Christmas Recap

This Christmas was my favorite one so far, I think. It was more about spending time with people and visiting than gifts this year. But that is what counts! I am so thankful for all the people in my life! ;-D
-
Santa gave Sport a Canadian Goose-toy that honks. He loves it! He takes it everywhere with him, even in the car when we go for a drive. LOL.
Matt got a nice winter coat from me, and we bought ourselves a new printer/fax/scanner, this one is an HP and it really works (unlike that crappy one we had before). It also prints color so we can do fliers and photos. ;-D
Matt got me a beautiful fancy candle called Low Country New Orleans, and it smells DIVINE! Also the Hangover Movie, and Elf Movie.
-
We got to visit with all of our friends and local family over the week and weekend.
Chris and Mina came over for dinner one night to try some of the Mollydooker Wine we fell in love with (from NYC) - we had greek steaks and yogurt sauce.
and then the next night Ben & Erika came over for dinner (Scallops in basil pesto linguini). and we did our gift exchanges.
Christmas Eve we went to a Bulgarian party at Chris & Mina's with their family and did gifts there. The meal was all vegan, they don't do any animal related food until Christmas Day, some tradition? healthy! Anyway it was super tasty stuff.
-
Christmas Day, we went to Matt's Mom's house and did the ham/meal there, gift exchange, etc. Then we drove to Vanya's house (Mina's aunt) to celebrate Hristo's & Chris's "name day" which is always the same day as Christmas - tradition, and we had gumbo, and lots of other food and wine.
-
I got to play with Ian (Chris & Mina's son who is 2 now), a lot. He is talking up a storm and says my name now! He likes to play cars, and dance. He's bilingual, so sometimes I have to figure out if he's talking to me in English or Bulgarian. Too funny.
Matt and I came home and watched ELF together. I love that movie, I was getting all sentimental so I cried. lol.
-
Saturday we had leftovers (ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, veggies, salad, etc) and Matt decided he wanted Wii Resort and Mario Kart, so we used our Target gift card,and bought those, and I watched the movie I had been asking for "Kiss Me Kate" - and then we found out our friend James (the White Russian) was in town visiting from Vegas, so we went to pick him up and he slept over, and it was an impromptu party at our house. Mostly we played Wii with everyone and snacked on the ham. Everybody had a blast!
-
Sunday we had a nice big breakfast (turkey bacon, eggs over easy on pumpernickel toast, and garnished with green chiles) and then out of the blue…
Sport had 2 seizure-like episodes yesterday afternoon (he was sleeping in the sun, then woke up suddenly, freaked out, and was trembling, stiff, and eyes dilated). At first we thought he had a bad dream, but I noticed he was drooling. He does not drool. So I stayed next to him and petted him and talked softly, and he seemed to be calming down, and then it happened again, so we rushed him to the vet, but he seemed okay by the time we got to a doctor. My arm was wet from Sport drooling while I held him, but I didn't care, I was so worried about him. They did a full neurology exam on him, and he seems fine. They said to watch him closely so that is why I am working from home. It may just have been a food reaction, not sure, lots of holiday food around the house, he may have gotten into something. But just in case, I want to keep a watch on him and make sure he is okay.
I had already made Chile in the crock pot before Sport's emergency, so we snacked on that, and the ham again, during the day, and friends came over, and we watched The Hangover - Unrated Edition. Just before the movie, Ian came over with Mina & Chris (they were visiting James), and I had my nephew's toys here for him to play with. He had ball and didn't want to leave. too funny!
Sport has been super tired since his emergency yesterday, he sleeps and sleeps. He is very sweet though. He even licked Ian's face. LOL. Ian mostly ignores him, which is good because then Sport will like him more. My nephew used to pull on Sport's tail and fur, and Sport got frustrated with him. However Ian is better with animals, probably since he has 2 cats at his house.
-
Today I'm just working at home and watching Sport to see that he doesn't have any more issues. We have been super careful with making sure no food falls on the floor. He is only stuck eating his dogfood (no fun for him, he is begging us for some ham, but I am not giving in).
-
My co-worker told me that a long time ago his dog had a seizure from eating some chocolate. So maybe somehow Sport got some chocolate? I am not sure. there is no evidence that he did, but I do not know.
-
That ham is still here, I'm getting sick of ham. Matt loves it though. I just cut up the rest of it and we are having butternut-squash ham soup and then THAT's the end of the ham. LOL. no more (thank God!).

Hatch Green Chile and Revolutionary Road

Photo Credit
-
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.
------------------
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.
------------------
Sunday we watched Formula 1 Valencia, and next weekend is Formula 1 SPA! Belgium!
-
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.

De-Lovely

I finally had the pleasure of watching De-Lovely. Words cannot express what an absolute joy it was to see a movie of such quality and talent. It was superbly edited, and the story flowed well with the music. I was quite impressed and highly HIGHLY recommend this movie about Cole Porter's music, life, and love. I was surprised to learn that I knew so much of his music already, and that he did Kiss Me Kate (one of my FAVE musicals) - can't you just hear them singing "So In Love" ?
-
I must have been one of those red lipped brunettes in a former life... considering I'm such a fan of musicals and Mad Men...
-
Also, just for fun and a quick pick-me-up (hey, work has been stressful), I also watched Confessions of a Shopaholic and He's Just Not That Into You.
-
We are also dog-sitting for Sport's girlfriend, Radley. She is a sweet puppy, and is mostly obedient, although she is very insistent when she wants to be petted. I do see a streak of selfishness in Sport though. He growls at her if she gets too close to his toys or if she beats him to the ball I threw for fetching. I'm trying to nip that behavior in the bud. I don't like having a possessive doggie. He isn't like that with humans though, thank goodness.
-
Matthew (the best husband in the whole world), took me out for dinner last night to this new place in Brookhaven called Valenza. It was absolutely delicious! Fabulous wine list too! We had a bottle of the Chianti Castiglioni Frescobaldi. I had swordfish over polenta with heirloom tomatoes, and Matthew had the seafood risotto nero. Dessert was Ricotta Zeppole. mmm heavenly!

The Return of Pinky & The Brain - yeah I wish.

Photo Credit I have decided that I TOTALLY Miss that hiliarious duo - "Pinky and the Brain" - ah yes Pinky and his "NARFing" and Brain with his witty quotes.
-
Well here we go. August's rollercoaster of fun has begun.
-
Matt and I watched "The Usual Suspects" last night. I hadn't seen it yet. Unbelievably, I took a wild guess as to what the ending twist is, and I was RIGHT! ha! I swear I don't remember ever watching it before now, and nobody told me the answer.
-
I cannot believe how many people haven't seen "Super Troopers" or "Beer Fest" - so we are thinking of having a party so people can WATCH 'em already!
-
The Hair Lounge is having it's Grand Opening on Sunday August 24th. I would totally go, but I will be in BFE Tennessee that day with my sister and nephew, so I will miss it. Darn! Ya'll enjoy and tell me how it is ok?
-