Enchilada Casserole

This sounds easy and yummy!  Supposedly freezes well too.

Try halving this, or making it smaller

• 2 Tbsp. 

  extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 

  medium onion, chopped

• 1 

  bell pepper, chopped

• 2 

  cloves garlic, minced

• 1 

  (15.5-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 

  (15.25-oz.) can corn, drained

• 3 cups 

  cooked, shredded chicken

• 1 

  (4.5-oz.) can diced green chilis

• 2 

  (10-oz.) cans enchilada sauce

• 18 

  corn tortillas

• 2 cups 

  shredded cheddar

• 2 cups 

  shredded Monterey jack

• Sour cream, for garnish

• Freshly chopped cilantro, for garnish

• Diced avocado, for garnish

Directions

• 1. Step 1Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and pepper and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Add beans, corn, chicken, and green chilis and cook until warmed through, 5 minutes. Reserve ½ cup enchilada sauce then pour remaining sauce into skillet, stirring to combine. 
  2. Step 2Spread reserved ½ cup enchilada sauce into a 9”-x-13” then layer 6 tortillas in pan, overlapping to cover the entire pan. Pour ⅓ of mixture over tortillas then top with about ⅓ of each cheese. Top with another layer of tortillas and repeat to make 2 more layers, finishing with cheese. 
  3. Step 3Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melty and sauce is bubbling. 
  4. Step 4Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, and avocado.

MOVIE - McFarland USA

PG (2:09)

Wide Release 2/20/15

Roadhouse Cinema 3/9/15

RT Critic: 79    Audience: 92

Cag: 5/Loved it

Directed by Niki Caro

Disney Studio

Based on a true story

Kevin Costner, Maria Bello

My comments:  What's not to love about a Kevin Costner movie?  The story, following a group of young men who discover that having a goal and being part of a team is incredibly meaningful, is moving, as is the insight we see into the coach's family and situation he's created - unwittingly - for himself.  And, since it's based on a true story, the way that the director added the "epilogue" - showing AND telling what happened to the seven young men, as they run beside the actors, was totally, wonderfully awesome!  What a great way to end a great movie.

Disney Summary:  Inspired by the 1987 true story, “McFarland, USA” follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. Coach White and the McFarland students have a lot to learn about each other but when White starts to realize the boys’ exceptional running ability, things begin to change. Soon something beyond their physical gifts becomes apparent—the power of family relationships, their unwavering commitment to one another and their incredible work ethic. With grit and determination, the unlikely band of runners eventually overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well. Along the way, Coach White realizes that his family finally found a place to call home and both he and his team achieve their own kind of American dream.

Pablo's Tree - Pat Mora

Illustrated by Cecily Lang
$17.95 HC
1994, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
32 pages
Endpapers:  red
Illustrations:  Cut paper
Goodreads rating:  3.68
I liked it - nice story.

When his daughter adopts a tiny baby boy, his grandfather/abuelito plants a tree.  Every year he decorates it, as a surprise, in a different, colorful way.  Pablo and his namesake spend the day after his birthday playing under the tree.  They reminisce about the different years and we see how much the tree has grown.

Carmen Learns English - Judy Cox

Illustrated by Angela Dominguez
Holiday House, 2010
32 pages
Rating: 3.5
Endpapers: Bright dark pink

When Carmen begins kindergarten, she's the only one who speaks Spanish - with no English at all. And she worries about her little sister, Lupita, who will start school next year and knows no English. But Carmen is blessed with a caring teacher. Mrs. Coski doesn't laugh at Carmen, and has her teach her classmates Spanish. When she goes home each day she teaches Lupita the English that she is learning.

Carmen admires her teacher and enjoys teaching her sister and her classmates. A future teacher, for sure!

Put yourself in another's shoes. How difficult it must be fore kids when they can't understand a word. A new kindergarten student at our school knows not a work of English, only Hebrew. She cries and cries and cries. At first I felt badly for her, but then I got irritated to see (and hear) her crying all the time. Her shyness was also hindering her. Shame on me! And now, three months into school, although I still see her crying, it is very much less frequent. To be so young, alone, and not able to understand what's going on around you or be able to communicate even simple needs....well.....

I picked up this book at the library and put it back down. But as I did I flipped through the pages. Its' written in a cool font, "Providence Sans." I changed my mind - because of the font - and checked it out.