If you're a regular visitor here, you've noticed that I've sort of gotten out of the habit of blogging. It's one of those things where life has been so eventful that I just don't know where to start. I'm hoping that this will get the ball rolling again, but it will unfortunately involve just listing, probably in an excruciatingly boring manner, the stuff I'd have blogged about if I'd taken time to when it was new. For your trouble, I'll also share the recipe for some nachos I just made, which made Sam declare they were better than any she'd ever had in a restaurant.
So, the news:
Now, for the nachos! I was just feeling snacky, but didn't want anything sweet, so I raided the kitchen to see what all we had. There was a package of corn tortillas. There was one tomato, some onions, some dried cilantro, some lime juice, some garlic powder, some ancho chili powder, and a nearly-full bag of shredded cheddar cheese. Therefore: Nachos!
Use a pizza cutter to cut a stack (don't ask me how many - about 1/4 of the package) of small corn tortillas into quarters. Spray some Pam (I used the organic canola variety) into a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Dump in the tortillas & sprinkle in some garlic powder & ancho chili powder. Zip shut, shake like crazy til evenly(ish) coated. Spread on cookie sheets. Bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes (crispy but not burnt). You might have to check them pretty frequently. Throw away the ones that burned because you weren't checking frequently enough.
While the chips bake, dice up a tomato & a bit of onion (less onion than tomato). Mix in a bowl with a bit of cilantro, a dash of salt, and several generous squeezes of lime juice.
When the chips are done, switch the oven from bake to broil. Spread a layer of chips on an oven-safe plate. Top with shredded cheese and 1/3 of the salsa, making sure you get some of each on every chip (because those dry, bendy chips at the bottom of a plate of restaurant nachos are just nasty). Lay more chips on top and top with more cheese & salsa. Repeat one more time until you've used everything up.
Pop in the oven for just a minute or two, to get the cheese all nice and melty.
Remove with an oven mitt, bring to the table, and warn your friends that the plate is hot!
So, the news:
- The petition for Fraser's visa was approved near the beginning of the month. Hooray! That's the first hurdle done. He has to go to London in a few weeks for a medical exam (after filling out umpteen more forms and waiting for a couple of other things to process), after which the embassy will schedule his final interview, after which they will at last issue his visa and he'll be able to come over here for good.
- One outcome of the above is that we will be getting married within 90 days of his entry into the USA. The tentative date we've set is May 21, but I can't stress enough that that's tentative. We just can't make solid plans yet without knowing when his final interview is. We're planning a fairly small affair, knowing that hiked travel prices and worldwide financial issues will prevent many people from making the trip. Still, those who attend will be treated to homemade goodies, music, and fun on the theme of "stuff we like." So far, that includes Willy Wonka, Doctor Who, and Star Wars, but expect that list to grow. Fraser will sport a snazzy new kilt, and I have no clue what I'll be wearing. That is, until the costume party bit, where we're encouraging Scottish/American character mashups.
- I am back in the USA now, as of 2 weeks ago Wednesday. It's weird, and it has its ups and downs, and of course I miss Fraser, and of course I'm glad to see family and friends again.
- I'm actively looking for a decent job. I have a couple of leads to follow up, but no news there yet.
- Before leaving Scotland, I got to see more of the country, including Aberdeen and the northeastern coast, along the North Sea, including Pennan, where the movie Local Hero was filmed. I'll be posting pictures from that trip as part of a forthcoming article on Pop Bunker, so stay tuned for that. I did post reviews of a lot of the places I visited on Yelp, so if you're interested, you can see those here.
- I've brought on a new batch of writers at Pop Bunker, so hopefully things will pick up there and get fun again.
- I'm going to be writing more for the Geek Girls Network, once I get my posting credentials, so look for me there too.
- Supersecret project I can't tell you about yet goes here.
- More stuff I've forgotten and may get to later goes here.
Now, for the nachos! I was just feeling snacky, but didn't want anything sweet, so I raided the kitchen to see what all we had. There was a package of corn tortillas. There was one tomato, some onions, some dried cilantro, some lime juice, some garlic powder, some ancho chili powder, and a nearly-full bag of shredded cheddar cheese. Therefore: Nachos!
Use a pizza cutter to cut a stack (don't ask me how many - about 1/4 of the package) of small corn tortillas into quarters. Spray some Pam (I used the organic canola variety) into a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Dump in the tortillas & sprinkle in some garlic powder & ancho chili powder. Zip shut, shake like crazy til evenly(ish) coated. Spread on cookie sheets. Bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes (crispy but not burnt). You might have to check them pretty frequently. Throw away the ones that burned because you weren't checking frequently enough.
While the chips bake, dice up a tomato & a bit of onion (less onion than tomato). Mix in a bowl with a bit of cilantro, a dash of salt, and several generous squeezes of lime juice.
When the chips are done, switch the oven from bake to broil. Spread a layer of chips on an oven-safe plate. Top with shredded cheese and 1/3 of the salsa, making sure you get some of each on every chip (because those dry, bendy chips at the bottom of a plate of restaurant nachos are just nasty). Lay more chips on top and top with more cheese & salsa. Repeat one more time until you've used everything up.
Pop in the oven for just a minute or two, to get the cheese all nice and melty.
Remove with an oven mitt, bring to the table, and warn your friends that the plate is hot!
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