Chocolate

One of the fun things about fall and winter is....Hot Chocolate!

One of my favorite wedding gifts was a hot chocolate maker. I've been waiting and waiting for it to get cool enough for hot chocolate. Well, the other night I pulled it out and tried it. It was amazing!

This is a great purchase!  So, if you have the chance to get one, do!  You just pour in the chocolate mix, water, and let the machine do the rest.  It mixes and heats and then shuts off when it is ready.  Clean up is really easy too.

Enjoy!

en⋅joy–verb (used with object)

to experience with joy; take pleasure in

I am noticing that I use the word enjoy a lot (especially after I share a recipe.)  Having a degree in English, I like to know the exact definition of words, so here it is.

Eating is something that we have to do.  (It keeps us alive.)  Why should something so essential be so boring?  Well, it shouldn't.  It's fun to take pleasure in the blessings God has given us (food for example.)  So, I want everyone to be able to enjoy their meals, and to give God thanks for His provision.

When I say "enjoy"  I don't only mean that I want you to enjoy the food, but I want people to enjoy the creating of the dish.  It's a very therapeutic thing for me, cooking that is.  When it seems like I'm not in control, I can go into the kitchen and still create something good to eat.  It's a semblance of having a little control, then a good reminder that God is really in control the whole time.  I also really enjoy bringing joy to other people.  A great way to do this is by cooking for them.  I LOVE cooking for people!  So, stop by sometime, and we'll see what I can throw together.

In the meantime, keep reading.  I love to hear your feedback (I crave communication with people, still not knowing people in my new town.)  And I hope that you continue to enjoy!   

Chili con Bacon?

Since the arrival of Fall, I have started cooking the fall foods!  It's so very exciting.  Of course with Fall comes soup, and with soup comes Chili.  It's a natural progression you see.  My chili is usually made just like my mother's, and it's rather delicious.  However, after watching a cooking show (darn Food channel is taking over my life), I decided to try a new recipe for chili.

First you take small pieces of bacon and brown them in the bottom of the pan.

When it has browned, add chopped green peppers, onions, and red peppers.

 

Ground beef comes next.  With that you add chili powder, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and crushed red peppers.

Brown the ground beef, while stirring.  When the beef is browned, added two cans of diced tomatoes (undrained).

Continue to cook on medium, and add tomato juice.  When the chili is hot, turn the burner to low.  Eat and enjoy!

This chili was pretty good, but the bacon caused it to be rather sweet.  That was an interesting addition.  I personally don't like sweetness in anything besides desserts (and sweet tea of course!)  Still, it was nice and hearty, and just perfect for watching football on a fall day!

Creme Brule?

This weekend, while perusing the clearance section at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I stumbled upon a wonderful find!  There, I found a creme brule set.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  What is creme brule set?  Well, here is a visual for you.

Yes, that is a torch, a cooking torch actually.  Fire?  You're playing with fire?  There has been some concern expressed over my owning such a device, but I promise that I am very careful, and well, every good chef must have one.  Besides that, this set was originally 20 dollars marked down to not 15, not 10, but 5 dollars!  What a bargain.  Ok, one of the dishes was missing, and a second was chipped, but it was still a great deal.  After some bargaining with my husband, the purchase was made.

People have also asked what you do with said torch.  Well, you can caramelize sugar on top of something, or melt cheese on top of soups.  Another option is crisping the tops of casseroles. 

Here are some pictures of me using my new "toy."

The cheese melted nicely on the soup, even becoming a little crisp.  I'm so excited to use it some more.

Missing Maya

There's a Mexican restaurant near home that I love to go to.  It's called Maya, and my family visits it often.  I have a tendency to order the same thing whenever I got to a restaurant.  (This is a habit that my husband is trying to break me of.)  So, whenever I got to Maya, I almost always order their Nachos con Pollo.  The homemade nacho chips topped with shredded chicken, peppers and then covered with queso is delicious!

Seeing as how Maya is now about a 7.5 hour drive away, I have to supplement my desire for chicken nachos with something else, so I decided to try and make my own.

First I put two frozen chicken breasts in the oven to bake.  Then, when they were done, but not getting dry yet, I shredded the two pieces of chicken and put them into the skillet.  I added chopped onions and green peppers to the mix.  The juice that was in the bottom of the pan from the oven was just enough to make it so things didn't stick, and helped to add to the chicken flavor.  While the chicken cooked, I added some crushed red peppers.  (I have never liked crushed red peppers, because they are spicy and I think they are pointless on pizza.  That's the only thing that I had ever seen them used for.  Pizza is not supposed to be spicy!  Now, I love them, because they add some great flavor as I am cooking things!)  Here's how the chicken looked as it was being cooked.

Doesn't it look delicious!?!?!  While the chicken was cooking, I melted the cheese.  I was able to find a chunk of the mexican cheese dip at Wal-Mart.  I had always wanted to see if it tasted the same as in the restaurants.  Well, it was pretty close.  I then put the chicken on the chips and covered it all with the melted cheese.

 

Wa-La!  It was pretty good, not as good as Maya, but I'm going to have to let it work for now.  

What's New

I just wanted everyone to know about a few changes that are going on concerning this site. 

First, did you know that you can easily share one of my recipes with a friend?  All you have to do is click on the envelope at the bottom of the post and follow the instructions!

Secondly, you may have noticed to the left of the page a spot where there are a bunch of words.  Click on one of those words, like "chicken" and it will take you to all the of the posts that deal with chicken!  Isn't that cool?

In an effort to get the word out about this blog, I've added a few places around the internet for people to hear more about The Happily Ever After.  One of those places is an amazing site called mixingbowl.com  It's a great place where people share their recipes.  You can find my profile here.  I'll be putting up more complete recipes there as time goes by.  Another place I have begun to share about my blog is on Facebook!  Search for The Happily Ever After and become a fan.  It's an easy place for you to write a quick note, to let everyone know about your thoughts about the recipes.  This leads me to something else that will be coming soon.

I want to hear from you!  I want to know your favorite recipes.  Have you tried some of my recipes?  What did you think?  What would you like to know more about when it comes to cooking or housework?  Be watching for new ways to let me know what you think, and ways that I will use your stories on the blog.

Don't forget to check back every week or so for a new poll.  You know what?  Polls are sometimes hard to think up.  Do you have an idea for a poll?  If so, let me know!

I really appreciate everyone who checks this out.  I love to hear when you try something, or have learned something from this site.  Whether you are single, newly married, or married for 50 years or more, I hope you continue to enjoy The Happily Ever After. 

Grapes

I love grapes.  One of my brothers really loves them, another one doesn't like them at all.   So, growing up, I related to Seth a little bit more when it came to grapes.  When I was young, my grandparents had grape vines behind their house.  I remember playing outside with my cousin, and helping ourselves to those grapes right from the vines.  My grandparents moved, and for awhile, there weren't anymore homegrown grapes.

This year, I was able to get a bunch of grapes from Grandma.  They were a little more sour this year than in the past. Knowing that my husband and I would never eat them all, I decided to try and make some jam. 

First I took the skin off of the grapes, saving the skins in a bowl, while cooking the seeds out of the rest of the grapes.

The seeds did start coming out of the grapes.  When this happened, the hard part was next.  I had to drain the seeds out of the grape mush.  This took a long time.  The grape mush did not want to drain through anything.  When the seeds finally came out, I put the mush back into the pan and added the grape skins with enough sugar to make it sweet.

The rest was easy.  All I had to do was cook it on low, and stir occasionally.  Finally, I had jam!

It was pretty good.  We enjoyed some on our cheesecake cookies, and then later on some toast.  It didn't make a lot of jam, but it was worth it.