gonna make some more stuff!!!

Today's Recipes: Potato Chowder with Corn & Sausage, Grandmother's Chili, Carnitas

So, I went to Michael's again today (this is getting bad, folks)... um, and Target (and you know what that means)... in my defense, the leg warmers are being made as a gift from a co-worker to her bestie's new baby... I'm only going to keep one (or two) pair for Lily Ruth... but here's the best part - I bought puffy paints and polymer clay! That's right, it's time to paint the feet of Lily Ruth's sleepers and socks so that she can get some traction on the hard floors AND I'm a gonna make Sushi Bracelets!!!! Once again, THANK YOU SAMSTER MOMMY for giving me something to do! I'll post pics of the bracelets when I start to work on them because I'm going to do them slightly differently... in part, I'm going to base them on a GENIUS charm bracelet given to me by the amazing Kittyn (you know, the blogger...)

I also wanted to share the 3 recipes that I've made this week - comfort food, because Baby, it's COLD out there!

Potato Chowder with Corn and Sausage - this one I made up myself :-P

1 medium yellow onion - chopped
1 pkg crimini mushrooms - chopped
4 or 5 large garlic cloves - minced
olive oil
5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes - chopped
chicken broth
3 links Opa's Beef Sausage - chopped (you can use any pre-cooked sausage links - I just prefer this one)
1/2 bag of frozen chopped spinach
1/2 bag of frozen corn
Fat-free Half & Half
1 cup shredded cheese (I prefer Sharp Cheddar, but have used lots of others as well)

In a large, heavy pan (I used my pasta pot w/o the strainer), sautee the onion, mushroom and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add the potato and enough chicken broth to cover it all. Cover the pot and simmer until the potatoes are done. Mash it about until the potatoes are sort-of or even mostly mashed. Add the sausage, corn and spinach, and a bit more chicken broth (until it's runny but not quite soupy). Return the mixture to a simmer. Add half and half until it's a nice 'chowder-y' consistency. Stir in the cheese and serve immediately.

My Grandmother's Chili - of course, I've monkeyed with it...

olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - chopped
1/2 of a green bell pepper - chopped
5 or 6 garlic cloves - minced
1 Lb ground meat (turkey or beef)
1 can pinto beans - drained and rinsed
Chili powder - start w/ 1 Tbsp, and add more if you'd like (I use 3 or 4 :-P)
dash of cumin
1 can diced tomatoes - undrained
1 can tomato paste
salt
oregano

In a heavy pot, sautee the onion, bell pepper & garlic in a bit of olive oil. Set aside. Brown the meat - crumbling it as you cook. Add the onion mixture back in. Add the rest of the ingredients - seasoning to your taste - simmer for at least an hour. Note: I puree the beans in the blender first because my husband despises beans, but will happily eat them if they are disguised (even if he knows that they are there) - this also gives the chili a nice thick texture.


Carnitas - now, I got this off the internet a loooong time ago, didn't bookmark it, couldn't print it, and didn't note where I got it from... So if this is your recipe, I'm not claiming it as my own, and I'd be happy to give you credit for it - just let me know!

3 Lbs pork shoulder - cut into 1" chunks
1 Tbsp salt
water
4 large garlic cloves - minced
1 onion - chopped
2 tsp Ancho chili powder
1 tsp chili powder

put the pork chunks into a heavy, wide pan. barely cover the meat with water, and add the salt. leaving the pot uncovered, bring the water to a boil. once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat & continue to cook at a low simmer until the liquid has evaporated - the meat should be cooked but not falling apart (approx 60 min). reduce the heat again and continue cooking until the fat is rendered. keep turning the meat and cooking until it is browned all over (approx 15 min) - you could keep going until it's crispy (traditional method), but I prefer it tender. remove the meat from the pan & set aside. using the rendered fat (or olive oil), sautee the garlic and onion then add the meat back in and stir in the seasonings. yum.

Speaking of food, Lily Ruth continues to do good work in the solid food arena :-) So far, she still adores avocado, tolerates homemade brown rice cereal, loves yogurt, feels pretty good about mango, and despises banana and peas... we'll go back to those at a later date... maybe we'll try meat this weekend!

to continue my constant posting of non-essential-to-the-post photos, here she is - in love with Grandpa Doug



and pissed off about peas



and that will just have to tide you over until I make/do something else!