Why hello there....

I've got some new friends in my kitchen!
In no specific order, because I love them all equally....
7qt GREEN crock pot

I saw these at Wally World (for crazy cheap) before xmas and picked one up for the kids to give me. After E helped them wrap it, I made sure to keep talking about how I could really use a new crockpot. Hehe. I loved the look on Kelton's face when I'd say it.

4.5qt programable crock pot

Love this little guy! An xmas gift from my sweet hubs. I was holding on to my old 4qt just incase, but I'll have no problem letting it go after using this guy a few times. He's fabulous.

Food Processor

After wishing I had one 3x while cooking one week, we went ahead and took the plunge. I couldn't make myself spend the big bucks on a large on, so we went with a medium sized version. We picked it up on sale at Kohls and used a 30% off coupon! Since we eat salsa like nobody's business around here, it's getting plenty of use!

Speaking of my kitchen, I've been spending quite a bit of time in it lately (and not just b/c of my new friends). After we discovered oats were not a food Konnor should eat, I planned to remove them from my diet. E thought maybe I could still eat them since they never bothered him before. So I continued with my morning giant bowl of cheerios or granola and slowly Konny's entire body became covered in eczema. Not. Good. We've got it cleared up and obviously I've stopped eating oats, for real this time. Not a huge deal, but sometimes the blaring reality of food allergies can get you down. I know lately, E and I have both been feeling it.

I used to clean when I was stressed or upset. However, trying to clean while this (completely adorable) little monster is awake is totally pointless.




So I've found cooking and trying new recipes to be quite therapeutic. Monday evening, I knew we needed some comfort food, so I made a big pot of corn chowder. It is so delicious! I'm not really one to measure much when I cook, but here's how I altered the recipe:

3/4 of an onion, chopped and sauted in 2 T Earth Balance Spread
6 potatoes, peeled, cubed and boiled until soft
bag of frozen corn
can of cream style corn, blended
chicken broth
coconut milk creamer
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together and cook until heated through. I ended up adding a bit of corn starch too to thicken it up at the end. I'll probably omit the creamed corn next time.

Wednesday, I made Hamburger Vegetable Soup. I can't believe the amount it made! I cut it back to 1lb of meat (ground turkey) and 2 cans of tomatoes, but kept all the other veggies. After cooking the meat, I parboiled the rice and then just dumped everything into the crock for the rest of the day. Talk about deliciously easy! Next time I think I will substitute the potatoes for beans or something so the leftovers can be frozen.

A little nice weather never hurts to cheer one's mood either! Sunshine is good for the body and soul and we sure did enjoy it!