WTF: Mexicali Casserole

...did you know that "Almost every ingredient used in Mexicali Casserole is an emergency shelf item that can be easily stored for unexpected company." Fabulous, huh?

Thanks, BH&G - your Casserole Cook Book (c)'68 is one hot dish! Now, before you dip into your fridge staple of Mexican brews, start gathering the ingredients for this fiesta of the mouth.

Mexicali Casserole
1 1-pound 4-ounce can yellow hominy, drained
1 1-pound can tamales, cut in thirds [really, in a can? I thought these were best served off the back of a truck]
1 4-our5-ounce can Vienna sausages, cut in thirds
1 10 1/2-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 ounce sharp natural Cheddar cheese [seems awfully skimpy to me...], shredded

Combine hominy, tamales, sausages, and soup; mix. Turn into 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake uncovered [but perhaps under cover] at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. If desired, garnish top with additional tamales [erect, jaunty tamales]. Sprinkle cheese atop. Return to oven to melt cheese and heat tamale garnish. Serves 6.

Alright. Add a little ole to your weekend, already.

WTF?! Friday - Fiesta Style

Any guesses about just what you'd be gathering the family 'round when this festive dish was taking center stage on your kitchen table?

[believe you/me - the blurring does your palate a favor in this pic]

Check back for the recipe at happy hour --

Cottage Cheese [&] Thighs

To a weighty woman in the 50s & 60s - cottage cheese was a savior. It was seemingly the only diet alternative to everymeal for everywoman. Woe is the woman who didn't have access to Morningstar Farms back in the day. For here is what she was instructed to construct at mealtime, from that pesky Better Homes & Gardens Eat and Stay Slim cookbook (c)'68:
Creamy Cottage Dip
Beat one 12-ounce carton (1 1/2 cups) cottage cheese, not creamed [wtf is that?], 6 tablespoons skim milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons instant minced onion, and 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt with electric mixer. Stir in 1 tablespoon finely chopped canned pimento and 1 tablespoon sipped parsley. Chill. Makes 1 3/4 cups. Four tablespoons equals 1 Meat Exchange. Good on baked potato, too [wow - now you can live the life].

So the trick to keeping the cottage cheese off your thighs is to spoon it into your mouth. Novel.

BH&G's Skinny on Staying Slim

I've got a secret. I wish I was one of those skinny types. Little did I know this whole training-at-the-gym thing was overrated. I could simply be eating my favorite waistline-friendly technicolor treats, once I confirmed that I was on the road to "reduction." Thanks, Better Homes and Gardens, for Eat and Stay Slim (c)'68.Not one to keep knowledge to myself, I'm sharing a few of my favorite excerpts from BH&G's lettuce and cottage cheese infused book. Even if the chances of abiding by it are slim to none. First, find out if you're a candidate for reduction, by checking for "telltale bulges." How?

• Stand erect, sink your chin into your chest and look downward. If you can't see your toes without craning your neck, you have something to lose.
• Tense your abdominal muscles as if someone were aiming a blow at you. While doing this, press your fingertips over your midriff. If the fat pad over underlying muscles feels soft and cushiony, you could spare some of it. A physically fit person [read: not you, fatty] should be able to feel the hardness of tensed muscles and even see a nice muscular ripple or two.
• Try the "pinch test," it gives another clue to excess fat. Lie flat, relax, dig thumb and finger into a fatty area, and pinch. This gives a gauge to the thickness of fat over muscle.

Now that you literally feel fat, think about feeling the burn. Luckily, BH&G has done the math, translating the calorie burn from what I can only assume is their top 9 list of familiar foods that made you fat in the first place. Know now, that when you are noshing on these 9 [okay 8] naughty eats you can eas-il-y burn the calories later with a 3.5 mph walk in mere [well, more like mega] minutes:

1. Large apple [2o min]
2. 2 slices of bacon* [18 min]
3. Glass of beer* [22 min]
4. Doughnut* [30 min]
5. Boiled egg [15 min]
6. Hamburger* [70 min]
7. Apple pie (1/6 pie)* [75 min]
8. Ice cream soda* [50 min]
9. Soft drink* [20 min]

Okay. It's obvious now why there were many inches to pinch in the 60s. But what a lively lifestyle they led! Time well spent putting beer and doughnuts before sneakers.

*totally worth it!

It's Tipsy Tuesday, Me Hearties!

Here's a recipe for a Tipsy Tuesday grog that'll cure what ails ya:

Salty Dog
2oz vodka
5 oz grapefruit juice
salt for ye rim
lime wedge for a hearty garnish

Pour. Shake. Strain. Garnish. Gulp.*

*Not too many if plank-walking is a possibility. Then again, if you drink it like a fish you might be able to swim like one...

Pigskin: Deviled and Balled

It's sloth - wait, I mean Superbowl - Sunday. Time to nosh and nibble. Dip and dunk. And drink. And wear your favorite cardigan sweater.Here's an appetizer that's damn near impossible to fumble from Better Homes & Garden's Snacks and Refreshments cookbook (c)'63 that's sure to score at your party.

Ham Ball
2 4 1/2-ounce cans deviled ham
3 tablespoons chopped stuffed green olives
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
Bottled hot pepper sauce to taste
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons milk

Blend deviled ham, olives, mustard and hot pepper sauce. Form in ball on serving dish; chill. Combine cream cheese and milk; frost ball with mixture. Chill; re-move from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Trim with parsley. Pass crackers.

What are YOU bringing to the party? Do tell.

About Last Night

[possible post-cocktail carnage photo]

We had a long overdue get-giddy-together with Amy + Rachel & their fantastic fams.

The kids ran rampant and ran each other ragged 'til nearly midnight in their pjs.

And we chatted over cocktails [I had the headache this morning to prove it]. Amy served the yummiest potato fixins and red velvety cupcakes! I brought along a super-simple quiche - want the recipe?!

Blue Cheese & Bacon Quiche
1 frozen pie shell
4 eggs
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup sour cream
2-3 tablespoons blue cheese
3 crumbled strips of bacon
1 small green onion, sliced

Pierce & bake pie crust in oven @ 350 for 10 minutes. While baking, scramble eggs, half-and-half, sour cream, blue cheese, bacon and green onion [I was in a Sandra Lee kind of hurry, so I grabbed the last 3 off the grocery salad bar]. Retrieve pie shell [with a groovy hot pad] and pour scrambled egg mixture. Bake 20 minutes more, or until a knife comes clean from the center of the quiche.

Enjoy with friends - and chase with just enough, but not too much, chardonnay!