Friend Makin Monday ~ Favorite Winter Recipe?

YAY! It's Monday again! Now that I am coming down off my high from the Colts somehow pulling off a win in last nights game, I'm ready to blog again! Since it is Monday, I figure a good way to start is to jump on the Friend Makin Mondays bandwagon. Today, Amber {aefilkins} wants to know, what your favorite winter recipe is...

I'll start by saying that Winter is very different here in Arizona. Growing up in New England, winter was ALL ABOUT cooking in the oven. Making your house smell amazing. Im not saying that I dont do that here, but if more people actually saw what we like to cook and how involved it is and how long it cooks for... I'd probably be told I am crazy, haha!

Anyways, Im off track again. I had to think about what one meal is my absolute favorite to make in the winter time. I've decided to go with Chicken Corn Chowder... We had this last week and I could not get over how tasty it came out. Here is the recipe.. Oh yeah, I cook it in a crockpot!

2tbs butter
1 1/2 lbs of Chicken Tenders or Chicken Breast (cut into 1/2 in cubes)
1/2 C. chopped onion
4 celery ribs (sliced up)
4 carrots (diced up)
2 C. frozen corn
2 Cans of cream of potato soup
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
1 tsp. dried dill weed (i use a little more)
1/2 C. half and half (I use a little more then that... probably 3/4 to 1C. Depending on how the soup is looking. I like it thicker.

In large skillet, melt the butter and brown the chicken. When that is done, put it into the crockpot.

Add the onions and celery to the skillet and saute' for 3 or 4 minutes or just until tender.

Add the onions and celery to crockpot along with the carrots, corn, soup, chicken broth and dill.

Cover and cook on low for 5 or 6 hours until chicken is fully done and vegetables are tender.

During the last 10 minutes of cooking, stir in the half and half..

I dont have any pictures of the soup I made. I've just recently started taking pictures of the food I make, but I did not do that the last time I made this dinner. I"ll be sure to take a picture another time and post it up. Maybe i'll make it tomorrow.

Now, I am going to ask you, what is your favorite winter recipe? Happy Eating!!

~MckLinky Blog Hop~ Ask a Question

So, thanks to a new blog that I am following, ive decided to join in on the fun. MckLinky has a weekly blog hop where there is a theme / question asked every week and then other bloggers can hop from blog to blog reading your answers, and leaving you comments.

The Blog Hop theme for this Week is "ASK A QUESTION".

Ask your readers ANY question and invite them to leave a comment with their answer. ANY QUESTION.

So after giving it much thought (OK, probably not as much as I should have but enough to make it interesting) I've decided to ask myself, and also my readers :

~If you could know anything about the future, anything at all... What would you want to know?
I think that the only thing I'd really want to know is did I personally do a good enough job as a mother that my four boys grew into really great men. I'd want to know that the morals and beliefs that I taught them helped them along the way. If my kids turned out to be sad/depressed/crazy/arrogant/etc then I'd want to be able to have time to rethink the way I teach them things so that they could have the amazing life they so deserve...

Now what about you? If you could know anything about the future, anything at all... What would you want to know?

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies, anyone?

Ok, seriously... these are the most delicious things EVER! I have never really been a fan of pumpkin so I was a bit scared when I tried this recipe. Holy crap... i think they should be tried by each and every human on the planet. These things are DELISH!!!

Brownie Batter
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder - I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake Batter
6 oz cream cheese, softened - I used 8oz
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar - I used 1/2 cup
2 tbsp flour - I used 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp
1/2 cup pumpkin puree - I used 2/3 cup
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract - I used 1/3 tsp
1/2 tsp cinnamon - I used 2/3 tsp
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves - I used 1/3 tsp

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.

Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving

I found the recipe on Beantown Bakers Blog. She has a TON of yummy ideas that you should go and check out.

I chilled them overnight before I cut into them and man oh man... I think I am going to have a hard time with my 101 list because I think I gained 10lbs in my left thigh alone, haha! If you make them, please tell me what you think...

Friend Makin Monday

It's that time of the week again! Wait, did I use that line the last time I joined in the Friend Makin Monday theme? Possibly? Who knows.... Well anyways, it is that time again. Today, Amber over at aefilkins asked

What are your favorite candles/scents?

Banana Nut Bread.... YUM!

Vanilla Pumpkin

Almond Cookie

Christmas Wish

and last but not least.... Cookies and Cream

So I think that you can see a pattern forming here as to the kind of scents that I personally enjoy. Anything soft and not to over powering. There are a few more that I love as well, but these were the first that came to mind. The list is much longer if she would have asked what DONT you like.

Now I ask of you, what is your favorite candle/scent?

Was it worth it?

Every once in a while, while I am sitting here in AZ, missing my friends and family back east, I tend to ask myself.... was it worth it?
Was it worth moving 2600 miles away from everything I have ever known my whole life? Was it worth leaving Kaleb and Christian with their father for the year to come out here? The decision was solely put on my shoulders. Carl would never ask me to move 2600 miles away from everything I've ever known.
It's been a bit of a financial burden for me to come here. Not so much moving here but all the money I've spent to go back east when I get sad. I've been home 2 times now and am going again in 2 weeks. For as much as I've gone home you would think that maybe we made the wrong decision.
But then I step out onto my patio off my bedroom and I see this:



The change of scenery is absolutely AMAZING! It's new, its refreshing, its peaceful. So when I sit and wonder if we made the right decision, I just look out my window to the amazing things that I see.



Taken from my favorite Musical Artist: "Life's a journey, not a destination... you just cant tell, just what tomorrow brings"

So while I miss things in New England. My family, my friends, my old house on the lake.. I wouldn't trade what I have for the world. The experience of seeing new things, of meeting new friends and starting a new life.. For now, i'll enjoy this journey and i'll see what tomorrow brings!