Snow Day part II

Before the snow:

What are the chances we'd have 2 snow days in a week... a week before a scheduled 2 weeks off! I'm not complaining- that will come later in the year when we are made to work a holiday or two! If the predicted 5 inches isn't gone by tomorrow, it'll be a super short week-

So what's a girl to do on a snow day- the chips, salsa, beer, wine, and chocolate are all stocked up! 8 AM would be pushing it to open the vino, so after topping off the gas in the hubs' SUV, making sure we have gas- for snow grillin' no doubt, the puppers and I headed out for a MUCH NEEDED walk. These ladies have been feeling a bit couped up- as apparent by their wild romps through the hallways.

We walked a chilly 1 1/2 miles before coming home to play with the tug-o-war, balls, and sticks that litter the yard. The snow started to come down- adding a dusting to the crunchy leftovers still on the grass!

After a warming bowl of  pumpkin oatmeal- with pureed pumpkin, RAW almond butter, agave, and cinnamon- it's time for more Christmas Baking (this time for the neighbors and their pets)!

Stay warm!

Baby it's cold...

The temps in Virginia have dropped to the single digits and teens- perfect for puppy walks in the morning, I think not!  With the chilly weather, soup makes it way into our lives more frequently. This is fine by me- I love soup. I used to daydream of opening a little cafe naming it soup, and serving up different daily specials in a bowl... **sigh**

With a snow day, I had extra time to tackle some errands yesterday- some cleaning, shopping, and baking! I wanted an easy dinner that would warm up the hubs- who's job has had him outside, everyday for the past 8 days...

Enter Potato Soup- with extras!

3 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled

5 diced potatoes

1/2 head of cauliflower- chopped coarsely                

4 smashed cloves of garlic

1 chopped green onion

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1 chopped leek

1/4 white wine

1 box organic Chicken broth

1 cup milk- skim

water-added to thin to liking

salt and pepper

Cheddar cheese for garnish

Fresh Rosemary for garnish

I cooked the bacon and then threw it in with everything else- minus garnishes- to the crock pot and came home to a a phenomenal smell after about 2 hours on high.  Everything was still very chunky- and I prefer a creamy potato soup.  Carefully I added small batches to the blender and whirled it until smooth.  I left 1/4 of the soup in diced form, blended the rest, and mixed them together!

It was perfect for warming up after a snowy, blustery day!