Maternity leave is too short

As maternity leave comes to an end I realized the one thing I set out to do during this time (besides care for and spend as much time as possible with my little guy) was to put all my recipes down in a blog AND I failed at least so far..... I do still have 2.5 weeks and I hope to get a few more down. Here it goes

This is a hearty soup I came up with on one of the very few cold days we have had this winter.

Potato Corn Chowder
3lbs. diced potatoes
1/2 a sweet onion diced
1/2 C. thin sliced carrots
1/4 cup butter
4 tbs. precooked bacon bits
3 C. water
3 C. milk
1C. chicken stock
3 tbs. flour
1 can cream corn
1 tsp. thyme
2 tsp salt

1. Steam diced potatoes in the microwave until just tender and set aside (this saves time if you prefer cook them in boiling water, drain and set aside).
2. In a large pot melt butter over med. high/med heat, add bacon and onion. Saute until the onion is tender and translucent. Add the flour to the butter, onion and bacon mixture to create a paste, stir constantly to avoid over cooking. Gradually add the 3 cups milk stirring constantly until thickens.
3. At the same time in a separate pot add water and chicken stock bring to a boil and add carrots cook until carrots are tender.
4. To the milk mixture add the carrot mixture (do not drain), potatoes, cream corn, thyme and salt. Bring to a boil stirring frequently to avoid sticking.

Note - to achieve desired soup thickness add 2 tbs of flour to 1/2c. of chicken stock and add to the boiling soup, I did this once to thicken it up a bit, depends on what you prefer.

Here is what is on the needles.....
I am calling them Winter Warmies for Samuel but they are known as longies the pattern is free and can be found on Ravelry at the link below

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bulky-weight-longies



Final thought.... maternity leave is too short and I was fortunate to have more time than most. A mom should be able to stay home for the first year of a babies life, that is my opinion... It seems just as I got my little guy on a routine and as he is doing more than eating and sleeping I have to leave him. He is doing so many amazing things each day and it is going to be so tough to leave him to go back to work....