So, you like being home, then?
Yes, yes I do. Before I left New York, I read some advice written for people visiting the upper midwest. Basically, it encouraged visitors to begin every sentence with, "so" and end with "then." Last night, I caught that particular oddity in both my speech pattern and those of my friends. We are products of our geography, it seems.
Last night's discussion took a fun turn when we started telling stories from our "troubled" youths. It turns out my responsible, over-achieverish friends all have some mischief in their pasts. I laughed so hard that by the end of the night my throat hurt. We ate and drank and gossiped and laughed. The hostess made some great chicken enchiladas and it was a lovely homecoming.
This morning, three of the friends drove me the 100 miles to my hometown. My mom and I went shopping and then made pad thai for dinner. I tried to make that one of the other times I was home, but found out it's impossible to buy rice noodles around here. This time, I planned ahead and brought them from NY. I'm messy cook and don't really care much for recipes. My mom's the opposite, she's tidy and follows the directions exactly. We fight. It's fun.
I've been thinking that my growing appreciation for homecooked food might be a sign that I'm an adult, Lately, I've just really enjoyed the process of making food and having a friend or family member cook for me is a great treat. Maybe it's only a sign that I need to cut back on the take-out.
So (see, I told you), I've arrived home in in the midst of South Dakota's version of March Madness. This weekend is the state girls' high school basketball tournaments and boys' are next weekend. High school basketball's a pretty big deal here. When I was in high school, I was even less of a sports fan than I am now and yet I made special trips to state basketball tournaments. My senior year, my three best friends and I made the cross-state trip to the boys' basketball tournament in Rapid City. It was a great weekend and I'm having a hard time believing it happened seven years ago.
Oh, it's also soooo quiet here. Just quiet. It's great.
Last night's discussion took a fun turn when we started telling stories from our "troubled" youths. It turns out my responsible, over-achieverish friends all have some mischief in their pasts. I laughed so hard that by the end of the night my throat hurt. We ate and drank and gossiped and laughed. The hostess made some great chicken enchiladas and it was a lovely homecoming.
This morning, three of the friends drove me the 100 miles to my hometown. My mom and I went shopping and then made pad thai for dinner. I tried to make that one of the other times I was home, but found out it's impossible to buy rice noodles around here. This time, I planned ahead and brought them from NY. I'm messy cook and don't really care much for recipes. My mom's the opposite, she's tidy and follows the directions exactly. We fight. It's fun.
I've been thinking that my growing appreciation for homecooked food might be a sign that I'm an adult, Lately, I've just really enjoyed the process of making food and having a friend or family member cook for me is a great treat. Maybe it's only a sign that I need to cut back on the take-out.
So (see, I told you), I've arrived home in in the midst of South Dakota's version of March Madness. This weekend is the state girls' high school basketball tournaments and boys' are next weekend. High school basketball's a pretty big deal here. When I was in high school, I was even less of a sports fan than I am now and yet I made special trips to state basketball tournaments. My senior year, my three best friends and I made the cross-state trip to the boys' basketball tournament in Rapid City. It was a great weekend and I'm having a hard time believing it happened seven years ago.
Oh, it's also soooo quiet here. Just quiet. It's great.
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North Maple deserves credit for last-minute help with these. And since it's a very pro-cooking post, I thought I'd add some fodder for those so inspired:
Chicken Enchiladas - Gringo Style
1 small chicken, boiled and shredded (chicken breasts or tenders will do, as will broiling)
16 oz. carton sour cream (I use low fat)
1 large bunch green onions, finely chopped
1 can Cream of Chicken soup (low fat/low salt)
1 can Cream of Celery soup (low fat/ low salt)
1 small can diced green chilies, drained (use jalapenos if you want it
hot...I did)
18 - 24 corn tortillas (important!) Don't use thin, flour tortillas.
16 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
16 oz. Longhorn Colby cheese
(Tip for the super-lazy: buy cojack shredd in 32 oz. bag)
Mix sour creme, soup, chilies, and 2/3 of the onion.
Set aside 1/3 of this mixture for topping.
Spread some of the mixture in a 9X13 cake pan (1/4" layer)
If your tortillas are soft enought, you can skip this part. Quickly heat a corn tortilla in oil over medium heat. Use tongs, lay tortilla in oil, turn once, and remove when tortilla is limp. Drain excess oil on paper towels. DO NOT overcook or they won't roll easily.
Put small spoonful of sour creme mixture, some cheese, and some of the shredded chicken on the edge of a tortilla (or mix it all together in a bowl first and glop it on together). Roll the tortilla up and
lay it in the baking dish. Continue to heat, fill, and roll tortillas until you:
1. run out of room in the dish
2. run out of tortillas
3. run out of patience!
Spread the reserved sour cream mixture on top of the rolled tortillas, cover with leftover cheese, and sprinkle with remaining onion.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. Should be bubbly, hot. Cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
These can be frozen before baking for use at a later time, also.
"Eat these often enough and I'll guarantee you'll become 'muy gordo' in no time!"
~ My gringo-second-cousin-once-removed and his not-so-gringo wife
Posted by
Katherine Von Bora |
8:59 PM