Leo

On July 17, 2015, my sweet puppy Leo passed on from this world and awaits me at the Rainbow Bridge. He experienced so many setbacks during his life including shelter life, heart worms, a heart murmur, Cushing's disease, and myotonia, and he fought bravely through it all. He was such a big part of my life for nine years and will be greatly missed.

Rest in peace sweet Leo lovebug (2005 - 2015)

Podcasts, where have you been all my life?

So about a month or two ago, I discovered podcasts. A friend mentioned she had just started listening to a true crime podcast called Serial and she was really intrigued by it. Naturally my response was "Podcast? How do I...? Huh?" And then "Is that cereal like the food?" Clearly I didn't get it quite yet. And then I forgot about it for a few weeks.

What does this app do again?

When I finally got around to downloading the podcasts, I was hooked. I finished listening to the entire Serial first season in a week. I listened to it in the car on the way to and from work. I listened it it at home, while getting ready for work. I listened to it while cooking dinner. Basically, I listened to it all the time except for sleeping.

Serial

And then it was over and I was sad. But wait! I discovered the world of Serial spin-offs! Joy returned!

What should I listen to next? Do you have any podcast series you love?

Crockpot Posole

Crockpot cooking is a big favorite in my house. How can you not like it? Throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, turn it on, leave for 8-10 hours, and then come home to delicious smelling house and a home-cooked meal waiting for you. 

A few years ago, I found this recipe for zesty bean posole in my Better Homes & Garden magazine. Unfortunately, I didn't have everything on hand the recipe called for, but fortunately, I'm not afraid to adjust a recipe and see how it turns out. To see the original recipe, click the link above and to see my variation, keep reading... 

(source)

The biggest changes I made to the recipe were to add chicken and onion and replace the salsa with a can of Rotel.

Ingredients:  

8 oz chicken tenderloins

Season salt

1 can hominy, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Rotel

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup whipping cream, half-and-half

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions: 

Season chicken with season salt and add to crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients, except flour and whipping cream, to the crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on high for 3 1/2 hours. Remove chicken, shred, and return to crockpot. In a small bowl stir together cream and flour until smooth; stir into mixture in cooker. Cover; cook for 30 minutes more or until mixture is slightly thickened. Enjoy!

Deliciousness! 

My First (and maybe last) Home Improvement Project

A note to my readers... I started writing this post about a year ago, but never posted it. Mainly because I was lazy and didn't feel like downloading the pictures from my phone to my computer to complete the post. But finally I did, so here it goes...

Last year I decided to tackle my first home improvement project. I bought my home in 2012 and it was built in 2006, so there really isn't much that is required in the way of home improvement. My task was to re-stain the front door. It gets a lot of west sun exposure and was looking a little faded in spots.

I'm Back!

Friends (all two of you that read this)... It's been a LONG time, but I'm back! A lot has happened in the last year and 3 months. Here's a quick recap...

Chicken Fricassee

When I visited Wisconsin last fall, my dad made this delicious dish called Chicken Fricassee. Which is just a fancy way of saying to prepare poultry by cutting into pieces and stewing in gravy. I think Chicken Fricassee rolls off the tongue a little easier. 

My dad's recipe was adapted from The Classic Italian Cook Book by Marcella Hazan. When I returned home, I decided to give it a try and was very happy with the results. However, I will make one minor change next time: chicken breast instead of chicken legs. But you really could make this dish with any cut of chicken and in fact, I think the original recipe calls for using a whole chicken cut up. Hence the "by cutting into pieces" part of the description. 

New Year, New Goals!

Hello 2014! It's been quite some time since I last posted anything... 79 days to be exact. Obviously this idea I had to write daily is not happening.  I think I set myself up for failure in the beginning by choosing a blog name with daily in it. And because I wasn't writing everyday, I felt like I was failing at what I set out to do, and then I really started to ignore the whole thing.