Corn and Chorizo Chowder

I made this yummy soup tonight. I have tons of fresh corn that is taking up lots of freezer room and was trying to find yummy ways to use it. Avery ate it up and Delaney just dunked her toasted cheese into it. So, I would overall call it a success! Read below the recipe for my modifications! Click on the soup name for the blog I found the recipe on!

Corn & Chorizo Chowder

2 sliced good bacon, chopped
2 leeks, white & light green parts sliced
1 c yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
6 oz chorizo, sliced (This is Spanish style chorizo not Mexican. It is smoked & comes in links.)
2 T all-purpose flour
2 russet potatoes, peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 c chicken stock
2 c water
1 t fresh thyme, chopped
3 T fresh parsley, chopped
salt
pepper
1 1/2 c milk (we used 2%)
2 c corn, fresh or frozen

In a large heavy soup pot cook the bacon until crisp over medium heat. Move the bacon to a paper towel to drain but leave the fat in the pan. Set the bacon aside.

Add the leeks, onion, garlic & chorizo to the pot. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour in & cook while stirring for 1 -2 minutes. Add the potatoes, stock & water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the thyme parsley plus salt & pepper to taste. Simmer covered for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Add the milk & corn. Simmer uncovered for another 5 - 10 minutes. Taste for seasonings.

***** I used 6 slices of bacon for no other reason than the love of bacon! I didn't have the link chorizo, so I just cooked mine in with the onions and leeks. When I make this again, I will cook the chorizo in a separate pan and then add it into the soup. I found it really greasy and hard to drain the grease off from the leeks and onions. Also, leeks tend to hide a lot of dirt and girt in their leaves, so after chopping it up, place it in a colander and rinse a few times. I also added red potatoes because that is what I had on hand. I only had skim milk, so I added a little bit of half and half instead of milk.*******

Last of the Texas trip pics..

Cousin to cousin we will always be; Special friends from the same family tree!

"Cousins are people that are ready made friends, you have laughs with them and remember good times from a young age, you have fights with them but you always know you love each other, they are a better thing than brothers and sisters and friends cause there all pieced together as one."

Author: Courtney Cox

"A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost!" -Marion C. Garretty



"A cousin is a ready-made friend for life" - Author Unkown



"Cousins are those childhood playmates that grow up to be forever friends." - Author unknown

Public Apology

I have made the most terrible error in my last posting. I regrettably left off one VERY important name off the list of people that we were able to visit with during our trip to Kerrville. My deepest apology to my best friend and sister, Morgan aka. Aunt Moggie. She made the trip complete and I offer her my most sincere apology.

Lauren (hopefully out of the doghouse) Johnson

Long Lost Photos

Here are some photos from our trip to Texas this past summer. Daniel, Erin and their kids came for a visit while I was down there. It was great to see them, it had been way too long. Katie also came down to visit with her two little boys. It was a full house! Grandma Lillie Faye was able to come down for a short visit (Thanks, Julie for bringing her)!

My mom, the girls and I were able to also go see my grandma before we left to come back home. She was so sweet and bought Avery a little birthday cake to celebrate her 4th birthday. This is 2 years now that she has celebrated her birthday at her Texas grandparent's house. How fun! We were able to visit with my Great Uncle Ernest and a few of my dad's aunts. They loved meeting Avery and Delaney. Unfortunately, Uncle Ernest passed away 2 weeks after our visit, so it was a great chance to see him.

Auntie T's Graduation

Can you say, I finally found my camera cord for the computer!

Tanya, Brian's only sister, graduated from University of Wyoming in May of 2010 (I know old news, but better late than never) with a Master's degree in Public Administration. We were able to go up there that weekend to help celebrate this event with her. We are so proud of all that she has accomplished. She is a great example to me and is one of the strongest women I know. My daughter's look up to her and love their Auntie Tanya. Her smile and her future is so bright!

Who Would of Thunk It?

That I would be a little homemaker? Not me, that is for sure! My father-in-law brought me a water canner, canning supplies and a pressure canner out of the blue last month. Last summer I had the opportunity to help him can beets and salsa using veggies from his garden. I never in my life thought that I would be the type of person to actually enjoy canning. But, I did and I am really thrilled with the outcome.

I have made bread and butter pickles, dill pickles, salsa, pickled beets, sugar free peach jam and regular peach jam. Our cold storage is full of pickles! Can you guess what you are getting for Christmas? :) ha!

We opened up the pickles this week after letting them sit for about a month and surprisingly they were really good. I was so nervous to open them for fear of them turning out horrible. Then I would have 48 quarts of botulismed pickles! ha! My father in law was over and actually talked me into opening them! I am glad he did. The dill pickles were quite salty. I added a little bit more water and putt them in the fridge for a while and the girls couldn't get enough of them. We have already gone through a jar! The salsa is better than anything I have bought in the store. Seriously! The girls eat it on their scrambled eggs and burritos.

I just made the peach jam Saturday night, so we haven't tried those yet. But after making the regular jam, I will only buy Sugar Free Jam or all natural jam. It had 5 and 1/2 cups of sugar!!

Canning is hard work and makes a huge mess (just ask my husband), but I am proud of myself for learning a new skill and having something to show for it. At the time I thought my father in law was crazy for buying the stuff for me, but now I am so thankful that he did.