Are you all ready for Super Bowl sunday? How about for the food?

You will have to be excited for me as I can’t seem to muster up any kind of excitement about it. I mean, I know next to nothing about the game and I don’t even live in the States anymore so I really don’t have a dog in the race. I’m only here for the food, as they say. Give me any reason to celebrate with flavor and I’m gonna run with it.

But I’ll be excited about you guys being excited, how does that sound?

So, I told you all at the end of last year how surprised I was at the most popular posts here on the blog. I never would have guessed the ones that have taken off. Like these Red Bell Pepper Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps. For some reason this recipe is by far and wide my most pinned recipe and hardly remember making it and the pictures were turned down by all of the recipe sites that I submit to. Go figure.

However, my second most popular is still one of my earliest recipes, Homemade Southern Corn Nuggets From Scratch. This one isn’t as surprising to me as some because, come on, those were awesome!

So awesome, in fact, that we have talked about them ever since and I’ve been dying to make them again. I finally did make them again but this time I thought I would put a little spin on them and add chipotle and something I didn’t have last time; cheddar.

I wanted to get these on here in time for the Super Bowl because they are perfect for snacking on during the game. They make an awesome appetizer or you can serve them on the side of some loaded burgers like I did. So good!

There aren’t many things that can make monday better. Actually, I’ve narrowed it down to 2 on this particular one. Firstly, for it to not be monday, but that is unlikely for at least twelve more hours so I’ll have to settle for the second which is……Mini Corn Dogs!

Yep, that’s what I said. I made mini corn dogs for you guys. Stickless mini corn dogs. I know that the sticks are sort of a big part of the whole corn dog package and it is fun to walk around and eat them carnival style, but, like I said, it’s monday. I didn’t have skewers and we just needed corn dogs today.

That’s why I decided to do them cheater style and just drop them into the oil instead of skewering them individually, and you know what? I am totally sold on the ease of these little guys. Who needs sticks? Ain’t nobody got time for dat!

This was one of those recipes that was a lot of fun to take pictures of. I mean look at them, they are so cute.

I have to admit that I spent way too long on these things. Surprisingly long considering how easy they are to make.

This monday just got a whole lot better.

You seriously have to try these. so what are you waiting for? Go and get some  mustard ready for dipping.

Oh joy………it’s monday………again.

I can feel that it will be one of those days. Figures. I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean, monday isn’t exactly synonymous with spectacular.

Today has decided to be a very gloomy day. A very wet gloomy day. We are right at that point between seasons where the weather can’t decide what it wants to do so it just settles on being generally unpleasant. A lot of rain.

I am dreaming of spring strawberries and still trying to get over the weirdness of planning holiday recipes for summer time. You know, because I live in the southern hemisphere now.

I wonder if that is weird for other people as it is for me. It just feels so wrong to be making pumpkin spice recipes while waiting for the weather to warm up. I need to stop being repeatetive. I am having major de ja vu right now because it feels like have said this over and over before. Someone needs to stop me from rambling.

Oh, speaking of pumpkin spice, I have some yummy recipes coming this week. I have been cooking so much recently. I am probably the most unorganized person on the planet so I am excited that I have a few recipes already finished instead of my usual last minute rushing. Hopefully that will give me more time this week.

Sorry if anyone has noticed the chaos on certain parts of the blog. I am still working on fixing and organizing some things and it doesn’t help that our internet has been off and on the last few days.

Okay, about the recipe. I have been wanting to make bread bowls for a while. I mean, who doesn’t love getting to eat the bowl when the soup is gone? Plus, it looks so pretty and rustic when you serve it. And I don’t know about you, but I have always loved corn chowder. I made this recipe with just chicken but it is really good with bacon too.

I think I should mention that my soup was not quite as corny and thick as it looks in the pictures. That is due to me spending too long taking pictures and the soup being in a bread bowl that likes to absorb broth. Although, if you want it to be that corny or thick by all means add extra corn or a little extra flour. For me soup is more of an art than a recipe. Make it how you like it.

Okay, I can’t contain my excitement anymore. I have to let the cat out of the bag on this one. Exactly one week from today I will be on my way to visit my family in Idaho.

That’s right, Gringalicious is going state side baby. 

I can’t even begin to list the things that I am looking forward to. There are so many things that I miss, but most of all I miss my family. It has been almost a year since I have seen my big sister. That is like 366 days too long. The longest we have ever been apart before was a few weeks. I can’t wait to see her and the rest of the gang.

There are other things that I miss too. Nothing in comparison to how much I miss my peoples but things that I am still looking forward to. I have really been enjoying Chile so far. I have had many people ask me, mostly Chileans, what differences there are between Chile and the U.S. It is hard to answer that question on the spot. Partly because there are too many things to put your finger on just one, but mostly because I don’t want to offend anyone. I know that Chileans are very proud of their country and they have every right to be. It is an incredible place to live. However, there are some big areas that could use improvement. Por ejemplo (For example) I miss not having to worry about whether or not there will be a place to go to the bathroom when we go out. Have I ever mentioned that many of the few public bathrooms in Chile require that you not only pay to use them but bring your own toilet paper…or not? Eww!

I also miss speaking English to people other than my family and not getting deer-in-headlight stares in response. I have learned a lot of Spanish though. My sisters and I have talked about walking around the stores we go to and pretending that we don’t speak English to switch things up a bit. That would be hilarious. We are so doing it.

Personally, the biggest thing that I am excited about is ingredients. Cheddar, pecans, cream cheese, maple syrup, chocolate chips, m&ms….. These are just a few of my list of ingredients that I will most likely be exploiting while we are there and trying to cram as much as I can into my suitcase on the way back (Okay, cheese may not be the best plan. Anyone ever seen I Love Lucy?). For real though, I am planning to come back to Chile with as many spices, ingredients, props, and anything else I can think of for my blog, back with me. 

Sorry, enough about me and my smuggling. You are here for this recipe.

Is anyone else in love with the spicy sweet contrast of berries and peppers? Well, I love it. I also put a little bit of cream cheese on these. I know that I said in my last post that it is expensive and it is. However, for something like this a little goes a long way and makes a huge difference.

These tostadas are the perfect thing for summer. That’s another thing I forgot to mention. I will get to get out of this cold and rainy weather and dive right into summer. Watermelon, berries, fresh veggies, Grilling…! Prepare yourselves for lots of recipes. Although, I may not be able to post very much while we are traveling so maybe not too many.

You have to make these. As we say in my house a lot, they are slap-your-mama-good.

I really need to stop talking about the weather. How boring, right? I am going to do it anyway though, I can’t help myself. How can I when everyday presents some form of natural wonder?

Yesterday, we awoke to the most beautiful dusting of snow on the mountains. This is the view from our front porch.

 I’m still not over my aversion to the season difference. This made me want to start singing carols and baking gingerbread. Unfortunately, there are 4 or 5 months until that time of year and it will be warming up here, blah.

 So, no gingerbread. I did want to make something warm and comforting though, because it was cold. Chili seemed like a good option. Even that is a little too close to being Christmasy for my taste. My family and our extended family have always had the tradition of eating chili on Christmas Eve before exchanging gifts. I have so many memories that relate chili with the holidays so I decided to change it up and add some summer flair with corn and lime juice. This way I don’t feel like we are cheating on our holiday traditions.

I only wish that we had some real cheddar cheese top it off. At least we can eat it with sour cream on top. If you make this and you have access to real cheddar then you must add it to yours. Make sure that you truly appreciate every bite for us.

I have been stuggling to decide how to write some of my recipes due to difference in ingredients and language. Because I am from the U.S., I think of my ingredients based on what I am used to. Most of my readers are also from the U.S., but many are from Chile. I don’t know if I should write each recipe with two separate versions, one for U.S. and one for Chile. I want my recipes to be as easy as possible to follow so please contact me with any questions on substitutions. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know.