How cold is -30 Celsius?

Yes that's right, -30 Celsius, that is what the temperature was today. And for those of you who don't know how cold that is.....

1. Your coffee in the insulated to go cup that is supposed to keep it hot for an hour lasts 15 minutes.

2. Grabbing the handle of your truck without gloves leaves layers of skin on the handle. And then you are pissed off because you are missing a layer of epidermis and the truck won't start.

3. Standing outside without a jacket on hurts, and you are forced to wear hats with ear flaps (although I personally think they are quite trendy).

4. You walk around with permanently erect nipples (I work with all men, I didn't hear any complaints).

5. You finally break down and wear socks and a jacket rather than just dashing between the house, truck and work and praying that you get the doors unlocked quickly enough to ward off frostbite.

6. You can leave all frozen foods bought at the grocery store in the truck....for days... and they will still be frozen solid.

There is no cure for this kind of temperature shock other than pack up the parkas, sweaters and mittens and move to Hawaii.......a thought I am seriously entertaining. The only reason I like winter weather is it's easier to hide the lumpy bits that I call my body behind a sweater rather than behind a bathing suit.

Winter weather calls for a slow cooker meal. Something without a fuss that can be thrown together literally in seconds. Recipegirl had a post for an Easy Chicken Santa Fe that looked intriguing. How easy you ask? In between the frantic scooping and tasting of Cinnamon Jumbo Cookies I opened a can of black beans and 2 cans of corn. Mixed in some medium salsa. Threw some chicken thighs on top, poured on more salsa and done. 3 hours on high in the slow cooker and the meat was fork tender. Shred the thighs, cut up an 8 oz brick of cream cheese and stir until combined. And you get this:


A delicious, spicy, cheesy sauce that goes great over rice. I cannot believe how much flavour this recipe had. The goddaughter informed me she would eat it but would need to pick out the black beans. Fair enough. After the second helping when I pointed out there wasn't a picked out bean to be had on her plate, she told me she forgot they were there. High praise from a 13 year old I think......coupled with her love of the cinnamon jumbos, her 2 helpings of dinner and a lot of homemade pickles, that kid made me feel like Julia Child.

You can find the recipe HERE.