Corn and Cheese Chowder

Something I really love to make is homemade soup, stew's, and chowders. I love to do them both in my slow cooker and on the stove. I've got a few different recipes I've tried and all have been VERY successful in our household. Someday I might share my Spaghetti Soup (one of our favorites), but you'll have to wait on that. ;)

Tonight, for supper, I made this absolutely delicious Corn and Cheese Chowder. It was a first time making, but it definitely won't be the last! I found the recipe on Pinterest (surprise, surprise :P) and just HAD to share! So here you go!

(My picture, not originally my recipe)

Corn and Cheese Chowder

(Click for original recipe)

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons and 1/2 stick butter (or 1/2 cup + 4 Tbsp)

1 whole onion, chopped

3 slices bacon, cut into piece

3 whole bell peppers, finely diced (red, yellow, orange)

5 ears corn, kernels sliced off

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken stock or broth

2 cups half-and-half

2 cups (heaping) Tex-Mex blend cheese

1/3 cup sliced green onions

Directions:

In a large pot, melt butter over med-high heat. Cook onions for a couple of minutes. Add bacon and cook for another minute or so, then add diced bell peppers and cook for a couple of minutes. Finally, add corn and cook for a minute.

Sprinkle flour evenly over the top and stir to combine. Pour in broth and stir well. Allow this to thicken for 3 or 4 minutes, then reduce heat to low. Stir in half-and-half, then cover and allow to simmer/thicken for 15 minutes or so.

Stir in cheeses and green onions. When cheese is melted and the soup is hot, check seasonings. Add salt and pepper or other seasonings as needed. Serve.

And that's all that's to it! It's a really simple recipe that can be done in less than an hour and it is SO good! I hope you all enjoy it!

For the pin, click here!

Until next time,

-Amanda

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

It's been a couple days since my last post and in that time I tried out a new recipe I found on, you guessed it, Pinterest!

In my initial introduction post I mentioned being a newlywed. Well, as a gift from my former workplace for my bridal shower, I was given a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. It was absolute love at first sight. I would have probably used it that night had my hubby and I not made a deal that we wouldn't use any of our gifts until after the wedding. So, it sat in my spare bedroom teasing me for nearly a month before I could add the beautiful machine to my kitchen. I've since come to adore the machine even more. I'm fairly certain that if I could marry any appliance, that baby would be THE ONE.

One thing I've come to love, in huge thanks to the mixer, is making bread. Before I stuck to basic loaves like banana, or cranberry orange, lemon poppyseed, something of the sort, and that was entirely because I HATE kneading bread. It's such a pain, and it's sticky and it takes so much time and I just have no interest for it. Now that I have my mixer, I really don't have that problem anymore thanks to that handy dough hook! My life is even more complete with the delicious fresh bread I can make up!

I have always had a love for those Hawaiian Sweet Rolls you can buy, so sweet, delectable, yummy... So when I came across a recipe for a bread version, I HAD to try it. Though it's not exactly the same to the stuff I've bought, it's pretty darn close and definitely will be something I'll be making again!

(Note this is my picture, but not originally my recipe. To view original, click on title)

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

Ingredients:
7 cups flour, unbleached
1/2 cup butter
1 cup pineapple juice at room temperature
3 eggs
3/4 cup mashed potato flakes
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger or mace
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 envelopes active dry yeas
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, mashed potato flakes, sugar, salt, ginger/mace, vanilla, and yeast.

In medium saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm, 120 to 130 degrees. Add warm mixture, pineapple juice and eggs to flour mixture. Blend at low speed of mixer until moistened. Beat 4 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in 3 cups flour to form a stiff dough.

On floured surface, knead in 1/2 to 1 cup flour until smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl turning to grease top of dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in a warm place, 80 to 85 degrees, until light and doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down. Divide into 3 parts, form each into a round ball. Place in 3 (8 or 9-inch) round cake pans that have been well greased. Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled in size, about 1 hour.

If desired, brush loaves with glaze made of lightly beaten eggs. Also sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Remove loaves from pan immediately.


I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

If you'd like to check out the pin click here!

Until next time,

-Amanda

Snowflake Clothespin Wreath

I love wreaths. I love seeing them in stores and being tempted to buy them, though I rarely actually buy because most are so darn expensive. I also love making wreaths. A lot. Seriously, in the last month I must have made 5 or 6 alone. They were mainly for Christmas, but I also made some for Easter and Spring because I had some bug in me wanting to work on ALL the projects I could possibly do!

One of my most favorite kinds of wreaths to do, or at least a kind I've made a few different of, are clothespin wreaths. They're super duper easy, rustic, and cute. They can be a tad time consuming with the whole painting of all the clothespins, but I'm sure you could always spray paint them all and make your life about 10 times easier, but who has time for that nonsense ;).

Today I bring you one particular wreath I finish a few days before Christmas. I love it and intend to keep it up probably for the rest of the winter season, or at least until I decorate for St. Patrick's Day or Easter because it's something I'm really quite proud of. I originally found this wreath browsing through cyber space on a website I used to frequent and it was an "advent calendar" wreath, but I decided not to make mine as one, but instead follow the basic concept.

Here is the wreath:

Snowflake Clothespin Wreath

Supplies:

Clothespins (I believe it was about 50-55 as it generally takes that many to fill a wreath form)

12-inch wire wreath form, or a wire clothes hanger, whichever tickles your fancy

Red paint

White paint

Mod podge

Silver glitter

Red glitter

Silver glitter glue

Wooden snowflake shapes (or something else winter-y if you wish, or any shape really if you don't want to do it for Winter/Christmas)

Fishing line

Ribbon for a bow (if you wish to have one)

Directions:
You can do it one of two ways really, you can take all the clothespins and clip them around the wreath form to see about how many you'll need, or you can just take all your clothespins and paint them. Either way, paint or spray paint your clothespins red. I did two coats so it was nice and covered, however if you like a more rustic look, one is enough.

Next, take your mod podge and apply it to one side of your clothespins. I put it on to about five at a time because I didn't want to risk the mod podge drying on me before I was done. Dip mod-podge-side-down into one of the glitters. Or, if you want, mix the colors and just dip it in, whatever, it's all personal interpretation! I alternated each clothespin between silver and red, as you can see. Set aside. Continue until all the clothespins have been glitter-fied.

Wait for the mod podge to dry. Now, this next part isn't necessary, but I like t do it so I don't have glitter falling all over the place. I sealed the glitter to the clothespins by then applying another layer of mod podge over top of the glitter. Let dry.

While those are busy drying, you can move on to your snowflakes. Go ahead and paint those cute, little suckers white and let dry. Again, I did two coats, but if you want one or more, have at 'er! If you want, you can paint both sides of the snowflakes, but it's not necessary. Once they were dry, I took out my glitter glue and lined the snowflake with it.

Since your clothespins are likely dry, or close to, go ahead and attach them to your wire frame in whatever order, form, or fashion you wish. As you can see, I alternated colors.

Once your snowflakes are dry, take your fishing line and cut two pieces long enough to allow your snowflakes to dangle in the middle of the wreath. Attach the fishing like either by taping, gluing, or just tying it to the snowflakes (I tied since they had the hollow bit in the middle) and then tie it to your wreath form.

If you wish, you can now attach or create a bow and put it on the top of the wreath.

TA-DA! You just made an adorable clothespin wreath, perfect for any home this winter or holiday season! :)

I hope you've enjoyed this post!

Check out the pin here!

Until next time,

-Amanda

Brownie Christmas Trees

I realize that Christmas was already a week and a half ago, but I've decided to share this recipe with you now as it's one of the few things I made during my holiday baking that I managed to actually take a picture of, albeit a crappy picture. Either way, enjoy this! It's GOOD!

Every year at Christmas I do some baking, like many people. I love to bake and craft, so every Christmas I make a bunch of goodies for mine and my husbands families, as well as some friends and give left overs to co-workers. Among those goodies this year were some Brownie Christmas Trees. I originally found the idea somewhere on Pinterest but ended up not actually pinning it for whatever reason, probably because it's actually ridiculously easy and doesn't really require any instructions at all.

And so, I bring you...

Brownie Christmas Trees

Ingredients:

Brownie mix (either boxed or your own personal recipe) and ingredients for mix/recipe

Green icing (or whatever icing you have and green food coloring)

Candy canes

Red cinnamon hot candies or any other candies you might have around for decorating

Directions:

Make your brownies according to directions, including baking them. I found if you make it in a bigger pan the more brownies you get, however, bake in whatever size pan you deem worthy. Cool the brownies.

Once brownies are cool, cut them into triangles. I just cut them in half lengthwise and then made triangles by cutting on diagonals. I think I got about 8 trees per 9x9-inch pan, but it depends on how big you really want them I suppose.

Take your icing and either pipe it or smooth it on with a knife in a crossing formation, much like garland on a tree.

Finally, decorate your tree as you wish with your candies. Then, carefully push a 1-2 inch long piece of candy cane in the bottom to make the trunk.

And there you have it, a Brownie Christmas tree! :)

I hope you enjoy these as much as our families and my son did!

You can view my pin here.

Until next time,

-Amanda

Valentine's Conversation Hearts

Yesterday I was unable to make a post, which I apologize for, I just had to go to the hospital last night and get told that I had bronchitis, which I already knew, but I'm back tonight! To make up for yesterday, I'll be providing you all with two posts tonight! :)

One thing you'll learn about me the more I post is that I like to decorate for holidays. Not just the normal Halloween and Christmas, I like to decorate for Valentine's, St. Patrick's, and Easter too! Let's be clear, I don't go all out and have like massive inflatable hearts and rabbits in my yard or anything, it's just small things around the house like wreaths (I REALLY love wreaths), simple centerpieces for my kitchen table, and maybe some things to hang up on the windows (window clings) or a little around the house stuff. It's never really a situation of my house puking a particular holiday... Except for maybe Halloween and Christmas, which I really like to go all out for, however, even at that, it's nothing like those TLC specials you'll see.

Tonight I bring to you a project I completed recently in honor of Valentine's Day. I came across it on Pinterest some time during the last year or so and thought "I can do that! It's so easy!". The lady's blog didn't provide me with any instructions really because she makes and sells them herself. And why on Earth would *I* buy something that I could just make myself!

(Not my picture, this is from the original creator, which you can check out by clicking on the title below)

Valentine's Conversation Hearts

Supplies:

Wooden Hearts (One for each person in your family, or whoever you're making it for)

Pastel paint colors (think Conversation heart colors) - get one color for each heart

Ribbon

Red sticker colors or red paint (I didn't have and couldn't find red sticker letters, so I just free handeded it)

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Directions:

Take your wooden hearts and paint each one a different color and let dry. If you like a more rustic look, leave it at one coat, otherwise do a second coat once it's dry.

Once the hearts are done, add a persons name to each heart with the stickers, or free hand paint it with red paint like I did. Let dry, if needed. You could seal it with a clear sealer or mod podge if you'd like, or just leave it as is like I did.

Take your ribbon and cut it into, roughly, 5-6 inch strips. You'll need one strip in between each heart, if you're only making three hearts like I did, you'll need two strips. Glue the strips to the back of the hearts. I had about 3 inches between each heart.

Once you're done with "connecting" the hearts cut enough ribbon to make a bow with some hang off long enough to attach to the top heart. Make a bow and glue the ends of the "hanging strips" (I couldn't think of what else to call them :P) to the top of the first heart.

Now hang it up on your wall for others and you to enjoy!

I know I didn't have pictures for each step along the way, but I didn't think I'd be making a blog post about it, so hopefully you're able to follow these simple instructions via text!

Here's what mine looks like!:

Now you have a pretty, simple, and cute decoration for Valentine's Day! :)

For the pin you can go here, or repin at the top of this post!

Until next time,

-Amanda

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Pork Chops

A couple weeks ago I picked out recipes from Pinterest to try for the next month and this was one of the choices I made. I'm telling you, these pork chops are great, but the Honey Garlic sauce? It's THE best. There's a local restaurant that my husband and I love to go to that makes the best honey garlic sauce I've ever had. This sauce is almost identical to the restaurants and will become a regular, whether I end up making the pork chops again or not.

So without further adieu, there they are!

(Not my picture, took it from the original site as I forgot to take a picture of mine)

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Pork Chops

(click title to go to original recipe)

Ingredients:
6 center loin pork chops, well trimmed
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground sage
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 eggs
4 tbsp water

Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup honey
¼ cup soya sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:
Sift together flour, salt, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, thyme, sage, paprika, and cayenne.

Whisk together eggs and water.

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then dip the chops in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the chop into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the chop to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chops do not brown too quickly on the outside before they are fully cooked on the inside. I find just below medium heat works well. I use a burner setting of about 4 1/2 out of 10 on the dial and fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.

Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked chops into the Honey Garlic Sauce. Serve with noodles or rice.

Sauce: In a medium saucepan add oil and garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.


Like I said before, the sauce is amazing and will definitely become a regular, possibly my go-to. I hope you enjoy this find too!

For the pin you can go here.

Until next time! :)

-Amanda

Melted Crayon Art

Since tonight is the first of my blog being up and running, I thought what better time to make my first post than now? I figure I can also let you in on some bits and pieces of my life as time goes on.

I was a stay at home mom for a little over 3 years when I decided to venture into getting a job in hopes to get my son around kids his age and get myself out of the house. I started my job November 7th, 2011 and worked there until June 2012 where I decided to leave and stay home for a bit. It wasn't long before I was craving that outside life again and got a job about a month later and was there for just under three months when things fell through and up until about 3 weeks ago I found myself being at home again.  I tell you this all because it brings me to the last few weeks I've had.

Lately I've been feeling something inside me itching to keep busy, so I started doing some crafts again. I used to love crafting and making things, usually for different holidays, and hadn't in quite some time. I've had a lot of projects sitting around that I either started or had the supplies for but never got around to doing and decided to get to work. In the last few weeks I've found myself doing several projects.

Today I present to you one of the many projects I did this past while. This is a project I've really been meaning to do. I have an account on Pinterest (click on link to go to my profile) and have come across the Melted Crayon art many times. I did one last year that was just the colors lined up in a row and melted. This time around I decided to do a little something different.

I took this pin:

And made this:

Since it's not actually my original creation, I wouldn't feel right explaining how to do it, so if you wish to do one yourself, feel free to visit this pin.

Until next time,

-Amanda.