Snow Day

Bird and I spent yesterday up at Mum's, running errands and doing a wee photo shoot - I needed some reference photos for an artist who has kindly offered to illustrate one of my children' stories.

We came home and I ran a few errands for Casa de Crazy, namely filling both vehicles with fuel and grabbing the ingredients for one of my favorite meatball recipes (posted below, without pictures 'cause I didn't take any). We were warned to expect Winter weather rolling in come nightfall, and I was craving something substantial.

Often when we get Winter weather, it means ice, which means no power for anywhere from a few hours to days. Sucks. Luckily, I can cook over the propane camp stove, and if it gets too cold we can always invade one of the neighbor's homes - they have fireplaces, while Casa de Crazy is one of the three homes in the neighborhood that was built without. What the Hell, Stupid Builder, were you thinking?? While we aren't famous for our blizzards around here, it does get cold (well...for most folks...to me, it's just a little chilly unless it's twenty below and windy) (no, really, you can ask Mum) and we do lose power fairly often. So far, though, so good.

The weather folks predicted 2 - 5 inches in Redneck Central, a substantial amount for this part of the country. Last time they said we'd have that much, one flake sort of waved on its way through town and that was it, so I wasn't going to hold my breath.

Last night on facebook, most of my friends were posting about the snow they were getting...but Casa de Crazy was clear and dry. I was starting to suspect either mass hallucinations or that someone had put a giant umbrella over the house. Finally, around ten-ish, we saw flakes a-falling. Went to bed about midnight while Nature kept at her frosting.

This morning? Let's just say the outdoor cats were very thankful that Someone is really a softie (don't tell him I said so) and let them into the garage for the night. We actually got enough snow to measure in inches, not millimeters.

Little Dude and I went out to play for a few minutes, but dang...even for me it was bloody cold! I was even wearing (gasp) a jacket!! Alert the media...

We came back in and now it's snowing again. We may go out later for some more play, but I'm just as happy to get the crockpot going (meatballs re-heating) and do some schooling with Bird...just as soon as I post a few pics here and the meatball recipe (someone wanted it last night, but I didn't feel like posting it on facebook)

Little Dude wanted to build a snowman, but it's just a little too powdery...so he settled for lobbing hunks of snow at me when my back was turned. Here's one of his projectiles:

I do love the way snow settles on every little thing:

Poor fairy - she endures all the weather with a good disposition:

If I get any good ones of the cats, I'll try to post them...but the cats are disinclined to oblige my need for silly kitty pictures, keeping under the truck and hugging the perimeter of the house when they can.

Right, recipe!

The cast:
1 stick of butter (and a defibrillator)
1 cup of flour
4 cups chicken broth
4 teaspoons dill (I use dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream
A bag o' frozen meatballs (or you can make your own if you like - I'm lazy and actually like the frozen ones)

Action:

In a large pot, make a rue with the butter and flour.

Slowly add the broth, whisking smooth. Add salt and dill.

Stir until thickened, like a nice cream soup or maybe a little thicker than that.

Add the sour cream, stir well.

Dump the meatballs into a slow cooker or large pot (this is the fun part - 3 or 4 cups if you want it saucier, or fill the crockpot if you plan to serve these as snacks/toothpick food) and pour the sauce over it. Stir it up to coat everything. Heat on low until the meatballs are nice and hot, stirring occasionally.

I like to serve these with egg noodles or rice and broccoli or green beans.

You can easily halve, quarter, or double this recipe depending on your needs, and they re-heat nicely if you can't finish them all in one sitting.

So - how's the weather in your neck of the woods?