Homemade Italian Cream Soda

Hi guys and welcome back to It's Always Sunny! I'm actually posting something! A real post! Yesterday I tried out a recipe for Italian cream soda that I found on this blog. I love Italian cream sodas as much as the next girl, but ordering them from an Italian restaurant can get pricey. And Italian restaurants are few and far between in my town. Needless to say, it was delizioso!

Italian Cream Soda: Adapted from Butter, with a side of Bread

Makes one serving

Ingredients...

- 1 cup club soda

- 4 tbsp. strawberry flavoring syrup

- 2 tbsp. vanilla flavoring syrup

- 1 tbsp. half & half

- Ice cubes (if you feel so inclined)

Let's get cookin' good lookin'...

1. Pour 1 cup of club soda into a cup

2. Add your flavored syrups (my favorite combination is strawberry & vanilla)

3. Stir

4. Right before serving, add in ice cubes and half & half (the half & half creates a really cool marbling effect!)

5. Voila! Delicious Italian cream soda.

Final ruling...

This soda is a close second to my all time favorite carbonated beverage, Dr. Pepper. And that's saying a lot if you knew how much I drink Dr. Pepper. In short, this drink is awesome. Pure strawberry & vanilla awesome.

Until next time,

A

I'm Still Here! I Still Blog!

Hi guys! It certainly has been a while, doncha' say. I'm sorry for my unannounced absence but it's been really hard for me to balance all of my commitments lately. Between work and school and ventures in creating, it left me barely any time to blog. While I do love blogging, I realize that I can't sacrifice my grades or my precious sleep in order to post a new recipe or a new outfit. So while my presence won't be as prominent on IAS as it was during the summer, I will try extra hard to provide you guys with some fun new posts.

But aside from that, work and school have been going great! I hit a rough patch in school where I would get home at 10:30 from work and then be too tired to do anything (including homework) and I started to psych myself out. But winter break has really given me a lot of time to relax and think about my priorities.

I hope to be talking to y'all soon. I'm gonna head over to University of Hawaii tomorrow to visit my dearest Jackie and cook her some chicken alphabet soup so hopefully I can take a few pictures and share them with you guys.

Until next time,

A

P.S. Take two moments to listen to this song. It's the best.

OOTD: Are You Wearing Pants?

--- Outfit Details ---

Shirt: Pacsun

Denim "vest": Borrowed from my mother!

Pants: Volcom

Shoes: Forever21

The lighting was terrible today, it started to get overcast around 2 and by the time I got outside to take pictures the sun was on the wrong side of me and just everything was not working. I didn't take the photos in the pretty forest today because there was somebody walking their dog back there and I didn't want to awkwardly be taking photos of myself whilst the dog pees on trees in the background.

But anyways, any time I wear these pants I get at least one person saying "WOAH I thought you weren't wearing pants!!!" which is always nice to hear \m/ I just really like how they fit and how they're so comfortable so people will just have to get over the fact that I look naked from the waist down. I AM COMFORTABLE AND THAT'S WHAT MATTERS.

In other news, I did absolutely nothing today. I showered, did the dishes, took an ap psychcology quiz, and watched Keeping Up With the Kardashians. That's it. That's all I did. I'm making excellent use of my fall break.

Now, I am going to go and watch The Real Housewives of New York because I have no friends. I will talk at you all soon.

Until next time,

A

Kern ernd Cherkern Cherder (a.k.a. Corn and Chicken Chowder)

Speaking like that will really never get old. Never. Ever. I will be getting married and say "er der" instead of "I do". That is how much it means to me.
But now to the main point of the post, I have been pestering my mom to let me cook dinner so I can blog about it. And there is something with me and cooking soups that just makes me happy and my family not so much. I just like stirring things I guess. I found this recipe through foodgawker, and adapted it according to what I like and what we had (I'm terrible at making grocery lists because I always get too lazy to check if we have a certain ingredient and then assume we have cayenne pepper when we really haven't ever owned any...)

Corn and Chicken Chowder: Adapted from Buns In My Oven

Makes a ridiculous amount of soup that could feed a village

Ingredients...

- 30 ounce can of corn

- 6 slices of bacon, chopped

- Half a medium bundle of green onions (separate whites from greens)

- 3 medium potatoes

- 1 medium onion

- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

- 3 cups whole milk

- 2 cups (one can) chicken stock

- 1/2 tsp. all spice

- 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

- 1/4 tsp. shichimi togarashi (red pepper mix), you can also use cayenne pepper

- 4 ounces green chiles

- 2 cups shredded chicken (I sauteed my own but you can also use rotisserie store bought chicken)

- Salt and pepper

- Garlic salt

- Grated cheddar cheese (garnish)

Let's get cookin' good lookin'...

1. In a large pot (you'll only be using one pot the whole time so make sure it's a large one) fry the bacon.

2. Remove the bacon from the pot once it's crisp and set it aside. LEAVE THE DRIPPINGS IN THE POT.

3. Peel and chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces.

4. Chop the green onions super thin, making sure to separate the greens from the whites.

5. Place the potatoes, chopped onion, and chopped green onions (the white ones... wow that sounds confusing) in the pot and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until onions are soft.

6. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

7. Pour in the milk, chicken stock, all spice, thyme, parsley, shichimi togarashi, salt, pepper, and garlic salt.

8. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

9. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

10. Add corn, chicken, and green chiles.

11. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

12. Garnish with any extra onions, bacon, or cheddar cheese.

13. Voila! Delicious soup.

Final ruling...

This has to be my second favorite soup I have ever made. My first favorite is chicken alphabet soup and that will be making an appearance on the blog sometime in the near future. It's hearty enough to be a meal, but I paired it with bacon sandwiches anyways. Because my dad loves bacon. There are enough leftovers to feed me for days and I have a feeling it will be one of those "even better as leftovers" meals. It's a lot of prep but it's totally worth it!

Until next time,

A

Dropping In

Hello friends, I'm just dropping in to see how y'all are doing. I am now on fall break which is awesome except my fall break will be spent doing homework and working which is not as great. At least I won't have to wake up at 5 every morning. Now I am just anxiously awaiting all of my final grades for quarter one and then I may be able to relax just a little. We'll see. And as for the blog, I hope to be posting some cooking stuff soon. Let's see if the parentals permit me to ruin the kitchen.

Until next time,

A

I Am A Tomato And I Love It

Yes, friends, I dyed my hair red.

Woopeeeeee!!! As you can see from my facial expression I am so happy~~~ I really am though. I love having my red hair back! Also, check out this awesome sweater. It was $4 from Goodwill. I love Goodwill.

Well friends, I have mountains of homework to complete and tests to study for. Fall break is next week! I can do this.

Until next time,

A

OOTD: Mosquito Militia

--- Outfit Details ---

Blouse: eBay (gift from my seeester)

Skirt: Forever21

Shoes: Amazon (100000 years ago...)

So, friends, I am currently sitting here writing this post as I scratch the skin off of my legs. Why? Because it rained today, friends. It rained and the standing water is a great nesting ground for mosquito larvae to fester. And fester, they did. They festered up my legs, my arms, my face, my SCALP. I was only out back for 10 minutes taking these photos and now I am covered in bites. This does not make for a happy Alissa, let me tell you.

Anyways, I love this shirt. My sister ordered it for me off of eBay because she is the best. It was only $15ish, shipping included! Sadly, it's pretty poorly made and I don't expect it to last very long but I will love it while I can. I love slouchy sheer tops. They are ridiculously comfortable and provide enough coverage to where I don't feel the need to wear a cardigan but are still very light and airy. I do not like to show my shoulder area, it's strange and I don't like it. BUT SHEER TOPS MAN, THEY SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.

But now, I am off to study and do homework and be a good student. It's what I do.

Until next time,

A