Hodgepodge

Linking up with Joyce for the Hodgepodge

1. America celebrates turning 250 years old this year. Primary cities set to lead the celebrations on July 4th are Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. Other significant locations for celebrating will be Charleston SC and the 'historic triangle' which includes Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown Virginia. 

Of the cities listed how many have you seen in person? 

I have been to Boston, New York and Charleston. I have not been to Philadelphia, DC and the historic triangle area.

Of the cities listed which would you most like to visit this year? 

Washington, DC

Any plans to do so? 

No

What's one place in America you think everyone should see? 

I can't think of one place that I can think people should see over the other. 

I think one of the best places to go in America is anywhere that is not in the region where you currently live or have lived. I have not been to every region in the US but I've been to most and I've been struck by how different they are from one another. I mean, there are plenty of similarities but there are some striking differences in everything from topography to dialect to customs. 

2. Three sounds you love to hear? 

1. The sounds of my loved one's voices, especially their laughter.

2. The sound of the first kernel that pops in the oil it's heating up in when making popcorn on the stove.

3. The sound of waves crashing on a beach.

Wave-y but make it lake-y: This is Lake Erie at Presque Isle, PA

3. Three sounds you hate to hear? 

1. Tornado warning sirens (we heard one just last week which is probably why it is on my mind)

2. Angry, raised voices

3. Sort of along the same lines as my second answer, I hate the sounds of swear words. I hate how prevalent coarse, foul language is in many social circles/milieus.

4. February 24th is/was National Tortilla Chip Day. Are you a fan? With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain please? Do you like nachos? With what on top? Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips? 

A fan of- goodness, yes! I love salsa, queso and cheese (though prefer queso)

There is nothing that I can think of that I make besides nachos that calls for tortilla chips.

5. We March into March with next week's Hodgepodge...what's one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? 

Looking forward to a fun spring break with my youngest :). If all goes according to plan, we'll be hearing the melodious sounds of waves hitting the shore.

If all goes according to plan, we'll return to this beach.

(Different daughter, same beach)

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Two thoughts: one serious and one less so. Here is the one less serious: my queso recipe. I made it for dinner tonight (Tuesday) thanks to the Hodgepodge question about tortilla chips! I copied and pasted this  from a post in November where I shared some queso tips that I acquired after trying numerous queso recipes: 

"I've tried numerous queso recipes and have made decent tasting queso each time I've made it. The recipes that I've tried are somewhat similar in the following ways: they call for corn starch to help make the sauce more silky and not grainy, they call for evaporated milk, they call for sharp cheddar cheese and they call for chilies. I've followed the recipes to a T except for in one area and I think it made a huge difference. In the past, I've not used sharp cheddar cheese (because I normally don't have it on hand; it's not my favorite cheese) but I did the most recent time because I actually had sharp cheddar. The queso turned out amazing! I did make another change- I didn't use a whole can of chilies, rather I used half of a can. I added the other half of the can into the taco meat that was simmering on the stove. The recipe didn't call for jalapenos but I had so many fresh ones from the garden that I decided to use 1 1/2 jalapenos for some additional heat/freshness.  

Here is the link the recipe that I used but I'm going to write it here based on how I made it. 

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup of finely diced white onion
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 jalapeno peppers without the seeds finely diced
• Half a can of Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoons each of cumin, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, black pepper
• 12 ounce can full fat evaporated milk
• 8 ounces of grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Melt butter over medium heat and then saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno. 
• Add the half can of Rotel
• Sprinkle cornstarch over the vegetables and stir until absorbed. Add the spices and stir.
• Slowly add the evaporated milk, stirring as you go.
• Turn the heat to low and stir in the cheese until it's melted."

Like I said, I made some last night and it was DELISH!! I was going to include a picture that I took of it but, man, it does not photograph well!

2. Serious random thought: please pray for the persecuted Christians in Nigeria. Nigeria is ranked as one of the most violent places in the world for Christians. In 2025, reports estimated that over 7000 Christians were killed. Persecution is most severe in the 12 northern states that have implemented Sharia law where Christians report being treated as second class citizens.

In October of 2025, President Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act (Trump had made that designation during his first term in office and when Biden assumed the role of POTUS, he revoked the designation, hence Trump's redesignation). Just yesterday, a bipartisan Congressional investigation report was delivered to the White House on the subject. Hopefully as a result of the threat of withholding aid to Nigeria (WHY are we giving aide to Nigeria when we are trillions of dollars in debt??), the Nigerian government will take action to protect Christians in Nigeria instead of dismissing claims of violence by saying the violence is due to territorial disagreements.