September 8, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

An Easy And Decent Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Remember when we made that crockpot salsa chicken? That was a great night. It was so amazing that we ended up having a bunch of leftovers. As only the greatest of nights will produce.

Leftover salsa chicken has pretty endless possibilities.

As endless as the storyline for this post.

I was actually squabbling with my husband when I served this casserole. I cannot remember what the argument was about. I am sure it was not my fault. It ~~always~~ never is. I loved the casserole. His sole comment at dinner was, “It’s decent.”

My reply was not.

Before I posted this recipe, I made it again. I wanted to be sure it was good. It is. I like it. I really like it. It has a wonderful crunchy top. Good creamy flavor.

It is decent.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups leftover salsa chicken (recipe here) or diced rot. chicken
2 cups plus 1/2 cup (set aside) shredded monterey jack cheese
1 10 oz. can green enchilada sauce
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 4 oz. can of green chiles
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4-1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock (I have used water and it was fine)
9 corn tortillas
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup crumbled tortilla chips
2 Tbsp. Chopped cilantro
Pinch of paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour your vegetable oil in a small skillet and heat to hot enough to fry tortillas. With tongs, lay each tortilla in oil for about five seconds on each side. Keep tortilla flat. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

In a skillet over medium heat, combine cream cheese, chiles, enchilada sauce, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder until well-combined. Add sour cream and mix until incorporated. Add chicken stock until it is a looser consistency. Turn off heat.

In a 9 X 9 casserole dish, pour a little of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Lay four tortillas in the bottom of the pan until it is covered. Tear one tortilla and fit into remaining holes. Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the tortilla. Layer half of the chicken on top of the sauce. Layer one cup of monterey jack cheese. Place four tortillas over the cheese. With the remaining pieces from the previously torn tortilla, fill in any gaps. Layer the remaining sauce over the tortilla. Layer the remaining chicken. Spread one cup of monterey jack cheese over top.

Place casserole in the oven and bake for twenty five minutes.

In a bowl combine tortilla chips, paprika and the remaining 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese.

When casserole has baked for twenty five minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle tortilla chip cheese mixture over the top. Place back in oven for five minutes.

Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top.

I served mine with Mexican rice.

To a grumbling husband.

It did not, miraculously, descend into his lap*.

I, and this dish, are of the decent sort, after all.

*Plus, I happen to really love the guy. I would hate to ~~waste a serving of casserole~~ ruin his lap. ; )

May 29, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: Summer Wine

I did a post awhile back about my favorite red wine.Then I wrote about the time my husband came home with a bottle of wine named after the girl of his dreams. And I thought that would be it for my posts on alcohol. But who are we kidding? Or rather whose blog is this?

It looks like someone else likes my wine, too.

My husband recently went to the store. And he came home with a pink moscato. And I was slightly disappointed inside. Not because I don’t like moscato. Because I do. I really, really do. For those of you who are not wine drinkers, moscato wines are usually very sweet and they often have a low alcohol content. And, of course, that was the reason for my sadness. I consider a wine with a low alcohol content, a waste of calories. There is much logic and perhaps sadness to that statement.

Nevertheless, it is true.

So, imagine my surprise when I saw that this moscato had a 9% alcohol content. The alcohol content is still not as high as a typical bottle of red or white wine. But it is higher than the 6% I had seen in previous moscato wines I have tried.

Is it just me or is Murphy way too interested in this wine?… I think he’s guarding it!

And it is so good. It is perfect for summer. Sweet. Cold.

Yep. That is definitely my dog.

The brand is called Barefoot. My husband purchased it for $5 a bottle at Albertson’s, because it was discounted if you bought six or more. He also bought their regular white moscato and a red moscato. I have not tried those yet, but the awards on the label look promising.

It’s the little things: adult beverages for the summer at a great price.

Do you like sweet wine? Have you tried this brand of wine before?

April 28, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Reading: “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore”

I had not heard of this book until I wrote a book review for “The Magician’s Elephant.” A sweet reader had nicely commented saying she had just finished reading, “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.” I was intrigued. I liked the sound of the title. It had good reviews online.

I was even more intrigued after I purchased the book and another sweet woman wrote me telling me to look at the book in the dark. It has a cool little unexpected effect. If you have the book at home, try it.

“Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,” by Robin Sloan, is a quick quirky little book. It won’t change the world. It won’t even change your world. But not all books need to do that. It is still a worthwhile read.

The characters in the book are well laid out. The writing is well done. I very much enjoyed reading it.

The story begins with a young man named Clay, who is in desperate need of a job. He finds employment in a 24-hour bookstore owned by an odd little man named Mr. Penumbra. Clay is in charge of working the night shift. His job consists of tracking the clients that come in to the store and writing down the events of the night.

There are two parts to the bookstore. There are the “regular” books you would find at any brick and mortar bookstore. But there are more. There are dusty tomes of books written in a code that Clay has agreed he will not look at or open.

Could you do that?

I could not.

And neither can Clay.

Which is what Mr. Penumbra is counting on.

In opening the forbidden books, he finds an intriguing path into a secret society. And a mystery is born.

The neat part about this book is that it delves into areas you do not normally associate with science fiction or fantasy genre books. It explores the world of the internet. It also looks into the amazing company of Google, which was fascinating.

There were some flaws. Such as, all of the help Clay receives from his friends who happen to have the perfect resources he needs to solve his mystery. It was incredibly far fetched. Too perfect. But that did not really bother me. The ending was different. I cannot decide if I was disappointed by the ending or if it was perfectly wonderful. It is not the typical ending. But then again, I liked that this was not the typical book.

If you are looking for an easy, fun book that will make you smile, I recommend reading this book.

Have you read this book? Are there any other books I should be reading right now? What are you currently reading?

* The link for the book is an affiliate link. Purchasing the book through the link will result in a small commission for this blog.

April 4, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

Be still my heart. Girdle my belly. Cinch in my thighs.

‘Cause I am about to share a cookie recipe that has become my new favorite.

And I cannot stop making them.

And I cannot stop eating them.

This is a humble cookie. It is simple. I find I like cookies with those two descriptions the best.

Most cookies are best the very first day you make them. These cookies stay soft and yummy for at least two and a half days (this is the longest length of time they have ever lasted in our house).

When I was eight, my grandmother gifted me a cookbook called, “For Good Measure: A Cookbook For Children” (I highly recommend this cookbook for children. Heck, I still use it myself). In it, was a peanut butter cookie recipe. I have never made or had a peanut butter cookie as good as the peanut butter cookies made from that recipe. I have been making those peanut butter cookies for twenty eight years. Sometimes I change it around by adding new ingredients. This recipe is adapted from that one. Because that recipe is so simple, this makes these cookies a cinch to put together.

Here is a little poem my thighs threw together for you, in honor of these cookies:

The faster to make.
The easier to bake.
My mouth will wake.
And my thighs shall quake.
For goodness sake.
This poem shall take.
The cake.

For being the worst…

The cookies take first.

On to the recipe!:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup of Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
2 Tbsp. Milk
1 stick of softened salted butter (8 Tbsp.)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Caviar from 1 vanilla bean (if you do not have this, you can increase your total vanilla extract to 1 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup organic brown sugar (it makes a difference)
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

This recipe makes twenty four cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you have a convection oven, preheat oven to 325 convect bake.

Pour the 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a separate bowl and set aside while you work on the following.

In a bowl with a hand mixer or in your bowl on your stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light. Stop mixer and add in your vanilla and vanilla bean caviar. Mix.

Now add peanut butter and Nutella and mix together until completely incorporated.

Add the milk and egg and mix until light and fluffy.

Turn mixer to low and add in salt and baking soda. Mix until incorporated.

Add flour and mix.

Turn off mixer. Now take a small ball of cookie dough and roll it on your hands. Drop the ball into the bowl of granulated sugar and gently roll it around.

Place the ball of dough on a baking sheet. Repeat this step until your baking sheet is filled with cookie dough balls evenly spaced apart.

With a fork, make two flat indentations onto each cookie.

With a spoon, scoop up some of the granulated sugar and pour a little sugar over marks left from the fork.

Place baking sheet into the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes until edges are just a little brown. Do not cook longer. You do not want these overcooked.

Transfer baked cookies to a cooling rack.

Repeat with remaining dough. Turn oven off. Enjoy!

I think these cookies are better completely cooled down. There is just somethin’ that happens to the Nutella and peanut butter when they blend together at that time.

Now I’m off to make these guys.
My thighs…
They sighs.

P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

good

An Easy And Decent Chicken Enchilada Casserole

It’s The Little Things: Summer Wine

Reading: “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore”