Sunday, November 6, 2011

White Bean, Sausage and Spinach Soup

This winter one of my goals is to try more soups.  They are typically pretty easy to make and taste great on a cold, snowy(more likely windy) day.  My fall back soup has always been chicken soup...that was about it in my soup repertoire. We needed to try something different.  My sister-in-law mentioned a White Bean, Sausage and Spinach Soup and I knew we needed to try it.

The original recipe comes from here.  I made a few modifications and cooked it in my crockpot.  It was a hit! (I made a double batch so we would have leftovers, this recipe is a single batch.)

My modifications were:
1. Using my homemade moose and pork sausage
2. Using dry Great Northern beans(I couldn't find Cannellini beans), which I soaked overnight
3. Using homemade chicken broth
4. Adding more seasonings
5. Using swiss chard instead of spinach

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 pound homemade moose and pork sausage crumbled
1 onion (chopped)
6 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 dash ground red pepper (optional)
4 cups homemade chicken stock
3 cups Great Northern beans (I used dry beans that had been soaked overnight)
3 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1 bunch swiss chard (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
1. Add the sausage to pan and cook until no longer pink.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender.
3. Add the garlic and red chili pepper and saute for another minute.
4. Add the sausage mixture, stock, beans, oregano, and bay leaf to crockpot.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.
6. About 30 minutes(or less) prior to serving add the swiss chard.
7. When swiss chard is soft, soup is done.

I served our soup along with a grain free biscuit for dipping.  It was delicious!

Month of Thanks:
Day 4:  I'm thankful for my smart, assertive, beautiful daughter.  I'm so thankful that she made me a Mom.

Day 5:  I'm thankful for my sweet, sensitive, fun loving all boy 1st son.

Day 6:  I'm thankful for the snow that blankets the ground and mountains. It is so peaceful.

Friday, November 4, 2011

An update on us

 A small update on us since there has been so little consistent blogging...
First of all we added another sweet boy to our family.  Baby B was born in May...2 days after his due date, the longest I was ever pregnant and also my biggest baby at 8lbs, 12oz.  He is such a sweet, happy boy and we are all in love with him.

Here he is on his day of birth

 Here he is now at 5 1/2 months:

Not much has changed really...we are getting more and more settled into our house.  I just need to figure out how to decorate now.  We had a great summer and winter has come to quickly.  The princess is now in 1st grade, still homeschooling. She often finds it hard to concentrate with her 3 brothers playing while she is working, but she is doing well.  The pilot is doing well...loving legos and all things boy.  He is a fun kid. Guy smiley is happy and funny as ever.  Ever the entertainer at dinner and sweet as can be.  That's about it for now.  More will be forthcoming as I see if I can fit blogging into my life.

Month of Thanks:

Today I'm thankful for my sweet baby boy...even when I have to rock him to sleep 3 separate times for bedtime.  I'm trying to make sure I savor every moment as we're pretty sure he's our last.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Giving thanks...

I'm wanting to learn to be more thankful for what I have so I would like to blog throughout the month what I'm thankful for.  I'm a little late in starting, but better late than never.

Today I'm thankful for my DH...we've been married for 10 years today!  It's been a journey and it's getting better every year.  I'm looking forward to the next 10 and the adventures we have in store.

Day 1- I'm thankful my house...we just bought our first house in February and it's slowly becoming ours.

Day 2- I'm thankful for the beauty that surrounds us here in Alaska.  It's breathtaking.

Friday, October 21, 2011

My Bucket List

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details. 


So here it is...20 items on my bucket/life list:

1.  Take my kids to the small town in Austria where DH and I met.

2. Take a 2nd honeymoon with my DH to the Cook Islands.

3. Take my family to Disney World, especially my daughter so she can meet the Disney princesses.

4. Lose my sugar addiction.

5. Race in a Tough Mudder. 

6. Own laying hens so we can have eggs!

7. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.

8. Hike Cinqueterra.

9. Visit our missionary friends in the Philippines, Zambia and Northern Ireland with my kids.

10.  Float the Kenai River.

11.  Take an around the world trip with my family.

12.  For my DH and/or I to work from home, therefore allowing DH to be home with us.

13. Visit Paraguay with my Mother-in-law and the rest of the in-law's.

14.  Visit Japan with my Mom.

15. Learn Spanish fluently.

16. Take a Mom/Daughter trip to Paris.

17. Swim with dolphins.

18. Learn to use my sewing machine well.

19. Go hunting with my DH.

20. Wrap my grandbabies in the wraps I wear/wore my children in.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Project Simplify: Week 4



Yes, I'm finally joining in with Project Simplify over at Simple Mom...I've been meaning to be a part of it from the beginning...

However, the first weeks hot spot had been done the month before when we moved, so I escaped it...my closet has stayed well organized since moving in(mostly in part to being in maternity clothes, of which I have very few).  The second hot spot, however was one I should've done and did work on some, just not enough to participate fully.  I was amazed at how quickly we had accumulated paper in the short 2 months of being in our new home.  I'm still working my way through some of it...I just need to find a home for some items still(ones that can't be thrown out). Hot spot 3 was kid's clothes and toys...we had just done this one as well when we moved 2 months ago, though I again went through their clothes and purged what wasn't worn or was too small all ready.  And dh just finished some shelves in our toy area so when we put away more toys, puzzles and art supplies(some that had still been in boxes since our move in January) we did purge more, but that was just this week.

But my kitchen...oh...

Yes, we just moved in 2 months ago, but after having used my kitchen for that time frame I realized that it just wasn't working like I wanted it too.  It was time for a rearrange(all ready!).  I have been thinking for about 2 weeks or so now that I need to move things around to make better use of the space, since it's so much more than we had in our previous apartment, but yet still felt small.  So last night I went to town rearranging (and seeing other kitchens on Simple Mom motivated me and gave me ideas of how to better organize). So here are the before and afters...
This:

 Turned to this: (Please ignore the pile of chocolate chips thrown in after my shopping trip today):
I have a lot more room in here and I'm not sure what I'll do with it(things just seem to get lost in the abyss of the corner cabinet.)

 

 This:

became this: (yes, crowded, but much better use of the space and now I have all my baking ingredients and tea by the stove and my mixer.)(Sorry for the crooked picture.)

This:


is now this: (again, easier for us to use since we don't have much in the way of snack foods)

This:(which I hated...since I have so many types of flours)

now stores pots and pans(some are in the sink, dirty)...so much more functional, especially since this is closer to our stove

than this cabinet...which is now housing most of what was in the corner cabinet, with room to see it all and for more when needed)

Now off to work on my refrigerator(and spice cabinet), which is in desperate need of wiping out all ready.  How do they get so gross so quickly?!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Multitude Monday

Starting fresh...and on Mondays.

I'm thankful for...(161-170)
-the hiccups, punches, kicks and general movement coming from this little guy in my womb
-warmer weather...who knew I would be so happy for 30 to 40 degree weather
-our new house with so much more space
-everyone being healthy over the winter
-my soon coming Bosch Universal Mixer
-figuring out a rhythm that works for our family
-our fresh snowfall this past week...the most snow we've had all winter in one day
-a quiet house in the evening
-abundance
-new couches


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Sunday, March 20, 2011

An update

So as one can see easily, I have NOT kept up with my blog whatsoever. 

My reasons for not keeping up or even posting at least once a week:
- My computer tower went on the fritz...I could not post anything from any internet program or else they would just shut down.  And I'm not a big fan of typing on my phone.  (I finally replaced my tower in the last 3 weeks).
- We moved...yes it was only about 5 minutes down the street but it still required packing up everything and then unpacking it(which is still happening...just down to the last few boxes)
- This pregnancy is making me very tired...you'd think my brain would still work but even that seems to have slowed this time around

Those are my main reasons or excuses...that said...I didn't want it enough either...I just didn't want to take the time or mental capacity to work at it.  So...I think I just am going to start small with a smattering of posts...I definitely want to keep up with Thankful Thursdays...though I might move it to Mondays which is when the link up takes place.  I might start writing out my thoughts on our homeschooling journey this year or on how I feel about adding a 4th baby to the mix or about how much I just want to keep my home in order.  We shall see...