This week, there’s not much news, so I guess the words “It’s raining” is as good as anything else for a headline. We’ve needed it really badly so I am happy to see it. The problem is, yesterday when I checked my gauge, it showed about 1 1/10 inch…today, it shows less and it has been raining for the last several hours, I managed to get far enough down my back sidewalk to check it and there is a diagonal crack in the gauge, and the rain is dripping out at the bottom! Oh well, I really didn’t want to know how much there was anyway.
Other news, no busy week, yes, I’ve been lazy, with no interest in doing any sewing and not very much of anything else. As y’all know, this is unusual for me as it’s usually busy around here. Monday and Tuesday my neighbor came over and we had games day both days, she is like me, usually very busy, but since she was on Spring Break, we got to catch up on our game playing as well as everything else. On Wednesday I went into town, picked up a couple of birthday cards and immediately mailed them. Since then, I’ve finished an apron I was working on (as far as I could go, it needs an appliqué), and did a couple of other things, but this morning when I went to the machine finish a couple more things and the stitching is totally out of whack and my patience with fixing it is nil.
Yesterday on face book and in a couple of emails, requests were being made for people who sewed to start making masks for use in hospitals. A cousin who was raised in Devine was the first one to send me anything about it. The request started with a hospital in Indiana and has spread. My daughter told me that when a friend of hers called to get information that the hospital in just a day or two, had more than enough and now the requests are for Texas hospitals. The price of the disposables has gone up beyond belief, and these cloth ones will be washed and sterilized and re-used. According to one thing I received, the disposal ones are made in Mexico and usually cost 54¢ and they are going to go up to $7.00 each, so hospitals are asking for help. My daughter sent me a pattern and a granddaughter who is a nurse in the DFW area is going to send me one that is a little different so maybe it will be something I can handle. They seem simple to make and when I can find the patience to adjust the stitching on my machine, I will try to make some. (I have not been able to check with my local hospital. That will have to wait until Monday).
Here is my favorite recipe for enchiladas during the Lenten season. They are cheese enchiladas from a recipe my Mother used to make for a main dish at supper time on Fridays. She served them with the Spanish rice that follows.
Cheese Enchiladas
SAUCE:
2 tablespoons butter, margarine or cooking oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 or 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons Gebhart chili powder
1 can (16-oz size) tomato sauce or canned tomatoes
½ cup water
1 small can diced green chilies
Cook onion, green pepper and garlic in butter until soft. Add flour, salt and chili powder; stir until smooth. Add tomato sauce or tomatoes, breaking tomatoes up with spoon or fork (can use the ‘recipe ready’ type if desired), green chilies and water. Cook until thick and smooth.
TO MAKE ENCHILADAS:
1 pound shredded cheese (can use American, cheddar, or the pre-shredded type that is seasoned)
1 medium onion, chopped (optional)
10 to 12 corn tortillas
Dip tortillas into sauce to soften, or soften by heating ¼ cup oil in heavy skillet and dipping them briefly into the hot oil, or soften by heating a short time in the microwave.
Spray a rectangular pan with non-stick spray and spread a small amount of the sauce in the pan, just to coat the bottom. Spoon a small amount of sauce onto a tortilla, add some cheese and onion and roll up. Place each enchilada, seam side down onto sauce in baking pan, as you finish rolling it. Repeat until all tortillas are used. Top with remaining sauce and additional cheese. Bake at 350ºF about 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.
Spanish Rice
2 to 3 tablespoons cookin oil
1 cup long grain white rice
1 small green bell pepper, chopped or diced
1 small onion, chopped or diced
1 can (15-oz or 16-oz size) crushed tomatoes, or 8-oz tomato sauce and 1 cup water
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 chicken bouillon cubes
Place oil in large skillet and heat, add rice and cook and stir until rice is golden brown, add peppers and onions, cook and stir until they are wilted. Pour tomatoes into measuring cup and be sure you have 2 full cups, add water if necessary. Add tomatoes, bouillon cubes and cumin, stir together and bring to boil. When boiling, cover tightly, turn heat down to simmer and cook until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed. Serve with enchiladas.
Shrimp Pasta Primavera
½ cup chopped green onion
½ cup green or red bell pepper cut into strips
½ cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
½ cup margarine
1 package (8-oz) cream cheese, cut into cubes, and at room temperature
¾ cup milk
2 cups, small to medium, peeled, de-veined shrimp (tails also removed)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 package spiral macaroni (7-oz or 8-oz), cooked according to package directions and drained well
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Sauté onions and bell pepper in ½ cup margarine, add cream cheese cubes to pan, along with milk; cook and stir until cream cheese is melted. Stir in shrimp and Parmesan cheese and cook until shrimp are pink and done. Cook and drain macaroni, toss with 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, add to cream cheese/shrimp mixture and stir together. Serve hot, along with salad and hot rolls or bread.
Sugar Snap Pea and Shrimp Stir Fry
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
½ cup canned, sliced water chestnuts
12 to 16-oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
2 tablespoons Ponzu sauce (Japanese soy sauce), (HEB handles this).
3 cups cooked long-grain white rice
In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 Tbs. oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds; add the sugar snap peas and water chestnuts; season with salt and pepper if desired and cook stirring until the peas are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tbs. oil over medium/high heat and add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook without stirring until pink on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp, add the Ponzu sauce and cook until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vegetables; cook until heated through, about 2 more minutes. Serve with cooked rice. This is really good. I’ve made it several times and we’ve all enjoyed it.