Cozy and Warm.

Today, I'm thankful for our home. We've been incredibly blessed by this place, which was found on Craigslist and could have been a mistake. It's bigger and nicer than we'd expected to find with our little budget, and we're excited to have a place that will fit the friends we're hoping to make and the family and friends who will hopefully come and visit. It's fun to have a whole house to decorate, and I'm amazed that just a few square feet more than what we had can put us in awe of this mansion (for the record, it's just over 1000 square feet).

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It's been cold, which means nothing coming from me, but there were a few snowflakes one day. Anyway, we decided that it would be the perfect time to light the first fire in our fireplace. No couch still, but we sat on a cozy blanket and played Yahtzee. 

I made a huge pot of potato soup. It was a Crockpot version using this recipe. It was good, but it calls for FIVE pounds of potatoes, which was our slow cooker's max capacity.

But it was yummy and warm and perfect for fall. It fed us for a week (and Carson for a bit longer - he took a lot to school).

Recipe:
5lbs washed, diced, not peeled Russet potatoes
1 yellow onion, diced
5tsp minced garlic
8c/64oz chicken broth
16oz cream cheese
3tblsp. seasoned salt (or more)
bacon
cheese
green onions

- Put first four ingredients in crockpot for 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low. Set out cream cheese.
- Add cream cheese. You're supposed to use an immersion blender but I don't have one so I cubed the softened cream cheese and mixed it as best as I could.
- Garnish and serve!

Before you add the cream cheese, I bet this would freeze well.

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Another recent thing: I've made this recipe before and it's a favorite, so I made it again. We had grilled chicken frozen from my sister's wedding and decided to use that in this and it was perfect. We had it with fresh broccoli, which I've always loved and which for some reason, we've been buying a lot and loving lately.

Recipe (serves 4):
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I recommend more)
3 green onions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tsp. hot sauce
3 cups shredded, cooked chicken. I recommend grilled but I've boiled chicken for this and it's good too.
2 cups shredded cheddar
tortillas

- Mix first six ingredients together.
- sprinkle cheese on tortillas and arrange chicken mixture in the middle of the tortilla. Roll like a burrito. I've left the ends open and shut and it doesn't matter. Your preference.
- Heat a skillet for a minute. Place wrap seam-side down and cook until golden, then flip. Serve when they're finished and enjoy.

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And Carson hung up our red shelf. The lighting in the kitchen at night is strange, so it looks orange here, but I promise that it isn't. I love that we finally have something over the stove instead of a blank, empty space.