Chicken Chilaquile Casserole

If I had to give up one kind of cuisine, it would probably be Mexican.  (I could never give up Peruvian or Chinese). But sometimes I am hungry for nothing else but this cheesy, delicious casserole, adapted from Sara Foster's cookbook.  Since I'm pregnant, I cut back on the spicy salsa, but you can tweak it to your taste.

8-10 5 1/2 inch corn tortillas, cut into quarters and toasted in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes
1 cup of your favorite salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 8-oz. package of cream cheese, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh black pepper
3-4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

Stir together the salsa, cilantro, scallions, cream cheese, feta, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined. Fold in the shredded chicken and mix well.

Combine the Monterey Jack cheese and the Cheddar in a separate bowl, mix.

Arrange half of the tortilla wedges in the bottom of a casserole dish (the recipe calls for 9x13, but I use a 7x10). Spread half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas.  Sprinkle half the cheese over the chicken mixture.

Repeat with remaining tortillas, chicken and cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for about 35 minutes until the dish is bubbling and golden brown.  Serve immediately.

(Block cheese that you grate yourself will be better than the already-grated stuff in bags.  It melts better).

I usually just slice fruit to serve with this.  Lately our favorite beverage has been ice-cold club soda with a squeeze of lime.  It's perfect with this meal.

Guidelines for Listening

I wish I had learned this when I was much younger.  But even after writing this down, it is hard for me to be perfectly still and quiet when listening.  This list is from Vicki Degner at Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

1. Remain present.
2. Let me (or let you) cry.
3. You don't need to fix anybody.
4. It's okay to feel uncomfortable.
5. You don't need to rescue anybody (just be present).
6. Don't minimize the pain.
7. Silence is okay.
8. Let me (or let you) sit in this sadness.
9. Don't rob anybody of their pain.  What we can do is pray while we listen.

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living."  Psalm 116:7-9

A Piano, Reborn

 The cabinet that my husband built from a 1916 piano.

 

Nate gutted the piano, took out the strings, keys, soundboard, and the decorative panel in the front.  He removed the structural members in the back. He then built a box cabinet and fitted out the former key area into compartments.  

The compartments are perfect for silverware and serving pieces.  They are about 2 1/2" high and 14" deep.

The left side of the cabinet has a vintage wire towel rack. This picture also shows the built-in wineglass racks and the lights inside the cupboard.
     

Nate built a drop-leaf shelf on the right side of the cabinet.
He used a hinge from the top of the original piano.
     

Under the cabinet, he used the large central decorative panel to create doors for a storage unit.
This part measures about 19" tall, 22" wide, and 13" deep.
   

To the left, he created an opening for a wine chiller or a small cube frig.
  

Two mahogany-stained pieces for display and storage: a raised plate rack and a tiered box for wine bottles.

The metal bar (that dampened the strings), removed from the interior 

and suspended along the front.
  

Can be delivered to 50-mile radius of Elk River, MN area.

612 239 4888 (Nate Murphy)

Price reduced!!
Now $2400 (was $3200)

To see our other piano bar, click here.

Paring Down

Driftwood from Lake Pepin and Superior's North Shore, piled in a basket and formed into a cross.  

These old weathered pieces of wood are free.  

But I suppose they cost something.

They came from trees that were as fresh and green as the leaves in the white vases.

Now the wood is dead, but to me it is lovely.

It reminds me that pounding and suffering don't make things disappear.

The essential thing remains.

"If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath.  Disciples so often get into trouble; still, GOD is there every time.  He's your bodyguard, shielding every bone; not even a finger gets broken."

Psalm 34: 18-20, The Message