Saturday, September 24, 2011

Tonight's ADWH Soundtrack... and Other Stuff

Crosby, Stills, and Nash:

Holding you close undisturbed before a fire
The pressure in my chest when you breathe in my ear
We both knew this would happen when you first appeared
My lady of the island
The tune is a long-time favorite and carries many, many memories... happy and otherwise... from Former Happy Days, but those memories are mostly happy. Mostly.

―:☺:―

Today was a typical Fall Saturday which is to say it's been mostly all football, all the time.  We watched ND pull one out on the road and go to 2-2 on the season.  That game was a near-run thang and it's gonna be a rare win for the Irish this season, methinks.  We then watched Moogie's Hogs lose to Alabama... and they were never really in that game.  I had flashes of hope but Bama was just too, too strong.  And now we're watching a contest featuring another team from the Supremely Egotistical Conference, which is to say LSU-West Virginia.  There were times during this game when I thought about turning it off, simply coz it looked like the Mountaineers were outclassed.  But those West Virginian guys refuse to give up and the game is still in doubt as I type (with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter).  So I'll stay tuned to the game as I construct this post...

We took care of other bid'niz before we settled in to an afternoon of football indolence, which is to say we went out to Cannon Airplane Patch earlier in the day to re-stock the likker-locker and do a commissary run.  About the commissary: shopping takes on a whole nuther meaning when you know you (a) have a big-ass fridge and freezer and (b) have about six times the cabinet space you used to have when you were mobile.  So... we now have three different varieties of Häagen-Dazs in the freezer and about as many different cuts of meat.  And we won't go into what's in the crisper nor on the shelves of the fridge. Suffice to say we are well-stocked and we are MOST happy about that.

―:☺:―


We mentioned in passing that we would begin to actually cook again, once thangs got back to normal.  Well, we're not near normal as yet but we HAVE begun cooking.  We broke the seal on the oven this afternoon, constructing one of our favorite dishes... Viva La Chicken, about which there are several recipes extant on these here inter-tubes, this bein' just one.  I vary considerably from that recipe, using about two dozen tortillas, one whole HELLUVA lot o' green chiles, two cans o' mushroom soup, and about two pounds of shredded jack cheese in my variation.  Let's illustrate:

Note the big-ass pile of boned and shredded chicken at left and the big tub of Bueno brand green chiles.

The casserole just before goin' to the oven.  I ran out of Bueno chiles and had to substitute Ortega brand chiles to top off the casserole.  Note the left over tortillas on the cutting board. 


You can't imagine how GOOD the premises smelled after I (a) boiled the chicken (with lotsa spices... primarily bay leaf, oregano, thyme, and basil, along with half an onion and three cloves of crushed garlic) and (b) took the casserole out of the oven. 

And so dinner was served.

The next culinary project will be a London Broil, assuming I can find a good flank steak.  In the meantime this casserole will feed me for about the next three days.  Anything worth doin' is worth OVER-doin', no?

19 comments:

  1. I'm sorry, I don't get it. Bachelor cooking supplies and cooking for one I've found so incredibly wasteful and I love leftovers. My family laugh that I shop every other day because otherwise the food goes bad in the reefer.
    A simple bacon quiche. You've motivated me. Sunday brunch!

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  2. Damn! You're ready for Hells Kitchen competition. I had a can of split pea soup and a big bottle of coca cola, vintage 2011...

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  3. Next time I stop in Portales, I will expect great food, beer, and ice cream. That looks delicious. I don't normally make green chili casseroles, but I may start.

    OSU played A&M on TV - the only game we watched. It was a good one with the Cowboys winning 30 - 29 in College Station.

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  4. Gotta say I'm glad the hiatus was a lot shorter than you made it sound.

    That meal looks good enough to eat! heh. Cooking can be a lot of run, and quite relaxing. Now you have to prepare a knock out meal that you can invite the lovely Linda over for, along with some fine wine and songs.

    So, ya left us hanging on the last game results. Now I'll have to go searching to see how it came out. (being a baseball nut, right now, with tight as gnat butts Wild Card races, and getting to see the Red Sox in free fall - Bambino Curse Mode, that is about all I'm following closely.)

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  5. This move may bring another dimension to your blogging. Happy Hour Cooking Class, teehee. That casserole looks delicious. In preparation for retiring to Tejas, I am developing my taste for green chilies.

    3 Haagen-Daz in the freezer! Now you are livin' large in this new place. I am so happy for you!

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  6. Another great thing about being able to come down to your place...Dad's cooking! Can't wait! Now we can eat, drink, and watch hockey together and I/we (If my pretty honey joins) can crash in the spare bedroom. This move is looking better all the time!

    Nice AWACS on the wall...

    ;)

    SN1

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  7. Speaking of AWACS, when TAC and SAC went out of business, ACC stole the TAC patch. A lot of people don't know what these symbols mean. When I was in TAC, this was funny:

    The sword is for the weapons you will never bear, the waves are for the oceans you will never sail, the red is for the blood you will never shed, the blue is for all the Ramblers in the Motor Pool, and yellow wings are for the stripe that goes down your commanders back.

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  8. 3 Haagen Daz seems ... correct. Especially the plain chocolate; you just can't mess with that kind of perfection.

    I am so happy for your Buck, for re-discovering your inner chef. And I agree, a Happy Cooking Hour could be fun, for everyone.

    And damn, that kitchen is nice!

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  9. Hmm, Graham Nash, he had a real way with lyrics. Also an interesting voice, although he's not much to look at. When I heard his Military Madness song in the early 70's, I didn't share much of the anti-war theme. I'm actually pro-war, in a real caveman way. I even war with my neighbors, because it is in my French DNA.

    People often complain that the French always lose the wars, but they don't realize, that winning may not be the reason for war. Sort of like America in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We weren't there to win, only to fight. You can have a good war and not win. That's legal.

    In an upstairs room in Blackpool
    By the side of a northern sea
    The army had my father
    And my mother was having me
    Military Madness was killing my country
    Solitary Sadness comes over me


    It's really pretty good, and had nothing really to do with Vietnam, just war in general.

    After the school was over and I moved
    To the other side
    I found another country but I never
    Lost my pride
    Military Madness was killing the country
    Solitary sadness creeps over me


    The other side being the USA. Another warring tribe.

    And after the wars are over
    And the body count is finally filed
    I hope The Man discovers
    What’s driving the people wild
    Military madness is killing our country
    So much sadness, between you and me


    I think it was his best song. I turn it up still when I hear it. I love the wah-wah guitar and rock beat.

    I think I'll go step on one of my neighbors flowers now, which are just slightly over the property line...

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  10. "...we now have three different varieties of Häagen-Dazs in the freezer..."

    Shut up, I don't need to hear about tortillas, either.

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  11. I'm sorry, I don't get it. Bachelor cooking supplies and cooking for one I've found so incredibly wasteful and I love leftovers.

    Ya gotta eat, Curtis. I'll admit I took the easy way out most of the time when it came to cooking in the RV, but that was mainly because I was severely space-constrained, both in the prep and storage sense. My fridge was way too small to hold much in the way of left-overs... unless I wanted to cut down on the space devoted to beer. Priorities, yanno?

    It's a different story now. I don't think I'll waste a lot o' food and cooking at home is cheaper than eating out... or eating frozen entrees.

    I had a can of split pea soup and a big bottle of coca cola, vintage 2011...

    Soup and sammidges were on the RV dinner menu more often than not, Dishes.

    Next time I stop in Portales, I will expect great food, beer, and ice cream

    I can guarantee the ice cream and beer, Lou. As for the food... I gotta be in the mood to cook.

    I should watched the OSU-Aggies game; that one was a cliff-hanger.

    Now you have to prepare a knock out meal that you can invite the lovely Linda over for, along with some fine wine and songs.

    I'm not QUITE ready for a full-blown extravaganza, Anon... but that time will come. It remains to be seen if it'll be the lovely Linda or someone else. Ms. Linda just might have been bein' neighborly, yanno?

    3 Haagen-Daz in the freezer! Now you are livin' large in this new place. I am so happy for you!

    Yup: coffee, strawberry, and butter pecan! And thanks for the good wishes, Red.

    Nice AWACS on the wall...

    Well, I had to hang the calendar somewhere...

    La TAC: I did a short... VERY short, like six or eight months... stint in TAC when ADC was decommissioned and Big AF turned all the radar sites over to TAC, or those that were left, anyhoo. I saw the handwriting on the wall (which read "all you radar guys are gonna be living in tents and working on Tipsy-43's real soon now") so I cross-trained OUT of the radar bid'niz. That was the smartest thang I ever did (in the AF).

    And damn, that kitchen is nice!

    Yes it IS, Kris. But the dark counter-tops and dark wood show EVERY single dust mote that alights on them... not a good choice for this part o' the world. OTOH, I suppose that's just incentive to clean every damned day. Aiiieee!

    Nash is Good: I have "Songs For Beginners" and it's my favorite Nash album by far. That album also played a big part in the early days of The Second Mrs. Pennington's and my courtship... she was a BIG Nash fan (and CSN, and Neil Young) and was suitably impressed that I had a lot of those guys.

    Your war theory is interesting. I'm more of a "win, otherwise don't bother" kinda guy.

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  12. Skip: Oops. Sorry; I fergot about yer diet.

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  13. That's one mighty fine looking' casserole! And you even poached the chicken yourself instead of going rotisserie!

    Here's a canned soup hint -- if you add a bunch of picante to canned chicken noodle soup, it really cuts the canned aftertaste.

    Can you believe I actually fell asleep during my Hogs game?!?! 'Nuff said.

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  14. The casserole looks good, Buck! I have a recipe similar to that and I haven't made it in a long time. You have inspired me. I look forward to seeing other illustrated recipes here at your blog.

    Oh - isn't it fun to have normal things like a kitchen and freezer and cupboards with storage space??? Have fun!

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  15. Now you have to prepare a knock out meal that you can invite the lovely Linda over for, along with some fine wine and songs.

    I'm not QUITE ready for a full-blown extravaganza, Anon... but that time will come. It remains to be seen if it'll be the lovely Linda or someone else. Ms. Linda just might have been bein' neighborly, yanno?
    ++++++++

    But ya gotta start somewhere... yanno? heh.

    Even if things don't progress beyond the neighborly stage, having good company over for a nice meal, great music, and conversation does have something going for it, especially over just watching the boob tube or some such thing.

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  16. Hee, I developed my war theories in middle school.

    There was about four of us that used to get in fights all the time. Especially in Gym class, where the Gym teacher (a retired Marine no less), would let us go at it until we got tired, and then he'd say: "give me 25 push ups/10 laps etc, and I won't have you expelled."

    Anyway, I always enjoyed fighting, even though I lost most of the time.

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  17. And you even poached the chicken yourself instead of going rotisserie!

    Yeah... and I have a couple quarts of most-excellent chicken broth as a result, too. Sorry about your Hogs... it might have been different if you'd been healthy.

    Oh - isn't it fun to have normal things like a kitchen and freezer and cupboards with storage space???

    There's my understatement for the day, Sharon. It's more than fun... it's sublime!

    Anon: You're right on all counts.

    ... even though I lost most of the time.

    Well, that was my story too, Nash. I never enjoyed gettin' my ass kicked but I never ran away, either. Dumb-ass bullies only picked on me once, and then it quit.

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  18. I volunteered for PCS to Saudi Arabia to get out of TAC!

    Didn't work.

    I went from "number 1" selectee to non-selectee when I bragged about it at the NCO club!

    "I'm out of TAC you bunch of queers!"

    Alas, some sober TSgt heard me, and it was actually a TSgt slot, so my MSgt-ness was OK for no volunteers, but not OK for any TSgt volunteer.

    Funny thing was, the guy got sent to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf War started, so he couldn't participate as he was in the USMTM (training only).

    Meanwhile I got to go visit Kuwait on an all expense paid tour.

    You know, the tea really sucks in Kuwait.

    I have a joke: We used to call the MRE's "The three big lies"

    "Meals, Ready, to Eat"

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  19. I have a joke: We used to call the MRE's "The three big lies"

    "Meals, Ready, to Eat"


    Heh. I've never had the pleasure (MREs), given that I hung up the Blue Suit before they arrived on the scene. But I DID work my way through more than a few C- & K- rations, some of which I SWEAR were left over from Big Bang II. But, Hey! That's where I got the spiffy P-38 that is still on my key ring...

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.