We All Have Our Comfort Foods

In my previous blog, I told you about the time I met Bryan Duncan.  It was then realized that people we see as celebrities are just real people.  He was with his family.  As adults we are aware that celebs are real people, but kids don't always know that.  Seeing Bryan's child in a stroller really stuck with me.  From then on I wasn't so fascinated with celebrities.  I would say about Christian music artists, "We both are going to heaven."

Apparently this attitude is a great one when meeting celebs and volunteering to work concerts.  I have gotten to meet several Christian music artist in the past few years.  While interacting with them, they appreciate being treated like a normal person. (Well at least most of them.)  They also like their privacy.  I wouldn't want all my business put out there for everyone to see.  So why would they.

I am thankful that I am not a celeb.  I am thankful that I get to spend a majority of my time at home with my husband.  I am thankful I get to make dinner at home and don't have to depend on a group of volunteers to feed me.  I'm sure actually positive that most of the time the catering is amazing food, but we all have our preferences on what we eat.  We all have our comfort foods.  A recipe that I have found recently has become one of my new comfort foods is





Chicken & Sweet Potato Chowder
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
28 oz chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced.
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cups shredded chicken
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cups half & half
1/4 cup flour
Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in medium sauce pan, add onion.  Cook over medium heat until onion is tender.  Just before the onion is tender add minced garlic. Cook about 2 minutes more.  Add sweet potatoes, chicken broth, and thyme leave.  Continue cooking until mixture comes to a boil and sweet potatoes are tender.  Stir in chicken and paprika.  Combine half and half and flour in a medium bowl until smooth.  Gradually add half & half mixture to potato mixture, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe comes from Land O Lakes.

I Learned Quickly Not To Pick Dare

I do not like to exercise.  I am willing to admit that I avoid exercising at all cost.  I have a few friends that encourage me regularly to exercise, but despite their best efforts I don't.  I don't mind the kind of exercise that disguises itself as fun.  Like hiking, biking, swimming, and I recently discovered how much fun the Wii Fit is.

As a kid exercise wasn't really apart of our lives.  At one point one of my dad's doctors told him to walk to improve something.  But that's really the only time exercise was discussed.  Us kids played enough that we didn't need to actually exercise.  I played a lot of sports when I got older so still no extra exercise was needed.  In high school, we were taught the importance of exercise in P.E.  Now as I get older, I see I need some exercise, but just do not like it.

One of the ways I got exercise in high school was snow skiing.  The local ski resort allowed us to come each Friday of January, rent skis and get lessons for a nominal fee.  After a couple years I decided I didn't really like skiing, but I did enjoy the time we spent together on the trip up there and back.  I don't know  about any of my friends, but I liked getting to know them better.  We shared stories and played truth or dare, which really became a game of truth or truth.  We rarely picked dare.  I think I ended up kissing a boy when he picked dare.  I learned quickly not to pick dare.  Not only did we have those times on our way to skiing to get to know each other.  We had sleep overs and other trips.   I miss the times that we spent together.  Although recently, I've been able to spend some quality time with my friends.  I am very thankful for my friends in Idaho and in Texas.

One of my friends has asked for more soup recipes.  I was afraid that I was giving you too many, but the cold weather has made up want soup.  This recipe I got while I was in Colorado.  It has a few steps to it, but it is well worth it.  It is SO good.

Roasted Red Pepper Bisque

6 Roasted Red Peppers

To roast peppers – wash, rub with oil, salt & pepper. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 500º till skins are roasted. Place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam skin – this makes peeling them easier. Peel after 15 minutes.

1 onion (small dice)
3 stalks celery (thinly sliced)
2 carrots (thinly sliced)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup white wine
4 cups heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauté onion, celery, and carrots in oil for about 5 minutes or until soft and onions are translucent. Add wine and reduce liquid by half. Add chopped roasted red peppers, chicken stock and cream. Slow boil soup for at least ½ hour, longer is better. Put soup in a blender and puree, put it through a fine sieve. Adjust your seasonings. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Because I Would Be Quarantined

Most years of school, I had perfect attendance.  It wasn't because I was the perfect child who never got sick and never wanted to stay home.  It was because my mom ran a daycare in our house, and if we got sick, we were quarantined to the bedroom.  There was a tv in there, but we were alone.  I didn't like being alone when I was sick.  I guess I still don't like it.  I realize that's the best way to handle sickness, but misery loves company.  The bedroom was right next to the bathroom, if we needed it.  But those were the only two rooms we were allowed to go in.  Occasionally, I would stick my head out and ask one of the kids to go get my mom.  I would want toast or soup or just someone to talk to me.

Going to school was just better to me.  I was with people.  There were a few days that I had to go home sick, but for the most part I went to school.  One day I was sick and needed to go home, but I refused.  It was a half day, and I knew I could make it.  The teachers thought I wanted to stay because we were having some kind of party.  But really I just didn't want to go home because I would be quarantined.  There was also a rule if you stayed home sick then you couldn't go anywhere after school if you felt better.  There were a few days that I had something planned with a friend after school so I made sure to not miss school.  Now I know with the spread of the flu and H1N1, this is not the smart thing to do, but back then we didn't have such a problem with that.  I don't remember ever having the flu anyway. 

On the days that I did have to go home sick, mom would make me soup or toast depending on what was wrong.  Chicken Noodle Soup is always warm and comforting when you have a cold.  As an adult, I figured out that I like Toll House crackers in my soup.  They are sweeter, and I'm a sugar junkie.

Chicken Noodle Soup
1 whole chicken
3 qts water
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots or 20 baby carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery*, sliced
2 cloves garlic*, minced
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 chicken bullion cube
1/2 pkg (6 oz) fine egg noodles**
Salt & pepper to taste

Place chicken & water in large pot.  Bring to a boil & reduce heat.  Skim foam.  Once foam begins to subside add vegetables, garlic, parsley, bullion cube, and salt & pepper.  Cover & boil slowly for 1 hour.  Remove chicken and pull meat off the bones.  Add meat back to pot.  Cover and continue to cook for 1/2 hour.  5 minutes before finished add noodle to soup.  Cook til tender.  Makes 6 -8 servings.

*cloves & stalks are sometimes a confusing measurement.  I have been confused by this also.  You buy garlic in bulbs and each individual piece of garlic is called a clove.  You buy celery in bunches and each individual stick of celery is a stalk.

**I like wide thick noodles in my chicken noodle soup.  I use Country Pasta homemade style egg pasta.  They take longer to cook, so I add them to the pot when I put the chicken back in.

It Was A Bit Rough, But It Made Do

Snow, ice, and cold are what winters are about in Idaho.  As a kid you have to learn to use those things to your advantage.  With at least six months of winter, you really have no choice unless you want to stay indoors.  My sister and I did lots of things outside in the winter.  Igloos, snow forts, snowmen, sledding, ice skating, and snow angels to name a few.

One winter my sister, her best friend and her friend's brother made a snow fort.  They piled the snow up in the backyard to make big mounds.  Then hosed the mounds down so they would freeze solid.  Then the next day they started to dig out a cave.  They got pretty elaborate with the fort.  I can't remember how long they worked on it, but it kept them busy for quite some time.

I never got that fancy with my snow creations.  I had gotten a snow brick form and would build an igloo with the bricks.  It always had gaps and never was really completed.  I did make several snowmen though.  Sometimes I would use all the snow from the yard to make my enormous snowmen.  Some of my snowballs would end up bigger and heavier than me.

A few winters the fire dept. would make a skating rink in the parking lot of the golf course.  It was a bit rough, but it made do.  We had fun on it.  Falling is definitely a part of learning to ice skating.  Now I never got good enough to even think about going professional or competing, but it was fun.  One year they cleared a spot on the lake to ice skate. That wasn't much smoother than the rink by the golf course, but just as fun.  One time we went out to the lake rink, there was a chicken.  Well a man dressed as a chicken.  I have no idea why he was there, but there he was.  We skated with him for a while.

Whenever we went skating, we would come home cold and hungry.  Hot chocolate would be a quick fix, but hot food would be needed.  Chili always hit the spot.  My favorite chili is Santa Fe Chili (white chili)

Santa Fe Chili
1/4 cup butter
1/8 cup chicken base
3/4 cups flour
3 to 4 cups water
cans white northern beans to make 53 oz
2 sm cans diced green chilies
4 chicken breasts (cooked & shredded)
cumin to taste
white pepper to taste

In large sauce pan, melt butter and chicken base.  Add flour to make roux.  Add water and stir until smooth.  Add beans, chilies, chicken, cumin & white pepper.  Simmer on low heat until thickened (at least 1/2 hour)

I Remember Thinking My Sister Is Cool

My youngest sister doesn't like us to tell stories about her when she is around.  She isn't around but she will read this, I'm not sure if that counts or not.  So I will go easy on her.  She was a kid with spunk.  As she got older, she mellowed a bunch.  We all were thankful for that.  She and I got along very well once she stopped pulling my hair.  I can only recall one argument we had, and it was over folding clothes so it really was no big deal.  We look a lot alike also, and now her daughter looks like us also.  It is often difficult to tell who the picture is of unless you look at the clothes or the background.  In fact, the other day I showed my mom a picture of me when I was about 1 that I had scanned and put online.  My mom says, "she looks like you."  I chuckled and said that is me.  She thought it was my niece.  As my sister and I got older, we began to have own distinct look with a few similar features.  So hopefully, my niece will have her own beautiful look.

When I went off to college, my sister was only 11.  So missed a lot of her teenage years.  But we did have a few good years together.  Our personalities fit well together.  I'm very much a type A and she is very laid back and goes with the flow.  I also got along well with her best friend.  My sister has been friends with her best friend since they were very little.  She is like another sister to me.  She was always around, and we loved having her over.  On the occasion that our friend needed to go home, I would take her.  We made a game of going to her house.  I would let the girls give me directions.  We usually ended up driving all over town before we would make it to her house.  I really enjoyed that time with the girls.

After my sister became a teenager, she didn't seem to care what people thought of her.  I wish I had that when I was in high school,  I wish I had that confidence in me.  I remember thinking my sister is cool.  She doesn't care that she's cool and that make her even cooler.  She is now grown, married and has 2 great kids and one on the way.  And she is still cool.

One of my sister's favorite things I cook is Potato Soup.  Or at least I think it is.  She asks me to make it when I see her.  So for my cool sister, I will share my recipe.


Potato Soup
4 medium russet potatoes
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
6 slices bacon
6 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp flour
5 cups milk
1 can corn
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Wash and peel potatoes.  Cube potatoes and boil until just under done.  Finely chop onion.   In a large pot, cook bacon.  Remove bacon, set aside, and add onion to bacon drippings.  Saute on medium heat until onion is tender. Add minced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.  Add butter and melt.  Add flour, stir together, and add milk.  Whisk mixture until all the flour mixture is dissolved.  The mixture will thicken up.  After mixture has thickened, add drained can of corn, salt & pepper.  Once the potatoes are done, drain and add to the large pot.  Crumble the bacon (I used kitchen shears to cut it up) and add to pot.  If the soup is too thick, you can add 1/2 cup more milk.  It may also need more salt.  During the process of making the soup it is important to stir often.

Enjoy!

Go Put Some Clothes On

The weather has turned cold this week.  Some people aren't happy about it at all but I enjoy dressing warm and the cold crisp air.  I love baking and making soups. So I am loving the change of weather.

Although I like the cold weather, I don't like being cold.  I like to turn up the heat, snuggle under blankets, and wear sweatshirts.  When I was a kid, we didn't have a lot of money.  My parents moved to Idaho to start a church when I was 4.  Starting a church isn't a money making venture.  It is full of rewards, but money isn't one of them.  To save money, we kept our thermostat a little lower than I liked it.  I often would complain that I was cold and my dad would say "go put some clothes on."  I would tell him I have clothes on and he would tell me to put more on.  At one point, we got a space heater.  My favorite spot in the house was in front of that space heater.  The dog also liked it.  I could get my "flamigo legs," as my mom called them, warm.

As a junior higher, fluffy skirts were in style or at least we thought they were.  My mom made me several skirts.  I loved them.  I wore them often even if my legs froze off.  My love for being "stylish" and my love for being warm brought me to standing in front of the space heater.  I'm surprised I haven't come across a picture of me standing in front to of the heater because I was there a lot.

One Sunday morning, I put on my favorite skirt getting ready for church.  While I waited for everyone else to get ready, I stood in front of the space heater.  After a few minutes, I smelled something funny.  My dad says to me, "I think it's your skirt.  You are too close."  I move away to find part of my skirt had melted.  Boy was I upset.  I wore it anyway to church.  You couldn't really tell.  I was more careful after that about standing too close to the heater.

Since then I have found other ways to warm up.  Now I bake something or eat hot soup.  I am trying out a new soup recipe today and will share it later if it turns out well.  But until then  I will share with you a super easy soup recipe.  It has several different names but I call it Hamburger Vegetable Soup.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup
1 lb browned ground beef
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can ranch style beans
2 cans Italian style diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 pkg ranch dressing mix

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Do not drain water off the cans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.