Chicken Enchilada Casserole & Emily Assemblage

I am trying out a new camera. I am not sure if I will keep it, but it does look promising. It is a Kodak EasyShare. I selected it because it has a 12x optical zoom, a sports setting ( = ability to take successive photos quickly) and it was in my price range. Since it was on sale it was $200. I will also try out a fancy camera that our coach bought on one of his trips to Tokyo. It was $400 US last year. It has a lot of fun features, but it is only the size of a cell phone and I am not sure I will be able to manipulate everything on it the way I would need to at a race. Also, it is not sold in the US, which means I could not get it serviced. I will give them both a try and see what I think.

So, the photo here is a gift I made for our friend Emily upon her 11th birthday. It was a lot of fun to make, but much harder than I expected. I put a cloth dress on her. Getting that to look right was a challenge. Also, making the flowers stand up was a bit hard. I hope she likes it. When looking for inspiration I learned that this kind of thing is an assemblage, and not a multimedia collage (as I had thought). Figuring out the right term was a bit tricky, too.

We are hosting a dinner party on Saturday evening for the people my husband climbs with. One person, Suzanne, will be returning to the South Pole some time next week. We will miss her until next summer. Here's what I am making. It is hardy and popular. You can make it ahead of time and enjoy the party while it cooks. When it is compiled it weights a lot.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole For a 13" x9" pan

12 corn tortillas

2-3 pounds of chicken (cut into chunks)

2 pounds Cheddar, Colby or CoJack cheese, shredded

1 large can Stoke's Green Chili w/ Pork

1 small can Mild Enchilada Sauce (red, mild)

1 small can Medium Enchilada Sauce (can the size of soup cans)

1 can diced Green Chilies (small can)

1 small-medium Onion, chopped

1-2 Garlic Cloves, mashed

2 cups Sour Cream (or 1 small container)

1 small can Jalapenos, diced (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9"x13" pan.

Saute the chicken with a little salt, the onion, green chilies and garlic. You can add a small bit of olive oil, if you like. Cook until the chicken is done and the onion is limp.

Mix the Stoke's green chili sauce with the enchilada sauces and heat.

To prepare the casserole by assembling the layers as such:

3 corn tortillas spread along the bottom

Chicken mix

scoop or so of sauce

bunch of cheese

repeat this two more times.

Top with 3 corn tortillas

Sauce

Cheese

Place the completed casserole on a cookie sheet or something else to protect from bubbly overflow.

Cool for 15 min. before serving. Offer the sour cream and the jalapenos on the side for those what want them.

Enjoy - it is a big hit at our parties.

Bake until bubbly.