Pumpkin Chicken Winter Chili

It's finally  cold & snowy. FINALLY. 

I can't tell you how long I waited for it to snow - it's just not Christmas without snow! Anyway, since it's gotten cold I find myself craving soups and chili and hot chocolate and wassail. Preeeetty much all the time. 

Pumpkin Chicken Winter Chili

1 14oz can pumpkin puree

1 14-16oz can diced tomatoes

2 C. chicken broth

1/2 - 3/4 of a large onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp chile powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 heaping tsp dried oregano, crushed

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeded & minced

1 1/2 lbs chicken (can use raw or pre-cooked)

1 14-16 oz can corn

1 14-16oz can chickpeas, drained

1 14-16 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 heaping spoonfuls brown sugar or apricot jam

fresh cilantro & sour cream for topping

To crockpot add tomatoes, chicken broth, & pumpkin then whisk until combined. Add onion, garlic, chile powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and chipotles; stir well. Add chicken, beans, chickpeas, corn, and sugar or jam. If using raw chicken, cook 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. When ready to serve, remove chicken, shred, and return to pot. If you are using pre-cooked chicken, simmer for 1 hour. Dish into bowls, top with cilantro and sour cream. 

Delicious when served with warm garlic bread or fresh rolls!

A Rainy Day Recipe for Creamy Celery Soup

We have seriously been having the best kind of weather these past weeks. And yes, I am talking about thunderstorm weather. The days start out bright and sunshiney with a wind that makes it seem like summer is blowing away. And then out of nowhere you hear a rumble of thunder, and the next thing you know its pouring. The earth is literally being pounded with big, fat, raindrops.

I love it!

And I love to have soup when it rains. A comfort food for staying in and wearing pjs and watching Bones.

CREAMY CELERY SOUP WITH BACON

6 strips bacon

1 tablespoon butter

5 cups chopped celery (stalks and tops) (approx. 1 big bunch)

1 medium onion, chopped

2- 2 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon thyme

1 medium potato, cubed

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 cups milk

salt and pepper

Cook your bacon in a frying pan until its nice and crispy and easily crumbled. Pour some of the grease into the bottom of a large soup pot, and add butter, celery, onion, thyme, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are soft (15 minutes or so).

Add the potato, stock, and milk to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potato is very soft. 

Puree the soup in a blender until thick and creamy. Serve with crumbled bacon on top.

Mmmmm. Now go put on some pjs.

Easy & Delicious Avocado Egg Salad

I must tell you, this recipe is delicious.

And with summer coming {one day} {i'm hoping} easy sandwich recipes are my favorite for hot days when I don't feel like cooking. I tested this one out a few weeks ago for a road trip to Price. 

Have you ever been to Price? Its.....small. And I really don't want to live there. 

But on the bonus side of things, we had delicious sandwiches to eat while we drove!

Ingredients {makes 2 sandwiches}:

4 hard boiled eggs, diced

6 {or more} strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 avocado, mashed

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp Dijon mustard

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of salt


Directions:

Take everything and mix it all together. Swipe a taste and adjust ingredients as needed--I added a little more Dijon and a little more bacon {who can resist adding more bacon??}

Lightly {lightly} toast 4 pieces of bread. Spoon egg salad over toasted bread, and top with some fresh lettuce.

Yummmmmm.

Culture Kitchen

Today I was just putting off work, doing other useful things like feeding my cats tuna fish....scrounging in the bottom of my candy drawer {yes, I have a candy drawer} for chocolate...staring into space.....and browsing Pinterest. And while I was browsing Pinterest I found this:

Its called Culture Kitchen. 

These two ladies thought it would be a great idea to get women from all around the world, who have been doing their own ethnic cooking for years to get together and share their knowledge. 

brilliant.

Check out their site at culturekitchensf.com. 

{Are you getting hunnngry yet?}

Two Holidays--One Blog.

Well aren't the holidays just awesome (And I mean they really are).

Chris & I had a rockin' night at the Fall Ball here at SUU--we got to dress up and get dinner for free! The dance was a lot of fun--and who knew I married a man with such...unique...moves? ;)

The Sunday before Thanksgiving we threw our annual Pre-Thanksgiving party. We deep-fried a TWENTY-THREE POUND turkey! Phew. We also managed to squeeze 22 people into our kitchen! It turned out to be oodles of fun and I was so grateful for all of the wonderful friends who came to spend time with us!

Here are all the pies/desserts we had...so good...

I had to wait a couple hours after dinner was over before I even had room for any! So much food!

And just this past Sunday we decided to have a 'hot chocolate party' and hand around some gifts we'd bought for our friends. We had a pretty good time watching the expressions on their faces as they opened their gifts. Russell got a baby launcher...Matt got an 'Awesome' pin....Mario got fry sauce...haha they were all pretty random! After that we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Definitely one of my top Christmas movies! 

Happy Holidays y'all. :)