Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 6, 2016

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 6, 2016 


Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis


“It’s not wanting to win that makes you a winner, 
it’s refusing to fail.” Peyton Manning

We’ll see, Peyton, we’ll see. It’s Super Bowl 
Sunday and you’re hosting a bunch of fun folks; 
you’ve cornered the market on Doritos, and 
asked somebody to bring veggies and dip, a salad, 
or some brownies. Or, better still, someone has 
invited you to join them for the last good game 
of the season...well, sometimes it’s a good game 
and we all wait eagerly for the commercials... what 
will the Clydesdales be doing that will make us 
all reach for the tissues? What movie stars will be 
hocking cars? And, more importantly, what are 
you going to fix? 

 Guacamole? Get a bunch of avocadoes, some 
sour cream, some limes, some green onions and 
some fresh salsa and, if you’re adventurous, the 
Tabasco. Smash up your avocadoes, squeeze in a 
bunch of lime juice (double purpose, #1, it needs 
the acid, #2, keeps the avocadoes from turning 
brown), add a couple of green onions sliced 
into small pieces, mix in some salsa then add a 
spoonful or two of sour cream. Taste it. Needs salt 
and pepper and a dash of Tabasco. Taste it again. 
Oh yeah! Refrigerate. People will love you.

 As promised last week, here is my world famous 
Chicken Tortilla Casserole recipe: 

 This is one of those dishes that make people 
want to hug and kiss you just because you made 
it. It’s easy to put together, will hold a day or two 
till you have time to cook it, will let you freeze 
it before you cook it and reheats and tastes even 
better several days later. You can make it in a large 
oven-proof bowl to make lots of layers or you can 
put it together in a large lasagna-type dish with 
just a couple of layers. No matter how you do it, 
this is a never- fail recipe.

4 whole chicken breasts (that’s those double things 
that you cut in half) or you can use single pieces, 
8 or 9 of ‘em. (Or, better still, boneless, skinless 
chicken breast pieces, same amount, just don’t 
overcook.)

12 corn tortillas

2 cans cream of chicken soup, condensed

1 can chili without beans (about a 15 oz. can) 

1 small onion, chopped

. cup milk

1 cup green chili salsa (Ortega makes a nice one) 
or chunky taco sauce

Shredded Mexican-blend cheese, large package, 
which is 2-1/2 cups of cheese. If you really love 
cheese and aren’t on a diet, you can throw in a 
little more!

 Bake the chicken wrapped in foil for about 
an hour at 325. Let it cool. Cut into good sized 
chunks and set aside.

 Tear or cut the tortillas into one inch pieces. Set 
aside. 

 Now mix everything else together EXCEPT 
THE CHEESE. That’s your sauce.

Layer chicken, tortillas, sauce and cheese in 
3-quart bowl or casserole or the aforementioned 

9 x 13 pan, ending with cheese. 

 Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or till the middle is 
bubbling.

 If you’ve frozen your unbaked casserole, 
transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator the 
night before you want to serve it. On Super Bowl 
Sunday, heat it a good two hours at 300.

Trust me on this, there won’t be any left and the 
Super Bowl Halftime Show will be drowned out by 
happy people jostling each other to get to the table 
for seconds of YOUR amazing dish. 

 The rain last Sunday was such a joy to see and, 
knowing it really truly was going to rain, got 
myself outside and put citrus food on our orange 
and grapefruit trees, raked in at the drip line, so the 
rain could water it in really well. Also pruned back 
six of our roses, including removing every single 
leaf from last year, which is supposed to help with 
rose problems when they begin to leaf out again. 
If you’ve cut back your roses, I hope you mixed 
a . cup of Epsom salts in around the base and 
then gave them some rose food. This is the year 
I’m hoping the spider mites will all go to Nebraska 
for the summer and leave my roses alone. I’ve got 
Neem oil at the ready and am prepared to spray 
mercilessly. Daffodils and Dutch Iris are putting 
up spikes and we will have beautiful blooms soon. 
(Pictured are some of last year’s daffodils.)

 If you haven’t thought about Valentine’s day 
yet, you need to get started. Have such a great love 
story to share next week.

 Check out my book page on Amazon.com: 
DeanneDavis@Amazon.com

 You might like my blog, too: www.authordeanne.
com 

 You can find the Chicken Tortilla Casserole 
(originally adapted from “The I Hate To Cook 
Almanac” by Peg Bracken, 1976, Harcourt, Brace 
Jovanovich) in my book, “Tablespoon of Love 
Tablespoon of Laughter.”

SIERRA MADRE POLICE DEPT.

During the week of Sunday, January 24th, to 
Sunday, January 31st, the Sierra Madre Police 
Department responded to approximately 234 calls 
for service. 

Wednesday, January 27th At 10:34 pm, Sierra 
Madre Police responded to the 300 block of 
Sycamore Place regarding a domestic violence 
report. Upon arrival, Officers were met by the 
victim who informed them that earlier that night 
she confronted her husband about an ongoing 
issue in their marriage. The woman stated her 
husband was eating and doing a puzzle while she 
attempted to talk to him and as he continued to 
ignore her, she grabbed the puzzle and threw 
it to the floor. Her husband then responded by 
grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her 
violently which caused her to lose her balance 
and fall back ultimately striking her head on the 
floor. The woman then got up and called 9-1-1. 
Upon interviewing the husband, Officers were 
informed that the man had been having a rough 
day and wanted to eat his dinner when his wife 
kept bothering him and when he chose to ignore 
her she threw both the puzzle and his food to the 
floor. He stood up, grabbed her by the shoulders 
and guided her back in an effort to have her leave 
him alone, but she lost her balance and fell back 
and hit her head. The man believed the fall was not 
that serious. Officers determined the husband was 
the main aggressor and took him into custody and 
charged him with domestic battery. 

Friday, January 29th At 11:39 am, Sierra Madre 
Police responded to the 200 block of Manzanita 
Avenue regarding a burglary report after a call 
into the station was made by the homeowner who 
stated one of her contractors working at the house 
discovered a smashed glass door. Once on scene, 
Officers cleared the home of anyone being inside 
and discovered the living room glass door smashed. 
The entire house had been ransacked with jewelry, 
clothing and other miscellaneous items scattered 
all over the home. Officers even noticed that all 
the furniture cushions had been displaced. Once 
the home owner arrived on scene, she informed 
Officers that she had locked and secured her 
home before she left for work at around 7 am. She 
stated she did not activate her alarm because the 
construction workers were going to be working at 
her house today and she then received a call around 
11 am informing her of the broken glass door. This 
case has been forwarded to the Detective Bureau. 

At 2:06 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded to the 
300 block of east Laurel Avenue regarding a vehicle 
collision where a semi-truck struck and pulled 
down some low hanging telephone wires. Once on 
scene, Officers were informed by the driver that 
he was driving west on Laurel Avenue at about 
10 mph. He stated that he noticed a pedestrian 
walking in the street to the right of his truck and 
was focused on passing the pedestrian safely and 
did not see the low hanging wires. As he continued 
driving the top of his truck caught the wires and 
pulled them from the pole. Sierra Madre Fire 
Department cleared the wire from the roadway 
and confirmed that they were telephone or cable 
wires.

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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com