Five Favorites: Phoenix Edition!

I've been so out of the loop, I should turn in my blogger card. The teething, clingy child is napping longer than she has in days, however, and I remembered that I can totally manage a Five Favorites post today, so here ya go:

(1)

 

This  ham and cheddar chowder recipe. We've had various and sundry pieces of ham leftover from one I cooked a couple weeks ago, so I've tried to find some creative uses for it. Thanks to Pinterest, I found some delicious options. We eat pretty much anything involving cheddar cheese, so I figured this would be a winner, anyway. Bonus: it's GF, if you're into that kind of thing.

 

 

(2)

 

 

This soup was less of a favorite (no cheddar, what can I say?), but it was still a pretty tasty way to make a broth from the ham bone, and it made a decent amount.

 

 

(3)

 

 

This penne casserole was ah-maz-ing. It involves cheese, of course, and is my latest favorite comfort food. Sooooooo delish. I thought, at first, that it would last all week for lunches. Ha! Gone in 60 seconds. I mean, 24 hours.

 

 

(4)

 

Annie and I discovered the charms of the local library today. I was going a bit stir crazy - it's been so cold out that I don't really want to go for walks, but just needed to see someplace other than these 4 walls. They have a decent children's section, and Annie just enjoyed sitting on the floor and watching the other kids play. This tired her out enough that she actually took a 2ish-hour afternoon nap. Win!

 

(5)

 

I may have listed this before, but I'm SO glad I stuck this on our wedding registry. If you like your coffee as I do, this is a game changer. It's not glass, so no threat of dropping and breaking it (as I've done with several predecessors), and it keeps your coffee steaming, my friends, for hours. As in, I make the hubby's coffee when he leaves for work at 5am, and when I get up at 7, it's still pretty hot. If I add milk or cream, it cools down and I have to reheat it, but seriously? Great investment/gift.

 

 

 

I'll have to post some pictures soon, of all that we've been up to over the past few months, but for now I'll just link up with Hallie