My Winter Curriculum

This week brings the end of winter and, with it, the close of my winter curriculum. Slimmed down and simple compared with everything I endeavored to do in the fall, I still found that intentionally seeking out the season’s delights added so much happiness to these months.

I hope you enjoy reading about what I worked through this winter.

Recipes

I mentioned this in the fall, but one of the primary ways I keep our meal plan interesting is by keeping it evolving. Each season I seek out six to eight new seasonal recipes to experiment with, choosing ones that are tried-and-true—meaning they have hundreds, or even thousands, of five-star reviews.

This winter, I made four main dishes that my people asked me to add to our family cookbook. I’m sorry for the lack of pictures—I didn’t have the time or focus to photograph them during our surprisingly busy winter, so I only have links for you this time. But you can visit the original websites to see all their gorgeous photos. And trust me, these are incredible recipes worth trying!

Croc Pot Mississippi Chicken

from The Country Cook

If I had to pick a winner from this winter's new recipes, this chicken would be it. A recipe that has circled the internet in various forms, I hadn't ever tried to make it. I'm not sure why...maybe I was intimidated by the pepperoncinis? Either way, my family went bananas for it, immediately asking me to put it in our meal rotation.

It's a simple recipe with no searing or prep work, so this is easily thrown together in the croc pot and takes care of itself while you go about your day.

Recipe Notes:

• The first time I made this recipe, I added a lot of juice from the pepperoncinis and it was a little too spicy for my taste (though the rest of my family liked it). I think it's wise to start with the minimum amount she suggests and work your way up until you find your own happy place.

• I served the chicken over creamy mashed potatoes and made a batch of skillet garlic green beans as a side. Perfection!

 

Jamie's Minestrone Soup

from Allrecipes

This was delicious! I doubled the soup recipe and made two batches of sourdough rolls, then froze half of both. I was so happy the next month when dinner was already made on a day when I didn't want to cook! Our family continues to eat a high-protein diet, so I made a few easy modifications to this recipes (see notes). 

Recipe Notes: 

• For this recipe, I made it exactly as written except that I used bone broth instead of chicken stock, then added two pounds of cooked ground beef at the end. 

• If you decide to freeze the soup, remove the portion you want to freeze before adding the pasta! The texture of pasta can change after freezing, so it's best to freeze the soup without it.

The Best Meatloaf Recipe

from Natasha's Kitchen

I don't want to ruffle any feathers but I believe I've found a meatloaf recipe that is better than whatever you've been making.

Wait--are you mad at me now? Please don't be! I only want to spread the good news of this recipe!

Since discovering her incredible Beef Stroganoff last fall, I always look to see if Natasha has a recipe for whatever I want to make. This lady has a talent for flavor-maximizing! Her meatloaf will be my go-to from here on out.

Recipe Notes:

• Before mixing everything together, I pre-soaked the breadcrumbs and whisked the eggs. I did this to ensure that every bit of the meatloaf was moist without needing to over-work the mixture.

• I always bake my meatloaf on a broiler pan like this one. I learned this trick from a cooking mentor years ago and am always happy with the improvements that makes to your finished meal. Using the broiler pan, you get a nicer crust and none of the unappetizing congealed fat around the perimeter.  

Movies

I actually let myself down in this area. I had a list of new-to-me winter movies to watch—including Black Swan, Mystic River, Everest, and The Queen—but I only got to one of them.

We did watch several movies from our beloved annual list, however, so I’ll flesh out this section by sharing those family favorites as well.

The modern classic Grumpy Old Men was one I had somehow never watched. Jeff and I are such fans of The Odd Couple, so I really don’t have an excuse for the oversight. At any rate, we finally watched it in December. It has the duo’s usual snarky humor and heart, but I’ll give you this disclaimer: this one has some spicy humor. Maybe save it for after the kids go to bed if you want to check it out!

The few others that we made time for were:

Music

Instead of continuing my study of classical composers, I opted to break away to another kind of music altogether: jazz. Instrumental jazz, to be exact. I don't remember how I got to the idea but I do remember plugging in the playlist for my next composer and feeling like I wanted something soft and gentle instead. At some point I landed on instrumental jazz, which did the trick for me all winter long. 

Here's a playlist to check out if some relaxing jazz sounds good to you, too!

Improve

I mentioned in some of my reading posts that this winter ended up looking different than I expected. I had pictured a quiet season indoors—frigid weather outside and lots of time for reading and hobbies. One goal was to finally put my thrifted piano books to use and make progress on the tiny bit of piano I can play.

After a few weeks of trying to cram that in, though, I realized this just isn’t the season for it. Part of that is because I started school this winter, taking a self-directed course through our local community college. The other major factor has been my continued focus on improving my health, which has meant building onto some of my routines, including increasing my weightlifting schedule both in frequency and intensity. 

Regarding some personal struggles, it feels like I finally have clarity about some things that pressed in on me and culminated in 2025. I certainly haven’t “arrived,” but I feel like I understand what I need to do. 

Overall, I feel physically better than I ever remember feeling in my adult life. I’m less inflamed, physically stronger, and more rested than before I began this process in December 2024. That makes me happy. But prioritizing those things did mean letting other plans go. There are only so many hours in the day, and this winter I tried to make sure my top priorities were the things that received my time and energy.

I’ll admit, though, that a year and a half into this, I still have moments when I grumble to myself that I’m not getting enough done, or that I’ll never make my way through the long list of things waiting for my attention if I don't pick up the pace. When that feeling creeps in, I’ve learned to reset. I remind myself what actually matters, even bringing up the short, typed list of my first-, second-, third-, and fourth-tier priorities. When I feel pressed and everything feels urgent, that list helps me see clearly again. Then I remind myself that if I push for perfection the way I used to, I know exactly where it leads: poor health and anxiety. And that ultimately keeps me from loving my family and friends the way I want to—which is my highest priority. Once I remember that, the overwhelm falls away pretty quickly. 

Shakespeare

Continuing my studies of Shakespeare, I took my time with The Winter's Tale this season. After reading Macbeth beforehand, I noticed some similarities in tone and in what I would call recurring stereotypes. One of these tropes involves men who fly completely off the handle, responding with over-the-top violence that is wildly disproportionate to the situation.

I read Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar many years ago, and if memory serves, they contain similar moments. The reason I mention it is that this tendency might explain some of what I’ve observed in English literature and cinema, both of which have obviously been influenced by William Shakespeare. As an American, I sometimes balk at the unbelievability of these overreactions—they can pull me right out of the story. But if I had grown up immersed in these works, perhaps it wouldn’t stand out at all.

I also wonder whether theater has a term for this kind of exaggerated reaction—something like “absurdity,” perhaps? I’ll have to look into that.

As before, I paused after each act to listen to the corresponding episode of The Play’s the Thing podcast. I highly recommend doing this! Tim and guest-host Emily clearly love Shakespeare and discuss the plays in a way that makes them accessible and exciting. Their episodes added so much to the experience for me.

I'm so happy I made the choice to give Shakespeare a try! It has been a great experience so far and I can't wait to begin my spring play!

Poetry

For my poetry reading this winter, I chose the anthology A Poem for Every Winter Day. I enjoyed how the editor intertwines all kinds of poetry, from deep, classic pieces to simple or even silly ones. She also included some poems that don’t follow any traditional formula, which was delightful to me.

I’ll admit that I didn’t actually read one poem per day. Instead, I often read several poems at once—that’s simply what worked best for my schedule this winter.

If I had one criticism, it would be that many of the poems shared similar messages or observations. Even so, I’m very glad I read them all. Beyond simply enjoying the poetry, a few poems and phrases hit home for me and are things I’ve continued to think about since. I’m so happy to have integrated poetry back into my (almost) daily life.

Other Reading

My winter reading list was disrupted by my library holds more than I can ever remember before! So many times I received the notification that my next library hold was available just as I was finishing the last one! All season long that pattern kept me from getting to the winter books waiting patiently on my shelf. 

That sounds sad but is really alright—I’m not upset about it, because I ended up reading so many wonderful books over the past few months. (See previous posts for more information and reviews). I was able to read across several genres and from many narrative perspectives, which are two of my 2026 reading goals. That has been really fun and kept me excited to read.

Of the books I set out to read this winter and actually got to, my favorite was The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and the most fun were the eight volumes of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. 

Little Women and Peace Like a River were both re-reads.

More Winter Things

This was by far the mildest winter we’ve experienced since moving to Idaho, so there weren’t many opportunities for snowy-season activities. I’m not complaining—we still had plenty of fun, just not much that was on my curriculum. We kept up our walk-and-talks and Jordan and I continued our Tuesday night line dancing classes. Line dancing took me by surprise--it's so much fun and a great workout, too! 

Jeff and I took a few solo outings, including a long weekend to StoryCon, a writer's conference. While there, we visited a few bookstores (used books for me, gaming for him) and saw Zarna Garg's standup at Wiseguys. 

Recently, we had a great day up north. This spontaneous family trip was so good that I want to share a few recommendations from that day. When visiting the Hailey/Ketchum area, I highly recommend you...

• Get a coffee from Black Owl Coffee. I will always love Twin Beans but this coffee is the best I've found anywhere else! The food is great, too!
• Visit Iconoclast Books, the most charming book shop I've been to in ages; I could have stayed all day. Piles and piles of gorgeous books everywhere!
• Stop in at the Living With Wolves museum, which has free admission and sweet photo cards you can take home, too.
• Check out The Gold Mine Thrift Store, a traditional thrift store plus a clothing consignment shop a few doors down. 
• And of course, invite me along! 

Jax and I made up the peanut gallery in the back seat for our trip to Sun Valley.

The girls and I also enjoyed two shows from the Arts on Tour pass we purchased last fall. The first was Tango After Dark, an impressive showcase of Argentinian dancing that dazzled us all. More recently we heard Celtic rock from the Derina Harvey Band, which was incredible! Derina is a gifted storyteller and vocalist and the band kept us energized to the very end. The only downside? We are all feeling grumbly that we didn't travel north to Labrador while in the northeast--that's where the band is from and Derina made it sound unmissable! Maybe one day.

Our Arts on Tour mini-passes were a great reason to get dressed up and have a special night out during the winter months.

And with that, we’ve reached the end! I hope you found something useful—an idea, a recipe, or a recommendation. Now, on to what’s ahead! I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for spring. Let’s make sure to enjoy it with the people we love.