Chowder and Cheddar

I had been waiting to make this chowder since December 25th.

My sister gave it to me along with my favorite handled soup bowls.

And I knew exactly what it needed to make it the best meal ever.

Great Harvest Cheddar Garlic Bread

Your eyes are NOT deceiving you. That is cheese oooozing out from the bottom.

The bread smelled incredible.

And it tasted AH-MAZING!

Soft. Squishy. The perfect amount of garlic. The perfect amount of cheese.

It would make the perfect pillow if I lived in a house made out of food.

Not that I've ever thought about that.

Bread is my weakness. Not brownies. Or ice cream. Or cupcakes.

I mean, I can enjoy those things. And I can have a craving every now and then. But bread wishes it could live in my belly for ever and ever.

Amen.

It is a good thing that it fuels my workouts.

At least that is what I like to tell myself.

In fact, I went ahead and purchased several loaves. For emergency purposes. And they, so kindly, gave me freezer bags to store them in.

And a "frequent buyer" card. Which means I get a free loaf on my next visit.

It doesn't get any better than that.

As far as the chowder goes, it was scrumptious! The directions gave a couple of extra ingredient options. And surprisingly (not) I used all of them.

The soup simmered in a vegetable broth for 15 minutes. Then I added in uncooked shrimp, broccoli florets, and cauliflower.

It all cooked together for another 15 minutes.

And then I topped it with reduced fat cheddar cheese.

Because the theme of tonight's meal was cheddar. And it would have been a shame to not follow through.

The picture doesn't do the meal justice. But you have to understand that I had just toasted and lightly buttered the bread and the aroma of it's goodness completely overtook me.

After only two attempts at photos, I screamed for Kev to come to dinner and then promptly burned the entire inside of my mouth.

Eating great food (fresh off of the stove) can be painful.

Just like wearing great shoes.

Both of which I refuse to stop doing.

And now I need to go call the Mayor. And beg him to bring a Great Harvest to Gaston.

Or at least give me a permit to build a house out of food.