CRIME EDITION: ARIAS VERDICT WATCH HAPPENING NOW

Posted by Lori

As you know here, Ethne and I have been watching the coverage of the Jodi Arias trial religiously. Basically from the beginning...this has to be one of the longest trials so far (longer than OJ and longer than Casey Anthony). I am not really sure why it has taken SO LONG, except that the defense really took their time. Jodi was on the stand for 14 days and the jury (the poor jury) got to sit through her ENTIRE life story.  How was it all relevant? Why weren't there objections?  However, this is a death penalty case.  The judge doesn't want to make any mistakes and doesn't want anything to get overturned in an appeal.

Ethne and I are now on verdit watch.  It went to the jury on Friday and they had just over one hour to deliberate.  I believe it will come-in on Tuesday, however Steve seems to think it will happen on Monday.

I would be VERY SURPRISED if she is not found guilty of first degree murder. All the steps leading up to the murder scream pre-meditation. Here's a brief overview of what the prosecution claims she did and justifies the charge of first degree murder: Jodi rents a car to go on a road trip because it is "cheaper" than driving her own vehicle (really????  If you own a vehicle, why would you do this?), Jodi fills up three gas cans with fuel and drives cross country with them in the trunk, because she says gas is "cheaper" out of state (I personally would not drive through the dessert with gas in my trunk), Jodi never uses her cell phone when she crosses into the state where the murder took place, Jodi gets a dye job so people will not recognize her, Jodi uses a gun during the murder that just happens to be the same type of gun that was recently stolen from her grandparent's house, and the list continues....

Steve and I were talking today and he feels she will be found guilty of first degree murder and I agree. Being put to death is another story.

Ethne will have her phone instant text the minute the verdict is in and we will of course instant WOM-MOM. Stay tuned.

Chicken Enchilada Hotdish {recipe}

Posted by Ethne~

The other night I needed a super easy dinner and I was inspired by my friend Michelle’s recitation of her latest enchilada recipe that had chicken, chorizo sausage and a tomato base.  She sent me the recipe, but naturally I didn’t have any of the ingredients on hand – when I do, I’ll make it and tell you about it cuz it looks amazing.

In the meantime, I was going for a PURE-LEFTOVERS enchilada hotdish.  Last Sunday I made homemade flour tortillas, but those had hardened in the fridge and weren’t soft enough for tacos anymore.  Perfect for layering as lasagna noodles, enchilada style, though!  I always keep taco seasoning on hand, so no worries when we want easy Mexican.

This is what I came up with - pretty, huh?

Here’s what you need:

-A quart/large can of stewed tomatoes and a half-can’s worth of water

-Leftover cooked chicken, chopped up (I had a breast and a half)

-9-12 flour tortillas (slightly dry and crusty are fine; they’ll soften up)

-1-2 packets of taco seasoning (I found that I wanted two for a nice Mexican taste – just add one at a time so you don’t over-do it)

-Fresh frozen baby spinach leaves (you can use non-frozen – I just freeze my fresh so they last longer)

-Cooked rice (about 1 cup)

-Shredded cheese (I had a bag of cheddar jack so that’s what I used) (probably about 2-3 cups)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.

Bring the tomatoes, water and taco packet (the first one) to a boil on medium-high heat.  When it comes to a boil, turn it down to a low simmer for a few minutes, then taste it and see if you want to add more taco seasoning; if so, do it now.  Then add the chicken and simmer for several more minutes.

These are Thrifty Nana's (my mom) and my home-grown canned tomatoes and the leftover rice

Whole pieces of tomato and bites of chicken, simmering away.

While the chicken is simmering, slice the tortillas in half. 

My homemade tortillas are on the right.  I used a few corn tortillas too.

Spoon some of your enchilada sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish until the bottom is fully covered.  Lay the tortillas across the bottom until it is fully covered, no gaps.  Cover with an ample layer of sauce (about half of it) and chicken and more tortillas, no gaps.

Cover this next layer with the rice, spinach and half of the cheese.  Now another layer of tortillas, no gaps.  Now top with the remaining sauce and cheese.

Getting some rice.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until it is all hot and bubbling.  Yummy!  The kids asked for seconds and that is RARE since they would rather do just about anything than take time out of their day to eat.

MAY YOUR DAY BE FILLED WITH PLAY!

Posted by Lori~

It's May day!  Do you guys celebrate?  I woke up (thank you!) at 7:00 a.m. this morning to a ring at my door and May Baskets for Steve, Mur-Man, and me!  (To the person that did this...I have my guesses, but THANK YOU!).  

As a child, I have a vivid May Day memory of leaving May Baskets outside the neighborhood children's doors.  We would then ring the doorbell and RUN!  Of course my brother would hold me down, let the neighborhood boys catch me, and KISS ME!  GREAT memories and FUN!

And so, last night Mur-Man and I decided to whip up May Baskets for May Day.  We hit the local Dollar Store and spent $15.00 total!  We ended up making 12 May Baskets!
 

$1.00 FOR THREE!  Perfect for May Baskets!

My $15.00 receipt!

The STASH!

I came up with the cheesy poem!  Mur-Man and I are on a rhyming kick lately!