A Few of our Favorite Things

Merry Christmas!!!

I thought I'd share a few of our favorite things.

Jacob: his mini dirt bike from Grandpa Ken and the Sony PSP from Santa.
Kaitlyn: her chest of princess dress-up clothes.
This darling little crocheted kitty hat for Rachel from Aunt Roxanne (I wanted to get a picture of it on her but she's sleeping.)
Here was another fun gift from Grandpa- a rod hockey table.
For Mom: some bath items compliments of Aunt Roxanne and my kids. The bath salts and body lotion are hand made and smell divine!
My little budding pianist. .
I finally sewed the hooks on last year's stockings and was able to hang them.
I did canning for the first time this year. I made whiskey bourbon BBQ sauce:
Strawberry jam (sans pectin):
And peppermint candy-cane bath salts. Fun!
Ashlee's big-ticket item this year was the Amazon Kindle electronic book reader. It was the perfect gift for an avid reader and homeschooler.
And this, my gift to you. I am going to share the recipe for the delicious clam chowder we had on Christmas Eve. You may want to do half a batch, because it makes about 2 gallons.

Award-Winning Santa Cruz Clam Chowder

4 oz. pancetta / bacon
1 lb. butter
1 lb. onion, chopped
1 lb. celery, chopped
1 lb. red bell pepper, chopped
1 lb. green bell pepper, chopped
1 c. flour
2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 qt. clam juice (you can reserve some of this from the clams)
1 Tbs. fresh tarragon
1 Tbs. fresh thyme
6 c. milk
6 c. cream
1- 51 oz. can of clams
8 oz. cream cheese
salt
white pepper
curry powder

*Cook potatoes in clam juice w/ tarragon and thyme until almost done.
*Saute pancetta / bacon, drain fat, crumble and set aside.
*In LARGE stock pot, melt half of butter. Saute onions, celery, and bell pepper until soft. When done, add remaining butter and, when melted, flour.
*Add clam juice from potatoes to pot of vegetables. When warm again, add cream cheese. Whisk until smooth.
*Add potatoes and clams and cook on low for 10-20 minutes.
*Season with salt, pepper, and curry.

Delicious!