Good Intentions

I had good intentions about trying to post more often this year. Then I had to get my taxes for the State done so I've been working on those. Before I started them I did manage to quilt and bind this jelly roll quilt.

 

After we made it through the really cold weather we had a couple of days that were nice and sunny and then freezing fog moved into the area and has been with us for the last four days. It's supposed to move on out tomorrow, but then we have rain/snow showers to look forward to the next couple of days. Soon as I get the taxes sent off I'll be free to sew.  Well, it's way past my bedtime so guess I'd better get some sleep. Stay warm everyone.

Recipe Review

Judy over at Patchwork Times is having a link up for people who would like to review a recipe using a pressure cooker or a link up for all other recipes. Since I was making the recipe below tonight I thought I'd post it here and then link up on her site.

While I was looking for a different soup to use this winter I came across this one. I tried it and DH loves it so he asks for it every couple of weeks. The first time I made it I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand so I substituted. The result was that when I did make the following  recipe Dh liked better with the changes I made the first time I made it.

The things I changed were: I used a small can of diced mild green chili's, 1 can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup and a can of Evaporated milk ( when I have half and half I do use that). Tonight I added a can of corn to it and Dh has made one of his wonderful green salads so we are good to go. If you make it I would love to hear how you liked it. The pictures show before the cream is added and after the cream is added.

 

 

Baked Potato Soup

 
3 bacon strips, diced                                                 

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 T all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp pepper

3 c. chicken broth

2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 c. half-and-half cream

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Minced fresh parsley

 

In large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 T drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley. Serves 4. Prep time 10 minutes, Cook time 20 minutes - ready in 30 minutes.

Mexican Lasagna

Over the weekend I made a new recipe (which I forgot to take a picture of) that I had never tried before. You can find it here: Mexican Lasagna . I really liked it and thought it tasted even better the next day. Dh says he likes enchiladas better. It calls for a Tablespoon of Chili powder and we decided that if we made it again we would use less. It's something I would make again, but it will be awhile. When I do make it again I will add chopped black olives to it. The directions said to make it in a shallow 2 qt baking dish which I did, but if I was making it for company I think I would make it in a 9" x 13" pan and double the recipe except for the chili powder. It also called for Golden Mushroom Soup, but I had to settle for Cream of Mushroom with garlic which was fine. I may make it with enchiladas and DH's fabulous salad and have company over.

 

This was our sunset tonight. It has been really cold here since Christmas Eve and total we've had about 6-8 inches of snow. We even had our water freeze, but it only took a day to get it going again so now we will put some heat tape on the pipes and hope not to have to deal with that again.  Because of the cold I haven't been able to work in the quilt room since Christmas Eve. Maybe tomorrow it is supposed to be 30 degrees tomorrow and by Monday we should be back in the 40's it will feel like a heat wave.

 

That's about as exciting as it gets here so far this year. Hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year.