Recently I sent this email out to my friends:

It's time for another gathering of the HERMIT PREVENTION CLUB.  I shared with some of you last month that when Aaron's gone on Tuesday's for Breakaway sometimes I become a hermit and don't want to see anyone and just want to sit on the couch and feel sorry for myself!  I have determined that I will not do that this week and let me tell you how badly that I want to.  I have had a weekend form hell and would rather not see anyone, but I will prevail and therefore we will have HERMIT PREVENTION CLUB meeting #2 tomorrow night.

Now there are some rules to HPC and here we go ….

Rule #1 – your kids are welcome.  Mine will be here.  They can jump on the trampoline until they puke.  They can do sidewalk chalk until they turn pink & they can ride bikes all night long.  We can even feed them outside and hose them off!

Rule #2 – Start at 5:30 and you are gone by 7:00.  You see even though I want to see you, I still need my kids in bed at a decent hour and an hour for me to unwind on the couch with a glass of wine and some trashy show on tv!  I will start feeding my kids at 5:30!!!

Rule #3 – bring whatever you want to eat.  We'll all just lay it out on the counter and feed our faces and our kids faces too.  If you don't have kids, then you are responsible for making one of my kids plates!!!  Just kidding!

Don't feel bad if you can't make it!  I'll do it again for sure on another Tuesday when Aaron's gone!

Email us all back and let us know what you're bringing.  Me, I'm making ……  Creamy Enchilada Casserole that is dairy free and vegan!!!

:)Jamie

PS – Jessica and Laura I am clearly aware that you can't make it because you freaking just had a baby and are in another country picking up your child!!!  BUT wanted you to know I love you, miss you and can't wait for you to make the next HERMIT PREVENTION CLUB!!!!

You see … I know myself.  I want to crawl into a hole sometime when Aaron's gone and just sulk there and think about how hard my life is because I have four kids and a busy husband who travels  and blah blah blah blah.  It's all lies and stupid!  I know this and therefore I began the HERMIT PREVENTION CLUB.  To keep me from being a hermit.  I LOVE it!  I've had two meetings and will have another one soon.  The first one was me and two girlfriends which brought the grand total of kids up to 7 and a half!  This past time we had 2 single ladies and 5 moms and 13 and a half kids (the half is the baby in Sally's belly – she counts, right?).

We had so much fun and just talked and laughed over kids running in and out and having a blast.  It's good for me and great for my kids.  They love having all their friends over to play on a school night!

Here's what I made for the last HPC.

CREAMY ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

you can do this dairy free if you want. I planned on it and then realized I didn't have the right cheese subsitute.

Filling:

1 tbsp light or extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic glove, minced

One 16 oz can vegetarian refried beans

1/2 cup mild or medium-hot bottled salsa or one 4-oz can mild green chilis

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro, optional

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Sauce:

1 1/4 cups low-fat milk, rice milk, or soymilk

2 tbsp unbleached white flower

1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack or Jack-style nondairy cheese

Eight to ten 6-inch tortillas, cut into halves (I think I used about 10 or 12)

1 scallion, thinly sliced (I left out.  I hate scallions)

Salsa for topping

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly oil a shallow round 2-quart casserole or 9×13 baking pan.

2.  To make the filling, heat the oil in a medium skillet.  Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent.  Add the garlic and continue to saute until the onion is golden.  Stir in the remaining filling ingredients and continue to cook until everything is well heated through.

3.  To make the sauce, heat 1 cup of the milk in a small saucepan.  Dissolve the flour in the remaining milk.  Whisk it into the saucepan, then sprinkle in 1 cup of the cheese.  Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, and cook until thickened.

4.  Line the prepared pan with a single layer of tortillas.  Pour in the filling and spread evenly over the tortillas.  Cover with the remaining tortilla halves. (I butchered this step and did it so out of order and it sill was delish!)

5.  Pour the cheese sauce over the tortillas, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Sprinkle the scallions over the top.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.  Serve at once with salsa if desired.