SNOW!!?!

I am trying to be grateful for snow...we need it.

Last year we had none and I whined.

We have it this year and I am whining.

Summer will come and I will whine about the heat, and wish we had snow.

Snow is great when you don't have to go out in it.

I use to love the snow but cannot seem to warm up this year.

I think my thermostat is broken.

But I do love this tree because all the wood peckers hang out at the suet bar.

I run to get my camera because the red-haired wood pecker was there and I was not fast enough.

All the bird feeders are empty. 

 We have hungry (and sometimes angry) birds. 

 It doesn't take them long to eat us out of house and home. 

Now I have to go out into the snow to pick up kids from school.

Three coats, two pair of gloves, hat, scarf and my mukluks later and I am off.

Then I see all the kids in shorts walking to or from school.

Is it my age?

We have been here long enough to be acclimated.

Or so I think. 

OK, now I am rambling because I want to avoid the inevitable.

To the outside I GO, then while I am dressed I might as well shovel the walks.

Did I say I LOVE snow yet?!?

Hoping you are warm,

Barb

Recovery!

This year I only did two local Holiday Craft shows and I am exhausted.

One year I did nine...shocking my husband did not leave me that year! 

 Quite a tolerant man to say the least.

It went well but it snowed pretty much the whole time.

When we went to pick it up on Saturday night we were driving I-15 and on the way up we saw seven accidents.  We drove thought rain, sleet, snow, white out conditions, sunshine(!), fog, then there was all the black ice. 

 True white knuckle driving. 

Since it was the first snow of the year it is like learning to drive all over again.  So needless to say the drive time was longer then the set up or the take down!

Made it home safe and the temp had dropped to the low 20's.  Just CRAZY weather!

We must have had the SNOW ANGEL watching over us!!

So I am back on line on Etsy and ready to only have to drive if need be.

Which will probably be for a diet Pepsi!!

 

This will be a busy next couple of weeks.  My daughter turns 16-so she needed a party.

Then my son turns 13 on Thanksgiving day.  My niece will be getting married on Saturday and moving out of state.  So we will be partying pretty heavily in these next two weeks.

Then it will be time to watch for SANTA!!

Enjoy your day!

Barb

 



From 70 degrees to this....?

 We had record heat this last week but we knew it wouldn't last so from 70 degrees to 32 degrees in 24 hours is a bit much to take!

We have about 6-8 inches on the valley floor. 

And we (my husband) finished the roof on the shed about 6 hours before it started to snow!

So today is GREEN CHILI STEW day.

We grow our own green chilies so we have an abundance and it is a good thing we all like them.

This is one way I make it and it is pretty much all to taste so this might be a bit hot for some.

Green Chili Stew

 

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cooked and shredded
4 potatoes peeled and cubed into one inch cubes

1 medium carrot, sliced and diced
2 1/4 cups chicken broth plus water to cover the potatoes and carrot
5 large Hatch or Anaheim chilies that have been roasted see below for directions
or use 2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup whole milk
Sour cream
Tortillas warmed

Directions:

Place chilies on a hot grill and roast about 3-5 minutes until the skin begins to blister, turning frequently to blister all sides. The key is blistering the skin without cooking the chilies. Continue until the chilies are generously blistered on all sides.
Place in a plastic bag and seal this will allow them to sweat for about 5 minutes. Sweating loosens the blistered skin.

Use gloves and remove the skin and seeds leaving the chilies.

 Put in food processor to finely chop them.
Trim fat from chicken. Cook and shred chicken into bite size cubes.
Boil the potatoes and carrot in the chicken broth for about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, chilies and chicken together and boil for about 3 minutes. I let this sit for a few hours so the flavors can blend.
Mix cornstarch and cold water; stir into stew. Cook stirring frequently, until heated through and thickened. Turn the heat down and add the milk. Bring the heat back up and serve hot with sour cream on top sprinkled with cilantro and tortillas.

We love this and it can really warm you up!

Enjoy,

Barb