 9/11 attacks
• Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro - creepy but hopeful at the same time

I hope one or more of these books ends up on your 2007 list, if you haven't read them all already!

Pulp Fiction...the really short version

You must click here.

I laughed for a full five minutes after watching this. Because I am twelve years old.

Vegas recap

I went to Vegas this past weekend for a reunion of sorts - a bunch of people that I used to work with all got together to get drunk and gamble and stuff.

I arrived just before 10 PM on Friday and waited at the airport for a while as the people I was meeting up with were all on delayed flights. We caught a cab together to our hotel (the Strat, way at the far end of the Strip) and dropped off our bags and jumped BACK in a cab to the Bellagio for our midnight meetup with the group. Had a few drinks, some late night food, and back to the hotel to sleep at around 4 AM.

Saturday morning I awoke bright and early at 8 AM, not even hung over. Yay! We cabbed down to the Luxor for a semi-group breakfast buffet, and then folks went their separate ways. I did a little shopping at the Venetian, then headed for the Mirage and my spa day with A, one of my old project managers. She and I got luxurious pedicures, then I hung out at the spa (AWESOME steam room) until my 4:30 massage. Took a shower, did my hair, then hopped a bus back to the Strat to change for the evening into the lovely lavender silk top I bought at BCBG that day. I got ready in ten minutes (I know!) and jumped in another cab with the guys at the Strat, and we went to Ellis Island for a BBQ dinner with the whole group. Fantastic BBQ, by the way. Juicy chicken, delish beans & corn on the cob. Plus microbrew beers that were pretty damn tasty. A group of us left Ellis after a couple hours and headed to Mandalay Bay to drink some more at House of Blues, and then watched the guys play Pai Gow (while we drank some more). Had a nice conversation with JL, who managed to fly in from LA after his motorcycle broke down and he missed his meetup with JW, who was driving from LA. Then we moved on to the Monte Carlo, which was kind of funky because I was following part of the group and didn't realize that they were heading back to sleep at their hotel - the Luxor. I ended up cabbing separately to the Monte Carlo and meeting up with the group again as they played...craps? Blackjack? I dunno. I put three dollars in a slot machine and drank some more. There was (obviously) lots of alcohol involved in this evening, but I don't think I embarrassed myself too much. ;-) Stumbled back to the room around 3, I think.

Sunday morning I woke up around 7 AM and couldn't get back to sleep because H was snoring like a truck driver. LOL. Grabbed some coffee and biscuits & gravy at the cafe in the Strat and then headed to the airport with a group of folks. The airport was a mob scene, but I managed to check in & get through security in about an hour. I got separated from the rest of the group and they didn't make it to the gate until it was almost time to board! And...that's it. Flight home was uneventful. I took a nap when I got home, and Ryan was wonderful - played quietly in his room while I slept for a couple hours. Then I went to bed early. Ahhh, bliss! Sleeping in my own bed...

Bragging

Whose son is a freakin' genius? MINE! Rugrat was accepted into the Gifted & Talented Program last week. Students have to score 98% or higher on the exam to get in, and my kid did it! Wooohooo! Classes are held once a week - at another school, dammit - and it should be interesting to see what he thinks of it.

Yay, Rugrat! Way to go!

Ha ha, suckas!

The Republicans are scrambling now...vows of "bipartisan cooperation" are being made all over, now that the Dems are back in town. House? We got it - hell, we ROUTED those muthas in red. Senate? They're still counting (and recounting) the votes in Montana & Virginia, but it's looking good, y'all. Real good for the folks in blue. Finally...an end to the right-wingers running roughshod over the rest of us and our civil liberties.

And Rumsfeld resigned! Good lord, the joy just keeps on coming.

Two more years, y'all. Just two more years until we take back the White House.

And in other news, Britney finally, FINALLY lost 170 pounds of asshole and dumped that idiot K-Fed. I'm not a big Britney fan, but watching her sliding down the slippery slope from angelic, virginal teeny-bopper to sleazy, white trash, gum-poppin', Cheeto-eatin', overweight married mother of two was painful. Talk about disillusionment. In fact, I think it sort of mirrors the state of our nation. The last two years have been awful, but lo & behold, yesterday we pulled it out. We took the first decisive step towards turning it around - both the country and Britney.

Did you vote?

I cast my ballot this morning around 11 AM. I'm not going to get all "patriotic! woo-woo" on you, but I do think that it is a wonderful blessing to be able to vote. I'm not very active in politics - I don't go to city council meetings or anything - but I do believe that the ability to let your voice be heard, via voting, is an incredible honor and privilege. And a duty. It is your duty as a citizen of this country to learn about the issues on the ballot, to learn what the different politicians stand for (or purportedly stand for; we all know that once they gain office all bets are off), and to make the best choices based on your values and beliefs.

With all that said, WOOOO f'ing HOOO! Looks like the Dems are taking back the House...and the long, hard reign of the elephant will finally be over. For now, anyway.

Here's hoping for an Obama-Clinton ticket in '08!

Really really funny

This really is the funniest thing I've ever heard.

Cancel. The. Account.

Growing Up

Sometimes I forget that Rugrat is still just a little kid, and then all of the sudden he'll mispronounce something or use a word incorrectly. For instance, he was talking about something the other day and mentioned that it was made out of "concreek". "Concreek?" I asked. "Yes, like the backyard," he replied. "Oh, you mean concrete, as in 'our patio is made of concrete'." He insisted that the word was "concreeeeeek." He gets so offended when I correct him. It's as if I'm personally attacking his intelligence. Honestly, though, I'm just relieved to occasionally have a reminder that he's still young.

It's like his teeth. He's 7 1/2 now, and has only lost two bottom front teeth. None of the top ones are gone yet - they're barely even wiggly. Part of me longs for him to lose the top teeth and see how he's going to look with a full set of adult chompers...but the other part of me is so happy to just have my boy be a baby for a bit longer.

All My(stic) Children

Good lord, I didn't think it was possible for anyone to abuse the Mystic Tan as badly as Walt Willey (Jack). But today, Leven Rambin (Lily) looked absolutely freakish. What, did she go in to get married and get a complimentary tanning session (or twenty) along with her wedding vows? She looked like Ross in that episode of Friends where he goes to the tanning salon and gets tanned only on one side...about a dozen times!

I really think that the faux-tanning is getting completely out of hand on television in general. What's wrong with looking natural? Alicia Minshew (Kendall) is gorgeous, and she's got that milky skin. So does Eden Riegel (Binks). They are downright pale, and incredibly beautiful nonetheless. There's no reason for abuse of the FakeBake. Orange looks lovely on pumpkins, but not so much on people. If you MUST faux-tan, PLEASE, for the love of God, do it MINIMALLY. Like, ONE session per week or two. Not twenty sessions in a day.