recipes and a rave

I'll begin with the rave. Um, I don't know that I have ever described a CD as sexy before, but that is exactly how I will describe my new favorite music. Sexy. It is absolutely wonderful!! He reminds me of Elliot Yamin a little bit because of the raspy/soul voice. Definitely way better, though. Check him out! Now on to the recipes!

Tortilla Pie with Chicken -serves 4
12 corn tortillas (6-inch), toasted
2 cups cooked, shredded dark-meat chicken
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles
1 1/2 cups Green or Red Salsa (recipe below)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an 8-inch square baking dish, layer 4 tortillas, 1 cup chicken, 1/4 cup chiles, 1/2 cup salsa, 1/3 cup sour cream, and 1/2 cup cheese; repeat once. Top with remaining tortillas, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Bake until top is browned and bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes.

Green or Red Salsa
8 tomatillos (for Red Salsa, substitute 6 plum tomatoes, halved)
1 onion, halved
1 to 2 jalapenos, halved (ribs and seeds removed, if desired)
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
Coarse salt

On a rimmed baking sheet, broil tomatillos, onion, jalapenos, and garlic until lightly charred, 4 minutes. Puree in a blender until smooth. Thin with 1/2 to 3/4 cup water, and season with salt.

*This is DELICIOUS and really easy. I did the green salsa and had a ton of it left, so I will use less tomatillos next time. Also, I used white meat...duh. Final note, I got 5-6 servings.

Cioppino - serves 4
1/4 cup (3 turns around the pan in a slow stream) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 to 3 flat fillets of anchovies, drained
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup good quality dry white wine
1 (14-ounce) container chicken stock
1 (32-ounce) can chunky style crushed tomatoes
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed (about 1 tablespoon)
1 handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 1/2 pounds cod, cut into 2-inch chunks
Salt and pepper
8 large shrimp, ask for deveined easy-peel or peel and devein
8 sea scallops
16 to 20 raw mussels, scrubbed
A loaf of fresh, crusty bread, for mopping

In a large pot over moderate heat combine oil, crushed pepper, anchovies, garlic, and bay. Let anchovies melt into oil. The anchovies act as a natural salt, the pepper flakes will infuse the oil, providing heat.
Chop celery and onion near stove and add to the pot as you work. Saute vegetables for a few minutes to begin to soften and add wine to the pot. Reduce wine a minute, then add chicken stock, tomatoes, thyme, and parsley. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to medium low.
Season fish chunks with salt and pepper. Add fish and simmer 5 minutes, giving the pot a shake now and then. Do not stir your soup with a spoon after the addition of fish or you will break it up. Add shrimp, scallops, and mussels and cover pot. Cook 10 minutes, giving the pot a good shake now and again.
Remove the lid and discard any mussels that do not open. Carefully ladle stew into shallow bowls and pass bread at the table.

*This is really good, too. I had been itching to make this soup, so when Central Market had all their shellfish on sale, I decided to find myself a recipe that looked like I could handle it. I know it may look a bit intimidating, but if you do the chopping ahead of time, it really isn't bad. Again, I got more than 4 servings from it.

Refrigerator Pie -serves 6
1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
2 eggs
2 pinches kosher salt
Freshly grated nutmeg

For 1 Refrigerator Pie:
1 frozen 9-inch pie crust

Any one of the following combinations:
Cooked spinach, cheddar cheese, cubed cooked ham
Bacon, Sauteed leeks, and Gruyere cheese (this is what I used)
Cooked spinach, canned artichoke hearts, and Parmesan cheese
Roasted chicken, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes
Blanched asparagus and smoked salmon

In a nonreactive, stainless steel bowl, combine the cream or half-and-half and the eggs. Whisk until combined thoroughly. Add the salt and the nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
Refrigerator Pie Rules: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Evenly distribute the pie fillings in the pie crust. Do not overfill the crust with the filling ingredients. Do not pour too much royale into the crust. The eggs will expand upon cooking. Bake the pie until it is firm to the touch like set Jell-O, about 45 minutes. Cool the pie for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

*I made this for a breakfast at Suz's bachelorette party and it was a hit. Unless my friends were just being really nice...I made it again for myself to eat on over spring break and I used milk instead and couldn't tell a difference. I also used 3 eggs the second go-round and thought it had a little more substance that way.

Happy cooking and music-listening! :)

worn out

This was easier: Than this:

However, I am enjoying both right now. The weather is perfect for sitting outside and I love, love, love my quiet neighborhood. The cats are finally getting along and were both so worn out at this point that they were willing to pass out next to each other.

If you would like the little 1 lb. orange fur ball, please let me know. If you would like to sip wine on my newly-assembled patio furniture, please let me know. I'm more than willing to throw in some free wine if you want the tiny kitten!

animal house: take two

Oh, LORD, what an eventful evening I ended up having last night. I was on the phone chatting with my friend Halen when I heard Mazie going crazy with the blinds in my bedroom. This is not at all a-typical, however she was obviously very anxious to see something outside. I go open them for her and peek out because I, too, wanted to know what she was dying to see. Here it is: On my 2nd floor patio, no less!!! (My patio is by my front door for those of you who are wondering how a raccoon scaled a wall...it didn't...it climbed the stairs.) I opened the door, snapped a picture in about 2 seconds so as not to get bitten and then infected with rabies, and then deadbolted it. Then, like Mazie (you can see her eyes in the window), I watched this raccoon just chill out on my patio for about 15 minutes....weirdo! All the while, I was explaining my Snow White complex and my desire to pet this raccoon because it looked so cuddly. It went away finally, we hung up, and I checked a text message I'd gotten from Claire. I called her and she showed up about 20 minutes later with this:

He (I'm about 91% sure) is NOT staying here permanently. 1-I don't want a boy cat. 2-Mazie is still hissing and growling, although now that is in combo with chasing the kitten. 3-I found outside patio furniture yesterday at World Market that I really like...I'd rather pay for that than kitten shots, fixing, and declawing. Hopefully Claire will be able to find it's owner or a new home. It is a really cute, snuggly little thing...while it slept and wasn't being harassed by Mazie, it curled up in the crook of my neck. For now though, my apartment somewhat resembles a circus. Cheers!

slight obsession

Maybe I got a little bored on this 4th day of Spring Break, or maybe I was so tired of trying to adjust resume layouts, rewriting cover letters and choosing the perfect wording, or maybe I am just one odd duck.

Any which way, I am a bit obsessed with looking at my handiwork from today. I finally took the calendar prints I've been holding onto for three months to Aaron Brothers to get frames that would fit their odd size. I succeeded, I framed them, and then I measured twice; hung once. Thank you very much, HGTV and TLC for that handy tip. MUCH better experience than my attempt at curtains. I feel like my bedroom is almost finished, I just need to print off some new pictures for frames and get the frames on the wall. Here's the finished work:
And not that I needed confirmation that Mazie is the smartest feline to ever walk the planet, but I got it today. I caught her up on top of my pillows, trying to climb/scale the headboard so that she could check out the new wall items...that's right, she noticed them. And wanted to sniff and bat at them.

the ranch

I had the best time celebrating Suzanna last weekend at "the ranch!!" Margaret picked me up Friday afternoon, we loaded up her car, and headed that way to meet the rest of the girls. It's only a month a few days until Suzanna lives with a boy! Yay!! We had a smaller group Friday which was really fun. We ate pasta of a certain shape and then just hung out and talked the rest of the night...that is, until Emily decided at 1:30 a.m. to show us some killer yoga moves....all while wearing a brimmed gardening hat. That girl is NUTS! You know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to arise from my bed, run, and knock her off of her weird tripod pose....twice. She enjoyed it. She also led group exercise on Saturday morning. It was much needed after consuming all kinds of candy and baked goods the night before. I opted out of the kickboxing part since I can't punch to save my life (it's probably because of my sweet nature that I can't do anything resembling violence...), but I hung in there pretty well with the rest of her routine. And I was sore that night and for the next 2 days, so it must have been effective. Here are some pictures to highlight the weekend:
Suzanna got her sash!

Emily's handiwork...aka "Made with love by Nana." Also, Jay's last name (and Suz's soon-to-be) is Rubottom, so we made use of that as best we could.

I baked cakes for decorating Friday night...Margaret's is the best disguised, so I put it on my family-friendly blog. :)

The Friday night crew/Saturday morning exercise class. Margaret watched from afar as she worked on her awesome grad school portfolio.

BBQ for dinner...cheap, yummy turkey, and BYOB...or in our case BYOJS: Bring Your Own Jello Shots. I think we took one before every meal, after every meal, and whenever else anyone deemed it to be time for jello shots.

Some of the gals

Our big plans to show the Boot Scootin' a good time went down the drain as we got rejected because it's a "private club"...due to being a dry county....Texas is SO weird!! And because one of the girls did not have her ID. I'm pretty sure all 6 people in the bar were bummed as we walked out...they knew they were missing something good! Luckily, however, Emily and Robyn put on nasty camo hunting suits and did a semi-strip tease for Suz with the peni-yata when we got back. And they brought out trays of jello shots, of course.

The weekend was super fun, way too quick, and made me really excited for the wedding!

warm fuzzies

There's nothing like spending a few hours in a children's hospital to help you put things into perspective.

I am not spending my 17th birthday in the pediatric ICU.
I am not deaf as a result of an intentional injury from the people who were supposed to love and take care of me.
I am not sitting beside the bed of someone I love, watching them hurt.
I am not one of two one-year-olds with no one coming to visit because I have been removed from my home.

No, no. I'm a girl with a pretty wonderful life and pretty fabulous people around me. Those kids and babies helped me remember that today.

I had my actual "first" day volunteering at Cook Children's Hospital two weeks ago, but it was actually more of a final training day. I didn't get to interact with any patients; instead I learned (or was supposed to learn) the ins and outs of the two floors where I will be volunteering. Today, of course, I couldn't remember if I was able to go into another patient's room after leaving a "contact isolation" room where I wore gloves and a gown...luckily, I found out the answer is yes.

I helped sing happy birthday to a 17 year-old boy in the ICU. Child Life got balloons, a cake, and presents (from the "happy room!" aka toy storage). We wore gloves, gowns, and masks...I felt so Grey's Anatomy-ish. Then I went back up to the floor I was on and checked on kiddos and their families. I took puzzles and movies to some of them. I then spent the rest of my time with a little 8 year old girl who had no one in her room all day. She is deaf and has developed really neat ways to communicate. She was a sassy, bossy little thing! We cut out hearts and the letters of her name...we colored...we put together a puzzle...she took her own temperature (bossiness!) when the nurse came in. I wished that I could hear her story; that she could speak it....that she could speak the words "cover your eyes until I'm finished" instead of using her hands to show me what she wanted me to do. I didn't spend the time feeling sorry for her, however, I was just glad to sit beside her and help her be an eight-year-old child.

I walked out at 4:30 to a beautiful, sunny day and such a feeling of accomplishment and purpose...what a good day.

apartment antics

So I've been in my place for a little over a month now and I'm pretty settled in. I still need to get a few more things for the walls and I'm in a desperate search for an outside couch like the one I see in the backyard of a house on my walks. So far, no luck. Luckily I still have some time until its truly patio weather.

Being that I am by far one of the youngest people living here...by approximately 50ish years, I've already had quite a few experiences with the old folks.

1. The old man below me was wheeled out on a stretcher at 2 a.m. a few weeks ago...luckily... he's back. I told Emily about it and she wrote a whole blog about my experience here: http://clarkyclark.com/2009/02/19/a-real-life-nancy-drew/.
I think the next 2 adventures are payback for all my old spying days.

2. I have a serious Snow White complex. I have taken in many a bird and fed them watered down Ritz and water with eyedroppers, mealworms, and even taught one little survivor to fly. Elvis the cat would have been mine in the 2622 days had I been more interested in having a pet at the time. So instead of adopting him, I just let him in our apartment, cross-eyed and all, to hang out and nap on my bed. I believe he knocked his sister up at least once while we lived there. If I had a house, backyard, and doggie door, I would probably have 3 dogs by now. I want to make (almost) every stray a pet.
Enter this little nugget of affection:
The first time I saw her, she was eating with the raccoons at night in front of my car. Um, bada**. Second time, she was under my car and then just about climbed up my pants leg to get to my hand so I would then pet her. Well, duh. She came around a few more times, and since I'd been pondering getting Mazie a friend due to her recent wake-me-up-exactly-one-hour-before-my-alarm-goes-off and destructive tendencies, I thought maybe this was the perfect time. I made an appt. with my vet for the little kitty, but of course could not find her when it was time for the appt. She then showed up again and I decided to put some food out to see if she would come around. ONCE. I turned around from dumping out what was probably 1/2 cup of food and one of the older ladies in the complex was standing at her trunk watching. I knew immediately that I was in trouble. I think got a good 10ish minute lecture about how all these cats run wild and procreate and kill shrubbery from spraying and somehow also contributed to the death of her indoor, 12 year old cat. Then she saw my Blue Haze emblem on my shirt(thank goodness for field trip day) and I think that softened her up a bit; she's a high school librarian. Lord, please do not let me be the 60 year old cat lady living in a one-bedroom apartment giving lectures one day.

3. I went to turn in my rent check on Monday before class and the nice older lady in the office said "You can't leave a dog in your apartment." Um, I felt like I was 6 years old. Emily had come over for the day for a wedding shower and sushi dinner. She brought Rocky so he and Mazie could have a play date. Apparently he was barking and she got a lot of complaints. I apologized profusely since dogs aren't even allowed in the complex and told her he wouldn't be here again. She was really nice and said something about the spoiled older people who complain. Now I'm paranoid that the old folks are banding together to oust me and my animal ways.

4. I have seen TWO cars with "Clubs" on the steering wheel. Seriously?!?
A-Who has used one of those since 1992?
B-Who wants your 1990 Toyota Camry?