Potato & Ham Cheddar Chowder

As most of you probably know by now my sisters and I grew up in Southeastern Idaho. And what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Idaho mentioned???  Yep, POTATOES!!!

There's probably a bazillion yummy potato recipes out there, but this is my personal favorite and I'm going to be daring enough to say it's a family favorite. Heaven knows Janae will show up at my door if she knows this is what we are having for dinner ha ha:) 

Here's what you need:

*2 tbs. butter

*1/2 lb. to 1 lb. of ham (depending on how chunky you want your chowder)

*1 large onion chopped

*1 green pepper & 1 red pepper chopped

*1 can of chicken broth 

*3 to 4 medium potatoes diced (most people peel them, you'll probably notice I didn't, part out of laziness and part because I always eat the peel) 

*10 1/2 to 16 oz. of cheese snack (we like ours SUPER cheesy, so add all 16 ounces at your own risk) 

*1/2 tsp. of white pepper

*parsley to top

Then add milk, cheese, and white pepper. Heat and stir until cheese snack is completely melted and chowder is hot.

I don't know about anyone else, but we just got more snow so a hot bowl of chowder really hits the spot.

Enjoy,

Mustache and Lips Lollipops

Every year in elementary school, from 1^st to 6^th grade to be precise, I would end up missing my class Valentine’s Day party. I was usually sick or on family vacation, but one year I had the chicken pox. I can so clearly remember putting my Valentines together for my classmates while sitting on my Mom & Dad’s waterbed watching movies on this tiny little black & white TV. I tell you, I couldn’t wait for my mom to pick up my homework my bag of Valentine’s cards and goodies. When I finally had them in my hands, frankly and to my utter disappointment, there was a huge lack of yummy goodies. Can you say brat? Or pig? Either way I never give a Valentine without something tasty.

So this year for my daughters’ class Valentines we did the good old lollipop, but thanks to Blonde Designs Blog we were able to add some FLARE! If you’re running last minute, the mustaches and lips were easy and my daughter did a lot of the work. Then we sent the boys to bed, turned on Ever After, and enjoyed some girl time while putting them together. 

Jamie also made genius little sayings to go with them.

Click here to download valentines sayings

Or Blonde Designs Blog has a little tag printables to go with the mustache and lip template.

Hope you all have a lovely Valentines Day!!!

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Several weeks ago I got it into my head that I was going to make the tastiest cup of South American Hot Cocoa. I was going to watch Chocolat & listen to Johnny Depp play Minor Swing all while enjoying what was to be my delicious cup of cocoa. Bahahahaha! What actually went down was that I made THEE most disgustingly grotesque pot of cocoa EVER! It smelled like something scooped out of a South American gutter & tasted just as awful…if ya get what I’m sayin’. But I figured if I left out the red peppers, added more sugar, & used a whole heap less of chili powder it would be, well it would be just a regular cup of hot cocoa. That’s not what I wanted! Fortunately I ended up with a terrible sore throat, which luckily gave me the chance to have fun with my cocoa venture. This is what I came up with (from a combination of three recipes.)

You need: sugar, unsweetened cocoa (I love dark, so that’s what I used), water, milk, half & half, & cinnamon or chili powder.

Combine 1/3 cup of cocoa, ¾ cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of water in a medium pot and bring to a boil.

Add 3-3 ½ cups of milk and stir. Heat until hot then stir in half & half. I like mine on the chocolatey side so if it’s too strong add a little more milk.

Then add amount of desired cinnamon. Or if you want something little more spicy add a pinch, I stress pinch, of chili powder. Top it with some cream & chocolate shavings....The perfect cup of Hot Cocoa!