Baked Potato Soup

Who likes to eat?

Me too. I don’t really post recipes on her, leaving that to my sister blog Mysterious Eats.

Weeeeeeeeeeelll…with one exception. If it has to do with Jane Austen or a tea party, I review and post it.

Last year I helped put on a tea, and fashioned it after a teahouse I used to go to when I lived near Santa Rosa. They would always serve scones (I did the Cheddar-Thyme Scones and the Harvest Pumpkin Scones) and tea sandwiches. You could also add on tarts, little turnovers, salad, or soup.

This soup may not be a real “tea soup”, but I thought it was tasty, easy to make, and fancy looking.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons of Onion, finely chopped
• 5 Tablespoons of Butter
• 5 Tablespoons of Flour
• 1 14-oz can of Chicken Broth
• 1/3 Cup of Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1 Baked Potato (6-7 inch baker), cold, cut into bite-sized pieces.
• 2 Cups of Half-and-Half
• 1 Cup of Milk
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
• 6 Slices of Bacon, cooked, broken into bits (Or use Bacon Bits)
• Cheddar Cheese, to go on top

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions in butter.
2. While stirring, slowly add the flour and then the chicken broth.
3. Cook until it thickens.
4. Add the cheddar cheese, stirring until it melts.
5. Then add the potato, leaving the skin on the pieces.
6. Finally stir in the half-and-half and the milk.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Top each serving with crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese.

It is a fantastic tasting soup, and having cooked the potatoes it takes like no time at all.

Yay!

The only thing is that you have to be careful when adding the milk or half-and-half. The lactose sugar in them can burn and ruin the dish, so you have to keep stirring. The more you stir the less likely it will burn.

One time I had my niece hep me and I felt like that scene in Goodfellas when Henry Hill keeps telling his brother to watch the sauce. Just like Michael she didn’t enjoy the stirring.

No more stirring.

But it was easy, delicious, and will be a great addition to any future tea parties or dinners.

For more recipes, go to Triple Berry Salad

Free, for Lack of a Better Word, is Good

Who likes free things?

So this month is my birthday month.

Yay!

And with that comes some free things….Like being in the Red Robin club and getting a free burger.

I of course, bought the most expensive burger I could…

Then from Raley’s I got a free cake mix…

And free cupcakes from Raley’s.

And a free BBQ sandwich from a local restaurant.

So why am I talking about this?

Because it is nice to get things for free. It is fun and I am currently doing a giveaway.

I am giving away a copy of Death Comes to Pemberly, a Jane Austen quote mug, and a Jane Austen inspired hairclip.

Enter by going to my facebook page.

You’ve Got to Accentuate the Positive

So today is Thanksgiving!

And I love food and this holiday, so I am all about chowing down.

But Not This Year

Majorly

I just had my wisdom teeth out.

So I will not be able to partake in eating tons of food.

And to make matters worse, I am also on my period. So I’m enjoying pain in my mouth and my lower half.

No joke this enters m mind every month

But while it is easy to get hung up on the negatives in life and be unhappy, that is not what Thanksgiving is about. In a world where it seems as if things are getting worse and worse it is easy to get hung up on the negatives, to just hate on everything, be unhappy. And Abraham Lincoln knew this. As he was facing a time of unrest and uncertainty, just as we are, he decided we needed a day set apart to focus on the positives on the good things we have in life.

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come..No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens…”

So I decided I was going to do the same. I am going to accentuate the positives, eliminate the negatives, and latch on to the affirmative.

So here we go, what I am thankful for.

1) My Family + Friends

They are always there for me and support me through everything

2) A Roof Over My Head + Food

I am happy to have a home, and food to eat. There are these all people should have, and not all do. I am thankful to be one of those who do.

3) My Country

I know it is not perfect and there have been problems past and present, but I love living in America where I am given rights that all should have.

Many criticize the pilgrims who came to America to begin with, but these people weren’t coming to destroy a nation, they came so that they could have a little bit of land in which they could worship as they please and live in harmony. They tried to work with the Native Americans, not harm them. The negative things came with later colonies who didn’t share the same ideas, mostly because of the people that were ruling Europe and the politics they were playing.

Anyways, one thing that my country does right is give us a freedom of speech. Something some people are trying to restrain all the time, but is currently still something we have. And it allows me to have this blog in which I can discuss whatever I want.

So know I may not be able to eat everything, but I am going to enjoy and eat the few things I can. Hello mashed potatoes and pie.

And I’m going to focus on all that I am grateful to have.

For more on Thanksgiving, go to I Before E, Especially After P

For more holidays, go to Every Heart Beats True for the Red, White, & Blue

 

You Weirdo

16) Five Weird Things You Like

Here we are with another top five countdown. Here we have five things I think are fine, but others have told me is strange or weird.

1)I Freakin’ Love Basil

I love basil. I think it is the best smell in the world and would totally buy air freshener of it. I love how it tastes! I love cooking with it! I love it’s color! I love everything about it.

For more on basil, go to Pizza Worthy of a Queen

2) I Wear My Clothes in Rotation

I like to wear my clothes in rotation so that I:

1. Don’t wear the same thing over and over again
2. Duplicate the same outfit that week
3. So everything has a turn.

When I wash my clothes or get new ones they all go in the back. I am only allowed to pick from the first 10 items in the front. This is for all the reasons stated above, but also so the things I’m not wearing get stuck in the front and I can give them away as I am obviously no longer interested in them.

It might be weird to you, but makes perfect sense to me.

For more on my fashion views, go to Fashionably Postworthy

3) I Sometimes Sleep on the Floor

So I sleep in strange positions. I lay down like a regular person, but then the next day I’ll be twisted around, facing the opposite direction, etc. Because of this, I can sometimes wake up sore, due to a twisted body. To put everything back in shape, I’ll sleep on the floor. Doing so causes me to sleep like a regular person.

4) I Have to Have My Books Organized by Height

Everything else can be absolutely messy, except for my books. It’s really a compulsion, how much I have to have them in order from tallest to shortest. It just looks so much nicer that way.

The only exception is, if they are in a series. In that case, size doesn’t matter as much as order.

For more bookish posts, go to Considering Lily

5) I Like to Eat Out of the Container

Plates and bowls are nice but I prefer just eating out of the box, tupperware, or container. It’s easier and you don’t get another dish dirty. Besides you eat until you are full, instead of constantly refilling.

Now I don’t usually do this if it’s something I’m sharing, (germs), but if it is something that belongs only to me, I don’t bother with a plate I just eat it.

For more foodie posts, go to Always There for You

To start the 30 Day Challenge from the beginning, go to Musical Madness

For the previous post, go to It’s So Random!

For more on being weird, go to Normal is Boring

For more Mischa Collins, go to GISHWHES Girl

I Before E, Especially After P

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

Thanksgiving is a time set apart so that we can be thankful for all the good things in our lives. It is also time to spend with family and friends. It is a time to eat tons of food as we celebrate. And what says Thanksgiving more than one special treat? Pie!!!

Yep, I love pie!

Yep. Tomorrow I will be stuffing my face.

The things we love are not always good for us:

But who cares, pass the pie!!

And I mean you better give it over:

Don’t forget:

Hope you all have a great day!

For more on Thanksgiving, go to Thanks A Lot

For more on Supernatural, go to Just a Moment

For more on Dean Winchester, go to The Animal I Have Become

For more bible verses, go to Happily Ever Aftermath

For more on Twin Peaks, go to Werewolves Roam Among Us

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Fanning All Over the Place