Winter Treats

It doesn't get REAL cold around these parts, but it's chilly today so this evening, for supper, we're having soup. I'm not a big soup person but THIS soup is fantastic. A tad spicey but everyone 6 and up loves it. I got the recipe from my mom who got it from...someone else. :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 chicken breasts, boiled

6+ cups chicken broth (I just use what I boiled the chicken in)

14 oz. can of Rotel tomatoes (you know...the chopper tomatoes with green chilies in them)

14 oz creamed corn

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup diced onion

Simmer all of the above.

1/4 cup cornstarch disolved in 1/2 cup water.

Add to soup and simmer.

6 slices of American cheese (um...I don't think this makes a real big difference)

1 lb velveeta cheese

When you're done, throw some tortillas in a pan with some butter to brown them a bit and then tear them in pieces and put them in your bowl of soup! Delicious!!

Another yummy thing we made today is "haystacks!" They're pretty quick and easy...a nice little treat to take to a Christmas party (which we're going to tomorrow)! And your kids will think you're amazing! Well, mine do anyway. My Grandma used to make all sorts of treats for us when we would visit and this was one of them.

We got some chow mein noodles, (should have gotten peanuts to go in as well, but forgot) and a bag of butterscotch morsels. We melted the butterscotch in a glass bowl in the microwave and then stirred in the noodles until they were well coated. I dont' have measurements...you just pour them in and stir until they're covered and it looks like you don't have enough to cover too many more. I got a bag of chow mein noodles at Wal-Mart and had at least half the bag left over from the one bag of butterscotch morsels. Then you make little piles of them on a cookie sheet and let them cool. And that's it!! My picture turned out a little odd...they should be the color of the ones on the right.

Blog? What blog?

I was doing pretty well blogging for a very short while and then the bottom dropped out!! Wonder if I can get this wagon train a movin' again.

Tonight I'm again pondering on how much I love my Ergo baby carrier. That's one thing I would definitely recommend to any new mom. It's worth it's weight in gold to me. You can start using it early on and use it...well, for a long time. I still carry Ella in it (2 years old). I didn't think Jacob would like it because he's not big on being snuggled chest to chest but he was happy as a lark in it this evening. Happier, I think, than in the Maya Wrap sling. He likes the sling, but it's not the instant soother that it seemed to be for my other babies. But he was quite happy in this. Fell asleep in it...slept while I vacuumed, swept, washed dishes. It's a little difficult to do all that with him on the FRONT but he's a bit small for me to manage getting him on my back in it so you do what you have to do. Though I might see if I can figure out a safe way to get him back there because if that works for him, it would be great. He has reflux something crazy and really likes being upright so that probably plays a part in why he was so content.

He's a little small yet, to have his legs sticking out both sides, so I just rolled him up in a blanket and tucked him in with his feet under him.

Other things of interest: I made an army tank birthday cake for Nate on Monday.

It's not great but my little boys think it was awesome and loved helping me with it so...I guess it was great in all the important categories. I used black licorice for the tracks on the tank...EEEWWW! I think they're nasty and smell yucky to boot. But..no one minded that either.