BLOG 365 – Page 3 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

CHICKEN CABBAGE STEW ~ BLOG 365.44

CHICKEN CABBAGE STEW serves 6-8
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 LARGE shallot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, FINELY minced
4 cups chopped cabbage (1/2 head)
2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
14 ounce can diced FIRE roasted tomatoes, undrained
3/4-1 1/4 cups homemade chicken broth
+/- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
Juice of 1 LARGE lime
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/4 cup FRESH chopped Italian leaf parsley
2 teaspoons FRESH chopped lemon thyme
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

Brown the chicken, onion and garlic 5-7 minutes in a large deep skillet over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and chicken is crumbled.
Drain well.
Add the remaining ingredients including the rotisserie chicken pieces if using.
Bring to a SLOW boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

NOTE: You can also substitute rotisserie chicken pieces.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ BLOG 365.43

BAKED SWEET CORN DIP ~ BLOG 365.42

Dive into a delightful fusion of sweet corn and melted mozzarella with a hint of a spicy zing, rounded off with the subtle sweetness of sugar and a pinch of classic seasoning. SUPER easy and ready in just 12 minutes! A truly gourmet dish without all the fuss and preparation!

The original recipe was called Korean Cheese corn and inspired by the smells and tastes of a trip to Seoul by That Oven Feeling. This dish was evidently a staple of street cooking. I have since adapted it to my own family.

The recipe called for Kewpie mayo and the author claimed once you’ve tried it, you’ll never go back, but alas, I am just not a fan. 🙁 I do promise that even with the changes I’ve made there is still a perfect balance of sweet, creamy, cheesy and umami.

BAKED SWEET CORN DIP

15.25 ounce can QUALITY sweet corn, WELL drained
15.25 ounce can SMALL white beans, rinsed and WELL drained
3/4-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese plus 1/4 cup more for garnishing
3-4 tablespoons DUKE’S mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons Frank’s Original hot sauce *SEE NOTES
1/2 teaspoon sugar
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Pinch of minced cilantro, for garnish
Scoopable corn chips or veggie sticks for dipping

Adjust the oven’s baking rack to the position second from the top.
Preheat the oven to a temperature of 450°.
Lightly grease a small (5-6 inch) cast iron skillet.
In a small mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
In a medium mixing bowl toss together the corn and cheese.
Fold the mayonnaise mixture into the corn and cheese until well mixed.
Spread the mixture into your prepared cast iron.
Garnish with your additional cheese.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is beginning to get golden.
When you remove it from the oven garnish with the minced cilantro.
Cool for a few minutes before serving.

NOTES:

Recipes are just guidelines; the real flavor is in your unique creativity!
You can use FROZEN corn, but it MUST be thawed and thoroughly drained!!!
You can use Frank’s Chile Lime Hot Sauce or the Hot Honey sauce for a nice flavor change-up.
This recipe EASILY doubles into a 10 inch cast iron for a crowd.
When doubling I often add more white beans and white shoepeg corn to the sweet corn for a nice medley. These trade out ounce for ounce quite well.
This recipe EASILY adapts to other flavor combinations! Any meltable cheese (cheddar, Gouda, Guyere cheese is GREAT!
Hubby likes it when I change out the original Frank’s for BBQ sauce or even for a creamy homemade salsa for a flavor that work’s great too!
If you’re not a cilantro fan, try parsley, chives, thyme or even rosemary.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPE LINKS week 6 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.41

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

Happy day after the Super Bowl! I understand they are trying to move the Super Bowl to the 3rd weekend of February in the future so that people will already have Monday off after celebrating their team (win or lose) too much on Sunday night. So sorry Jean that the Chiefs had a really rough day! My friend Lu won the silent bid for the Chief’s jersey we auctioned off at the Eagle’s (no pun intended) so she modeled it in your honor, despite the vibe and the score at the time we auctioned it 😀

It was a SUPER busy week! Sadly 🙁 it began with the passing of my favorite uncle, who was more like a brother. In the end, pancreatic cancer won. He passed quietly surrounded by his loving family. My cousins have been rock stars taking care of him and my aunt through this ordeal. 🙏 Prayers for them as they continue to adjust to this new world. My aunt and uncle have been raising two of their grandsons from another cousin who are both older teenagers now and this has been extremely difficult for them especially.

I worked Tuesday night during line dancing at the Eagle’s, did the shopping for 2 businesses on Wednesday and then did fundraising events Thursday through yesterday and have a meeting tonight before this week turns into a copy cat of last week. I hate these back to back weeks of non-stop events.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

BRRRR it’s wet cold again! We didn’t get enough snow to do much though it’s quite pretty in the surrounding mountains still. Today through Wednesday we’re supposed to have highs in the 30’s and lows in the 20’s with Rain to Snow beginning Thursday. So, LOTS of layers are still on the foreseeable future with UGGs, sweaters and flannels.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I had been so busy last week the laundry piled up, but I was able to get most of that done when I got home from Saturday’s event.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS My shopping is up to date, but I do have quite a bit to do for the Eagles this week. I also have a pedicure appointment early tomorrow morning.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have a pile of recipes I’ve chosen for the next 6 weeks, but now need to arrange them and make a final menu plan.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’re about 11 seasons through BONES. I’ll be sad for it to be over.
CABLE The DVR has plenty to choose from, but now for the time to play catch up 🙂
THEATRE We went and saw FLIGHT RISK one rainy day last week. Seriously low budget, but psychological thriller. Honestly I expected more from the movie.

READING TIME

I just started PICTURES OF YOU by Emma Grey. I really hated the last book, NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell for book club! I want this one to be better!

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

	2/10 MONDAY	2/11 TUESDAY	2/12 WEDNESDAY	2/13 THURSDAY	2/14 FRIDAY	2/15 SATURDAY	2/16 SUNDAY
DINNER	FROZEN PIZZA (meeting night)	BAKED FISH & CHIPS	BRAISED BALSAMIC CHICKEN & MASHED CARROTS	SPICY CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS	EAGLE’S VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION DINNER NIGHT	CHICKEN & NOODLES	ITALIAN PASTA & SAUSAGE IN GARLIC & WHITE WINE SAUCE
DESSERT				WACKY CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

One of the fundraiser events this past weekend was for a Create & Sip. It was a rather disjointed event (unlike our normal) and I spent a lot of time away from working on my picture. I’ll try and finish it later this week. It still needs a lot of fine tuning, but I think it will get there. 😀

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

BAKED SWEET CORN DIP
CHICKEN CABBAGE STEW

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

LEMON MELT AWAYS
LOADED HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

SILENT SUNDAY ~ BLOG 365.40

SATURDAY COFFEE ~ BLOG 365.39

TGIF ~ BLOG 365.38

LEMON MELT AWAYS ~ BLOG 365.37

These cookie’s roots date back to a classic and super simple shortbread from Scotland. Over time, this centuries old recipe has been adapted with variations that have emerged worldwide, adding cornstarch for an ultra-light texture.

Inspired by classic shortbread these cookies are the epitome of comfort food, especially at Christmas time. They are light, crumbly and leave a satisfying buttery aftertaste. The butter binds everything together, adding a velvety rich, creamy flavor.

I LOVE them for their simplicity and versatility. These cookies promise to make everyone happy with their buttery soft texture. You can change up the flavor easily by changing the flavor of your extract. To be a bit decadent dip them melted chocolate and do a light sprinkling of sanding sugar.

And the best part is the minimal amount of ingredients that deliver maximum flavor and you can whip them up in just 5 minutes creating a timeless dessert that appeals to EVERYONE.

ULTIMATE MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH COOKIES
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1½ cups AP flour
½ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract (or flavor of choice for variation – almond, lemon, orange…)
A pinch of salt
Chocolate drizzle (optional)
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Crushed nuts for garnish (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350°.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift together the AP flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In a LARGE mixing bowl cream together softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
Add extract and mix well.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Mix until a soft dough forms. DO NOT OVER MIX or your cookies will be tough.
Roll the dough into small 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
Gently flatten with the back of a spoon or a fork for texture.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Once cooled, dip or drizzle with melted chocolate, sprinkle powdered sugar, or garnish with crushed nuts if desired.

NOTES:

Add zest, spices, or flavor extracts to suit your taste.
Can EASILY be adapted for gluten-free or vegan diets.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ BLOG 365.36

LOADED HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP ~ BLOG 365.35

One of our favorite local lunch haunts has the most amazing soup – a cheesy hash brown soup. As much as I love it, it has always seemed just a little incomplete to me so I’ve “souped” it up a bit by adding the meatballs, bacon, green onions and even more cheese! Then I went one step farther and adapted it to the crock pot for that easy fall/winter cozy meal.

LOADED HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP
1 30-ounce bag Simply Potato Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes
1 cup water
5 cups homemade chicken bone broth
1 cup small diced carrots
12 ounces bacon, browned and crumbled (reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish)
6-8 small meatballs, halved, halved and halved again into small pieces
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin (reserve 2 tablespoons of green tops for garnish)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoon WONDRA flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese for garnish
Sour cream, for garnish

Stir together the hash brown potatoes, carrots, bacon, broth, water, onions, garlic, salt and pepper in a 5 quart crock pot. 
Cook on LOW for 3-4 hours .
Whisk together flour and cream until smooth and stir into slow cooker. 
Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes.
Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted. 
Serve hot topped with cheese, sour cream, bacon and green onions.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 5 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.34

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

WOW I can’t believe January is already gone! And February is a short month, so I sure hope it goes a bit slower than January did!

Last week was a typical “work” week, but I was able to finally get caught up on my own shopping and errands on Friday and then delivered these fruit medley topped cute little dessert cheesecakes for my friend Lu’s fundraiser dinner.

On Saturday we were supposed to go to a birthday lunch for a friend at what used to be a favorite pub (her choice), but then it was canceled when she didn’t feel well, so we went to a favorite tavern for lunch instead.

On Sunday it was raining in earnest so we went to a favorite grill spot for lunch and my book club while hubby watched the PRO BOWL with a friend. They laughed and laughed at the stupidity of the PRO BOWL being a flag football game.

I spent the rest of Sunday at home painting my rehab dresser project. My friend had given the dresser to another friend several years ago and then it was passed on to me. By the time I received it, there were split broken legs and quite a bit of marring on the edges and wood, so hubby sanded it down to the original wood for me, I replaced the broken legs with ball feet, repainted the original hardware and VOILA we have a new chest for the spare bedroom.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s still cold, wet and snow is still predicted for today and the rest of the week from the stalled storm. We’ll see if the snow finally materializes AND if it sticks! 😀 UGGs and flannels are my best friends, but I’m trying to wear more sweaters and less plaid. 🙂

MONDAY 39/29° SNOW
TUESDAY 38/30° SNOW
WEDNESDAY 39/32° SNOW
THURSDAY 34/30° SNOW
FRIDAY 30/27° SNOW
SATURDAY 38/27°
SUNDAY 39/27°