Best Soup EVER!

It is that time of the year, so I thought I would share the best soup recipe ever, courtesy of Ms. Paula Deen. And yes, there is a stick of butter in it.



Poblano Chicken Chowder

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 large onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/8 cup minced garlic
2 to 3 small poblano peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or more to taste
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
3 quarts chicken broth
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced
3 cups diced (large pieces) grilled chicken
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste
1 cup heavy cream

Directions
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme. Saute for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the chicken bouillon. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through. Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Do not allow the mixture to brown! Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly.
When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture in the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the hot sauce, then the cream, and serve.



I have a couple of recommendations. We double the amount of chicken because Josh likes a heartier soup. Also, taste the poblanos (just touch to your tongue) to see how hot they are. Then adjust how many you use based on their heat. I have ruined a couple of pots of soup by putting in too much hot poblano.

We LOVE this soup and it gets better after it sits in the refrigerator for a day or two. We had it last night and it even got Owen's seal of approval. He really liked it and he is notorious for turning his nose up at anything that is not milk. Enjoy!

The No-Cry Sleep Solution - Week 1

Last night was just like most of my nights have been recently. It was an all night haze of crying, nursing, kicking, whining and back pain. Yes, my name is Dixie and I co-sleep with my infant son. The attachment parenting folks describe this a beautiful experience. Our experience with co-sleeping is not so beautiful.

We have a full size bed. Let that sink in. Two adults and a baby in a full size bed. Two adults and a baby who doesn't want anyone to touch him while he sleeps in a full size bed. Owen is not a snuggler at bedtime. If you touch him, he will kick you until he wakes himself up crying.

The other thing about my little guy - he loves to nurse. While most kids start to stretch out their time between nursing sessions as they grow, Owen still begs for a "sip of the good stuff" pretty often. Well, lying in bed in close proximity to boobies equals an all night buffet to Owen.

I decided I needed a little help figuring out how to get him out of our bed and sleeping in his own bed for most of the night. His crib is in our room, so fussing himself to sleep wasn't really an option - no one would be getting sleep that way either.

So a friend recommended a book, "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. I am a bit of a skeptic, but I am going to read it and give it a try. Here is a link to info about the book if you are interested:

http://www.amazon.com/No-Cry-Sleep-Solution-Gentle-Through/dp/0071381392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289840025&sr=8-1

My plan is to follow the steps, keep a diary of Owen's sleep and report my progress each week. This is officially week 1. This week my mission is to read the book (much harder work than it actually sounds- haha!). Owen is recovering from being sick, so I don't want to start ANY kind of sleep training while he is not feeling well. We will try to start working on things next week and hopefully he will be feeling better.

I will try to post any updates on Mondays. Wish all of us good luck and good sleep! :)

Dear Owen

My Dear Owen,
Happy 9 month "birthday"! It has been an interesting 9 months. We love you sooooo much and love having you as the baby of our family. Do you think you could let me know, though, when you plan to start sleeping through the night and going longer than a couple of hours between nursing sessions? I am starting to get a little worried...

Love,
your frazzled, yet loving, Mother

Recent Finds

This one is actually Josh's...

Broken indian blades and scrapers...

These are mine and Josh's. I found the large one, Josh found the two smaller ones.

Just a weird rock but I really like it. I have been told it is a geofact, which is basically just a natural formation.

This is not a recent find, but is one of my best. It a fossilized shrimp.