At Considerable Cost

A friend and I were talking about enchiladas this morning at a swim play date.   She shared a delicious sounding recipe for meat-less enchiladas.   I'm so happy to have another enchilada option, as the one below is the only one I've ever really made. 8  6-inch corn tortillas 1/2 cup chopped onion 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. ground coriander (I usually use cumin, though) 1/4 tsp. pepper 2 Tbsp. butter 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 1  8-ounce container dairy sour cream 2 cups chicken broth 1   4-ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz) 2 cups chopped cooked chicken Optional: sliced pitted ripe olives, chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions Heat oven to 350 degrees.   Wrap tortillas in foil.   Heat in oven for 10 to 15 min. or until softened. For sauce, in a saucepan, cook onion, garlic, coriander, and pepper in butter until onion is tender.  Stir in flour into sour cream; add this mixture to onion mixture.   Stir in b

This is one of those simple recipes that allows you to feed your family pancakes without preservatives and additives. Easy Buttermilk Pancakes 2 eggs 2 cups buttermilk (in a pinch, substitute 2 Tbsp. vinegar plus milk to make 2 cups) 1/4 cup oil 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour 2 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt Heat griddle or large skillet to medium high heat (375).  Grease lightly with oil.   Griddle is ready when small drops of water sizzle and disappear almost immediately.   Pancakes will stick if griddle is too cold. In large bowl, beat eggs.   Add buttermilk and oil; mix well.   Add all remaining ingredients; stir just unitl large lumps disappear.   For thicker pancakes, add additional flour; for thinner pancakes, add additional buttermilk. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle.   Drop blueberries onto each pancake.   Cook 1 to 2 min. or until bubbles begin to break on surface.   turn; cook 1 to 2 min. or until golden brown. Y

I usually catch a glimpse of Mama's face in my baby girl's face.   As a friend, the daughter of Mama's best friend, told me, "It's a special blessing." My baby girl Mama Thanks be to God for little blessings everywhere.                     

 I've been busy baking pies this week, so the kids wanted to bake, too.   They chose chocolate chip cookies.   A little like Larry, Curly, and Moe at times, but FUN!   The cookies were delicious.   We pack brown sugar. "I want to break the egg!   I want to break the egg!" Everyone has a turn at stirring. To make it easy for them to space cookies on the pan, I just put a dab of dough on each place where a cookie needs to be placed.   Our handy dandy Pampered Chef cookie scoop makes the job much easier! Rewarded for his efforts.   I bought a pack of 500 hot dog paper trays from Sam's.   They're great for snacks and treats--much cheaper than paper plates! They came out so well!   Won't be long before they'll make these independently like Emmeline bakes muffins!

Last year, I sat down and wrote about the details of Mama's death for the first time in this post: An Anniversary .   Today begins what amounts to a week-long anniversary for me now every year.   It has been seven years now since I lost her.   She may be gone, but she passed down so much to me.   Here's just a few I've been thinking of lately. Her perspective was formed by her suffering .   People outside of our family who knew Mama are shocked to find out how much suffering Mama experienced in her lifetime.   I think that was a reflection of her generation along with her as an individual.   Many times, she pointed out people to me whose troubles were far worse than mine.  Mama knew both the heartbreak of not always being able to help her medically fragile son and the pain of losing him.   It seemed to put all other suffering in perspective for her because she had endured that ultimate pain.   I think she probably found strength in the fact that she survived it, ev

...when the world stopped turning, on that September day? I was, in the words of Alan Jackson's song, "teaching a class full of innocent children."  My fourth graders and I were proceeding with our morning routine when a fellow teacher came to my door and motioned through the glass window for me to come outside.   Julie told me that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and there were reports one had crashed in Washington, D.C.   Since we were an elementary campus, our principal did not want any televisions or computers on while children were in rooms, so they would not see the events unfold.   I called Joey and told him to turn on the television.   He was at home grading exams and he had not turned on the tv or radio, yet.   I had to go back in the classroom and spend the rest of the day acting as if nothing unusual was happening.   During our conference periods, we covered our door windows or made sure our screens were out of view of chil

The drought is getting to me.   Deadness, dryness, stressed plants and trees, oppressive heat (and I grew up in south La., so I know oppressiveness in climate), triple digit temperatures as the norm... It just seems so endless right now.   I worry about farmers who just want to make a living and hold on to what is usually family land and a way of life that has been passed down through generations.   My children are outdoor children and they are getting a little cabin-feverish.   Okay, a lot.   Plus, I hate to add up the amount of money we've spent on Happy Hour 1/2 price drinks at Sonic this summer. So my thoughts are going even more passionately toward that place where they usually tend to wander around August and September: that first crisp fall day.   One of the most glorious days in existence.   On that first crisp fall day, I shall: Walk with a spring in my step. Let my children pick anything they want for breakfast. Open every set of blinds and set of thermal curt