Clam Chowder

I remember growing up and it was tradition to have Clam chowder on Christmas Eve.. we did it for years and then we switched it to French Dip sandwiches because none of us kids would eat the clam chowder... Now that I have more developed tastebuds and a passion for food, I love clam chowder and we've decided to make it our Christmas Eve tradition. Of course I serve it with chicken strips so my kids will at least eat something that night! So I made it for Christmas eve and my oh my did it turn out good! Iwas even told by several of Darwin's family members thatit was better than their grandma's!!! yes, I can die happy now! I didn't really write out my recipe... but here is what I did.

1/2 lb bacon
3 leekes
2 stalks celery, small diced
1/2 cup flour
6 cans of diced clams, save the juice
2 T butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 T garlic minced
2 cups milk
5 large potatoes, peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste

Start by dicing the bacon and cook till brown and crispy, drain and set aside. Now one might say, bacon in clam chowder? Won't that take away from the sweet chewiness of the clams?? But I tell yo trust me, it adds a nice smokiness to it and it is tasty!! Next slice the leeks in half then slice then place in a bowl full cold water to clean, the dirt will sink to the bottom and you can scoop out the leeks on to a dry towel. (I use leeks rather than onions because they add a suttle onion flavor) In a large stock pot, melt the butter, saute the garlic and leeks, add the celery and potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the bacon and flour. The flour should heavily coat all of the chunks of goodness, if it seems like you need more flour go ahead and add more. Add the drained clams. season with a bit of pepper. Add the clam juice and chicken stock, stir well to combine all of the flour. Add the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for at least 45 minutes. If it is too thick add more milk, too thin you can mix some flour and milk and combine it but be sure to bring soup back to a boil to get the full thickness. Season to taste and serve hot with crackers. Mmmmm Mmmmm good!

My sister Jessica

I always seem to be emotional around the holidays especially when I know I'm not going to be with my family. Having my grandmother recently hasn't help and we also found out Darwin didn't get a job we really felt he was going to get. So keeping with my emotional state and sentimental feelings of late, here is a recipe and post about an example in my life. My sister Jessica. Now don't get me wrong all of my sisters are amazing examples to me... but I'm pretty sure Jessica is the only one that cooks and this is a cooking blog so... :) I love you Laura, Miranda and Jana! Jessica is incredible and I look up to her so very much. She is the mother of five active kids and still manages to keep the house in order the kids in order and still look amazing and stylish. She has given me many encouraging talks and words of wisdom. She has always been there for me. This past weekend at my grandmother's funeral I was going through some of her photos and found pictures of her and I playing the leaves. I wish we were closer to each other so I could get pictures of our children playing together. She is a great example to me of what a good wife and mother and member of the Church is and I pray that I can someday be as wonderful as she is. I love you Jessica! This is a recipe she sent me. I haven't tried it yet but it sure sounds Delicious.

1 cup Catalina dressing

1 can cranberry sauce or 1 cup prepared cranberries

1 pkg Lipton soup mix

chicken breast

Combine and cover over top of the chicken breast. Bake at 350` for 1 hour. Serve hot over brown or long grain rice, with the extra sauce.

Grandma Grace Macbeth

This post is in honor of my Grandmother who passed away this week. 99% of my readers will already have this recipe but I wanted something to remind me of my grandma. I started by showing the kids a picture of Grandma, I explained to them that she died this past week and that mommy was really sad. I explained that it is okay that she died because she is with Grandpa and Heavenly Father and that she is happy. I then told them we were going to do something fun that will help us remember Grandma. I then told them that Whenever Grandma Macbeth came to visit I would wake up in the mornings and she would be in the kitchen rolling out scones to make. I loved it! We would cut them into different shapes and fry them up. I rember Grandma always cut them into rectangles then slit the middle and inverted one end into the other to twist it a bit. We would eat them with honey butter and jelly and powdered sugar. Such found memories. So then we made them and I decided I would share it with you all... even though you probably already have the recipe!

Scones:

3 T yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups milk, scalded

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

3 eggs

6 cups flour

Scaled milk and allow to cool. Combine yeast and water and set aside. Cream sugar and shortening. Add remaining ingredients and combine well. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour or over night. Roll out on to a floured surface and cut into strips. Fry till golden brown on each side. Serve warm with honey butter, jelly and powdered sugar.

I Love you Grandma and I will miss you! Give Grandpa a hug for me and till we meet again!