It seems I have quite a few irons in the fire right now. Sometimes we need some words of inspiration or even a mantra to push us through to our success. Here are a couple for me.
They make great printables to frame or even to print and stick to the fridge or bathroom mirror.
pinmethis.com
pinmethis.com
pinmethis.com
Ham, Potato, & Corn Chowder! This soup is a filling meal that is good for the soul! Hubby loves it so much it had to become a staple in our dinner rotation. I got this recipe from a dear friend, but there are many like it on Pinterest like this one from Like Mother Like Daughter.
2 cups cooked ham, diced
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
5 1/2 tbsp butter, divided (1 1/2 & 4)
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced (I prefer to use baby carrots diced)
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 cups chicken broth
5 medium potatoes, diced
1 can corn
1/4 cup & 1 TBSP Flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Chives and shredded cheese to top
In a large pot, melt 1 1/2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, sauté until tender.
Add chicken broth and potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste (I under salt a bit as ham adds salt). Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender. Stir in ham and corn.
Cook your bacon. I love to cook it in the oven. I cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay out my strips. I bake it at 400 degrees for about 20-25 min. I love that it will cook while I prepare the rest of the meal.
In separate sauce pan, melt 4 tbsp butter. Add flour and whisk until combined well. Slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a boil and cook until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add sour cream.
Add this mixture to the broth and stir. Simmer a couple minutes until heated through. Serve topped with shredded cheese & bacon! Would also be yummy with some green onion! The leftovers of this are so good!!!!
Cheesy Garlic Chicken Alfredo! After one bite the hubby said, “Oh, wow”. Yes, it’s that good. The pin from Eazy Peazy Mealz was for SHRIMP Alfredo. I decided to make this after I shopped, so chicken it was. But this would be oh so good with shrimp!!
The original post also says this is a 30 minute meal. It took me a little longer than that. I think after some practice and with shrimp (shorter cooking time) it will be closer to the 30 min mark. But ABSOLUTELY try this!!
2 cups milk
4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 a block)
2 Tbs flour
½ tsp salt
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs minced garlic (I used just shy of a Tbs of garlic powder)
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
⅓ cup parmesan cheese (optional)
Pepper to taste
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp or chicken, cut into small pieces or strips (as I did)
Pasta of choice (I used thin spaghetti)
Use a mixer or blender to mix together the milk, flour, salt, and cream cheese until it is smooth. Then set it aside.
Next, you’ll melt your butter and garlic in a sauce pan then add your shrimp or chicken to cook. Once it’s cooked, set it aside, removing it from the pan and leave the remaining butter and garlic . Cook up your pasta per the box directions.
Next add the milk mixture to the pan you just used to cook the shrimp or chicken. Stir until it comes to a simmer and then continue to stir until it thickens.
Remove it from the heat and add the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Yum! Steamy!
Add your shrimp or chicken and let it stand for about another 5 minutes.
My Alfredo was quite thick and super cheesy at this point so I put it back over a medium-ish heat and stirred in a little milk at a time until it thinned out. I served it over thin spaghetti, my hubby’s favorite, and seasoned with a little pepper.
This was so good. Like, you’d order in a restaurant good. Best off all, my lunch leftovers were great!
So we decided to switch it up a bit and cook our chicken on the grill. I love that chargrilled taste! I did what I would usually do for this, but I cut the butter and garlic in half, since I wasn’t cooking any meat in it then added the milk mix.
When the Alfredo was ready I cut up the chicken and added it along with some steamed broccoli. It was SO GOOD!!!
My husband turned up the heat a bit by adding crushed red pepper!
Finally, you will feel like this too…our Little passed out after enjoying her pasta! This is a family favorite!
Pin Me This is officially a “.com” and to celebrate we are doing a giveaway on our facebook page. Head over, like our page and like and share our giveaway post for your chance to win this super cute 6″ horse cookie cutter I found on, you guessed it, Pinterest!
It is by Ann Clark and sold by Kentucky Restaurant Supply. Winner chosen randomly on April 23rd, the kick off of the Derby Festival!
You can also check out my other posts for a Kentucky Derby Party, Making a Hat, Hat Etiquette, and a Tutorial to get started.
Just in time for Derby y’all!
All I’ve posted about here so far has been food. I swear I do more than cook! Although I’m completely turning into a foodie, my greatest love is my son. Below is what we did recently:
So in an effort to keep the little one busy I’m constantly searching Pinterest for fun new games or ways to make old games new. I’m totally into art so Danny and I color a lot, but he just needed something new. So I happened upon a post about hundreds of activities to do with kids up to age 5. Um, yes please! Click here to be amazed! Productive Parenting was a great source. Lots of ideas, yes some were silly or boring, but lots were great “why didn’t I think of that?” ideas. Some even just put a new spin on things we were already doing. On the left side of the page you select the age group you are trying to entertain and POOF! Entertainment! This time I thought it would be fun to make our own play dough. Danny had mixed feelings.
Click here to go to their link or just keep reading for my step by step and results:
Recipe:
Mix 2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup salt, 3/4 to 1 cup of colored water, 1 tablespoon of oil. (I didn’t have oil and it seemed to turn out ok)
Here’s my adventure:
Flour, salt and blue water.
Mix.
I should have used more food coloring as the play dough turned out to be more of an undesirable hospital wall paint color, but after mixing and then rolling it in a bit more flour to rid it of the stickiness(maybe that’s what the oil was for?), it did the job! I put a layer of wax paper down (with washi tape, lol) to protect the table and hoped for an enthusiastic squeal of delight as Danny started to play. That was not how this all went down.
First he cried because he couldn’t eat it. Then he cried because he tried to eat it and it was not good. So sad. But with a little encouragement we started to play, potato masher, cookie cutters, and messy hands.
The best part is that you can put it in a zip lock bag pop it in the fridge and use it another day. Should I do this again, which I think I might, I’ll split up the recipe in half and do two colors with much more food coloring.
There is an old saying that goes something like, nothing endures but change. Man, the guy that spouted that knowledge is so right. These past 7-8 months have been nothing but change. I feel like I need to change the title of my blog, but until I venture out into serving up buffalo (which is good!), I’ll stick to what I know!
For starters, and the biggest change of all which you know, we packed up and moved from Ohio to North Dakota! That’s right. No need to adjust your glasses or try to reread. North Dakota. Contrary to everyone’s thoughts, we unfortunately do not live in the Dakota that has all the cool site seeing like Mt. Rushmore. We are in the colder more northern Dakota. However, we have been to Mt. Rushmore and if you’re in the area I strongly suggest you check it out! (see previous post for picture of said visit)
But while the winter is cold (can get to -60!), the summer is amazing! Everyone is out as much as they can to soak up the warm rays of sun and enjoy the ever blowing breeze. There have been so many amazing festivals and fairs we have been busy trying to see it all.
So here we are…new place, new friends, new church, new life. Did I mention the ever-growing child? My sweet baby boy is now an active toddler boy! Where did the time go? Now he’s sliding down slides, jumping in puddles, and pulling the dog’s tail. I guess he was pulling her tail before, but you get the idea.
So, again I fire up the blog. My link to home, as I know my family and friends read all my posts, right? Even if not, blogging I can still transport myself to my old house, sitting in my kitchen at my wood and wrought iron table (which is now being looked after by my sis-in-law, thanks CC!) describing my latest greatest find. So I leave you with the lyrics to one of my most favorite songs right now, “Wake Me Up”, Avicii:
Feeling my way through the darkness
Guided by a beating heart
I can’t tell where the journey will end
But I know where to start
They tell me I’m too young to understand
They say I’m caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don’t open up my eyes
Well that’s fine by me
So wake me up when it’s all over
When I’m wiser and I’m older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn’t know I was lost
I have been MIA for quite a while. So much has happened. It was hard to get back into the swing of things after we said good bye to our furry family member. But, the biggest change was yet to come. In February we packed up our house and we moved from Ohio to North Dakota! Talk about a life change!! So far things are going great. We’ve already had a family road trip into South Dakota to see all the great sites like Mt. Rushmore and enjoyed our first bison burger (which tastes a little like steak, if you were wondering). So I’m hoping to get back to business. I’ve found some great new recipes and cute crafts. Stay tuned!!
Family at Mt. Rushmore
I know I’ve been MIA in my blogging. We recently said goodbye to our furry family member, Dakota aka Kodie Pie. A loss like that really takes it out of you and even my love for writing couldn’t put the wind back in my sails.
Dakota was the most amazing dog ever. My hubby and I were certain she was going to be the first dog to speak english. She would stare at you so intently, looking almost frustrated that she couldn’t communicate verbally. She was quick to learn her “tricks”, although when excited for a treat she would combine them all into one. So sit, lie down, and roll over, would become sitliedownrollover. It was so funny. She was a better dog off leash than on which I believe is just another extension of her human like qualities.
Dakota supported me through some of the toughest moments of my life. I don’t know how dogs can sense sadness, but several of my lowest points she would simply sit by my side or curl up (all 80lbs!) with me on the couch. She made herself my shadow until she knew I was better. She will be greatly missed and will forever hold a huge piece of our hearts.
In honor of Dakota, and to the benefit of our remaining dog Little Dog, I am going to do a post for homemade dog treats. They are made of pumpkin which is supposed to be great for digestion. So stay tuned for that in the next couple weeks.
Our sweet Dakota
Little Dog and Dakota
Hi! I’m Stephanie. I’m a Kentucky girl livin’ in Ohio…er, North Dakota, SOUTH CAROLINA now! Yeah, we move quite a bit. But that’s what keeps it all exciting! I’ve been married to my hubby for almost 15 years and together we have a beautiful 8 year old son and 6 year old daughter. This blog was inspired by an on going joke my hubby can’t get enough of. Inevitably, after every new meal, craft, or organizing idea, he will always ask, “Where did you get this idea?” My response? “I saw it on Pinterest.” Now, however, after he asks he doesn’t even wait for my response but instead answers for me.
Ahh, Pinterest. The hours spent searching strangers pins and boards. Hoping to find a dinner idea, cool crafts, or the best exercise plan to give the max results without too much exercise. I also pin my own finds and ideas, but finding a craft, like making art from used toilet paper rolls, is magical. But I have to say, I’ve gotten a lot of great stuff from there…and some not so great stuff. So I thought I’d start logging my experiences here. If anything to prove that some finds are worth the pinning and completing.
pinmethis.com 