Cooking in February

I like hearty meals. I especially like soups and stews... even when it is 80 degrees outside! I made this tonight and thought it was worthy of sharing. My regards to the Betty Crocker cookbook, and to my wonderful mother-in-law that gave it to me in the first place.




Corn Chowder

1/2 pound bacon, cut up (I used turkey bacon)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 C or more)
2 medium stalks celery, chopped (1 Cup)
2 Tbls all-purpose flour
4 Cups milk
1/8 tsp pepper (or more if you like it like I do)
1 can cream-style corn
1 can tiny whole potatoes, drained and diced
chopped fresh parsley, if desired (I didn't have it)
Paprika, if desired (I sprinkled it on top.. pretty)

1. Cook bacon in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Drain fat, reserving 3 tablespoons in saucepan. Drain bacon on paper towels; set aside. (with turkey bacon I found that it didn't give off all that much fat... so I left whatever was there and added a little butter)

2. Cook onion and celery in bacon fat over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring, until tender. Stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly, remove from heat. (mine never looked "bubbly"...but I gave it a good stir)

3. Gradually stir in milk. (I put mine in all at once) Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.

4. Stir in pepper, corn and potatoes. Heat until hot. Stir in bacon. Sprinkle each serving with parsley and paprika.

**Interesting tidbit- the word chowder, comes from the French word chaudiere. It is a large cauldron that the seamen used to make their hearty stews in. Enjoy!

Peek-A-Boo

Benny passed his certification test! Only one more to go!

TV evangelists and sickness

Well... for the last few days I've been sick. I hardly ever get sick, so I guess I'll blog about this momentous occasion. :) Last night I was supposed to go to a Valentine's dinner at our church, but Ben put his foot down and said I couldn't go. (I knew I shouldn't go, but I really wanted to) Today I stayed home from church which is also very unusual. I found myself looking at the clock and wondering what they are all doing at church. So, to get my mind off of things AND to get a little spiritual nourishment I decided to find some preaching on TV. First of all, I just want to say someone needs to tell Jan Crouch to stop dying her hair pink! Second of all, I saw lots of different pastors wearing jeans and a suit jacket together which is pretty modern and trendy. I even saw one where he had some of the other pastors or deacons sitting behind him and they were like 80 years old wearing jeans and a suit jacket. I thought it was interesting. Before you think I'm shallow, I also heard some great preaching. One sermon in particular struck me about claiming God's promises. He said that claiming promises is kind of like writing a check. Jesus has signed it and when you endorse it (claim it) then you have to take it to the bank (act) so that you can use it. I didn't get all the details right, but I thought it was a good analogy. Anyway... those are my thoughts today.

Church humor

I thought these cartoons were too good to not share.

Wii Boxing with Sam and Jenny

Superbowl

I thought this bit of football humor would make someone smile out there. Ben and I really have no interest in football. Back in Alabama people always ask you if you are an Alabama or Auburn fan. I would always look at them and say "What?" People didn't just root for a team... they had car seats, earrings, sweatshirts, EVERYTHING in their team's colors and mascots. People are serious about football in Alabama. For this superbowl, I think Prince is singing at half time. As a music teacher I can honestly say that I find Prince's singing abhorant. Local TV stations here said that if you wanted to be on the field during halftime with Prince (one of the many in the crowds of adoring fans) you had to be able to run the length of two football fields and you had to be able to stand on your feet for a few hours. Well... although this post sounds frightfully negative, for those of you that enjoy football I tip my hat to you.