I spent a few sick days in bed last week. (You don't want to hear about that.) I had no appetite for a while. But now I'm back... and I'm blogging about food.

Here is one of my favorite recipes. It comes from my sister's mother-in-law. It's simple and delicious.

BRYANT FAMILY CORN ENCHILADAS

1 dozen corn tortillas
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bag frozen white sweet corn
1/4 c. butter
Jack cheese, grated (I usually have Co-Jack)
Las Palmas green enchilada sauce (no substitutes!)

Saute diced pepper and corn in the butter; add salt and pepper to taste. Lightly fry tortillas in a small amount of oil, just until they are pliable. (I don't do this. I just dip them in water for a second to make them pliable.) Place a scoop of the corn mixture on a tortilla; add a sprinkle of cheese and roll up. Place in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Pour sauce over the top, and sprinkle with additional cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through (about 20 minutes). Serve with a salad on the side, or topped with lettuce and tomato.

My Phoenix Suns

I couldn't be more pleased. Tonight My Phoenix Suns finally beat the Dallas Mavericks, 129-127 in double over-time. While Steve Nash proved for the 100,000th time that he deserves to be a three-time MVP (and that he is a classy guy, even amidst the usual dirth of bad calls), I got my laundry folded (amidst a little pillow pounding and high-fives from Jay). It was a good night. Photo: azcentral.com

What's for dinner?

When it's Sunday evening around 5:00, and I haven't planned anything for dinner, this is what my family gets.... German Pancakes, with compliments to Martha Stewart. My family loves them.


GERMAN PANCAKES
(I double this for my family)

2 T. butter, melted
5 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
3/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a 6-cup non-stick jumbo muffin tin; sprinkle with granulated sugar. In blender, combine dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Pour batter into muffin tin. Reduce heat to 400 degrees; bake until puffed up, about 15 minutes. Invert onto flat surface. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.



These are even better with Buttermilk Syrup (with my compliments to my sister, Diane).

BUTTERMILK SYRUP

2 T. light corn syrup
3/4 c. (1.5 cubes) butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla

In a large pot, combine syrup, butter, sugar, and buttermilk. Bring to a boil; let boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Serve warm.

Oops?

 

I think I may have made a mistake. I visited my "hairstylist" yesterday, and decided to go with it little bit of a change. Since then, my kids keep saying things like, "Mom, you look weird," and "You don't look like yourself," and "Mom, why do you look so different?" I guess I don't have the most tactful children in the world. When I told them I "got bangs" they giggled and said, "That's silly." You see, to my children, "bang" is the word Jack uses for this..... I don't think my "bangs" look that bad. Do they?

Jay's Photo Shoot / A Little More Bragging

Last night Jay announced that he was going to a photo shoot today. Huh? I was a little surprised, of course, since that isn't typically on the schedule of a self-proclaimed "beaurocrat." But it turns out the City of Phoenix wants stock photos of him for use when an article appears about or by him in the newspaper or newsletters, etc.

You will see in the background what I affectionately refer to as "Jay's Hotel." Construction is proceeding on schedule for the future "Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel and Conference Center" thanks in large part to Jay, Project Manager. By the way, Jay is going to be really mad at me when he sees that I've posted these photos here.
* Later: Jay DID get mad and insisted I remove the photos. But I insisted on keeping this one. I think it's cool. :)

More Music Musing

I grew up in a family of eleven (11) children. And yes, we had a very large house. My mom hired a lady named Elzora to clean on occassion, but most of the time us kids did all the housework.... at least that is what I thought at the time. I'm sure in reality my mom did a large portion of it, but this mostly occurred while the rest of us were at school, or sleeping (she is known to stay up very late, and rise very early). I imagine a lot of her efforts were focused on fixing the cleaning failures of her offspring.

My mother used to try to make us think housework was fun. It never worked, but I appreciate that she tried. When my sisters and I were teenagers, she tried to convince us that housework was aerobic exercise, and it would give us beautiful figures. I think she was just trying to get us to work faster. She would put on rousing music to get us to move faster. It didn't work. But at least it made the work a little less boring, because she would allow us to play "our music."

I guess a little of it sank it, because these days when I have a lot to accomplish in a short period of time, I put on certain music that helps me move faster and get more done. (Although with some songs I have to stop working and just dance.) You know those songs that make you move? Here is my housework playlist.....

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough (Michael Jackson)
Take on Me (A-ha)
Fly Me Away (Goldfrapp)
Krafty (New Order)
Speed of Sound (Coldplay)
I Send a Message (INXS)
Mamma Mia (ABBA)
Always Something There to Remind Me (Naked Eyes)
Invisible Touch (Genesis)
New Song (Howard Jones)
There She Goes (The La's)
Shiny Happy People (R.E.M.)
These Are Days (10,000 Maniacs)
Good Morning Britain (Aztec Camera with Mick Jones)
One Little Slip (Chicken Little Soundtrack - I will leave out the name of the band)
Alice Everyday (Book of Love)
Superman (Lazlo Bane)
Overkill (Men at Work)
Here It Goes Again (OK Go)
Everytime (The Samples)
Allstar (Smash Mouth)
1979 (Smashing Pumpkins)
If I Ever Lose My Faith in You (Sting)
Leave It (Yes)

My family is only a fraction of the size of my mother's, and so is my house, thank goodness. I like to have a clean house, but it's never really clean. I have to clean it piecemeal. By the time I finish one thing, another needs to be done. I don't think all of my house has been clean at the same time since the day I became a mother. And, you know what? That's OK. I'd rather read to and play with my kids then have a clean house all the time.

So, what songs get you moving?