Need-a-Name-Soup

After weeks of having my nose glued to a research or study book of some sort, I was able to finally spend some quality time in the kitchen. We had some veggies that needed to be eaten so I decided to make some soup. Here's what I made, (I hope I remembered everything). It just needs a name...

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

4 T. butter

3 red peppers

3-4 ears of fresh corn

2-3 leeks (white and light green part)

4 cups of chicken broth

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/3 cup cream cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Garnish:

Corn chips

Cheddar Cheese

(If you cook the chicken in a pan on the stove, deglaze with water, let it evaporate, and save the bits to add to the soup.)

Roast the red peppers, put in a bowl, and cover to allow steam to soften until cool and de-skin. Roast the corn and cut the kernels of the cob. Melt the butter in a soup pot. Chop up the peppers and leeks, and add to the pot of melted butter, along with the corn. Cook until leeks are soft, add the chicken broth. Add the thyme, and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Puree half of the soup, and return to the pot. Add chicken, (and deglaze if cooked on the stove). Add the cream cheese and whisk until blended. Place into bowls and add corn chips and cheese for garnish.

To make the corn chips:

Take 4 small corn tortillas, brush with olive oil and bake until golden and crispy. Crunch chunks into the soup.

Spielberg In Training

Through the Eyes of a Three-Year-Old...

Chinook Book

Okay, so Aaron and I signed up for a 10K (6.2) mile race, on a whim. This race is in less than a month, and without running this summer and no decent pair of running shoes, I later regretted the decision. But, the race involves Pasta and Beer at the end, so even if we walked it, we can partake in the carb overload at the end. I had to get some shoes, so I did... and I saved $15!Total = $41.85+

Pretentious Portlanders and their dogs.

Excuse me while I rant...

This goes out specifically to the Stepford wife walking her two dogs in Forest Park, Tuesday, August 16th around 10:00 am. But to be fair, this is also to the hundreds, if not thousands of dog owners in Portland who hold the same "holier-than-thou" attitude about their dogs.

Okay, Portland, I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of cool dog owners... I mean what is going on here? There are leash laws for a reason... here are four:

1. Yes, I know that your dog is "super friendly" and won't hurt a fly, but guess what? Mine's not. So, if Kona and I are walking down a trail, and an unleashed dog comes running up to us, I'm going to assume that it's not friendly. And so will Kona. **News Flash** Unleashed dogs can make dogs, who are protective as it is, turn into assholes.**

2. Some folks choose to work their butts off to train their (shall I dare say aggressive?) dogs, in order to calm them down and become more socialized. This takes hard work, and usually only results in very small, yet celebratory steps. Walking past owners with their leashed dogs make for great opportunities for these celebratory occasions. Dogs running up to us, with their fur raised, ready to take action is like throwing months of training down the drain.

3. Poop. This is self explanatory, but for those that struggle to know what I'm talking about, let me lay it out for you... Dogs poop. Unlike humans who have a bit more decency, dogs will poop where they please. Owners who let them run unleashed, are unaware of where their dog has just fertilized the ground. Many times, this addition to nature occurs in the middle of the trail. Catch my drift?

4. Finally, irresponsible dog owners make responsible dog owners look bad. Here is a case scenario... (hypothetical of course!)

Responsible Dog Owner: [to irresponsible dog owner] "Hey, just a heads up, my dog is not so friendly to other dogs."

Irresponsible Dog Owner: [continues to let her dogs run up to Kona]

Responsible Dog Owner: [a little louder] "Just want to let you know that my dog is not friendly towards other dogs!"

As she continues to walk towards, her dogs are nose to nose with Kona. She notices that I am trying to get her attention.

Irresponsible Dog Owner: "What?? I CAN'T HEAR WHAT YOUR SAYING!" [as she is pulling her ear buds out of her ears.

I tell her again, but just as I finish, Kona snarls, resulting in the most ridiculous scoff I have heard coming from someones mouth. I let her pass, watching her horrified look on her face, and continue to watch her look behind her to see if Kona was "coming for them." I have never seen such a dramatic display. All I could do was laugh, and she saw me laugh... hence, I look bad.

Okay, I'm off my soap box... for now. Oh, PS: Hey lady, you know that giant pile of poop your dog excreted when you first came into the park? Yeah, it was still there when I left. But I guess you wouldn't know, because you didn't see your dog do it.

Okay, now I'm off..

Chinook Book

Thank you Healthy Pets NW for the $5 off coupon. Kona lost her tag, and desperately needed a new bone. We also saved another $7 bucks during our grocery shopping with coupons. The book is now paid for... I guess we can throw the rest away... :) naw...

Grand Total = $26.85

Chinook Book

Inspired by two lovely friends, Amber and Wendy, we decided to purchase a Portland Chinook Book. It's basically an Entertainment book, but designed more for local businesses. It sounded really great, but I still had a fear that it wouldn't be worth the money, so... I thought I would see just how much money it would save us. If any. Here is the first day of Chinook Book savings.

A **FREE** French Baguette from New Seasons? Why yes, thank you!

What? A **FREE** Sausage link of any flavor? We will take the Hot and Spicy please! Tonight's meal... sausage and veggie shish-kabobs. After leaving New Season's, we headed to our normal grocery store to pick up some other items for the week, and used a $10 off coupon. After the first day, the book has almost paid for itself!

Total Chinook Book savings day 1 = $14.85.

Cadbury Cream Egg Cupcakes

So, I woke up randomly in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea. Why not make a cupcake that is made from Cadbury Cream Eggs? I thought I was awesome, and decided to see about making this delicious thought a reality. The next morning, I was disappointed to learn that thousands of other people also had this incredible idea... So, after figuring out which recipe to try, I opted to try "Homemade by Holman", and since I am all about giving credit to the right people, here is the blog: http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/2010/04/cadbury-cream-egg-cupcakes.html

Now that you have seen the recipe as well as her professional photos and baking skills... here is my lack thereof version :o)

The annoying process of separating the Cadbury Cream Eggs, and the difficulty of NOT eating one, was more challenging than I thought..

These cupcake papers are awesome. Pastels out. Bright in.

Butter and Cream centers are a good start for the frosting..

Melted Cadbury ganache goes in the center of each Dutch chocolate cupcake.

The finished product, with a mini egg on top. Not as pretty as hers, but delicious none the less. I ran into a few problems, like the ganache soaking into the cake, and the frosting separating a bit. I have an idea to make this cupcake even better, and the nice thing about it, is it will be an original recipe. I'll give it a try for Easter :)