Corn Chowder

A month ago or so I gave out a recipe for Parmesan Corn Chowder. I was scanning through my recipes yesterday and decided to make this. It tasted great, until I added the cheese. Word to the wise, don't add the cheese just make it a corn chowder instead. It tastes great without the cheese. So here is the revised recipe.

(Vegetarians-you can use veggie stock instead of chicken stock)

Corn Chowder

2 cups chicken stock
1 onion, diced (about a cup)
1/2 cup celery, diced small
2 potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 cups milk
2 TBS corn starch
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 can corn, drained
1 can creamed corn

In a 4 quart pot heat chicken stock, onion, celery, carrot, and potatoes to boiling. Turn down heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the creamed corn, corn and black pepper. Cook another 2-3 minutes until warmed. Add the milk except 2 TBS. Use the 2TBS milk to mix with the corn starch and then add to the soup. Stir until hot and thick. Serve with warm bisquets or rolls.

(At the end of the cooking process I mashed it all slightly with a potato masher to make the potatoes and the carrots smaller.)

2008 Charity

So I have been surfing the net and reading blogs and I came across one that asked people to commit to 25 charity projects a year. That is two a month. I think I am going to do that too. So here is my new years resolution:

I commit to making 25 items for charity this year. I will find a great place to donate and will donate them.

Anyone want to join me?

Maw's Shawl

We gave Maw her shawl on Thursday evening. She seemed to like it but didn't put it on or wear it like I had hoped. I didn't get any pictures of her in it then either. Oh well. It was pretty though.

Halfway House Green Beans

With the holidays, I am sure everyone is cooking up a storm. When we got back from Disney on the 23rd, I began baking. I baked 6 dozen cookies. 2 dozen sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles, 2 dozen mini chocolate chip cookies, and 2 dozen "Mickey Magic" chocolate chip cookies. I used the store-bought refrigerated dough and 'doctored' it up with sprinkles and jimmies.

I baked 4 cheesecakes. I used my uncle's recipe and poured the mixtures in to store-bought graham cracker crusts. I made two plain cheesecakes, one chocolate cheesecake, and one chocolate chip cheesecake.

For Christmas eve dinner with my mother and father, I made the mashed potatoes. The best potatoes I have made was when I used half and half to cream the potatoes. It made them so rich and yummy.

We had Christmas dinner at our house and we had a pre-cooked ham that I heated up, sweet potatoes, green beans (recipe at the bottom) stuffing, and rolls. In the stuffing I saute onions, celery and then added the water and when it boils I pour it into the bread crumbs.

Halfway House Green Beans
4 slices bacon
1 small onion (about a cup)
2 cans french style green beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with juices
1 TBS sugar

Fry bacon and remove to a paper towel lined plate. In the bacon fat cook the onions until soft. Add sugar and the tomatoes and the juice in the the can to the onions. Cook on medium low for about 10 minutes. Add the green beans and cook covered until heated through. Remove from heat and place in serving dish. Crumple up the bacon and sprinkle on top. Serve imediately.

Christmas Gifts

Today I got two new knitting books and I am so excited. I am a huge fan of Debbie Macomber and about a month ago I got one of her knitting along with Debbie books "A good Yarn" and I love the patterns in it. I have already made two scarves from it and want to make a baby blanket next. So a few weeks ago I was on line and found two more that I would like, so I ordered them and when the box came I gave the box unopened to my husband and told him to wrap it up just like that and give it to me for Christmas. I opened it today and while I knew what was in it, I was so excited to get them finally and look through them. I got the Back on Blossom Street and Cedar Cove Series, Knitting with Debbie. I have now found three more patterns I am dying to begin.

I gave two gifts that I made this year and my mother loved her scarf I made. I haven't given the prayer shawl yet to my husband's grandmother but we will get it to her soon. It was such an easy pattern and worked up so quickly that I am tempted to make another one and keep it.

While we were traveling on our trip to Disney World and back (14 hours each way) I did a lot of handwork. I finished the prayer shawl and made a scarf for me (a first project in over a year for me only!!) and I began a matching hat.

Now with the sales beginning tomorrow I am looking forward to sneaking out of the house for a little time in a yarn shop preparing for my next project, a baby blanket. My sister and brother in law are having a baby in July. I think I am going to make one in a bright green and yellow yarn, by Bernat called Tropics.

I will post some pictures soon!!

One down, One to go. A Prayer Shawl.

I have one gift done and now only one to go. The first one turned out GREAT. So great that I really want to do one for me now. My husband and I were out last night shopping for last minute people and we were working on an idea for his grandmother. We always get her a gift certificate to a supermarket and she really appreciates it because she is on a tight budget and she usually spends her food money on gifts this time of year. But I also wanted to get something else for her. So we are sitting there and I came up with the idea of making her a shawl to wrap around her. We happen to be in a restaurant next to Michaels Craft Store and so we went straight from the restaurant to the store and my husband helped me pick out the yarn. I am making the shawl that is featured on the front of the Prayer Shawl Ministry booklet. It is a popular pattern made in Lionbrand Homespun yarn. In fact the Lionbrand website gives it away as a free pattern online. So we came home and after the kids went to bed I sat down to work on it. Wow does it work up easily and quickly. In about an hour I had done about 10 inches on it. I should have it done in no time. Now I understand why they use this as a common pattern. It is crocheted in a V-stitch pattern.

51 chains to start and then starting with the 6th chain (dc, ch2, dc) in the same chain. Skip two chains and (dc, ch2, dc) in the next chain. Do this to the last chain and dc in that one. Ch3, turn and *(dc,ch2,dc) in each 2 chain space to the end and dc in ch after last dc. Ch3, turn and do follow from * until it reaches 36 inches in length. Then start again on the original starting chain and do the same for another 36 inches.

I will post a picture of the shawl when it is done. We chose to do it in Homespun Prairie color. I can't post a picture of the first gift because it will be given to someone who reads this blog and I don't want to give it away.