Slow Cooker Potato and Corn Chowder

When I look back through the soup recipes I have made, almost all include potatoes.  

Just thought I'd share that random fact

I'm certain this is the easiest soup I have ever made!

The only work I had to do was dice potatoes

I didn't even have to peel them

The entire family loved this soup

photo and recipe courtesy of DamnDelicious

INGREDIENTS

24 ounces red potato, diced
1 (16-ounce) package frozen corn
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream


INSTRUCTIONS

Place potatoes and corn into a slow cooker.
Stir in flour and gently toss to combine.
Stir in chicken stock, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
Stir in butter and heavy cream.
Serve immediately.

I love making soup in the crock pot.

This soup was a hit...

And I added some thick bread on the side to dip in the soup.

YUM!

Sunday Favorites

This week was the craziest week ever.  And it was all due to Homecoming Week at the girls school.

I'm on the mum committee and we spent countless hours each day this week fulfilling mum orders, etc. 

 if you aren't familiar with Homecoming mums, then move to Texas and you'll figure it out real quick

With my week being totally consumed by Homecoming festivities and commitments, that left no time for anything else.  So instead of sharing favorites from the week, I'm going to share with you memories from our week.

Ashlan started Cotillion last Sunday with some of her close friends.  She will continue to go one Sunday each month for the next 7 months.  I remember doing Cotillion when I was her age, so I was so excited for her to get the chance to do it.  If you aren't familiar with Cotillion, it typically takes place at a Country Club nearby, and the girls/boys learn manners, etiquette, and how to dance with a partner.  I know this will be a great experience for her!

 On her way to Cotillion 

Notice how my child sits in a dress.  Hoping Cotillion will teach her the proper way LOL

The girls after they finished their first Cotillion Sunday.

Now let me get back to what consumed my week.

Homecoming!

The Mum Coordinator had a workshop set up in her house which us ladies spent hours on end making mums and personalizing mums.  Many nights this week we stayed in this room making mums until midnight.  

Finally, Friday night arrived for the Homecoming game.

We won our Homecoming game!

Saturday night was the Homecoming Dance but Kate opted not to go this year.

She didn't get asked by a boy, and opted not to go with a group of girlfriends.

I wish she would have participated, but luckily her great grandmother (maternal side) was in town this weekend from Maryland, so she got to spend some time with her.

We ended this week with the Super Blood Moon Eclipse.  

The girls stayed up late with their astronomy loving Dad last night to watch it happen.  There was a bit of haziness in the sky, so we weren't able to get the full, clear view, but it was still definitely worth staying up late to watch/see.  It won't  happen again until 2033.

Hope this week is a great one for you!

College Tour Trip #1

This weekend Brent took Kate on her first trip to tour colleges.  Yes, she's only a Sophmore but she has lots of great universities she wants to see and attend, so we better start checking them out now so she can have them narrowed down in two years when it's time to fill out the applications.

This first trip included seeing the universities of Northwestern and Notre Dame.

Not a bad start if you ask me.  Both fantastic colleges.

To see our last trip to Notre Dame (just Brent and I), click here

Northwestern was their first stop, just outside of Chicago.

They had a tour of the campus set up and really enjoyed it.

There are lots of great traditions at Northwestern apparently.

They both loved the feel of the environment around the campus,

and they both said the campus was absolutely beautiful.

Kate will definitely keep this university on her list of potentials.

She's now in love with Northwestern.

Next stop, Notre Dame.

Brent grew up in South Bend (the city where Notre Dame is)

He's a huge Notre Dame fan..and huge may be an understatement

He applied and was accepted into Notre Dame, but the expense was just too much for him at the time, so he had to decline.  He wishes now he would have just sucked it up and gone.

They started with an information meeting on campus and were then free to tour and walk on their own.

When planning this college trip, Brent bought football tickets and surprised Kate with them.

Here is Brent in front of Touchdown Jesus

Brent has lots of family who still live in and around South Bend, so they got to visit with aunts, cousins, etc all weekend too.  

We also have some friends from here at home who have a daughter who attends Notre Dame.

They were there at the same time Brent and Kate were, and they happened to be hosting a tailgate before the football game, so Brent and Kate enjoyed an Irish tailgate!

Time for some football against Georgia Tech

And the Irish pull off a win!

As of right now, Kate says she will be applying to Notre Dame and Northwestern.

She was impressed by both and loves different things about both.

Overall, it was a successful trip.

The next college trip will be Spring Break 2016.

The whole family is going on this one, thankfully.

We will be visiting Duke and North Carolina Chapel Hill.

By the way, Kate already thinks she wants to major in 

Business/Pre-Law, and then go off to Law School.  

Brent is thankful she doesn't want to do medicine anymore, which is actually what she wanted to do for years

Sunday Favorites

My favorites from this week:

1. Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

This is my 3rd year of BSF.  

I've done the studies of Acts and the Apostles, Moses, and now Revelation.

The Revelation study started on Wednesday this week.  

I'm so excited about this year and I am loving my small group!

Very excited to see where this study takes me this year and how I will change because of it.

2. Dark Chocolate Crunch Cheerios

Ashlan is a huge dark chocolate fan so I initially got these for her.  She ended up not liking this cereal much because she feels it is too chocolatey (is that even possible?)

But for me, I'm loving this cereal....A lot.

This cereal has been my breakfast and go-to snack all week long.

3. Yeti Rambler

Are we the last ones to get a Yeti anything?  I know there are Yeti coolers, koo-zies, etc...but we've never owned anything Yeti. 

Brent's friend talked him into getting one of these this week.  It keeps cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot.  It's worth the $40, y'all.   I basically stole it from Brent because I liked it so much, he had to go back and buy another for himself.

And the best part - it doesn't leave moisture rings on the table!

Have a great week!!

Cinnamon Roll Bread

I've been on a roll lately baking dessert breads.  Over the past weekend, I made this Praline-Apple Bread which I seem to make every year.  This week I tried out this Cinnamon Roll Bread.  From the look and sound of it, you'd think this was a very sweet bread.  But it's not.  It's a simple, easy bread to make with a light cinnamon roll taste.  I really like this bread!  So does my family, as they eat a slice for breakfast every morning!

(photo and recipe courtesy of CenterCutCook)

 

Pre-heat our oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bread pan (about 9×5 inches) by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray or lightly greasing it with butter. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, vanilla extract and yogurt or sour cream. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. You can use a large wooden spoon for this if you wish, no mixer is required. In a small bowl combine swirl ingredients together – 1/3 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 tablespoons water. Use a tablespoon to drop spoonfuls of this mixture over the bread, then use a knife to make swirl designs to incorporate the cinnamon mixture into the bread. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze ingredients by combining 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon milk. Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to continue cooling completely. When the bread has completely cooled, pour the glaze over the top and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe: http://www.centercutcook.com/cinnamon-roll-bread/

 The website for this recipe won't allow me to copy and paste the recipe and I don't feel like typing it all out.  So here is the link to the recipe here

I made two loaves of this bread this week.

So good!

Pre-heat our oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bread pan (about 9×5 inches) by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray or lightly greasing it with butter. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, vanilla extract and yogurt or sour cream. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. You can use a large wooden spoon for this if you wish, no mixer is required. In a small bowl combine swirl ingredients together – 1/3 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 tablespoons water. Use a tablespoon to drop spoonfuls of this mixture over the bread, then use a knife to make swirl designs to incorporate the cinnamon mixture into the bread. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze ingredients by combining 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon milk. Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to continue cooling completely. When the bread has completely cooled, pour the glaze over the top and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe: http://www.centercutcook.com/cinnamon-roll-bread/

BREAD INGREDIENTS 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 egg – room temperature, lightly beaten 1 cup milk – I used 1% 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream Need to convert the measurements? Click here! SWIRL INGREDIENTS 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 tablespoons water Need to convert the measurements? Click here! GLAZE INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon milk Need to convert the measurements? Click here! DIRECTIONS Pre-heat our oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bread pan (about 9×5 inches) by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray or lightly greasing it with butter. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, vanilla extract and yogurt or sour cream. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. You can use a large wooden spoon for this if you wish, no mixer is required. In a small bowl combine swirl ingredients together – 1/3 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 tablespoons water. Use a tablespoon to drop spoonfuls of this mixture over the bread, then use a knife to make swirl designs to incorporate the cinnamon mixture into the bread. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze ingredients by combining 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon milk. Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to continue cooling completely. When the bread has completely cooled, pour the glaze over the top and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe: http://www.centercutcook.com/cinnamon-roll-bread/

BREAD INGREDIENTS 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 egg – room temperature, lightly beaten 1 cup milk – I used 1% 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream Need to convert the measurements? Click here! SWIRL INGREDIENTS 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 tablespoons water Need to convert the measurements? Click here! GLAZE INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon milk Need to convert the measurements? Click here! DIRECTIONS Pre-heat our oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bread pan (about 9×5 inches) by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray or lightly greasing it with butter. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, vanilla extract and yogurt or sour cream. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. You can use a large wooden spoon for this if you wish, no mixer is required. In a small bowl combine swirl ingredients together – 1/3 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 tablespoons water. Use a tablespoon to drop spoonfuls of this mixture over the bread, then use a knife to make swirl designs to incorporate the cinnamon mixture into the bread. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze ingredients by combining 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon milk. Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to continue cooling completely. When the bread has completely cooled, pour the glaze over the top and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe: http://www.centercutcook.com/cinnamon-roll-bread/

Sunday Favorites

Lots of favorites this week.  From food, to books, to surprises.....

I'll start with my very favorite from the week.  The surprise.

1. Kate Got a Car

Nope, she isn't 16 yet.  Not until January 3.  

She's been talking about wanting a Mini Cooper for a couple months now.  

Brent went car shopping this week and found a good deal on a new 2015 Mini.

He bought it, and had it delivered with a big bow around it.

Granted she got the car a few months before her actual 16th birthday, at least she can be driving with her learners permit on this car.  And when the time comes to let her loose alone in a car, she'll be comfortable and familiar with her own.

2. an Invisible Thread

This book is soooo good!  I am a sucker for the feel good, true story.

The author, who is a successful business woman in NYC, writes about her encounter with a young boy who was panhandling on the streets of NYC, and how their friendship blossomed over the decades.

I love, love, loved this book!

3. Trader Joe's Tiramisu  Torte

I cooked an Italian dinner one night this week, and found this Torte to serve as dessert.

You keep it frozen and thaw it in the refrigerator for 2 hours before you serve it.

D.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s

4.  The Birthday Pillow

My mom made me this pillow using a tea towel that I found.

I wanted a special pillow to place on the bed of the person in our family that has a birthday that month.  So Brent has had it on his side of the bed for this month (he's a September birthday boy)  Next up is Kate who will have the pillow on her bed for the month of January.

This may be a silly idea, but I love it.

And thanks to my super crafty mom who can make just about anything happen!

Have a great week!

Halloween Bark

Ingredients:

12-14 orange and black sandwich cookies, broken up into large chunks
1 cup pretzels, broken into pieces
1 pound almond bark or white chocolate melts
1 1/2 cups candy corn
20-30 candy eyeballs
1-2 tablespoons of a variety of Halloween food sprinkles.

Directions:

1.  Melt almond bark according to package. I slowly melted mine in a sauce pan over a low heat, until smooth and shiny. Make sure to stir frequently to prevent burning.

2. In the meantime, cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.  Spread broken cookies, pretzels and about 1 cup of the candy corn onto the prepared cookie sheet.

3. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula to coat evenly.

4. Quickly sprinkle remaining candy corn, candy eyeballs and food sprinkles over the almond bark while it is still wet.  Place cookie tray into refrigerator until set and firm.

Break into small pieces and eat!

Super easy and so yummy!

Sweet and Salty

Grilled BBQ Chicken and Vegetables Wrapped in Foil

We decided to do something new.  Wrap an entire meal in foil, and grill it.

I found this recipe online and it was perfect.  Doesn't this look delicious!

(photo and recipe courtesy of Diethood)

8 aluminum foil sheets large enough to wrap around one chicken breast
4 (4-ounces each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½-cup barbecue sauce (use your favorite)
1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds  (I added yellow squash too)
1 red, green or yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
8 asparagus spears
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
extra virgin olive oil

Instructions
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
For each foil pack, prepare two sheets of aluminum foil; place the sheets one on top of the other for durability.
Place one chicken breast on each stacked pair of foil sheets; season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Brush each chicken breast with 1 to 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce.
Divide equally and arrange vegetables around each chicken breast; season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle chicken and vegetables with little olive oil.
Fold the sides of the foil over the chicken, covering completely; seal the packets closed.
Transfer foil packets to the preheated grill rack and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done, turning once.
Chicken is done when thermometer reads 165 F.
Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes.
Serve.

IF COOKING IN THE OVEN
Preheat oven to 400F.
Prepare chicken as directed above.
Seal the packets closed and transfer to a baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until done.
Remove from oven and let stand few minutes.
Serve.

This was one of the best meals we've ever had on the grill.

The only thing we served with the meal that wasn't included in the foil was corn on the cobb.

This method on the grill using foil was so convenient, 

that we are now looking for recipes to grill a fish meal in foil. 

Sunday Favorites

This week's favorites:

1. Ashlan Got Glasses

After waiting three weeks for her glasses to come in, they finally did.

She can now clearly see the board in the classrooms.

We think she looks adorable in her new glasses!

2. Brent's Birthday

This handsome guy had a birthday this week!

He provides and nurtures this family like no other.

I am an extremely lucky lady to have this man as mine! 

3. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I have made this bread before and blogged about it here

It's my first recipe of the season using pumpkin!

Let the fun Fall baking begin!

 

 

4. September is Here

September arrived this week which means Fall is literally around the corner.

HELLO, SEPTEMBER!

Looking forward to wearing scarfs, drinking apple cider, wrapping up in a blanket on the patio, fire pit conversations, red wine time, football, crockpot chili, candy corn, pumpkin pie, sweaters, boots, and evenings walks with the family in the cool, brisk air.

Can you tell I love everything about the Fall season! 

 

Have a great week!