Chicken Enchiladas - Culinary Delight

I love enchiladas! I love chicken enchiladas! I made up my very own recipe the other night. It came out so great I thought I'd share it with you (in case you love enchiladas like I do). Here you go: WARNING!! - Be sure you are wearing pants with an elastic waistband. This is not Fat Free or Calorie Free.

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

INGREDIENTS:
One (1) roasted chicken (I bought mine at Price Chopper and you can also buy one at Costco or Sam's). I like these because they are slow roasted and are ALWAYS tender and always great. I can't make one this good and it saves a lot of time. You can buy them seasoned with lime or smoked, as well, if you want to shake up the flavor a bit.

2 cups sour cream - can use non-fat
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can green chilies (drained). I just learned you can buy these in different "hotness" - who knew? I'm  
        pretty sure these were pretty mild but suit your own taste.
Salt & Pepper to taste - I used a lot of course black pepper
Emeril's Southwest Seasoning - to taste - I used about 2 teaspoons or a little more
1 cup Monterey Jack/Colby cheese
2 cups Mexican style Pepperjack cheese (Kraft)
Flour Tortillas - 3 or 4, 10"

Large mixing bowl
9x12 baking dish (spray with Pam or grease lightly)

HOW TO:
Pull the skin off the chicken and then pull the meat off the bone - I used both white and dark meat. Tear meat into bite-size pieces. Put chicken & everything else, EXCEPT four tortillas and about 1/2 cup of the Pepperjack cheese, in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. You may want to mix the soup, sour cream and chilies/seasoning together before adding the cheese - it makes the mixing a little easier and more thorough.

Now, layer all of the ingredients in the baking dish. Start with a thin layer of the soup mixture and then one layer of Flour Tortillas. Repeat until you have used everything. End with the soup mixture. (I believe I only had two layers of the flour tortillas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese (or however much you choose) over the top of the enchiladas and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes or so in a 350 degree oven. It is done when heated thoroughly and the cheese is gooey (technical term).

This recipe is Simple, Easy, Not Rocket-Science and Delicious.

Serve with tortilla chips, rice, beans, salsa, pico - whatever makes your mouth water and Enjoy!  Yum, these are really good. And, if anything is leftover, you can eat it for lunch the next day and it still will taste great. I know!

One Voice and One Heart

Photo Courtesy Photobucket

There we are, holding hands while we sing The Lord's Prayer. Sunday after Sunday. It is the tradition at our church! During the "Our Father", we reach our hands out side to side and join hands with those closest to us until everyone is linked together and, then, we either recite or sing the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your Name,
    your kingdom come,
    your will be done,
        on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
    as we forgive those
        who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
    and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
    and the glory are yours,
    now and for ever. Amen.

This past Sunday was no different. The time comes, we all scramble around to be sure we are all connected, hand-to-hand, in some form or fashion. It's always amazing to me how tricky it is to accomplish this hand-holding feat.

We are finally settled and then we begin - this week we are singing..."Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name..." For some reason, this is always about the spot I get choked up. I get locked up in the moment and the tears start to run down my cheeks. I can't force the words past the lump in my throat. I love to listen to the voices of those praying with me while I lift my own in the silence of my heart. It's not the words, so much, that get to me. It is the connection we share, heart to heart, in that moment.

I stand there and I am connected to all of these people that I have grown to love. I hear John singing in his shaky, 90-year old voice. And, I am overcome with the thought of the number of Sundays he has lifted his voice to pray this same prayer.

This past Sunday I found myself holding hands with Joe who is in the process of loving his mother as he is watching her slowly make her transition into God's presence. I can feel the fullness of his heart through his voice and the tight grip of his hand. He sings the words boldly - when his heart must be breaking. Halfway through the prayer, I feel another hand grab hold of mine. I hear this voice softly singing the words.."Save us from the time of trial..." and I recognize the voice of Jeremy, a 14 year old young man, who is dealing with the unexpected death, only a few days before, of his mother. And, I can feel his hands shake along with his voice. At this point, I am totally undone. My heart is full. And, I think about my own full bucket. It seems so trivial compared to those around me. Yes, I have my own things I'm trying to sort out and that I carry with me. However, in that moment, it seems as if the bucket is not quite so heavy because I am surrounded by faith, hope and love. These people help me carry the load. So, I tighten my grip on both of these hands that are holding mine - willing them to know that Love is big.

I am thankful for this tradition and this beautiful gift and this moment. When we are finished, I find myself wanting to hang on to these hands and hearts. I don't want to let go. I understand that the beauty is in the connection and the love we share with each other - through the outpouring of our hearts to one another. And, through the outpouring of our hearts to God.

Hank and the Dog Bath Blues

Hank is our dog. He's BIG. He's fluffy. He's stinky. He's miserable. He's a MESS! I just dropped him off to be groomed this morning. Joe and I are bad, bad parents. We have been trying to get him to the groomer for several months now and have been procrastinating. It costs a lot of money to give this dog a bath and a haircut. But, I could stand it no longer - the dog reeks.

We have tried the bath thing at home and quickly discovered it is not the best idea. One time, after he had rolled in something disgusting, we had the bright idea to put him in the shower and Joe would get in there with him and scrub him down. That was an interesting idea. We've only done that once. Turned out, it wasn't such a good idea. My house was really wet - even the walls; and, so was Joe. And, so was I.

Another time, I tried to give him a bath outside and with the garden hose. That was not a good idea either. He was patient and let me soap him up and rinse him off - even though the water was pretty cold. I was so proud. He was nice and clean. Then I let go of him. He proceeded to take off and run his classic figure eight pattern, touching his nose to all four corners of our yard at 35mph, complete with hairpin turns. That dog runs for Glory. Now, he was wet and green up to his knees and his entire under belly - Joe had just cut the grass. I wouldn't mind all of this so much if I didn't feel like he was laughing at me - Hank, not Joe.

So, this morning, he was going on a trip to be groomed. I sang a song for him, too, just so he would be ready. It was a bluesy number that lamented his plight. It went like this:

You're going to get a bath...
Because you smell so bad...
You're going to smell so sweet...
No more "Frito" feet...

I think He liked it. I could see his head bopping along with the beat.

Now, he is enjoying his makeover and I am writing this blog and I am completely dumbstruck...

The last thing I saw as I left the room was Hank jumping up onto the grooming table. The table top is four feet in the air. The groomer wasn't ready for him yet. She was across the room getting her stuff together. Mind you, whenever we take a trip to the vet or to the groomer, Hank is usually stuck to my side like white on rice. He is usually more than ready to leave with me. He doesn't like to be left alone in places like this. Usually, if possible, he is grabbing my keys, running out the door toward the car and barking that he will drive. He is not a brave soul. However, there was my boy, jumping onto the table and all ready for business. He sat down and then - this is the ultimate...

...He looked back at me over his shoulder and He SMILED!

I'm even fairly certain I saw his head bopping and, I think, maybe I heard a hum...

I'm going to get a bath...
Because I smell so bad...

I love our dog!

UPDATE:  The groomer called and told me Hank was ready to be picked up. When I got there, she took me to the back room where all the dogs are drying and fluffing out. I looked everywhere for Hank. The only dog close to his size was something with really short hair and a really long tongue. Talk about a makeover - I didn't recognize my own dog.  He went in a Doodle and came out a Poodle - go figure. Evidently, his groomer went for the "summer cut". And, his ears are longer on one side than the other. Oh well, he's happy. I think I will leave the ears. I kind of like them this way. He can be a trend setter (not to be confused, though, with an Irish Setter).