Creamy White Chili

I found this recipe off the site Mel's Kitchen Cafe and made it for our Ward Chili Cook Off. Man was it good! I think its one of the best white chilies I have ever had. 

I didn't win the cook off, Dave told me the judging must have had a mix up cause I should have won 1st place. :) He loved the chili, he had a bowl before the contest than one after and took some for lunch the next day. I love it when people like what I make. I highly recommend trying this chili you won't regret it!

Creamy White Chili

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium onion

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon oil

2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth

2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies (if you like less kick, add just one can)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until the chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately. (I added the sour cream and cream and pour it into my Crock pot and left it on warm till the cook off. It got better with time.) This is especially good served with tortilla chips and cheese. Makes about 6 servings.

Utah State Fair

We haven't been to the state fair in years. We use to go almost every year, but it started to go down hill so we stopped. This year I was in the mood to go, I wanted to see if it had changed and if they actually had animals to look at since I remember the last time we went there were hardly any animals. We ended up going on my Mom's birthday since that was the only day we were free to go. 

Here are some pictures of what we saw:

 Black Angus cow

This is an Angus bull, his name was Pit Boss and he is HUGE!

A Goat

I like these little dwarf goats more, I think they are cuter.

They had some huge dairy cows there! I have never seen any as big as the the one in this photo.

Another big bull

Some freshly shaved sheep

They had some cute little piglets

 Maybe I should get some pigs....

Or maybe not if they get as big as this guy! I wouldn't know where to keep him.

This calf had just been born that morning at 11. I think they are so cute.

You can enter stuff that you grow

You can even enter eggs! I might have to do that next year.

More vegetables

I was hoping to see some chickens, but all they had were these strange birds the chicken wouldn't be on display until the next day.

Dave loves old fire engines

Ha ha, uh the reason I look so concerned is because I knew David was making a weird face so I was trying to figure out what kind of a face he was making and snapped a picture in the process. :)

Someone painted this, its of a grandson going on a ride with his Grandpa. I love it!

The cows and goat made out of butter

Me and Dave

The only picture I got of my parents. :)



We had a great time at the fair, we didn't go on any rides or see any of the world's biggest crocodile or horse it was just neat to walk around and see the attractions and animals.
We were there for about 2 hours, we had parked in the paid parking across the street from the fair, we walked backed to our car as we got closer I noticed the black truck we had parked behind had a mini van parked in our place. We thought at first was the wrong spot, but we soon realized it was the right one and that my parents car had been stolen! And did I mention that it was my Mom's birthday?! What a way to end a birthday. 
The police came and took a report and said they were sure they would find it in a couple days and didn't think it would be too far away from where we had parked. My Mom thought her car was long gone along with the Christmas presents she had just bought that day. 
On Wednesday afternoon she got a call, the police were right, they found her car parked about 2 blocks away from the fair! The Christmas presents were long gone, but her car was in pretty good shape. The only things ruined were the ignition, her key won't stay in and the glove compartment box's locked is ruined as well. 
What a night at the fair! And I am sure it will always be a birthday my Mom will remember. :)

Easy Breadsticks With A Twist

These breadsticks were so easy, and so delicious! And they look so fun too when you display them. They are just frozen Rhodes rolls twisted around a kabob stick with some melted butter with seasonings brushed on the top. I love bread, grain is probably my favorite food group. :) 

Carillon Bell Tower Bread Sticks

24 frozen dinner rolls, thawed but still cold

24 wooden chopsticks, or kabob sticks

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dill weed (I didn't use this)

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Roll out each roll about 6 inches long (I rolled mine out to 8) and then wrap around the chopsticks, leaving 2 inches at the bottom for a hand to hold. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover with light cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake twists for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. While they are baking, combine the butter and spices. Remove breadsticks from oven and brush with the butter mixture. Serve breadsticks warm. 

Darn Chickens!

Those darn chickens are out causing trouble again. I think they just like causing havoc!

When I went out yesterday I found this egg in the dirt, I also found one this morning like this as well. I don't know if they are falling off the top of the nesting box or they are pecking at them to open it up to eat the egg inside. Either way this isn't a good habit for the chickens to get into. They get in the habit of eating the eggs I won't be collecting any for me to eat cause they will eat them all. 

I left "Bird" in the coop for a day, she seemed like she was doing OK, and the other chickens seemed to be leaving her alone. I went out Thursday to check on her and those chickens have made her miserable once again!

This time they pecked her on her other side causing a huge open wound and ruined her beautiful feathers. She was starting to look so pretty now she will have to regrow some feathers. I hope she will be able to, they took some good chunks out her.

Though it seems like these birds are out to ruin everything, I still love having them around. They bring me joy, I love going out to see what they are up to and listen to them squawk. :)

Peach Crumb Bars

My friend Katie brought me some peaches a few Sundays ago for taking her some eggs. I have been looking forward to when peaches would be in season, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. I wanted to make peach crumb bars. I had seen this recipe on the Brown Eyed Baker website. I was nervous about how they would turn out, I didn't have a pastry cutter to cut in the cold butter it called for. Nick's girlfriend Robin suggested using my Kitchen Aid Mixer to cut in the cold butter. A fork just wasn't cutting it. The mixer seemed to work well. 

We ate these before they were completely cooled, but I would suggest letting them cool the whole time, they got better as they sat longer. The taste of the cinnamon and the nutmeg seemed to stand out more when I had one the next day.  

Peach Crumb Bars

For the dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold

1 egg, slightly beaten

For the filling:

5 cups diced or sliced peaches (about 7 peaches, peeled)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. 

2. For the dough: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut it the butter, and then add the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

3. For the filling: Place the diced (or sliced) peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently. 

4. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Produce Stands

I absolutely love produce stands! They are one of my favorite places to stop at when I am driving around and I spot one. They have such wonderful fruit and vegetables. I have even enjoyed wonderful white flesh peaches in California, like I said I will stop at one no matter where I am, even while I am on vacation. :)

We stopped at the produce stand across the street from The Maddox when we went for my Mom's birthday. I bought some peaches to bottle later, I did take some pictures to show you the wonderful fruits and vegetables they sell.

Peaches, which I will be canning later

Large onions

Plumots, its a dark picture but this is a cross between a plum and an apricot.

Regular plums

Apples

Eggplants

Habanero peppers

Humongous beets

Tomatoes

Pears

Squash, I think these are Hubbard squash

Spaghetti squash

Watermelons with seeds

Watermelons without seeds

Garlic

If I remember right these are pearl onions, not 100% sure

Assorted sweet peppers

I find such joy just walking through the stand just to look and smell all the wonderful smells of the produce. I walked by the cantaloupe and you could smell the sweet smell of them and I wasn't standing close by. I just love the freshness, the colors, and to see so many different types of food you can grow.

The BEST Burger Ever!

I have eaten a lot of burgers and I am not lying when I say this is the BEST burger ever!

The patties are very easy to make, it's one of those recipes where you just add as much as you want of the spices and sauce to your liking.

The BEST Hamburger Patties

Ground beef

McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning, to taste

Lawry's Seasoning Salt, to taste

Worchestershire Sauce, to taste (a little goes a long one so go a little easy on this one)

Olive oil

Mix ground beef with steak seasoning, lawry's, and Worchestershire sauce. Form into patties. I have a plastic hamburger patty maker that lets me pick between a 1/4 lb. to 1/2 lb. sized patty. Make sure grill is nice and hot before putting patties on. Cook about a minute. Sprinkle more of the seasoning salts onto the patties on the grill. Drizzle with olive oil, flip patties. Add more seasoning salts and drizzle with olive oil. I will flip them a couple more times during the grilling process. Cook until desired doneness. 

I like to add pepper jack cheese on top of my burger a couple of minutes before I take them off them grill. In this picture I also had sauteed mushrooms, pickles, lettuce, and a tomato.

This is seriously the best way to make a hamburger patty. They are nice and juicy and full of flavor. Makes my mouth water every time I look at the picture above. Delicious!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday! I was told not to disclose how old she is, we'll just say she is the right age. :) Can I just say how much I love my Mom! She is amazing and I appreciate all the wonderful things she does for me. You are the greatest Mom!

For her birthday we went to The Maddox for dinner on Saturday, which is in Brigham City. We also went to Peach Days which was going on up there, it wasn't what we expect so I didn't take any pictures. On Sunday we had a birthday dinner for her at home as well. Here are some pictures from her birthday weekend.

The Maddox

3 generations, Grandma Stalder, Mom, Me

Mom and Dad

Birthday dinner at Maddox




The next few pictures are from the birthday dinner we had at home for her.

I made my Mom this apron for her birthday. I tied it on her a little too high but I think she looks cute in it. :)


Happy Birthday Mom!! I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you and am so blessed to have you as my Mother.