Can you say "Hot Dish"?...Mary Ann McBride,MVVP (Most Valuable Vacation Partner)...Elvis Event of the Week

Steve was afraid to make Hot Dish. A child of the Midwest, Joanna knows the comfy food of the plains. Not merely a casserole, but an institution. An intimate portrait of "down home cooking" in North Dakota. Hot Dish is the unpretentious offering of a great meal, made for the soul. Made from, and for the generous Midwest heart. Steve did not think he was up to challenging Joanna's treasured childhood memories of this most American of meals. but he had to try. Here is the recipe he attempted.

Hot Dish (Norte Americano Tamale Pie)
from "Hot Dish Heaven" by Ann L. Burchhardt


1/2 pound of lean ground beef
1/2 pound of ground pork
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
14oz can of diced tomatoes
15oz can of whole kernel corn, drained (or two cups frozen corn)
packet of taco seasoning
1/4 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or two jalapeno peppers, minced) optional
1/2 cup of corn muffin mix, mixed with 1 egg and 1/3 cup of milk, or
use your favorite cornbread recipe for the topping!

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown beef and pork (or substitute ground turkey!) in a deep skillet. Drain. Saute onion and garlic. Return browned meat, adding tomatoes and corn. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Fold mixture into 9-inch round or square casserole dish.
Make muffin mix. Spread corn muffin batter over the casserole. Bake for about 30 minutes.
Enjoy with your favorite salsa, guacamole or green sauce.

Joanna invited her Sunday night co-workers home to try a heartland meal. It was served with Avocados and tomatoes, chopped and topped with garlic and lime juice. The verdict; acceptable. Petrie, one of the sports writers, asked for a standing invitation for Hot Dish. Of course, he takes about 90% of all his meals from McDonald's, so a home cooked meal is always a treat. Joanna said it was just fine. If you have a Hot Dish you would like to share, please post it as a comment!
Have we mentioned how much we love Mary Ann? Well, we love her more than 100 sockeye! (Which is a whole bunch!) Having her in Phoenix for three days was the highlight of our trip. We recommend having Ms. McBride on your next break. She will increase your fun by a factor of 10! She was a blast. She drives. She goes to In-n-Out Burger. She makes funny faces for pictures. She is not mugging for the camera in the picture above, but showing off her beautiful nails with Joanna. Watch out for her impulsive jumping for joy and the overwhelming good times she brings with her! (By the way, Mary Ann makes a great Tater Tot Hot Dish!)
Running around loose in the Herald and News is something dogs do not do. Ever since the Herald and News cat, Boris, was banned, animals of any kind are generally not welcome (even cute ones, like Elvis). Especially off leash. The Elvis Event of the Week is his five minutes of rampaging around the newsroom, jumping on many busy journalist, greeting them with his happy little bark. A visit not soon forgotten by the H&N, quickly forgotten by Elvis and forever remembered in our blog.
Support KRBD this week with your pocketbook during their fund drive. Outstanding public radio for Southern Southeast Alaska. Please check out their link!
Have a great week and don't fall down!

Cracker Jack, where is the Cracker Jack?...I scream, you scream..."Double double, if you please"...Elvis Event of the Week

All is well in Klamath Falls! We had an Opening Day party on April 1st. Baseball is underway, and the Reds are going to win it all. You heard it here first. Anyway, many friends made appearances, hot dogs were had, beers were drunk, double plays were turned and Cracker Jack was consumed. Two things about Cracker Jack; first, the prizes in the box are not what they used to be. What happened to whistles? Temporary tattoos? psychedelic spinning tops? Today, you get a a weird, fold-it-yourself-stupid thingy, which really is not fun or cool. Second, you cannot buy the Carmel covered popcorn and peanut treat at Yankee Stadium. How is it possible the all-american treat cannot be enjoyed during america's pastime in the house that Ruth built? It is un-American. Anyway, thank you to the Millers for the Cracker Jack we had on Opening Day.
While in Arizona, one of the places we had to take Joanna was the Sugar Bowl, in downtown Scottsdale. A famous soda shoppe. That's right, we spelled it with two p's and an e! Mary Ann stuck with the old stand by, chocolate chip mint. Steve had a Chocolate-Raspberry Camelback soda. Joanna ordered a cherry soda with coffee ice cream. Not a good mix. Stick with chocolate. Steve and Mary Ann know how to order ice cream.
The other eatery we had to visit in Phoenix was the In-n-Out Burger. Returning from a game we saw not one, but two In-n-Out Burgers. Mary-Ann insisted we go to one before we leave. So, on our final night together, we did not go out for Sushi, which all of us wanted, but went on a quest for fast food. Thank God for Mary-Ann. She drove us all around the greater Phoenix area, looking for the In-n-Out. We went from here to there. There to way over there. Back to here. Over there again. Finally she got us to the Promised Land. We ordered our burgers. Got our picture taken with the In-n-Out associate who took our order. We each received a bumper sticker. The Jeep now proudly sports a burger sticker.
Elvis Event of the Week: Elvis was attacked by the mean next-door daschsund while on a walk with Joanna. The stupid little doxie chomped into Elvis' tail. Elvis was not hurt, but he lost some tail fur.
Don't fall down!

Ressurection Day...cute nails...bumbling, stumbling...tropicana, not toplesscanna!...Elvis Event of the Week

Happy Easter! Today is the day the Lord has made! We sure miss our friends from all over the country. We hope to make a visit to Ketchikan this year, and Joanna is heading to Minot girls weekend in August.
The picture was taken at Peoria Sports Complex, Spring training home of Your Seattle Mariners. The happy couple had a great time in Az with Mary Anne. Ms. McBride took Joanna for her first manicure. Apparently, according to Dr. Lisa, Joanna had a bit of a "cuticle problem." At the end of the day, both ladies had lovely nails, and Mary Ann had her little piggies done, too!
At a nice fish house, Joanna Markell took the the most amazing fall. While being lead to our table, J-Mark missed a step and proceeded to fall for over 20 feet, and banged her shin into a table/chair. All we know for sure is she took a dramatic fall in front of all to see. The entire stumble took over five seconds. A trip off the stairs. One second. Staggering about, before hitting table or chair, twenty feet across the room, another four seconds. Time it took for everyone in the restaurant to become concerned, zero seconds. It was amazing. The waiter was apologetic, the restaurant manager checked on her condition, hostesses came over to make sure Joanna was okay, a little old lady offered Joanna a cane (she took it), Steve and Mary Ann apologized for laughing. When we got back to K-Falls (without another fall, thank goodness!) there was a message from the restaurant's corporate headquarters, checking on our little Joanna. She is recovering. She no longer needs a cane.
While in Vegas, we said hi Pete Ecklund's family. Peter Jr. is doing great. But don't call him Petey! He hates that! Anyway, we attended a "Burlesque." Topless dancing, singing, topless dancing, a comedian, more topless dancing, a bit more singing, just when you thought the topless dancing was over, there was more. All topped off (pun not intended) with a non-topless gay Paris Can Can. Truly the the highlight of the show. Tumbling, dancing, and everyone wearing clothes!
Elvis Event of the Week: Little E had a walk with Channel 12 Janet, one of our friends here in K-Falls. He thought she came by to dog nap him. She chased him around the little house for about 15 minutes before he let her put the leash on him. They took a walk around the neighborhood, which Elvis took advantage of to eat cat poop. Say what you will about dog owners not picking up after their dogs, "outside cats" are much worse! No one picks up after their "leavings" (except maybe Elvis).
That is all for now. Take care, and don't fall down. And don't let the Attorney General fire you for political reasons, and then lie about it!

Joanna Markell, Super-American...George Washington, loser, S & J, also losers...Winner by knockout, Steve!...Little Red Grill

The drive between Reno and Vegas eight hours long. It seemed longer. We took a rest stop in Hawthorne, Nevada, America's self proclaimed "Patriotic Heart." Joanna got into the spirit, and posed for the picture above. "Don't Mess with America!"
While in Reno, Steve took a tip from Joanna and laid $20 on George Washington over Vanderbilt. Bad bet. The only team to score over 100 points in the NCAAs this year was Vanderbilt. Against George Washington. We had the gamble in us, but no payoff.
Our first night in Vegas, we walked up the strip and Joanna found more luck on the slots. So did Steve. While in Paris Casino, Steve saw a bank of Rocky Balboa slot machines, and as a tribute to our friend Nate Root, Steve played $1.00 on the nickel slot, and won $20.50! "Adrian! Adrian!", was Steve's chant after the big payoff.
Thank you again to Rod and Lynn for the little red grill. We used if for the Opening Day party and a couple other times since. If you make it down to visit us this summer, we guarantee you a hot meal off the grill. Burgers, hot dogs, Michelle's vegetables, fish, you name it we will grill it...on the LRG.
Watch this blog, Hot Dish recipe coming soon!