Ahhhhhh...

Not too long ago, I sat down after spending the day on my feet. It was a lovely way to spend the day. "What?" you're thinking, "this lady's crazy!" Nah, I'm not crazy. I spent the day on my feet, in my kitchen, baking and trying out some new recipes. I baked some of our tried-and-true favorites - sausage balls, blueberry bars, and pumpkin bars. Those will become breakfast, lunchbox, and dessert items over the next several days. For dinner, I made Pioneer Woman's white chili, which we had a few weeks back and really enjoyed. This time I tried her salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo recipes. I also made some cilantro lime rice to serve with the chili. I'm not a chili-and-rice girl, but I thought they might go nicely together, and I was pleased with how it turned out. Hands down, though, the best accompaniment to the chili is guacamole. Unfortunately, one of my avocados (which I bought only 2 days ago) was already completely brown on the inside, so we only had enough guac for dinner. We have lots of leftover chili, so I will have to go back to the grocery store soon. The pico was fantastic - I think we ate half of what I made! Since it's the only ingredient in PW's guacamole besides the avodcado, I think my grocery list just got a little longer!

Ingredient rundown for the day -
3 sticks of butter
3 cups of Bisquik
2 cups of cheddar cheese
1 cup of monterey jack cheese
1 pound of hot sausage
2+ cups of oats
1 bag of chocolate chips
nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves
1 cup of pumpkin
LOTS of flour
LOTS of sugar
1 pound of great northern beans
2 boxes of chicken broth
1 cup of milk
3 jalapenos
corn meal
1 cup Basmati rice
olive oil
1 1/2 onions
3 Roma tomatoes
2 limes
1 avocado
1 bunch of cilantro
1 can of green chiles
2 cans of Rotel
1 can of whole tomatoes
7 cloves of garlic (at least)
cumin, paprika, garlic powder, dried minced onion, bay leaf
3 chicken breasts

And that's just what I can remember without looking at the recipes!

I used every mixing bowl, measuring cup, and measuring spoon I have (some more than once) and overflowed the bowl of my food processor (what a mess!). I washed as I went, but still had a dishwasher full of dishes. I also washed 3+ sinks full of dishes at the end of it all - whew! But I had a wonderful day! With all of the snow days we've had, this is the first real chance I've taken to bake - which I love! My second favorite thing is chopping - and once you chop it, you've got to do something with it, right? I have to add kudos to my husband, who led the kids in "family clean-up day" while I baked, chopped, and cooked. Now THAT is bliss!