Holidays Are Near, and Quick Crockpot Stew

With snow on the ground this morning, and Thanksgiving only a week away, it IS beginning to look a lot like Christmas! My husband showed me this photo, which I couldn't resist sharing:

Those of you who know me well, know I'm the elf. I LOVE Christmas, and I'm especially excited this year to celebrate fully in our new place, without trying to locate the ornaments and decor in storage. We also have some lovely features in our new place that will provide for exciting new opportunities to decorate: we now have a front porch, a fireplace with mantel, and this nifty big window bay by the front door! I'm tackling the porch first, and you can see the self-control setting was not on when there was a 60% off sale at Michael's:

I bought THREE 6 foot garlands to decorate our front door, though to my credit I was only going to get 2 until Andy pointed out that it wouldn't be long enough. We got some twinkle lights to keep the garland company, and I'm trying to decide if it I could actually wait it out until after Thanksgiving to put them up. I promise, promise that there will be pictures once I get them up. There will also probably be instructions because, based on Andy's face in the aisle at Michael's when he asked how I was going to attach them, I'm guessing it won't be easy.

I also got cracking on another decor project last night with my mom. Remember the sweet wedding dress I made for my cousin's bridal shower?

Stay tuned this week for how I Christmas-fied that dress form for the holidays!

So that I don't leave you empty-handed, here's a recipe I tackled this week, with delicious success:

Carrot Sweet Potato and Chicken Stew

Toss this all in the crockpot before you head out the door, and come home to less than 5 minutes til dinner time!

*Find Thai chili paste in a small jar in the Asian food aisle, or try swapping 2 Tbs. chipotle in adobo or just plain salsa. This soup is flavorful, but not super spicy, so be brave!

**I used homemade stock, which was very flavorful. If you use the kind from a box or can (which I normally would), you may need a bit extra salt and pepper. Consider throwing in a bay leaf or some rosemary sprigs, too!

6 medium carrots, cut into bit size pieces (quick chop is fine)

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (trust me on peeling it-I'm usually lazy, but it was worth it for this)

1 medium onion, diced

4-5 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 can coconut milk (Asian foods aisle)

2 cups chicken broth or stock**

2 Tbs. Thai Chili paste*

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Chopped cilantro and extra chili paste for serving (optional)

In the crockpot, place carrots, onions and sweet potatoes on bottom, then layer chicken to rest on top (this will make it easier to fish out to shred it later). Pour in broth and coconut milk, chili paste, and season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Cook on low 6-8 hours, or high 4-5 hours.

Carefully remove chicken thighs to a plate and shred, set aside. Using a stick blender, blend soup remaining in crockpot until some chunks of carrot and sweet potato remain, or transfer half of soup to a blender, blend until smooth, then return and stir together. Return chicken to stew, stir, and serve with cilantro and extra chili paste. It will likely still be piping hot, but if needed, put the lid back on the crock and let it warm another 30 minutes.

Serves 6

Wishing you love and warmth during this cold day,

Kelli