A Wish for a Warm, Full Belly:
Southwest Seafood Chowder from Food and Wine
Halibut and shrimp make up the seafood portion of this amazing sounding chowder. I might leave out the clams but every other ingredient has my mouth watering, from the ancho chiles to the fennel seeds but especially those shrimp! Chowder is my favorite kind of soup. Chowder is so hearty and filling that (contrary to Aaron's belief) it can be a meal by itself. One of these days I'm definitely going to try this recipe!
Smoky Corn Chowder with Shrimp from Bev Cooks
Oh my GOSH! Just look at that picture, what more convincing do you need? TONS of corn, a creamy broth, sauteed shrimp, and look at that bacon on top! Wow, I can't wait to eat this. It's going on the menu so very soon, and Aaron can get over the whole aversion to shrimp or go find himself something else to eat that night. And I have to say, I love Bev's story with this recipe. She has a great writing voice and I'm dying to read more.
Firehouse Sausage Chili from Doughmesstic
Okay Aaron, you want a soup that is a meal? This is definitely it! The recipe makes a lot (using 3 lbs of ground sausage) but you could easily cut the recipe in half. It's a crock pot chili loaded with spicy diced tomatoes with green chilies, hearty kidney beans, and (as I said before) massive amounts of sausage. I think the only drawback of this recipe is it uses packaged chili seasoning but I'm sure I can rustle up a chili seasoning recipe to use.
Lemony Chicken Soup from Prevention
This one is just very intriguing to me. It starts out as a standard chicken soup with chicken, vegetables, and orzo. But here's where it gets interesting: you add eggs! What? I'm assuming the eggs serve as a thickener but the only time I've ever seen eggs in soup is at Chinese restaurants. This soup doesn't have ribbons of cooked egg like in egg drop soup. Instead the eggs are tempered and mixed in smoothly. I don't know how it works but the soup sounds amazing and is perfect for cold and flu season.
A Wish for Cheesy Dips:
White Trash Dip from TasteBook
Though I'm not a huge fan of football I do know that football season is coming to an end and that means it's almost Super Bowl time! This dip would be perfect to serve at a Super Bowl party. Chili, cream cheese, cheddar, and a whole pound of bacon? Sign me up, please! Except for the green onions this is an ideal dip for me and it's so easy to make. Just mix it all up and throw it in the oven. If I was throwing a Super Bowl party I would totally serve this dip.
White Pizza Dip from How Sweet Eats
Oh my cheesy goodness! How fantastic does this dip sound? Roasted tomatoes, Italian herbs, and four kinds of cheese make this dip cheesy, gooey, and did I say cheesy yet? Yes? Can I please say it again? Cheesy, cheesy, CHEESY! The recipe says to serve with crackers or chips but I think it would be awesome with some pita or warm flatbread! Will someone please make this for me right now? I follow this blog and also follow Jessica on Instagram. The whole blog is amazing and worth checking out even if this dip doesn't appeal to you.
A Wish for Toasty, Cozy Crafts:
Cozy Slipper Boots from DIY & Crafts
These little slipper boots are now on the top of my "To Make" list. They're so cute and look so warm. I can't even decide which pattern I like best but I'd probably start with the red boots because I love to do cables. For anyone who crochets but doesn't knit, the purple boots are crocheted so fear not! You, too, can have some adorable slipper boots!
Serenity Baby Blanket from Ewe Ewe
This pattern is for a baby blanket but you don't have to make it for a baby. You can make it as big as you like. It starts in a corner with just 3 stitches and expands, then when you've got it as big as you want it you just decrease by two stitches every other row until you're back down to 3 stitches. This pattern is ideal for beginner knitters because the garter stitch pattern means you're pretty much limited to knit stitches and never have to purl and if you have difficulty casting on and off it has just a small amount of stitches at both ends. I've used a pattern similar to this for several baby blankets and they're always beautiful, soft, and warm.
How to Knit a Cabled Blanket from Idiots Guides
I love cables! They're so pretty and deceptively easy to do. If you're a veteran knitter but have never tried cables this guide is perfect for you. This pattern will make a nice throw blanket to show off your knitting skills and keep you warm.
A Wish for a Cherry on Top:
I feel like I missed out on the chocolate covered cherries this Christmas. I didn't make any of the chocolate covered cherry cookies I've loved so much the past two years and we only shared a couple of boxes of them among the three of us over the holiday season. So, here are a couple of recipes I'd like to try this year to get my fill of cherries.
Cherry Pie Crumble Bars from Wicked Good Kitchen
Aaron's favorite pies are apple, peach, and blackberry, but mine is definitely (by a large margin) cherry! It's got the tartness of the cherries without the seeds of the blackberries. The cherries burst in your mouth and meld perfectly with the flaky, buttery pie crust. I've never made a successful cherry pie, but then I've never used a recipe before. These bars are going to be on my mind until I make them, even if I have to wait until summer for the fresh cherries.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies from Imperial Sugar
Chocolate chip cookies are taken to a whole new level with this recipe. I would never have thought of putting fresh cherries in a cookie! I'm so glad there's such a huge community of bakers out there who do have these ideas pop into their heads because then I hear about it and think, Now why did I never try that? Seriously, I love chocolate chip cookies, could eat (read: have eaten) a whole batch by myself. I am totally psyched to try these as soon as I can find fresh cherries!
And now for one last wish before I close.
A Wish to Curl up with a Good Book:
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
I cannot tell you how much I enjoy Jim Butcher's work. I blew through the entire series of The Dresden Files in about 3 months. 14 books! I was hesitant to try his other series, The Codex Alera series, because I've had bad experiences with that kind of thing. I tried reading another book written by one of my favorite authors but outside my normal series and it was such a let down that I was afraid to read anything else by that author again. No fears with this series though, Codex Alera holds up! Of course, I'm only halfway through the first book, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Interesting characters, captivating imagery and storyline, and plenty of violence (it is a Jim Butcher novel) will keep your interest through every page. The story is vastly different from The Dresden Files, has its own language, and rather than following a single character each chapter you get a look inside the mind of a different character. You really feel like you get the whole story rather than discovering everything as the main character does. It's excellent, check it out, and if you haven't read The Dresden Files check them out too. The first book is titled Storm Front.
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