This has been a really nice Mother’s Day. I had several glorious hours to myself this afternoon and I took full advantage of them.
Dinner was a strange combination of things that I like and felt like cooking. And I’ll watch TV until it’s time to hit the sack and get ready for another work week.
It’s been great so far. Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends who are mothers!
I don’t know what got over me at the grocery store the other night. I spent way too money and came home with a ton of chocolates. There isn’t a piece of chocolate in this house and I have been craving chocolate each night the past week, which I haven’t been able to produce to satisfy that driving craving that hits you late at night, when you are too tired to go out anywhere to get what you are so wanting.
It has been a couple of months since the Christmas holidays have come and gone. Along with it went all the Christmas goodies that end up in the house that time of year. Cakes, pies, cookies, candies, chocolates and all the wonderful deserts that people make during that festive holiday season. The house is back to normal (or as normal as it will ever be) and there isn’t a trace of last year’s festivities and summer is on it’s way!
When I went grocery shopping they were having a massive sale on their chocolates and I couldn’t make up my mind on which ones to get so I went a little crazy and bought a bunch of different kinds, just in case. I now have a good sized bowl in the kitchen filled with a nice variety of chocolates that should keep my night time cravings in check for a few months.
Crab and Corn Chowder in the Crockpot
Serves 4 -6,
Loosely based on a recipe from Family Circle Magazine
Ingredients
3-1/2 cups low-sodium, 99 percent fat-free chicken broth (2 cans 14.5 ounces each)
1/2 pound white all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup baby carrots, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium-size vidalia onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, trimmed and diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 package frozen yellow corn
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated skim milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (8 ounces) imitation crab meat
Preparation
1. Combine chicken broth, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, thyme and Old Bay in a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
2. In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch, salt, evaporated milk, and red pepper.
3. Stir red pepper mixture into slow cooker, replace cover and cook on either HIGH or LOW for 1 hour.
4. Stir yellow corn and crabmeat into soup and heat through, about 30 minutes.
5. Serve warm, with hot crusty bread and butter.
It’s been a rough couple of days lately. I some how got myself a stomach bug that has turned my life upside down but I am finally feeling up to real food again. I made grilled cheese sandwiches and nibbled on a small handful of Lays potato chips. I’m still drinking a lot of green tea, and I think maybe I’m getting addicted to the tea. I have a cup by my side all day and even take a cup to bed with me and leave it on the night stand.
I’ve given up on TV – the only time I turn it on is to watch the 10:00 news and then I shut it off again. I’d much rather listen to the music I have in my collection and have been playing a lot of oldies but goodies to just listen to them again. It’s not as depressing. Found an old album by Robert Cray that’s really easy on the ears. Haven’t listened to him in ages – love it.
Since I am off work tomorrow, this morning when I arrived at my desk I discovered a great big red velvet heart shaped box filled with chocolates waiting for me on my computer desktop. That was such a nice Valentine’s Day surprise!
I love chocolates – my favorite is a dark chocolate piece filled with a rasberry gel. Second best is a creamy milk chocolate filled with buttery caramel. I love both flavors – but to be honest, there isn’t much about chocolate and any filling you can get that I wouldn’t want. So I limit myself to just one piece a day.