Saturday, January 30, 2010

White Chili to Die For

It was requested that I post this. It is quite possibly the best White Chicken Chili recipe ever created. It is from a cookbook I adore:






I met that lady at a boutique over a year ago and it changed my cooking life. There are lots of good useful recipes in the inspirational book. I've even had it spiral bound.

So I'm going to share one of my favorites here:

White Chili

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion, diced
6 to 8 small garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans, undrained
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup sour cream, plus additional for topping
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped tomatoes

1. Cook the chicken by the desired method. Cool and tear into pieces. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken, chiles, beans, broth, chicken bouillon, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Chili can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated or frozen for serving later.
3. Add the 1 cup sour cream and cheese, and continue cooking until the cheese is melted. Keep warm until serving.
4. Serve in bowls and pass cilantro, tomatoes, and additional sour cream.

Serve with ciabatta bread. Broil it a couple of minutes until crisp. Let your family or guests tear the bread instead of serving it sliced. Pass the butter.

Variation: For a thinner chili, the consistency of soup, add more chicken broth, up to 6 cups total.
Steps 1 and 2 can be done ahead of time.

Go try it. You won't regret it.


Thursday, January 28, 2010

Making Chocolates, This Saturday, 10-12 AM

It's true! We'll be making chocolates here at my house this Saturday, Jan. 30th from 10-12 am. We would love for YOU to come and join us...but without your children. :)

There will be fantastic little valentine boxes and tags, designed by Lora, for you to help make and take home full of chocolates! This is an awesome opportunity to have a handmade gift with so little effort.

Here's a sampling of the chocolates we'll be making:



Please come. The more the merrier.
Send me a message if you don't know where I live...

Picture a Day #13-16

Jan 16, The only picture I took the whole day. An awesome look into how a trip of a mom by herself with three kids went down.


Jan 15 (2), Jenny's Canyon (in Snow Canyon).


Jan 15, My awesome nephew Kamron and us just before his graduation cermony.


Jan 14, Taken while I was driving (don't try it) to Southern Utah with the boys. The sunrays were cool in real life...


Jan 13, At one of Isaac's many mini-recitals.




Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Drifting

Not sure if I should post this. I can't figure out what role my blog should play in my life. But sitting at home keeping my thoughts to myself isn't doing me any good. Might as well share them with the world, right?



I've been having a hard time blogging about much of anything. Pictures have been more painful to post since they are mostly still on my old computer and I've cut down one how much time I spend on the computer overall. Then when I do look at other blogs, particularly craft/decor/diy blogs, I think of how (inadequate I am) much time and effort it takes to post like that and so I don't. Things are going on that I could blog about, but I just don't feel like there's any reason to post it. This is much of what's going on in my head. Lack of motivation, ambition, drive, purpose.

I've got lots of theories as to why I've been in this funk...including, but not limited too, lack of sleep, boredom, missing my husband, transitional time of life for me... Tonight it's definitely missing my husband. We're crossing paths a lot these days, at best. He is working such a great amount that I usually can't even go there in my head. Feigning ignorance is often my best tactic.

The kids being a little older has helped me process it some. My sister Leslie's husband has always traveled a lot and I never understood how she managed to stay sane. I realize now that I was seeing it through my young mothering eyes, with days full of diapers and crying. Now things are somewhat easier around here. Still plenty stressful, but easier. The kids are *more* predictable. Mothering is still vital, but not as constant. True be told, it's sad really in many ways (and yet wonderful in others).

I've been floundering spiritually for some time now too. I've had a book of testimonies from the women of my ward sitting on my desk since early December. I had not read any of it. I picked it up tonight and browsed some. One woman quoted a hymn that I helped teach the kids in primary, "How Firm a Foundation":

"Fear not, I am with thee; oh be not dismayed, For I am they God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand."

Still?

I sure hope so.

It's amazing that I can be surrounded by a multitude of blessings and yet be lost.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Picture A Day #1-12


As one of my new year goals, I've commited to taking a picture each day and sharing it. This is the first batch. They are ginormous. I'm sorry for that, but I'm not going back to fix it.

I do not claim that they will be artistic or beautiful, but instead maybe interesting. I also reserve the right to borrow a picture from a neighboring day if a whole day actually passed without a picture being taken.


Here they are in large, backwards fashion!

Picture a Day

Jan 12, A recent project using scrapbook paper.


Picture a Day Jan 11, Snowman....in the Snow.


Picture a Day Jan 10, Ready for church.


Picture a Day

Jan 9, Sarah's kitchen she got for Christmas and the table I mod podged, moved downstairs.

Picture a Day Jan 8, My berry wreath I'm leaving up for Valentine's.

Picture a Day
Jan 7, After the first game of church basketball (in which we were crushed).


Picture a Day
Jan 6, Cute legs.

Picture a Day
Jan 5, Sarah playing.

Picture a Day
Jan 4, The view out my front window of my neighbor's roof being torn down.

Picture a Day
Jan 3, A poor picture of our job board.

Picture a Day
Jan 2, My Cocomotion given to me by Daniel for Christmas. Yummy.

Picture a Day
Jan 1, Cleaning up Christmas.