Actually, We Like Sour Cream Enchiladas Better

Page 74 in 'Trophy Recipes from the Columbia Classics Car Club" opens with 'Chili Chicken', a Mexican-style casserole which is fairly quick to prepare (after the chicken is cooked or you've picked up a pre-cooked one), and takes about an hour to bake. I couldn't find a similar recipe online, so here it is:

CHILI CHICKEN
1 whole chicken
12 corn tortillas
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 can green salsa sauce
1 can chili (no beans)
1 chopped onion
1/2 lb. Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese

Simmer chicken in water until tender. Bone & cut into large bite sized pieces. Lay chicken in a large 3 Qt. casserole dish. Ter and place the 12 corn tortillas over the chicken. Mix together soup, broth, salsa sauce, chili and onions. Pour over chicken & tortillas.  Shred cheeses and spread on top of casserole.  Bake 15 minutes covered, 30-40 minutes uncovered at 350 degrees.  Yields 8-10 servings. - Paula Stands

This is a fine casserole - but my husband and I thought it needed something else, maybe a can of Rotel tomatoes with chilis? It reminded us of the Sour Cream Enchilada casserole that we really like, so I made that the next day (after we the Chili Chicken was gone). 
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SOUR CREAM ENCHILADAS

1 c. cultured sour cream (fat free is fine)

1 can cream of chicken soup (ditto)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (ditto)

2 small cans green chilies, chopped

1 tsp. diced jalapeno (freeze the rest of the can for later use)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb. hamburger

1 ½ c. grated cheddar cheese

10 flour or corn tortillas

Brown hamburger and onion, set aside.  Combine sour cream, soup, chilies and tsp. jalapenos.  Save out 2 cups of this sauce.  Add burger and onions to remaining sauce.  Put a scoop of burger mixture on each tortilla, roll, and put in casserole dish (10 tortillas fit in a 13 x 9 pan – 8 lined up and 2 on the side).

Pour the two cups reserved sauce over the top of tortillas, and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

[You can use two cans of cream of chicken and mushroom soup instead, if you like; with this small amount of jalapeno, it’s very ‘mild’. We usually use flour tortillas. Merlyn puts more sour cream and picante on his but I eat mine plain.]

Always with the Appetizers!

I must admit that I really do like appetizers, as a snack or as a meal.  I have a new favorite from a Saturday evening gathering - it's called "Flaky Tomato and Mozzarella Tart".  I discoveredt in
an older issue of the "Real Simple" magazine, and the recipe is found here.

Be warned, however, that (even though it's easy) it will more time than you think.  The first time I tried to make it, I had time for the puff pastry to thaw (40 minutes) but had not allowed for the 30 minutes necessary for the dough to 'rest' after being rolled out.  So, my guests were arriving as I was taking it to the downstairs refrigerator, and I never did get back to finish and bake it (20 -25 minutes).

Saturday evening when I made it, I started too late again (!) but was able to shave 5 minutes off each of the thawing tie and resting time in order to offer it to our guests about 10 minutes after they arrived.

1 piece of puff pastry (1/2 of a box) makes two tarts, which provided about 2 appetizers each for 10 people.

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More Food BLESSINGS

Last Sunday I was out of town attending the Enoch Farm Spring Meeting (which was very anointed), leaving Merlyn home to process the DVD and photos he had taken at the Hosanna Dance recital, The Lion's Roar . (The production will be danced again December 14 and 15, 2012, at Riggs High Theater in Pierre, if you missed it.) 

Back to the story: Merlyn was planning to attend the potlunch and pie auction for the benefit of New Life Assembly's Nicaragua Team and their July missions trip.  He was distracted by a "quick" visit to First Baptist Church, where he is assisting them to evaluate their current sound system and needs, and as a result, returned to the church to find the potlunch over, the pies all purchased, and only a few friends left there.  Two of those wonderful friends, Kent and Sandy Bowers, gave Merlyn the rest of the Shepherd's Pie they had brought to the dinner, which  he took home and ate.  Another pair of wonderful friends, Tim and Melanie Stampe, called to say they had purchased a pie for him at the auction, and would drop it by for him.

The pie was the most delicious Key Lime Pie either one of us had ever eaten.  We were so blessed to enjoy it, especially since we hadn't even made it to the pie auction.  The following Sunday, Karen Helke came to me to say how disappointed she was Merlyn hadn't been at the pie auction, as she had made a Key Lime Pie just for him. 

Through the intervention of God and His helpers, Merlyn got to not only enjoy his favorite kind of pie, but to enjoy the best example of that favorite either of us have ever eaten.  And now he knows where to get another one!! 

Thank You, God!!! Thank you, friends!!!

Barbecued Marinated Firebird - not our favorite

We had never grilled turkey breast before, which is probably why this wasn't our idea of a great meal.  Next!


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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Next Section: Cakes
Next Recipe:  Chocolate Cheese Cake - looks awesome! I'll be back after while!.  Bon Appetit!

Carrot Salad

And I'm back to the Columbia Classics Car Club Trophy Recipes!   Last evening I made Carrot Salad as a side dish. It was a hit!

This recipe was provided to the cookbook by Rita Nehls, and this is her note with the recipe: "This was my Mother's recipe.  She used 4 cups of carrots; instead of dicing her onions she slices them so they can be eaten in rngs and puts her peppers in chunks.  Then she reuses the dressing as a salad dressing when the carrots are all gone.  TALK ABOUT FRUGAL...a depression child, you know! Anyway, enjoy it whichever way you want.  You have seen mine and I chop everything as most men don't like a salad that has large green pepper chunks or onion chunks in it.  ENJOY."

After supper someone suggested that very thing: saving the leftover dressing to use on green salad. It is reminiscent of a Dorothy Lynch dressing - very good.

The recipe from the cookbook suggests cider or red wine vineger, so I used red wine vineger; and calls for a slightly smaller amount of olive or vegetable oil (1/3 cup), in addition to specifying the amount of salt and pepper - 1 teaspoon each.

The main dish with this meal was Fettucine Alfredo con Pollo (fettucine with jar sauce and chicken breasts) and it was also terrific.  I must have gotten the recipe from a friend, as I had it saved in my Word document recipe list of favorites. (I name the documents by type of recipe so they are easy to find, like Recipes - Main Dishes - Fettucine Alfredo con Pollo.)  This one was easy to make and delicious. I looked at cheaper brands alfredo sauce but they all substituted soy ingredients for cream, so I went with Bertolli as the recipe recommends.

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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Next Section: Main Dishes
Next Recipe:  Barbecued Marinated Firebird (turkey breast)I'll be back after while!.  Bon Appetit!

Baked Omelet for Saturday Night Supper

It has been such an interesting challenge to incorporate the recipes that will be next in line in the cookbook challenge into our meals.  It means looking ahead far enough that we have ingredients for several recipes at all times, so that I can make one or more at a moments' notice as time (and interest) and appetite allow. It's a juggling act - finding time to cook, at a time when I feel like cooking and Merlyn feels like eating what's on the menu. Saturday night turned out to be the 'sweet spot' in last week's juggling act.

Saturday nights are always special in my mind. In my childhood, Saturday nights were when we took our baths.  I'm sure we took them at other times, but my strongest memory is of the Saturday night bath, in anticipation of Sunday morning church, with clean body, hair, and clothes.  It's such a strong a metaphor of the way we'd like to approach God - with clean hands and a pure heart.

When I was 5, we moved to a house with a real bathtub!!!  There were lots of other new and wonderful things but the bathtub really stood out to me. Fast forward to the present, and I'm a morning shower person, and only occasionally soak in the tub.  I still think hot water is one of God's greatest gifts!  Again, it's a metaphor for His gifts to us - God requires us to come before Him in purity, and then gives us the means to do it!  

Saturday night was a great time to try this Baked Omelet.  It's simple and filling!  I couldn't find a similar recipe online so will reproduce it below. 

BAKED OMELET
1 lb. bacon, ham or sausage meat (cooked and drained).  Line bottom of 13 x 9 pan with meat; top with sliced cheddar cheese and sliced mushrooms.

Beat together:
1 1/2 dozen eggs (18)
1 1/2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Pour over cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Unhappily, <hangs head> I was not successful in my quest to follow the recipe exactly. Since there were just the two of us, we elected to cut the recipe in half and use a 9 x 9 pan.  We had ham on hand for this recipe (from a post-Easter spiral-cut ham that we slow-cooked), and added about 4 oz. of sliced fresh mushrooms.  Because I am often assaulted with the comment "needs more *flavor*," I chose to use pepper jack cheese to add some spiciness. 

This is a delicious baked omelet and I will use this recipe for overnight guests expected in the fall. It's easy, filling, and should be universal in its appeal.

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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Main Dishes: Cakes
Next Recipe:  Chocolate Caramel Cream Cake
I'll be back after while!.  Bon Appetit!

Best 'Broccoli Salad' in the World

While some of the recipes we've attempted have been surprisingly good or surprisingly - not good, I have been blind-sided by a couple of eventualities.  One is that I have taken some of the recipes out of sequence! I am a 'by the book' girl, and it's shocking to me that I've changed the rules in the middle of the 'game', to accomodate time pressures, meal schedules, and/or items on hand.

Not only that, I have actually had a difficult time preparing the recipes exactly as written!  When I research recipes on the web, I have often found myself thoroughly disgusted with the posters who go on and on about how they added this or substituted that, wondering, "why can't they just make it the way it's supposed to be done????".  But now I find myself doing the *very* *same* *thing*!  And seemingly unable to stop!

I did prepare this 'Broccoli Salad' as it appears below, except that I used Oscar Meyer Ready to Serve Bacon instead of frying my own (since I had some on hand). A Good Housekeeping Taste Test calls it one of the best-tasting precooked bacons.  Also, I forgot to put in the slivered almonds until we brought it out for the second meal.  It made enough for 3-4 meals for the 2 of us. AND WE LOVED IT.

Karen Hilmoe, one of our favorite cooks, contributed this recipe for the cookbook, and attributes this recipe to our collective niece, Patty Hilmoe.  Per her note on this recipe: "Our niece, Patty Hilmoe, of the Bismarck Hilmoes, was kind enough to share this with me.  We love it, and I get many requests for it.  I realize many of you already have it, but for those who don't... Enjoy!"

BROCCOLI SALAD
1 bunch broccoli cut up (4 cups or eore and you can mix broccoli and cauliflower)
1 cup celery chopped
Green onions chopped (Karen use 3 to 4)
1/2 # bacon fried crips and broken up (I used half a package of precooked bacon)
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups red grapes, cut in half

Dressing:
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)

Blend the dressing well and toss with the salad.  Let sit one hour before serving to blend flavors.

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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Next Section: Main Dishes
Next Recipe:  Baked Omelet
I'll be back after while!.  Bon Appetit!

Candied Brie with Apple Wedges - It's a Hit!

Back when it was cold and snowy, Merlyn coerced some friends (who had never seen it) to watch the entire Star Wars series of movies. Part of the coercion was that they would bring food with them and join him on Sunday afternoons when I was working.  Star Wars, wonderful friends and great food - what's not to love!

They were such good sports about that I invited them to watch "A Year in Provence" with us, which of course required each of us to produce some French food to share. A Year in Provence is a miniseries that I first saw at Thanksgiving in 1993.  What actually happened was that there was a Thanksgiving blizzard which meant that my family couldn't come to town and have dinner with us.  This was our first Thanksgiving after my Dad passed away in August, so I was understandably depressed and couldn't really keep my mind on the series.  Merlyn spent the whole day moving snow and pulling people out of snow drifts. I spent the day tryiing to watch "A Year in Provence."  It was on A & E three times that day, so whenever he came into the house, it was still playing, and he thought it was at least 12 hours long.

A few years later I received the video series (a mere 6 hours long) for Christmas, and we watched it and enjoyed it - even learned some things!  During the past winter I ran across it as I was cleaning out our video cupboard and wanted to view it again. 

It took us two evenings to watch the whole thing.  And  the food was fabulous: we had two kinds of quiche, madeleines, salade nicoise, lobster risotto, chicken cordon bleu, French apple tart, homemade ice cream ...  We spent so much time with the marvelous food that we had to do an encore a few days later to finish the last quarter of the miniseries.

That time, we had madeleines, French apple tart and homemade ice cream again, as well as several appetizers like this one, candied brie with apple wedges,' provided for the Tri Cities cookbook by my sister-in-law Karen Hilmoe (a fabulous cook).

I have since learned better but at the time, none of us were familiar with Brie and we didn't know what to do with the rind.  So we peeled it off with a knife and scooped out the cheese, then spread it on the apple slices.  It was excellent!  And I'll have to serve it again to see how it is the right way, sliced with the rind intact.
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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Next Section: Soups, Salads, & Condiments
Next Recipe:  Broccoli Salad
I'll be back after while!.  Bon Appetit!

Nuts and Bolts: A Dieter's Prayer

We have actually made it to the last section of the cook book, once through!  The final section, 'Nuts and Bolts', includes various inspirational and informational tidbits.

"A Dieter's Prayer"

Lord, grant me the strength
That I may not fall
Into the clutches of cholesterol.
The road to hell is paved with butter.
Cake is cursed, cream is awful
And Satan in hiding in every waffle.

Beelzebub is a chocolate drop,
Lucifer is a lollipop.
Teach me the evils of Hollandaise,
Of pasta and gobs of mayonnaise,

And crisp fried chicken from the South.
If you love me, Lord, shut my mouth.

                                         - Anonymous

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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Next Section: Appetizers, Snacks & Beverages
Next Recipe:  Candied Brie with Apple Wedges
I'll be back after while!.  Bon Appetit!

Sunday Night Supper and Cheesy Bread

In our house growing up, we never had supper on Sunday evening - we would always have popcorn, and fudge or brownies or leftover cinnamon rolls, or something else that we baked during the afternoon.  Mom had a recipe for brownies that baked a large cookie sheet full in 20 minutes. We had that one a lot.

One Sunday afternoon my sister-in-law Tina and I made jelly doughnuts. They were a success, but  I haven't made them since!  I wonder if she has? Here she is with her grandbaby, Jessie. (This was taken on a Sunday evening, too! We.had a fine steak dinner - but that was at their house, not mine.)

That is a good memory among many other great memories of Sunday evenings, popcorn, and fudge.  Fast forward to our more than 31-year marriage, and Merlyn still asks, about 5 pm on Sunday evenings, what we are having for supper.  No matter how many times I tell him "popcorn and fudge", he always asks again the next week.

One Sunday before it was time for our Financial Peace University class, I surprised him with "Cheesy Bread" from the Bread & Rolls section.  This involved a package of hoagie buns, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, a bunch of green onions, butter & mayonnaise.  On hoagie bun halves, I spread butter and mayonnaise, then sprinkled them with sliced green onions and shredded cheese.  After baking them for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, they were ready to eat. 

This would have been a perfect treat for lots of people; but I knew before he even spoke what Merlyn would think: "You should have put some hamburger in this!"  Sometimes I think he's singlehandedly keeping the beef industry going.

I just looked at similar recipes online, and some of them have you mix the cheese with the mayo, butter and green onions - that might be really good, too! Guess I'm going to try this again!

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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Next Section: Nuts and Bolts
Next 'Recipe':  A Dieter's Prayer

I'll be back after while!.  Bon Appetit!

Angels Delight - Looks Good So far!

This recipe is almost exactly like the Cool Whip Pudding Delight at this link, and is kind of a 'blast from the past'. 

I have made this dessert before, but don't think I did it more than once (with butterscotch pudding, not chocolate like today's attempt) - in those days it was "too complicated", "too many steps".  When I remember it, I have such a strong memory of my dear Aunt Virginia Emley, who made this dessert (beautifully) and originally gave me the recipe.  Aunt Virginia always had the best recipes and her food was always gorgeous to look at as well as delicious.  She did so many things well! 

I remember that a friend of hers had asked for suggestions on what to bring to our family when there was a funeral.  Aunt Virginia suggested this recipe, which the friend duly prepared.  Afterward, Virginia's friend made sure everyone knew that she was never making it again, because it was too much of a pain to make. Today, it seems pretty easy!

We are bringing treats for our "Financial Peace University" class tonight, so I'll share how the others liked it, in addition to our opinions.  We're bringing chips (Mission brand) and salsa, too (Walmart White Corn & Black Bean Salsa).  They don't really go with the dessert, but that's what sounded good to us.

I have so many happy memories of Aunt Virginia and my other aunts and this recipe has brought them to the fore.  When I began this blog after watching the movie "Julie and Julia", Aunt Virginia was prominently in my mind.  Julia Child and "The French Chef" are indelibly linked with Virginia in my memory - maybe because PBS was the only television station they could get at "the farm"? And PBS had Julia Child.

"The farm," which is what Grandma Ethel always called it, was the Emley Ranch where Aunt Virginia and my mother's brother Charles Emley lived with their son Tom (and I was his occasional babysitter during high school).  I guess Aunt Virginia was the "French Chef" of our family, in my eyes at least.

Virginia was a superb and adventurous cook and I still have recipes that she gave me to try - like moussaka and zucchini lasagna.  I miss her so much!  She passed away in 2007 after a second bout with cancer. We have lost so many wonderful years with Virginia and Charlie from the effects of those robbers, cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also called Lou Gehrig's disease). And I am so very grateful to God for the gifts of Charlie and Virginia, as well as their daughters, my cousins Judy, Joan and Lynne.

Virginia was a widow with three daughters when she married my Uncle Charlie. Charlie came to visit us one winter evening in our little house north of Tuthill, SD, to break the news that he was getting married!  He must have told us they were having an evening wedding, and I pictured them dancing the night away, all of the women in chiffon gowns, kind of like this one. 

I didn't know until just a few years ago that Virginia was married in a suit (of course she was!)  Probably something like this, and she probably sewed it herself:

Like all of the rest of Aunt Virginia's recipes, Angels Delight was a hit tonight!  There was none left when I went to get my piece - Merlyn said it was awesome, and this time I'm going to believe him.  And, one of the attendees asked for the recipe.  This one is a keeper!

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Here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, "Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA", one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.

Next Section: Breads & Rolls
Next Two Recipes (on one page!):  Bacon and Cheddar Muffins and Cheesy Bread
I'll be back after it's cooked.  Bon Appetit!

Columbia Classics Recipe Challenge

Last summer, I watched the movie 'Julie and Julia' and was captivated.  It enticed me back to those 'thrilling days of yesteryear', to the day when the PBS tower went up and the number of tv channels we could receive doubled in one day!

'Julie and Julia' intersperses Julie Powell's personal challenge to recreate each of Julia Child's recipes in 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' with scenes from Julia Child's life.  It is very funny, and especially evocative of the 60's.

When we had only one or two television channels,  we watched whatever was on when we were available; and that is the only reason I ever watched Julia Child's cooking shows. (Well, there was the hope that she'd drop something or make some horrific mistake that even I wouldn't do.)  Even so, her voice is indelibly imprinted in my memory.  Merlyn Streep's interpretation in 'Julie and Julia' evokes scenes from the 60's and early 70's (my grade school and high school years) and especially those endless summers of tv-watching.

I began my serious cooking career when Mom enrolled in a Thursday evening college course at Chadron State College to work on her teaching degree, and my first dish was memorable, to say the least.  It was blackened tuna casserole.  Not that I knew that term in elementary school. I was just beginning to learn how to cook noodles, open and drain a can of tuna, and open a can of mushroom soup.  I was already an expert at losing myself in a book, however, which is where the 'blackened' part came in (Dad and my siblings called it 'burned').

Today, I am something of a 'foodie', although not a great cook.  At work, we watch cooking shows during our lunch and afternoon breaks, discussing recipes and critiquing techniques.

Last week, I had my own 'Julie and Julia' moment. I was looking through 'Trophy Recipes from Columbia Classics Car Club 1992-2002,' Tri-Cities, WA (a gift from sister-in-law Karen in Prosser, WA) and it came to me, "I should cook my way through this cookbook!" The more I thougth about it, the more fitting it seemed - I married into the Hilmoe family nearly 32 years ago, and they are definitely a 'car family'. So it's appropriate that my 'Julie and Julia' cookbook be a car club cookbook.

 My coworker, Nadine, and my husband, Merlyn both said, when I mentioned this challenge, "and blog about it!"  I hadn't thought of that, but why not?

So, here's the challenge: I'm going to make each recipe in the cookbook, one recipe per section, and blog about it.  And then I'll go on to the next section.   The first recipe and section will be "Appetizer Vegetable Pizza" from the Appetizers, Snacks & Beverages. I'll be back after it's cooked.  Bon Appetit!

Julie and Julia - the original post (Julie Powell is pithier than I am, isn't she?)