Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Here in Salt Lake the high's have been around 15 degrees.

That's right people. 

We are talking c-c-c-c-c-old!!

It's a production just to go to the store. I have to give myself a pep talk to even walk to my car.

So.

Freaking.

COLD.

And, to me, weather like this means one thing.

SOOOOOUP!

Delicious homemade warm soup.

One of my all-time favorites is Broccoli Cheddar. I love Broccoli, and it makes me feel good about myself to eat a vegetable...honestly, it doesn't happen enough. And WHO doesn't love cheddar? In my opinion, the BEST cheese out there.

Nom nom nom.

This recipe was adapted from the blog Skinnytaste. 

It turned out wonderful and will make your house smell awesome!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups broccoli florets, chopped into pieces

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Chop onion, celery, and garlic in a food processor.

In a large pot, melt butter. Add chopped vegetables and saute on low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add flour, salt and pepper to the pot.

Add chicken broth, milk, and potatoes and set the heat to high until it comes to a boil. Cover and cook on low until the potatoes are soft, 10-15 minutes.

Add broccoli and parmesan and stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Cook uncovered until broccoli is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add cheddar, stir well and remove from heat.

Serve and enjoy!



Scalp Scrub

Confession: ever since John was born, for some reason, my scalp has been super and inexplicably gunky. I wash and wash, and brush and brush, and even scrape my scalp with my fingernails in the shower to try to get the gunk off, but it doesn't really help. Then, I read about a scalp treatment that worked miracles for my scalp.

Step 1: microwave 1/4 cup conditioner for 20 seconds
Step 2: mix in 1/4 cup Epsom salt and stir well
Step 3: shampoo and rinse as normal
Step 4: massage mixture into scalp and down hair shaft
Step 5: leave to soak in while you finish your shower routine
Step 6: rinse well


I was amazed to see how clean my scalp was and my hair was soft and voluminous. I wouldn't recommend doing this very often because the Epsom salt can dry out your hair, but if your scalp is feeling oily and flakey and your hair is looking limp and lifeless, I would definitely recommend this treatment.

Big Changes with the Johansen Family

If you are lucky enough to be my friend on Facebook ;) you may already know this exciting news. If not your hearing it from the horse's mouth. 

The Johansen family will become a family of 4 in March 2013. 

I know what your all thinking..."oh so that is why you went MIA for like 4 months". 

And yes you would be exactly correct. When I get pregnant I get sick. Like I cant get off the couch sick. I also go to bed like insanely early because if I stay up late I end up seeing my dinner, not one of my favorite things to do.

But now that a few months have passed and I have hit the all exciting 22 week mark we are getting really excited. We have started talking baby names (don't ask we have a REALLY hard time finding ones we both agree on) and speculating what it will look like. I bet if it knows whats good for it, it will look just like its sister (and that's a pretty good thing!).We have opted on not finding out the gender so it is likely that lots of baby crafts will be finding themselves on this blog for both boys and girls. 

Wish us luck on this new exciting change in our lives.

Mallory

Ranch Chicken

One of my friends just had a baby and we provided them dinner. I made my delicious Ranch Chicken. Its easy and one of my favorite crock pot meals! Serve shredded or whole on top of rice.

Ranch Chicken

5-7 Chicken Breasts

8oz Cream Cheese

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix

Cook on low in crock pot for 6 to 8 hours.

I hope you love this recipe as much as we love it!

Mallory

Taco Soup

My mom has been making this delicious (and oh so easy taco soup for the last few years). Its one of my favorite go to recipes because it is so easy. This recipe does need a packet of Ranch Dressing Mix. It is the "salad dressing and seasoning mix". I have found that this one works better than any other I have tried. 

 Taco Soup

1 lb Chicken, cut into bite sized pieces and browned in olive oil

Add 1 packet of Taco Seasoning Mix

1 1/2 C. Water

1 Can Pinto Beans

1 Can Mild Chili Beans

1 Can Stewed Tomatoes 

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1 Packet of Hidden Valley Seasoning Mix

1 Green Pepper cut into bite-sized pieces

Simmer for 30 minutes or on high in Crock pot for 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with Sour Cream and grated cheese.

Note: My family doesn't like green peppers so I leave that out.

Enjoy your quick and easy meal!

Mallory

Cake Decorating

Over the last year and a half I have become interested in cake decorating. Here are a few of my cakes for your viewing pleasure. I hope that it inspires you to make a few of your own delicious and good looking cakes.

 Minnie cake done with a Mickey Mouse cake pan and then decorated like Minnie. Tips used Wilton Star tip.

 Spider's done with ball cake pan and then only put half of the cake for each spider.

 Caterpillar made with cake cut out by cookie cutter.

 Caterpillar pieces made with ball cake pan and then cut to match together.

Fancy Little Girl Hair Do

Morgan and I got bored one day so we decided to find another way to do her hair. She loved having the hair out of her eyes for a bit. She hated having us take the elastics out. In this hair I just did two rows of connected ponytails. It looked super cute with a bow by the ponytail. 

Enjoy your hair doing! 

Mal