...and in the face of humor...

Mad Men character, Roger Sterling Quotes.

Hatch Green Chile and Revolutionary Road

Photo Credit
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Soon after we discovered that Trader Joe's carries canned Hatch Green Chile, we started buying it and making all sorts of yummy foods. Target Super Center also carries Hatch Fire Roasted Ranchero Sauce and Green Chile Enchilada Sauce. We are in heaven! We started off Saturday with Huevos Rancheros. Then Saturday night I made my version of Matt's favorite recipe of Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. It's similar to lasagna,baklava, or Trifle in that it is a layered dish. WARNING: This is not a meal for the calorie-shy.
Ingredients
1 bag of 4 inch round soft Corn Tortillas
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
2 16 oz bags of Shredded Mexican Cheeses
1.5 cans Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
2 cans of chunk chicken breast meat
Cumin (to taste)
1 small can of V8
Olive Oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In Medium sauce pan, mix cream of chicken soup, and Enchilada Sauce. Heat on med-low, stirring occasionally. Don't want to leave unattended, basically you are letting the flavors meld, and keeping it warm. I used only 1 can of sauce but I underestimated the cream of chicken muting the spicy flavor, so I would recommend using at least 1.5 cans of the enchilada sauce, or more (if you like it more spicy).
Meanwhile, In Skillet, pour in olive oil (enough for at least an 1/8 inch level in the skillet), heat to medium with lid partway on (cracked a little so it heats slowly). Once oil is hot enough, reduce heat to med-low. Using Tongs, soften the corn tortillas in oil. I just layed them in the pan, one at a time, turning once, letting it crackle a little and coating the tortillas, but not letting them get crispy. After done softening the tortillas, I put them in a bowl temporarily to cool off a bit. You may not actually get through the entire package of tortillas. I only used about 3/4's of the bag for my recipe - until the olive oil was mostly gone.
In the same skillet (the olive oil is mostly gone, so it's okay to keep the leftovers in there) reduce heat to low, pour in 1/2 can of V8, and add the canned chicken, sprinkle with ground cumin. Gently sautee the Chicken, letting the flavors meld. Seperate chunks into smaller pieces with spoon. Let simmer on low heat while you get to the next step.
Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick spray. Coat the bottom of the pan with a bit of the enchilada sauce mixture. Tear the softened tortillas into strips, and add layer of tortillas to the baking pan. Scatter a layer of chicken pieces over the tortillas. Sprinkle shredded cheese layer over the chicken. Pour thin layer of enchilada sauce over the cheese. Repeat layers again - Tortillas, Chicken, Cheese, Sauce, and so on, until you are out of sauce. The top layer should be tortillas (to seal in the layers), and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the top tortilla layer.
Put pan in the oven - at 350 - for 25-30 minutes. Mixture should be bubbly and edges on the top layer of tortillas & cheese should be getting crisp. Set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Serve in squares, garnish with sour cream and Ranchero or enchilada sauce (if desired). I did not realize how MUCH food this was going to be. There's at least 10 servings in one pan (it's now day 4 and we still haven't eaten it all!!!)
Recommended side dish would be Refried beans. I used large can of Kroger brand refried beans, but I heated it while adding salt and half n half cream - for better flavor.
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We watched Revolutionary Road this weekend. It reminds me a LOT of Mad Men, except perhaps that they fight a lot more. In Mad Men everybody disagrees, but they argue more with glares, glances, and their eyes. Revolutionary Road is a bit more verbose in its arguing. Phenomenal performances by both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. What a year for Kate! She was in The Reader AND this movie. It takes a special kind of person to pull off that emotional drama in one year without going slightly bonkers. Good for her! I know I couldn't have pulled it off.
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Sunday we watched Formula 1 Valencia, and next weekend is Formula 1 SPA! Belgium!
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Well this week is off to a good start. It's beginning to get cooler in the mornings and evenings, but the daytime hours are still blazing hot. I am looking forward to fall.

Mad Men returns

Last week was busy, I suppose busy as usual.
We had Wine Club - Viognier on Wednesday the 12th. It's a bit sweeter than I usually like my white wines (I prefer dry), but it was still a tasty varietal!
I'd also like to announce the Debut of the Twits Wine Club Blog. Enjoy!
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Friday I took a day off to drive myself (and the doggie) up to visit Grandpa. We had a nice visit with him. Even Auntie Julie and Cousin Amy were there. Grandpa said he was feeling the best he had in a long time, so I am very glad of that.
Click for Photos of the trip.
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Sunday I returned home just in time for a nice dinner (we had Filet Mignon steaks rubbed with Emeril's spices, fresh snap beans, broccoli, and cheesy potato balls), with a nice Bordeaux of course. And then, the big finale of the evening - MAD MEN season 3 premiere! It was every bit as good as expected, and then some!
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Which Mad Men Character are you? I took the quiz and I'm
Jane Siegel - Secretary, Sterling Cooper
"You're new in the office. When it comes to clothes, you favor the low cut look. When dealing with others, you play your hand well. You love poetry, but that doesn't mean you're good at it. You have trouble with the truth, and this gets you in trouble. Luckily, you're sexy and wily enough to attract powerful allies to rescue you. Where this will get you in the long run, however, remains to be seen."
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Later this week, we are dog-sitting one of Sport's girlfriends (as her owner is in Hawaii right now), and I plan to visit the Hair Lounge for a touch-up and trim this weekend. Other than that I am hoping to just clean the house (it needs a good vacuuming right now, and the toilets need new hang-on thingies in the bowl), and relaxing!
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Although, in hindsight (yes this is a pun, you'll get it in a moment), maybe I don't want to vacuum with TWO dogs in the house all weekend. hmm. dogs playing, and fur everwhere. maybe I should wait to vacuum? (now you get the pun, right?)

Mad Men & Passionate Causes

Mad Men Season 2 Premiere was absolutely everything I expected, and more. Damn! Everything, down to the lighting is just superb! Don is just gorgeous, and I just love Joan's red hair, and Betty's outfits, etc. Ah yes, we missed this show! It's been TOO long between seasons!

Now if only Heroes would come back on for Season 3 (and be as good as Season 1 - season 2 was definitely not on par with Season 1).

All righty, so Passionate Causes time. I've got 3 issues I wanted to discuss in my blog today:

1) The FDA Globalization Act of 2008 - and how it hurts small business owners from the beauty industry - See link for info - "This video summarizes the Indie Beauty Network's position against the Discussion Draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, the legislation that would put thousands of Indies out of business by forcing them to pay outrageous registration fees and comply with burdensome paperwork. If passed, this law would drive consumers back to the days when they could only choose between a few huge, faceless, nameless big box stores and brands for their cosmetics and personal care products. And fewer consumer choices always leads to higher prices."
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2) The Digital Millenium Copyright Act or "DMCA" - what is it, and how it is impacting YouTube subscribers, etc. I found out about this from Paul Robinett's Renetto You Tube Channel. Paul Robinett started out as my favorite Candle Guy, and he's since grown in fame and business size, etc. Another good link is for the EFF. This is especially important for the BLOGGERS & VLOGGERS of this world. One example was a mother who took a digital movie of her small child playing. In the background she had the radio on, playing a Prince song. Universal filed a DMCA against her for this. WTF? What a bunch of crap, she was in no way saying she had WRITTEN the song, she just was taking a movie of her baby. Stupid corporations.

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3) Orphan Works issue -Definition from Wikipedia "An orphan work is a copyrighted work where it is difficult or impossible to contact the copyright holder. "

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) - of which we are members - have been fighting the 2006 bill, and here is their Stance on this issue.

The big debate is how much responsibility is on the Copyright holder (aka Photographer for example) versus the person wishing to use the image (or whatever copyrighted item). The best solution (other than duking out the details of the bill), is to include copyright information in the Metadata of each image, as well as put a line of credit - meaning mentioning the photographer's name or url - next to each image used - to assist with the "I couldn't find out who's work this is" excuse. The problem is people COULD use another person's work, but say "oh I tried to find out who owns the copyright but I couldn't find it" and then use it anyway. How do we know if they "really tried?" Copyright is the visual artist (Photographer or otherwise)'s BREAD AND BUTTER. You take that away, and then what do you have?

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ok this is all I have on these topics for now.

Tubbin' & Rollin' the Dice

YAY, we finally finished the Mikamy Meadows photo shoot. Amy had requested that we use more body parts (aka Abbie's hands/feet/etc) in the photos. We did the best we could in the studio, but there were 2 products that we felt needed a "tub" in the background, with a tastefully blurred out body in it. Thus, we trekked over to Erika & Holly's to borrow their bathtub. They have one of those fabulously old, standalone claw-footed bathtubs - perfect for a photoshoot!
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In other news, we went to a "car club party" way the hell out in BFE Marietta (geez why do people live so damn FAR away?) on Saturday night. It was a fun party though for shizzle. I had almost an entire bottle of Red wine to myself, but split it out over several several hours though. We also shared a nice Monte Cristo Cigar, and had some lovely chats with old friends we hadn't seen in forever. It was a nice evening.
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Sunday, I was invited to a "Pure Romance" Party - which just happened to be in Canton (an even FARTHER drive than Marietta). Oh well. What's another tank of gas for a friend? We did have a great time. I won one of the games, and got the sex-dice. woo hoo! But then I had to leave early to get home in time for the Tubbin' shoot. Goodness the day flies by faster as you get older!
I did order me a little somethin' but then I found out later that the saleslady charged me $5 for shipping (even though the item was There at the party and I didn't have to have it shipped to me). I do not appreciate that kinda thing! I even wrote the saleslady an email to ask about it and if she could refund me the $5, but she wrote back that it was her "standard practice" to charge that fee to everyone regardless of if the product was shipped or not. I think it's crap. Oh well it's $5. I will let this go - for now.
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Mad Men Season 2 started last night. We haven't had a chance to watch it, but it's probably the first thing we'll do after dinner. WOO HOO!
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