Friday, August 12, 2011

Tastes from Home with Frito-Lay recipe contest


I don't endorse a company in any way, unless I believe in their products. Frito Lay has NEVER let me down!
My Dad was in the Air Force for 24 years. At one point we were stationed in Tucson, AZ at Davis Monthan AFB. I was a small child, and to this day, I still am greatly impressed by that region and it's food. I LOVE Mexican inspired dishes. Lay's Cajun Herb & Spice chips are the perfect accompaniment to my spinach and cheese enchiladas. Please enjoy my recipe:

Easy Spinach Enchiladas

Red Sauce
1 can tomato sauce +1 can water
2 TBSP chili powder
1 Tsp each cumin, garlic, onion powder and cilantro
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for around 30 minutes

Thaw frozen spinach in microwave

Heat one can refried beans with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 1/4 fat free half and half, mix thoroughly.

Use large tortillas. Spread enough sauce to cover the bottom of a large glass baking dish. Fill tortillas with beans, rice, spinach and cheese (spread a little sauce on the tortilla first if you like them really saucy), roll and place in pan. Cover the rolled tortillas with the remaining sauce and shake it down in between each roll. Sprinkle with desired amount of cheese and bake at 400 degrees for around 20 minutes. Let set for around 15 minutes once removed from the oven. ENJOY! Next time, we will have to try the Creamy Garden Ranch!

Now it's your turn. Submit your favorite recipe to me. Inspired by your region, or Lay's new Regional Flavors. You could a variety pack of the Regional Flavors. :O)


Monday, March 28, 2011

I Used to Have Patience, Now I Have Kids!

Well, guess I didn't realize how long it had been since I had last posted! Sheesh! A lot happens and a lot changes in 6 months time. So, in a brief, yet thorough account, here is my life since September 23rd.
The party was fun. Only 8 kids came...yay me...and they had a ball. One of the daughter's little friends, however, doesn't like chocolate, so that presented a dilemma with the brownie. Oh well, I will remember next time...if there is a next time, to have white cake as well...oh, and separate containers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream with separate scoops...God forbid there is one speck of chocolate in the vanilla ice cream! Okay, sweet kid, but sheesh. Then there were the 3 parents who decided to drop off their kids without telling me they were doing so. Get the kid out, give them a kiss, tell them to be good, get back in the mini van and take off...WTH?! One mother, ONE, asked me if it was okay, and then there was the couple that also brought their baby and actually stayed to watch their kid have fun. THOSE kind of parents I like. Them and the mom who was trying to pack for a trip, and very nicely asked if it would be okay if she went home to work on it. Party survived...barely. 6 year olds really know how to scream!

The son, who is now 3 1/2, is now going to speech. The once near silent little boy, is now talking up a storm. Can't understand a lot of what he says still, but he's talking! Now we are working on potty training. Okay, I admit it, I have been lazy in this department. But, in my defense, I have also listened to these laid back parents who say "Let him tell you when he is ready". Well, let me tell you something...Ain't gonna happen!!! This kid can poop in his sleep. He will walk around in a soaking wet diaper, and pants, until you notice and he says "I peeya". He is an eager learner in the speech department, can recite shapes and colors now, wants very badly to know his letters and learn to read, but....oh ho ho, and this is a BIG but...refuses to go to the potty. I tried, in vain, yesterday. Underwear all day...all 10 pair...he peed in the potty, at my urging, 4 times. I tried the every hour approach, and kept catching him going into his sister's room to hide and pee. Probably because she has a tv in her room, and he can watch cartoons while hiding. sigh...

The daughter is going to be one of those kids. The kind that hate snow days. The kind that go into hysterics when they don't get all A's on their report cards. God forbid they mess up at school every once in a while. Home, on the other hand...The kid loves to make a mess, but is always "too tired" when it's time to clean it up. That, or she blames the entire mess on her brother, and says she is going to pick up just her stuff, and he needs to get the rest. She's 6 1/2, and already has the attitude of a 13 year old. I am in peri-menopause, and here is my wish...more like a prayer...please let me finish menopause before she hits 13!!! Okay, what would normally be good traits, do not work well in the way she uses them. Hopefully we will hone those skills and direct them for good! She will not back down for anything! If she doesn't get her way, she goes on and on and on and on and on....hoping to wear you down until you give in. She whines, she cries, she speaks through clenched teeth (okay, so she got this one from me. Hey, I don't like to yell!). She bumps me, and sometimes she hits. I walk off, and sometimes, go as far as locking myself in my bedroom. Funniest thing she has said in one of these tirades..."No, you go to your room!". To which I replied "I would love to!". sigh...how does that saying go? "This too shall pass."? I can dream, can't I?!

I have never professed to be a "writer". I just write down my thoughts and experiences from life. It's like talking to a friend. Write what you feel, write what you know. I may be able to write a whole book one day, but it will be of my experiences. I read a mystery story that I had found in a box of things, that I had to write in high school, and let me tell you...it was B.A.D.! So, I won't ever torture anyone with my ideas, just my experiences. And, maybe, just maybe, you might get as much enjoyment out of them as I do.