Panera Potato soup

How much do I love Panera bread soups! Oh my goodness I love to dunk my crusty bread in the soup. I made a couple of soups for my husbands family when the came over. The first one is Potato soup. I got the recipe and picture from food.com. Very easy to make and very tasty!

Ingredients:
Servings:
4 44-6 Servings Size

Update

Units: US | Metric
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese , cut into chunks
Directions:
1Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.2Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.3Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.4Reduce to low heat.5Add cream cheese.6Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.

Merry Christmas

It is almost here! The day my boys wait for all year long. I went and saw my sweet great aunt Geneva today at the nursing home. This sweet lady is almost 97 years old. Geneva is still in great shape and great mind. I think she is so special to me because she is looks and acts a bit like my grandma. I am not sure if I would have even gone and seen her if my grandma was still alive. I am glad that I have gotten to know so such a sweet lady.

This angel is the most precious thing to me. My Blaine made this at church when he was 4. I also made one when I was younger that still tops the tree to this day. I love this and it will always be my topper.

Genius!!!

Check out her blog. SO many recipes!

Awesome!

Hooray for me! I am blogging 2 days in a row. So here are some awesome recipes. My husband loves polenta and the recipe below sounds so good. How cute are those santa hats. I will try to make these for my husband's family when they come over for Christmas. The white chocolate sounds good but I think I will use buttercream frosting.

Santa Hat Brownie Bites
Adapted from The Crafty Kook

1 box brownie mix
24 small strawberries
2 cups white chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 1 mini-muffin pan
- Prepare brownie mix according to box's instructions and fill cavities 3/4 of the way full (I had some leftover brownie mix that I just baked off as regular brownies because I didn't have enough strawberries)
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean
- Let brownies cool and use this time to hull and clean the strawberries
- Once cool, place strawberries upside down onto brownie bites
- Melt white chocolate in a double boiler and transfer into a piping bag
- Pipe a ring around the base and a small dot on top -- work quickly, the white chocolate can dry fast and clog up your tip!

This awesome recipe is from www.ericasweettooth.com

The polenta recipe is from http://daisyt13.wordpress.com/

For the Polenta
Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt (1 used at least 1 tablespoon)
1 cup polenta
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons lemon thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Bring the water, milk, and salt to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Add the goat cheese and lemon thyme. Turn heat to low, and continue whisking for 5 minutes, or until polenta is smooth and creamy. Spread the polenta in a 9×9 baking dish, and set aside to cool. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into another skillet. Cut the polenta into desired shape, and cook over medium heat until slightly browned and crusty on one side, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other sides another two minutes.

For the Topping
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 yellow onion, halved and sliced in 1/4″ slices
3 slices cooked bacon, medium-diced
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
honey, to drizzle

Method:
While the polenta is setting up, add the butter and olive oil to a skillet. Add the sliced onions and a sprinkle of kosher salt, and cook, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until soft and caramelized, about 20-25 minutes.

Assembly:
To assemble, place polenta cake on a plate, top each cake with caramelized onions, bacon, and crumbled goat cheese, and drizzle with honey.

Merry Christmas!

I have finally made our family Christmas card.

Mother of the year....not me!

Ok so last night I got home from work around 10 pm. My kids were asleep and my hubby was playing his new game on the playstation. First let me tell you when hubby gets a new game he does not see or pay attention to me! He is in some kind of game zone. I get in my bath ready to relax. Hubby comes in there and tells me Blaine lost a tooth while I was at work. I didn't give it much thought. Hubby went back to playing the game and I went to bed. I woke up to my little guy saying that the tooth fairy didn't come. I woke up and said "oh well there must be a note somewhere and we will find it when we all wake up. Go back to bed". This is 6:30 am now. I tell my sleeping hubby what happened and he says "oh crap!" and rolls back over to sleep. I get my butt up and write a note in the dark telling Blaine that the tooth fairy didn't want to wake him. I walk into his dark room and see him on his bed sitting up crying. He is crying saying that the tooth fairy didn't want his tooth because it was a bad tooth. Talk about melting my heart. He saw the note from the tooth fairy with $3 in it. He smiled...and said she didn't want to wake me and wants me to put my tooth under the pillow tonight. Wow!! Close one!!!!

I walk back into my room where my still sleeping hubby is and tell him how bad I feel. He says "don't worry about it babe". REALLY!!!! Don't worry about it???? If I didn't worry about "it" then nothing would ever get done. Right girls????? I mean husbands never worry. Ugh.

So this year I do not get mother of the year award. BUMMER!

M I A

Have you been missing me? I haven't been busy but just plain lazy. As many of you know I am now on Zoloft. I am proud to be on this magical stuff. I feel much better now. So I have been sitting out in my backyard a lot. I thought I would share some pics of my backyard. Hey people it is all I got to share. I am running out of exciting posts!

Fall Pictures

My wonderful mom took some fall pics of us. There are hundreds of good pics. Here are just a few

Fall decorating

I haven't done much fall decorating but thought I would show the little I did do. I'm not much on colder weather but so far the weather is still hot. I also want to wish my momma a very happy birthday!!!!!

TOMATOES

I have been waiting all summer. ALL summer I tell you! Not one tomato all summer. There is hope for me though!!! Finally I have some little tomatoes growing. Say a little prayer for my poor tomatoes...they need all the help they can get.

hummingbird cake

I have been trying to come up with some kind of post. The only thing exciting I have done this week is make this cake. The picture is not mine but from Southern living. The cake is wonderful and I even put store bought cream cheese icing. Enjoy!

.
FREE TRIAL - Recipes & More!

More From Southern Living
•Fresh and Easy Harvest Salads
•33 Party Appetizers
•Lighten Up! Southern Classics
•Halloween Appetizers and Drinks
•Easy Tailgating Recipes
Nutritional Information
Amount per serving

Calories: 642
Fat: 34.2g
Cholesterol: 71mg
Sodium: 312mg
Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy LivingIngredients
3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 large eggs, beaten 1 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained 1 cup chopped pecans 2 cups chopped bananas Cream Cheese Frosting 1/2 cup chopped pecans Preparation
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.
Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator.
Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook

My sweet nephew

How cute it he!

My little guy

I should have a pic every week of my little guy. He loves to dress up. Here is a pic of him in the clothes he picked out.

Sometime Things Happen!

My sweet awesome hubby and his twin were trying to fix things in the attic. I guess they were hooking up fans or something like that. I was working on my front flower bed when all of a sudden I hear a loud pop. At first I thought for sure my husband shocked himself but no I look over and see stuffing fly everywhere. I walk in the house to see stuffing on everything and a huge hole in the ceiling. My Blaine screams "how are we going to fix this!!!" A couple of years ago I would have been the same way but instead I yelled to see if everyone was ok. Everyone was ok but the ceiling was not. Since that day it has yet to be fixed all the way but I am ok with it. Just as long as everyone is ok....sometimes things happen!

NO more hedges

I am not a fan of hedges. I hate having to trim them! So I got the idea to rid of them and rid we did. In their place I planted some hydrangeas and other perennials. I like it so much better now!

Fall Decor

I made my first fall wreath today. I found some stuff around the house so I didn't spend a dime.

Jalapeno Jelly

I know that I am getting old because I made homemade jelly. I got the recipe from all recipes.

Ingredients
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped jalapeno pepper
5 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin
Directions
1.Remove stems, veins and most of the seeds of the bell and jalapeno peppers. Mince peppers in a food processor.
2.In a 5-quart pot over high heat, combine bell peppers, jalapenos, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
3.Stirring constantly, add the pectin and let mixture continue to cool for 2 minutes more. Now stir for 1 minute.
4.Pour into hot, sterilized jars and top with sterilized lids. Secure lids with bands and allow jars to cool slowly, creating a vacuum seal.

Cherry Dump Cake

This is the easiest cake ever. It is so good.

1 can of cherry pie filling
1 can of pineapple pie filling
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter

Butter your 9x13 cake pan. Pour cherry in it and then pineapple. Sprinkle the cake mix on top. Melt butter and pour on top of cake mix. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. It should be golden brown.

Rmembering 9/11

I can't believe it has been 10 years since that horrible day. I will always remember where I was during the Okc bombing and of course 9/11. For the bombing I was in 11th grade in English. I felt and heard the rumble but had no idea what it was. The teacher turned on the tv and we were all glued to the tv. It was a long weird day. Now for 9/11 I was working at Hampton Inn in Edmond. I was going to school and working 2 jobs then. WOW! I was working at the hotel and there were a couple of guest who were on business from New York. Most of the guests were down eating breakfast when we saw it on the tv. These poor guest (most of them business men) were without their family and scared to death. It was one scary day. I have kept the USA today paper from that day. I will never forget that day!

What I'm Reading

I am reading a pretty good book called The Dry Grass of August. I am on chapter 8 and so far pretty good. It a little like The Help.

It is by Anna Jean Mayhew

Hi my name is Shawna.

I got to enjoy a trip to Target with my sweet 7 year old. While we were there he told me all about 2nd grade. My little boy was so excited to tell me that the gym teacher called him by his name. Blaine is a very shy boy and for his gym teacher to call him by his name is a big deal. When I was subbing at the school I realized that you only know the kids names that are loud and in trouble. I made it a point to know the quite ones because they are just like my little Blaine. I remember thinking I was really cool if a "cool" teacher or student knew my name. I am going to make it a point to start calling people by their names! It may just make a little kids or adults day.

Homeschool

My babies started school a couple of weeks ago and I am just now getting pictures up. Blaine is now in 2nd grade and has the same teacher he had when he was in Kindergarten. I requested that teacher because I felt like he would do better already knowing his teacher. I have learned now to let things be. When I went to the teacher meeting I realized there is 3 more awesome 2nd grade teachers that BLaine would have loved. I guess it takes me some time to learn about being a momma. He is doing good though and I am proud. He is very shy and has never been in trouble at school. I told him to have fun and if he gets a yellow face (that means he got in trouble) then I would not be mad. He about had heart failure at the thought of getting a yellow face. Oh Blaine my dear you are one of a kind. LOve him!

Logan is my fiesty one. He could care less if he got in trouble unless it was from his beloved grandpa. I have made the decision to homeschool him. It was not an easy decision but one that I am SOOOO glad I made. I tell you all summer I stressed over this decision. For once in my life I have no regrets. The school that he got in was to far from Blaine's school so I wouldn't have time to pick them both up. Homeschooling I have learned a lot of things. For one I have patience with him and to enjoy my time with him. I also learned on my next child to name him or her an easy name to spell, like Eli. Teaching him how to write his name is hard. I have learned that I like teaching. I don't want to do it for a living but I do have fun. Some days my little guy is not in the mood to learn and I don't push him. I stress all day about not doing the learning that day but I am getting much better at that. I love it and love him. So glad I am now a homeschooler.

Now this butters my toast!

Have you tried this awesome butter yet? Land O Lakes cinnamon butter is oh so good. I thought about how easy it would be to make your own flavored butters like these....

Cranberry Butter

1/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup unsalted and softened butter

Mix cranberries and maple syrup with softened butter. Be sure not to over-mix or butter will turn pink. Place half the mixture in the butter crock and serve. Refrigerate remaining portion until ready to use. Scrumptious spread for warm waffles and pancakes.

Sweet butter from all recipes
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 pinch ground ginger
Directions
1.Place the butter into a bowl, and stir together with brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger until the mixture is completely blended.

Honey Butter
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of honey

I am sure there are tons of awesome recipes out there for some good ol butter

Basil Butter

Where have I been? I can not bring myself to blog lately. For one thing I don't feel like anyone reads this so it is a waste of time. But I did make some wonderful Basil Butter the other night. The pics don't look pretty but trust me it taste oh so good. So here is what I did

1 1/2 cups of basil
1/2 pound of butter softened
2 tsp of fresh lemon juice

Just blend it in your blender and then spread spoonfuls on wax paper. Freeze it and then put in little baggies. Use it on chicken, veggies, or fish. Easy!

It's a cupcake kind of day

What fun it is to decorate cupcakes. I made a wonderful salted caramel cupcake. It was pretty simple to make. Then I just played around with a chocolate icing recipe. I made it up and turned out so good.

Here is how I made the chocolate icing
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup of whipping cream
about 2 cups of powdered sugar

Melt the butter and chocolate chips on the stove. Add your cream. Sift your sugar and then mix it with your chocolate syrup.

Salted Caramel Icing
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature 1teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup powdered sugar


INSTRUCTIONS Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Set aside until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes. Combine butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated. Turn mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add caramel. Beat frosting on medium-high speed until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until stiff, about 45 minutes, before using.

8 years baby!

We met looking like this

Then we went to the prom looking like this

graduated high school looking like this

married looking like this

Now we have this beautiful family!

Happy Anniversary Ry dogg!