Favorite things Friday: Tex-Mex

This is my favorite casserole. I got it out of a little recipe booklet that was included with a box of Bisquik many many years ago. I still have the booklet, which today has torn pages and ingredient stains all over it, but the recipe is intact. I was making it the other night and spent a frantic 10 minutes searching for the booklet. Why this thing isn't firmly committed to memory by now I don't know.

Anyway, I did a quick Google search for this, hoping to find a photo that I could post with the recipe. Alas, there are no photos. You'll just have to imagine. But there are quite a few listings of this recipe, sometimes called Tex-Mex Turkey Bake (because one version of it has turkey instead of ground beef), sometimes called Tex-Mex Spinach Bake. I just call it Tex-Mex, even though I know that's an adjective. I was elated to find it on the Internet -- just in case I lose that little booklet.

Here it is, revised to suit my family's tastes:

Tex-Mex

Crust:
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup cold water (more if needed)

First layer:
1 pound ground beef (the original uses ground turkey)
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 cup water

Second layer:
1 pkg. frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
1 cup ricotta cheese

Third layer:
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 egg

>>>Heat oven to 375°F.
>>>Grease rectangular 13x9x2" pan.
>>>Mix Bisquick and 1/2 cup water until soft dough forms. Press dough into bottom of pan using fingers dipped in Bisquick.
>>>Cook ground beef; drain. Stir in seasoning mix and 1 cup water. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
>>>Spoon beef mixture over dough.
>>>Mix spinach and ricotta cheese; spread over beef mixture.
>>>Mix cheddar cheese, sour cream and egg; spoon evenly over spinach mixture.
>>>Bake 30-35 minutes or until set. (Helpful hint: The Bisquik crust will rise a little bit, so set the casserole dish on a flat baking sheet in the oven to prevent spills.) Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

By the way, store the leftovers in the fridge. It heats up well in the microwave for the lunch the next day.
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The last and possibly most awesome word on William F. Buckley

William F. Buckley, conservative writer, editor, columnist, novelist, debator, TV talk show host and all around terrific voice of the right, died yesterday at the age of 82. This cartoon, grabbed from Lucianne.com, says it all.

Blog-pimping "Stuff White People Like"

Found a link this morning via Lucianne.com to the blog Stuff White People Like. At first I was taken aback by the name (it's sounds so ... well, so racist, and we caucasians are supposed to be horribly offended and apologetic and forever groveling asking forgiveness about these things even if we didn't do them or sanction them or agree in the least with them. Am I right, people?), but because Lucianne recommended it, I gave it a read.

Holy crap, you guys, this thing is hilarious. It's very well written -- witty and spoofy and sarcastic without being biting and all the great things I expect from my favorite blog peeps.

His "about" page says: "This is a scientific approach to highlight and explain stuff white people like. They are pretty predictable." Which for some reason just cracks me up. And he's numbering the items -- up to #76 as of yesterday -- so I'm predicting a book will come out of all this eventually.

Show-pimping AND site-pimping "Best Week Ever"

You must check out this Web site / blog -- BestWeekEver.tv, the written form of the hilarious show on VH1. Best part? No commercials.

Laurie went to Rome and all I got was a blog posting

Laurie Perry over at Crazy Aunt Purl is talking about her trip to Rome, and let me just say that, even though there are some long postings, it's well worth the read. Plus she has photos.

Her trip was spontaneous, ridiculously cheap ($600 for a round-trip ticket to Rome? Sign me up next time, Laurie!) and something of a personal triumph for her. It's quite the inspirational read, whether she meant it to be or not.

It's also written in her typical hilarious style. (My favorite header: "Yes, I went to Rome and now they are all out of wine.")

Read it. Get inspired. She makes me eager to get on a plane again.

Favorite things Friday (redux): the library on board

I didn't notice until last night that I had not done a "favorite things Friday" post this week. What the heck? You know you're having a swamped kind of week when you forget that it's Friday. Or at least to post about the fact that it is.

So here on Sunday -- and Sunday evening at that -- is one of my favorite things: the library on a cruise ship. That probably sounds weird -- a library? On a cruise ship? What for? No really, it's one of the quietest places on board. And trust me, quiet is hard to come by on the ship, what with the wild and crazy pool parties and the lounges with the bands and the throngs (that's throngs not thongs!) walking around the promenade -- quiet is a rare commodity.

I love libraries anyway -- with or without the rest of the ship to accompany them. It's all about the books. Books ... mmm! There's something about surrounding yourself with them that nurtures the soul.

Here's a photo of the library on the Victory, which we'll sail on in May. Doesn't it just feel all old world and warm and inviting? Can't wait to go hang out in here!

It's "caturday": or rather "Katurday"

Here's Holly's baby, Katherine, whom I have dubbed Katie-cat, wearing the fur-lined sweater I gave her. Quite the little fashion plate, isn't she? Never too soon to be aware of fashion, I always say.