Friday Friend Recipe #342 and 343-my mom's chicken casserole and Mexican Lasagna

 

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook? I once had about 50 of my closest friends and family (from all over the county) on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends. At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 21 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday. (plus so much more....)

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who thinks he knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself? Said, "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him!  Maybe I will.

Which brings me to recipes 342 and 343

My mom's

Chicken Casserole

and

Mexican Lasagna 

My mom had a well 'cheesed' rotation of recipes.

You know--that rotation of mainstay recipes you have routinely?  Well, I do believe that my mom's all contained cheese. 

One can't really go wrong with cheese tho.

These recipes are both really good. 

As I'm drawing nearer to the end of this cookbook, I am finding it hard to come up with more stories, so today instead of featuring my mom--I thought I'd make fun of my dad.

My dad:

He was a marine.

He was a policeman.

He was in charge of security for Hanford patrol (nuclear stuff--part of the Manhattan project in the 40's, etc.   Of course, he wasn't there in the 40's but rather the late 80's)

He had his own Private Detective agency as his last career move.

He ran the Bloomsday 12k one year.

He traveled the world, was a huge football fan, swimmer, Shriner, church goer, loved his family.

But one time---the one time in his life he is clueless of what he is doing--we had to document it for prosperity. 

Why would we do this? What could we possibly do with this documentation?

Well---here it is!  For the world to see.

It was in the summer of 2007, Phoenix, Arizona and we were getting things set up for my son's wedding reception. We were all busy with odd jobs--we, as in the whole family--many hands make light work and all that. But it left my dad with not so much to do. 

So, he leaned against the wall--or thought he did-- to visit and oversee the job.

Unbeknownst to my dad, (but not to anyone else) he had leaned against a water fountain (or drinking fountain, or even bubbler if you're from Wisconsin) and turn it on.  His butt was hitting the press button each time he leaned back against it.

And because we are a kind and loving family, never to humiliate or make a joke out of someone's misfortune, we (his kids and grandkids) would all walk by and ask him a question in a low voice, so he'd have to lean forward to answer.  Then he'd lean back, and the water would come back on.

My mom was taking pictures the whole time and the rest of us would ask him a question and then laugh and laugh.

He had no idea what was going on.

I'm not sure he ever knew.

But now--you do!

Below is a picture of me and my dad in better times.

As in, me not teasing him.

But you know---if you do the crime, you pay the fine. Or do the time. (??)

It's fitting I think, as his whole career was based on a life of crime. 

Just in the good way 😄

So, friends, My friends!  These are recipes 342 and 343

out of 361 (I'm 99% sure I have all the math down pat now) (it would have helped if I had gone in a linier progression instead of jumping all over the place)

2023 will be the year!!

Will it really tho?

(I'm slow going) (soooo  slow)

Friday Friend Recipes #300 and #301, Charmie's Chicken Tortilla and Chorizo Lasagna

 

 I am under 75 recipes now--I must get this done!  At least to prove something to myself if not the Handyman...

 because...

...about 21 years ago, 50 of my closest friends and family, who had been on an

  e-mail forum with me, sent in recipes in different categories and we compiled a cookbook.

I decided to count those down!

Why?

because one night I was looking thru the cookbook and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."

The Handyman, who thinks he knows me better than I know myself, said "you'll never EVER do that."

Well, maybe I will!  Maybe I'll show him!

Which brings us to Charmie's 

Chicken Tortilla and Chorizo Lasagna 

**********************************

I just need to hurry up and 'get 'er done'

Then I'll show him!

And as always, it's not about the quality of the photos, it's about the family, friends and fun we have all had together!

Before you get too excited that I didn't follow the recipe exactly--I did really.  All the ingredients are the same, I just grilled it instead of rolling it up.

We had it quesadilla like. 

See?  All the ingredients!

Grilled up as a quesadilla!

And then...

Chorizo Lasagna!

And my amazing photography skills!

(all my crap in the background)

What can I say about Lasagna?

This one has chorizo in it.  If you like that spice, then go for it.

It's cheesy and noodles--comfort food.

My Grandmother's Sunday tea towel and my Sunday Cookbooks. 

And so, my friends, this brings me to a Charmie story--it is her 2nd appearance in the FF Cookbook Countdown as well as her final appearance. 

We say goodbye. This is the last of her recipes. 

In a sad turn of events, Charmie passed away last summer, so this is a bittersweet post, saying goodbye.

BUT, as I tend to do, I'll focus on the positive things here.

Charmie loved to laugh (I think that's the one thing all my Friday Friends have/had in common.  They liked to laugh)

and she and her husband Steve liked to play board games.

Do you KNOW how hard it is to find couples who like to play board games?

Everyone says they like to play board games, but all in all, it's tricky to find the ones who click that way.

(Barbara Brown --the one who published, (i.e., typed everything up,) this cookbook--and her husband, Doug are game players extraordinaire`!)

And while we had drifted apart in recent years, we all fondly remember playing board games (and camping and fishing and having backyard bbq's) with Charmie and Steve.

(photo below is of game players Doug Brown and Charmie West, once upon a time at my house)

Before I go any further, you can check out Charmie's other 'recipe' right here.  Just click.

Then you can see how we laugh.

(I like to see how our hair changes over time)

Our youngest sons were best friends and are now in their late 30's, but when they were about 14 or 15, our friends, the Miltons, (Friday Night Friends--click here ) were headed out of town on New Year's Eve and asked if Mark and Robbie could stay at their house and watch their dogs.

Well, of course!  

Back to our house on New Year's Eve--playing board games with Charmie and Steve-the boys snap a photo of us before leaving for the Milton's for the night.

Sometimes my stories include alcohol--so I'm not going to say that this one does.  I'm just not going to say that.

We were just acting weird for weirdness' sake.

And this photo above, was actually not taken on New Year's Eve.

This was my house 20+ years ago and that New Year's Eve, the one the story is about, we were playing board games at Charmie's house. 

But let me backtrack just a bit more...let me show you a photo of the Miltons. Our Friday Night Friends.  

We were tasting some OLD, OLD champagne.  Read the post if you want to know that story.

So, okay--this is the Milton's house where the boys were going to stay the night with the Dogs, Dodger, a Yellow Lab and Fred II, a Basset Hound.

We all loved Dodger and Fred.

Back to that fateful New Year's Eve.

We went to Charmie and Steve's house to play board games.  None of us 'adults' wanted to stay up late--because we are not late-night party people. LOL.  Even on New Year's Eve. 

Rich (aka The Handyman, the Mayor--not sure what to call him anymore) and I went home about 10pm.

Around 10:30 the phone rings and it's Steve saying that a bottle of wine was missing from their house. SO--we all go down to the Milton's house to talk to our boys and get the wine back, because we knew, WE KNEW, they had taken it.  And they guiltily handed it over.

We gave them a little talking to and then we adults went back to our own homes to bring in the New Year in our beds asleep.

Okay--that's all good and fine, but--- behind the Miltons and Handyman in the photo above-- is this:

THIS!

 YES!  

BOOZE.  LOTS AND LOTS OF BOOZE!

Our friends the Miltons did, and do have an extensive bar, and while we did retrieve the bottle of wine from our boys, the more important question is--why did we bother?

We bothered because, while they might have wanted to sneak wine from their parents, they did not want to steal any from our friends.

There is a fine line between sneak and steal.  

Just a few letters actually. 

(camping and fishing with the boys--before they began their hooligan life of booze and bras)

what? bras? 

I didn't tell you that the Miltons found a black bra in their house after New Year's Eve?

Well, that's a story for another time.

(for the record the boys, who are now quickly approaching 40, both adamantly deny they had anything to do with that!)

While you might not think this is much of a Charmie Story, it actually is--our boys lived at each other houses from kindergarten thru high-school (with a few years break when we moved to CA for a while.)

Mark ate lots of beef at their house and Robbie got real mashed potatoes at ours. (he never knew there was anything but instant potatoes until he met me!)

(also for the record, Robbie Milton's son Michael, in the crazy champagne tasting photo above, also had never heard of, or had, pork and beans until he met me!)

I am a culinary delight!

That's my story.

And these my friends are

recipes #300 and 301

Only 66 left to go!

I can do it!

WOO HOO!  I am below 100 recipes now.  Yay!  Yahoo! Whoopie!