Easy Vegetable Chowder

It has been so horribly cold lately!

Once that cold gets in my bones, it's hard to get it to leave.

I actually hope I'll get a hot flush so I can get warm.

Can you believe that?

No one ever asks for a hot flush.

Well if a hot flush doesn't help, then some good chowder should!

At least it warms one part of your body!

 

I know there are lots of recipes out there,

so I thought I'd share mine.

 

I found this recipe online on 2/19/01.

That's the date on my printed copy.

But I added some ingredients from other recipes to come up with my very own.

 And it got two thumbs up tonight at dinner.

1. Fry up some bacon and or sausage

2. Save some of the drippings and sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic

3. Transfer to a saucepan and add the diced potatoes, and water

4. When the potatoes are tender, add the milk and when heated,

mash them by hand and then add the corn and peas

Add: salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, basil, parsley, or anything else you think would work.

The added seasonings really add flavour to the soup.

(You mash the potatoes with the potato masher)

Add in the bacon.

You can continue to cook it in the saucepan on the stove

or transfer it to a crockpot.

(This is great if you want to cook earlier and you don't have to worry about it burning.)

I put it on high until there was some movement happening and then I reduced it to low.

When you're ready to serve you can embellish each bowl

with some shredded cheese and bits of bacon.

A few weeks ago, I had a friend over for lunch and made the same soup.

I served it with cornbread.

Tonight we had homemade bread from the bread maker.

This was my son's plate.

He was hungry.

He ate it all too.

Sometimes he can't finish what's on his plate because, you know the old saying,

"His eyes were bigger than his stomach"

This is my darling husband chuckling at me taking pictures while we were eating.

Just for that he's gets blogged!

 

Click here to print my version of the recipe.

I managed to find the original source and you can click here to print as well.

 

Serve with your favourite bread.

It is truly delicious!

 

Blessings,

 

Sharing at:

 Reasons to Skip the Housework
Silver Pennies
Pieced Pastimes
Project Inspired at An Extraordinary Day



Talk on Tuesday

Cinderella



Last Tuesday, I shared with the ladies a bit about the theme of Cinderella.

 

Valentine's Day was approaching and I felt to share about how
Jesus wants to have a love relationship with us.
He longs to romance us.
We are His Bride.

As I began to search a bit about the story of Cinderella

 I noticed that Hollywood is coming out with another movie next month.

I thought that was a nice confirmation.

Here is the movie trailer.

Most young girls have always been fascinated by this story.

It's been around for hundreds of years in many cultures with varying story lines.

(Vintage cover of the book of Cinderella)
 

As young girls we dream about meeting the man of our dreams and sharing a life together.

Our Prince Charming.

 

God put that desire in us, to be loved and to want to love someone.

 

 When I came to know Jesus at the age of 9, I received a scripture verse
that I have held onto ever since.
 

You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
    beautiful in every way.

Song of Solomon 4:7

 

We as women often struggle with this area of beauty and worth.

We feel like Cinderella.

We feel like no one cares or no one notices.

We feel unappreciated and unlovely.

 

BUT

God is not a Man that He should lie.

So when He says that you beautiful and that you are the apple of His eye,

He means it!

He loves you!

You are beautiful to Him!

This was the front of the postcard that I designed.

I shared a song from Bethel Music called, "We Dance".

It's easier to have a "friend" relationship with Jesus

than to have a "romantic" relationship.

But all of scripture from Genesis to Revelation declares God's deep love for us.

I asked the ladies to close their eyes and imagine that they were dancing

in the arms of Jesus wearing their beautiful evening gown.

The words to the song were put on the back of the postcard.

 

 

I brought heart-shaped sugar cookies to share.

Sugar Cookies

 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt



Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar.

Beat in egg and extracts.

Add in the flour, baking powder and salt.

Do not chill the dough.

Divide the dough into two balls.

Roll each ball onto floured surface

Dip cookie cutter in flour before each use.

 Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheets for 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
Makes about three dozen cookies.
Recipe may be doubled.
If desired, apply icing once the cookies are cooled.

Icing

1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2-2 tablespoons of milk (just enough to get the right consistency)
1-2 drops of food colouring to create desired colour.
I used one small drop of red to create the pink colour.
Use a dull knife to apply the icing on the cookies.
Shake some sparkling sugars immediately after applying the icing or they won't stick.

Happy Valentine's Day! (Belated)


Blessings,



Sharing this post here:

The Beauty in His Grip

Fridays Unfolded
Imparting Grace
Pieced Pastimes

Talk on Tuesday

Designed by God



 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

 

We had a snow day today, Yeah!

That feeling of being able to stay in your pyjamas never gets old.

We got a LOT of snow and wind all day Sunday and into the night.

Lots of large snowdrifts.

Lots of shovelling.

Not me. My husband. I was a good wife though, I cooked him a big breakfast.

 

Did you know that no two snowflakes are alike?

Isn't that amazing?

 

I first shared about this with the young teens three weeks ago.

The topic was based on Psalm 139.

I "happened" to see a couple of pictures of a snowflake at different places

 while I was preparing my lesson.

And then it came to me.

 

God made each of us beautiful and unique.

Just like a snowflake.

While snowflakes are beautiful, they only last for a very short time.

How much more does God care for us.

I just love it when God gives me something unique to share about.

He is so faithful!

 

Have you ever heard of Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley?

Neither had I, until I started searching for images of snowflakes.

The images above were taken by him.

You can read his story here.



Basically, Mr. Bentley was fascinated with the beauty of a snowflake and

was sad that its beauty would not be shared because it disappears so quickly.

As a young boy his mother gave him a microscope for his birthday.

That enabled him to see the uniqueness of the snowflake.

His father later gave him a camera and he was able to capture the images.

 

“Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost.”



 

All that snow we got is made up of millions of snowflakes (or snow crystals).

The design of the snowflake is based on the conditions it went through

before it lands. (Whole sermon right there!)

 

I shared this with the ladies as well.

I showed them images from this website.

They were in awe of the beauty of the snowflake.

The hand of God in each one.

Each one of us is so unique to God.

We were designed by Him.



This is the front of the postcard that I gave the ladies.

 

This is the backside of the postcard that gives information on Wilson Bentley.

 

God took so much intricate detail into making you.

We will live forever.

But we so easily forget.

We think that God doesn't always care about us or some little detail that is important to us.

Matthew 6:28-30 says,

 

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 

The next time you see a snowflake, think about the beauty of God's creation.

Think about how beautiful you are to Him.

You were designed by the Creator.

Every little detail.

You are perfect.

 

You were designed by God. 

God knows you and He loves you.

 

Here is a beautiful song by Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger of Bethel music called "You Know Me"

 

 

Linked with these blogs:

Word-filled Wednesday at Woman to Woman 

 Inspire Me Monday at Blessed but Stressed

The Beauty of  His Grip

Blessings,