Hello everyone! Did ya’ll miss me? I have been on vacation and didn’t write my column. I enjoyed my staycation at home. Friday I took the kids to Northwest Arkansas to shop and let me tell ya I like living in my small town. The traffic was crazy. Drivers were making hand gestures welcoming me to their city. It was the hottest day that we’ve had so far, it was 109 degrees. I was out in it acting like I had good sense. We all found some bargains and went to Crumbl Cookie. We enjoyed those treats and headed home. I also took my little blue ice chest with drinks in it and Curtis Feimster made fun of me. He said, “where are you going?” I don’t even go to Fort Smith without a road beverage and my little ice chest. Just ask Rachel James. She always has a road beverage. I taught her well.
I was talking to one of my friends last night about someone I saw on Facebook that we used to know years ago when we were teenagers. We were talking about some of the people we hung out with at Booneville. Now I’m not trying to give myself a bad name, but everyone that I used to like as a teenager has died. I told Lisa I was a black widow. It’s just a fact. I know I am ruining my chances of ever getting a man, but the truth is the truth. I mean every one of them has passed away and they were not old either.
Enough about that dark cloud. And, I don’t want a man because Jacob told me if I ever got married again, he was not going to call the man “dad.” Well, hello, I didn’t figure you would. He is a grown adult. He’s crazy.
I used to babysit Tanner Favea and he and Jacob used to pull some shenanigans. What they didn’t do wasn’t in the book. They started off the day dressed in their Power Ranger costumes. I also kept Rachel and she had a pink Power Ranger costume. They were always into something. One day when they were old enough for me to leave them and run to the store, I pulled up in the yard and Tanner was outside in his unders in a hard plastic swimming pool.
One day Chuck looked out the window and Tanner was standing with an apple on his head and Jacob had a real bow and arrow fixing to shoot it off his head. That is the fastest I ever saw Chuck Hopkins move to run outside and stop Jacob before he killed Tanner with the bow and arrow. I guess they had watched Robinhood.
One time it was winter and so cold outside, and they wanted to go out but Tanner didn’t have a hat. His great grandma CoCo made him wear a pair of his underwear on his head. I guess that was supposed to protect him from the cold. The fun times when they were little.
This week’s recipe is chicken enchiladas. I love me some good enchiladas!
WHITE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
8-10 small flour tortillas
3 cups cooked chicken (I used the boneless, skinless tenderloins and boil them)
3 cups Monterey jack cheese shredded and divided
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
2-3 tablespoons of green onions sliced (optional)
Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the chicken and 1 cup of cheese. Fill tortillas with this mixture and roll them seam side down in your pan. Melt the butter in a skillet and sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and use your whisk to combine (like making gravy). Cook for one minute and remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in the chicken broth. Place back on the heat and cook the mixture until thick and bubbly. Cool the sauce for five minutes (very important the sour cream will curdle). Add the sour cream and the chilies and stir until the sauce is smooth and the sour cream is dissolved. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and add the remaining cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until heated and you can top with green onions and serve. Don’t let the steps to these enchiladas scare you off. Enjoy and have a good week!
