This week, when I called Cole for dinner, he enthusiastically responded with, “Really? Two nights in a row?”  Clearly, I am spoiling him. The second night when I made enchiladas, he announced, “Mom, you don’t make a lot of things good, but your enchiladas are great.”  I glowed.

Our friend, Judy, fed Cole dinner on Tuesday night and the meal included a wonderful selection of vegetables. When I asked, “How was dinner?” he responded, “Mom, dinner is never bad at the Collins’ house.”  Well, if I can’t cook, at least I have chosen the right friends.

This weekend, Cole will dine with his aunt and uncle, and I’m quite sure the meals will be wonderful right down to his last sip of wine.  In a few short weeks, he will be with my parents who will insist on feeding him three meals a day.  I just know he will come home asking the very next day, “What’s for lunch?”   He will greet breakfast talking about Grandaddy’s fresh fruit plate and I will have to satisfy him with a few blueberries tossed on his Froot Loops.  Sure, Joe used to cut up fresh fruit for us every day, leaving it on the counter to munch on, but Joe died. I did teach Cole how to peel a banana like a monkey … which is a life-long skill.

Not only did I cook dinner twice this week, I baked, too.  Have you ever thought you were making chocolate chip cookies, and as you finished up with your batter, realized you were  really making a chocolate chip pie? No? Well, it could happen. On the back of the Toll House chocolate chip bag, there are recipes for a Chocolate Chip Pie, Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies, and Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I only wanted to make the Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies, but the combination pie and chocolate oat cookies weren’t bad. Cole asked if we had used up the chocolate chips yet. This was followed by a grocery store request for Oreos.  Should I take that comment personally?

My mom taught me how to make enchiladas. She also taught me how to drive and apply mascara so it did not clump. An ancient index card box held together with a rubber band and stuffed with recipes on little pieces of paper lives on her kitchen counter. It’s a terrifying sight.  I once had a bad nightmare about trying to follow a recipe from her index box. It was written in faded ink on a yellow note card, splattered with blood from a chop that went wrong. The recipes just kept spilling out of the box! It was awful.

When I suggest she scan them and put them in a digital cookbook she just stares at me and mutters something about leaving her treasured index box to her grandson.

In any case, my enchiladas are great. Here are a few pictures. Maybe, someday, I will invite you over for an enchilada dinner.  It could happen. Really.

A Little Onion, A Little Chicken, A Little Cheese, A few Tortillas.

Did you know I have a complete set of Fajita dishes. Including a tortilla  warmer?  I do.

Hatch is a great enchilada sauce. Judy’s probably makes her own tho. Wait, Judy’s MOM probably makes her own.

A little onion, a little chicken, soon to be covered in a lot of cheese.

Cole likes an egg on his enchilada. I don’t.

The Whole Enchilada

Third time was the charm!!  Remember the recipe is in the upper right hand cornor of the Toll House Cookie bag!

Glad you were in my Odd neighborhood. Feel free to drop by any time. Odd Loves Company and odd loves you and you and you!! I would love to hear from you in the comment section of this blog, or on Facebook or Twitter!

Katybeth