lost head and corn chowder

so our kitty stinky has a little toy that he loves, it's a doggie. the toy is one of those little stuffed animals that the hands are a clamp of sorts and you can clamp them to items such as your laptop screen or a note book or anything really that is less than an inch thick. well, yesterday i found doggie with a missing part and i found it to be hilarious so i took a few photos. apparently stinky doesn't mind that his doggie now can't see that his attacker is approaching because he is still happily playing with doggie's body sans head. poor doggie...

in other news, it's a beautiful day in coraopolis, i think i might bundle up the baby and take a walk once we reach our afternoon high (supposed to be in the 40's i believe). i can't see a cloud in the sky!

a friend sent me an email to participate in a recipe exchange and i have received a really tasty one that i'll share here. I made it on sunday and we both really enjoyed it! the recipe calls for a few foods that i don't normally stock, mostly prepared items such as pre-cooked smoked sausage and potatoes o'brien so i substituted a little and it was just fine.

30 Minute Smoked Sausage and Corn Chowder

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pkg smoked sausage sliced 1/8 inch pieces (Hillshire Farms - fully cooked) *See cara's notes below

1 cup green onions, sliced *more notes to see

2 teaspoons olive oil *more notes

2 cans vegetable broth, 14 1/2-ounces *again, more notes

1 pkg o'brien frozen potatoes

1 can cream-style corn, (13 3/4 ounce)

1 can mexi-corn *one last note

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crush them a little before tossing in

½ to 1 cup heavy cream (to taste)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In large saucepan, cook onions and sausage slices in oil over medium heat 3-4 minutes or until onions are tender and sausage starts to brown/crisp. *another note

2. Stir in broth, potatoes, corn(s) and red pepper.

3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.

4. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

5. Stir in cream; heat through.

6. Garnish with additional sliced green onions and cheddar cheese, if desired. Serve w/ warm, crusty bread!

**** cara's notes ****

in place of the 1 pkg smoked sausage sliced 1/8 inch pieces - i used 1 lb of bulk sweet sausage i cooked this first then tossed in the green onions

in place of 1 cup green onions, sliced - i actually used a bit more, two medium bunches to be exact

i omitted the 2 teaspoons olive oil because the uncooked sausage provided enough grease on it's own

in place of 2 cans vegetable broth - i used chicken broth because it's what i had, i noticed no difference

in place of 1 can mexi-corn - i used one bag of frozen corn with peppers and onions, i couldn't find a can of this in the store, but will search harder next time as i prefer canned corn to frozen...

this was really good and warmed us up, enjoy!