asparagus broccoli chowder

 
I am a lover of soups.  Especially cream soups.  The thing I love about making soup is you really can't mess it up! You just keep adding stuff until it's just right. This one is a creation formed from one afternoon of pulling everything out of the fridge that needed to be used and using it. It has become 'my one weakness'.  I have to admit, though, the second Count Studley saw the celery, he decided he didn't like it. Warm, creamy, tasty, I know, he's crazy!!

Asparagus Broccoli Chowder

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup chopped celery
1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (5oz.) can evaporated milk
1 head fresh broccoli, steamed
2 cups chopped fresh asparagus, cooked
In a large pot, melt butter and stir in mushrooms, onions, celery, and garlic.  Saute until vegetables are tender.  Cut cream cheese into cubes and stir into mixture until melted.  Add thyme, salt, pepper, soup and milk, stir to combine.  Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Add veggies.  Serve with Texas style croutons for fun!

Enjoy!

stronger still

Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh

I'm not sure this poor little blog will survive the roller coaster ride that our family has (unknowingly) signed on for... I've decided it's a good thing I don't have a real job. ;)


I've been thinking a lot about strength this last little bit. My Angel's spine surgery recovery was one of the hardest things that she and our little family have ever survived. But we did. Before she was even fully recovered we found out about this next necessary procedure. The surgeon told us the whole scenario, best case to worst case. I told myself, "The Lord knows what we've been through. He knows how exhausted we are. He knows the pain and fatigue and frustration that My Angel has felt through all of this. (He knows I'm supposed to be leaving for Australia!) Our faith will carry us through this next procedure and He will answer our prayers by making it easy and simple."

Well, I'm here to tell you that a great lesson has been learned these last couple of weeks. It has not been easy at all. It has been the most complicated situation we have ever faced. And My Angel has been far from well. But we are learning a profound lesson. We are stronger than we think. Daily I keep thinking that we've reached our breaking point and then we reach deep down inside and find more strength. I have felt on several occasions throughout this experience a very strong connection to my Heavenly Father and I know He is pleased to see the strength that we continue to discover inside ourselves. I've recognized that same understanding in My Angel's attitude as day after day, things just haven't seemed to go her way. She just keeps digging deeper and finds that brave spirit that fights with strength to win, and she is winning, even if it seems at a snail's pace.

Now we move on to the next challenge. And we'll once again reach way down deep and recognize that we are even stronger still.




Keep Smiling!

valentine chocolate pastries

If you are fixing a fancy Valentine Dinner, these are definitely the easy yet elegant way to go for dessert.  They look and taste like you spent hours, yet come together in absolutely no time at all.  The secret is... Puff Pastry Sheets!  Watch close when you buy, the box of 'Shells' looks just like the box of "Sheets'.  Um, except for the fact that it says shells instead of sheets.  Just trying to help you to be as aware as you know I always am...

The first step:  Take out a sheet of frozen puff pastry.  Let it sit on the counter for 30 or 40 minutes to thaw.  Unfold, and using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out the hearts.  It shrinks when cooking, above shows the cookie cutter I used and the actual size of the heart after baking, so the bigger your cookie cutter, the better. Bake on a cookie sheet according to the package directions and let cool.  They get nice and puffy. (hence the name...)  After they cool, slice them in half through the middle as shown above.

Mix up some instant chocolate pudding.  Let it set up until it's firm. I like to add a little bit of Cool Whip to it to help give it some extra form.  Put a dollop on the bottom half of each heart.

Top that with a dollop of Cool Whip and put the top half of the heart back on.

Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, put in a ziplock bag and cut off a teeny tiny hole in one bottom corner of the bag.  Drizzle over the top of the pastries. Put in the fridge to quickly set the chocolate or store in the fridge until served!

Enjoy!


linked at:
whipperberry.com

be yourself

(For my girls)
You are amazing, unique and beautiful.
There is nothing more you need to be, do, or have in order to be happy.
You are perfect just as you are.
Yes, really.  So smile, give love, and enjoy every moment of this precious life.

Jynell St. James




Keep Smiling!

felted bag

This past month hasn't exactly brought lots of opportunities for projects.  I've still been cleaning out my craft room and instead of my 'to do' pile shrinking, it has actually doubled in size.  And, um, I haven't had a lot of time to work on it because I'm taking a community ed knitting class and the teacher LOADS on the homework!! I've taken a couple of classes with these ladies in the past and had a really hard time keeping up. This time, though, has been really enjoyable, probably because of improved skill and speed and plenty of down time. In fact, in the last three weeks, on top of the projects that we are working on, I've also finished the projects that I hadn't finished from the other classes as well!

One of the projects that was killer from the last class I took (two years ago...) was a double handled felted bag. Because it is felted after it's knitted, it has to be knitted three times the size that it's going to be.  The thing's like a sleeping bag when it's done!  Well, I got all the way through the body of the bag and then got confused with the handles so it sat unfinished for two. not kidding. years. During Christmas break, my friend was over visiting and offered to take it and finish it for me so I (gladly) gave it to her.  The next week she and I started the class, only to find out that the first project was the Very Same Felted Bag...

for reference, the tiles underneath are 20"

I was positive it was my curse for not finishing the first one and decided that I was going to make this one work.  I had some fun lime green yarn in my stash that I decided to use. (it has to be 100% wool to felt) In two weeks, the bag went from first stitch to felted!! My friend had straightened out my first bag and I swiped it back from her (since she had her own to do!) and finished it as well.  So, one bag took two years, the other two weeks? Yep.

This time, I had a lot of fun with the bag.  The body of the bag is where most of the time is, and because it's on circular needles, it's just knitting the same stitch around and around and around.  Totally mindless, perfect for good winter movie watching...  I also think this one went faster because I changed up the pattern and instead of knitting 110 rows of solid (brown-ugh!) like the first one, I added in lots of different sizes of stripey rows.  I actually like the finished bag better!

 Our Princess is working on some big knitted squares during her spare time at rehearsal that we will felt to make some fun flowers to go on the bags, we'll update when they are finished.  I've decided it's a good thing there are two of the bags because she's already claimed one...


It took me a while to find it, but if you are interested, you can purchase the pattern here for $8.

Happy Crafting!

chicken bacon alfredo melt

Check this bad boy out.  We 'invented' it this week and if I had money I'd open a shop to sell them because they were just. that. good.  Sourdough bread. Alfredo sauce spread on the inside of both pieces. Chicken strips grilled with basil and garlic, crumbled bacon, sliced mushrooms, olives, and tomatoes, and monterey jack cheese.  You can cook it with butter like a grilled cheese, but we threw it on the panini press and crispified them that way without the extra calories from the butter. We ate it with a tossed green salad on the side.  So easy, and definitely the favorite meal of the week!

Enjoy!