SparkDad

After seeing the devastating earthquakes in Chili and Haiti on the news our oldest son asked me a very interesting question this morning.

 

“Dad, one of my friends at school said that the world is ending because we are having earthquakes. Is that true?”

 

First of all I do not remember having that sort of conversation in 3rd grade. Secondly, the thought has crossed my mind…

 

I ran across an interesting article today outlining the differences between the Haiti and Chili quake.

 

“

Palisades, New York (CNN) — About six weeks ago, a large earthquake devastated Haiti and killed over 200,000 people. Saturday, a huge earthquake releasing 500 times more energy, devastated Chile and killed hundreds.

So why did the smaller earthquake kill so many more people? And why the sudden spate of disastrous earthquakes in the Americas?

No, the apocalypse is not coming. No, the two earthquakes are not linked in any way. And no, Pat Robertson, you can’t blame the Devil or the French. The real answers, for those comfortable with science and the Enlightenment, are tectonics and poverty.

“ – Colin Stark, CNN.COM

 

Enjoy the article here.

 

Look for my Camaro series to come out later today : )

 

- Spark Dad

 

Today we had a small party in celebration of the Dia de la Candelaria. This celebration falls 40 days after Christmas and for Catholics it is the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. You can read a lot more about the tradition here – Article about Dia de la Candelaria

 

The reason that we hosted the party is because early in January we attended a party at some friends house celebrating King’s day. During this party it is traditional to have “King Cake” or “Rosca de Reyes”. Hidden in that cake is a plastic baby Jesus. Tradition says that whomever finds the baby must host the next celebration on the Dia de la Candelaria. Well as you can guess we found the baby!

 

For the party I made a new spin on an old dish. I made Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

Note: I did not take photos of the finished product so the photo at left is not of mine but they looked A LOT like it!

 

Ingredients

1 12oz tub of low far Sour Cream

1 Large can of Green Enchilada Sauce

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

10-15 Corn Tortillas

5-6 Chicken Breasts

1 lb Mexican Cheese

2 Tbs. Garlic

2 Tbs. Salt

 

Steps

 

1. Boil chick in large pot on medium heat until cooked fully ( about 1 hour )
2. Drain Chicken and let cool, retain about 1 cup of chicken broth
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4. Wash and shred chicken and place in a large bowl
5. Season chicken with garlic and salt
6. Mix Cream of Chicken soup with chicken broth
7. In large casserole dish layer 4-6 corn tortillas
8. Pour in 1/3 of the green enchilada sauce
9. Add in 1/3 of sour cream and mix with the enchilada sauce
10. Add 1/3 of shredded chicken
11. Cover chicken with an ample layer of cheese
12. Repeat this process of layering until chicken is all used
13. Top the layers with leftover enchilada sauce, sour cream and cheese
14. Cook in over for 30-45 minutes

Serves 8