Soup's On!!!

It's a gray day and it just called for soup.  I don't sleep continuously so on a forage through the kitchen at 1 a.m., I decided crackers were in order.  To my surprise I saw a soup recipe on the saltine box.  I love having an idea of what to cook when I wake up in the morning!

So here is my version of Hearty Hamburger Soup -

Ok - this isn't really my soup
 so picture Ditalini pasta mixed in the soup.

1# hamburger

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. olive oil

2 cans (14 oz. each) chicken broth

1 soup can water

1 can (15 oz.) black bean or beans of your choice, rinsed

1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)

1 cup Ditalini or pasta of your choice, uncooked
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional but good for you!)

½ cup mozzarella cheese or grated Parm cheese

Cook hamburger, onions, and garlic in oil in large saucepan 10 min. stirring frequently.

Add next 4 ingredients, Bring to boil.  Stir in pasta; cook 8 min. or until tender.  Remove from heat.

Top with cheese.  Serve with crackers.

Servings: 10

I froze a container for those days when I'm not in the mood to cook...probably won't stay in the freezer long.  It was hearty and a new comfort food for us.

Take care and for family and friends out West and East - stay warm and dry!  No snow here - yet!  Hope it waits until our Farmgirls Country Christmas Sale on November 11 and 12 is over.  Check out our Facebook page - Farmgirls Country Sale - for more details!


Bonnie 

Another Fun-filled Day!

Yesterday I posted about our Winterberry adventure thinking that our week was pretty full of challenging stuff.

Today when I got home from Curves and breakfast, I wandered out to the workshop to finish up a nice little orange/brown shelf.  I painted it turquoise.  One coat actually covered pretty good.  The fire was roaring hot in Mr. J's workshop - 85 degrees - about 15 degrees hotter than I like it but hey! the paint didn't freeze. 

I like to paint multiple items when I finally get in the mood to paint so I took my Walmart $7 mistake gallon of paint and went out to paint a few more things the same color before I washed my brush. 

According to decorating gurus, aqua/turquoise is still the color.  It's my color anyway so I picked up a frame and began my next project.  Now I pretty much paint fast and go back in the house.  My back is still spasming (?) so I actually look like a 104 year old as I limp to and fro. 

I use every available flat place to work on stuff.  My latest platform was a piece of plywood balanced on a stool.  So I centered the gallon of paint in the middle and set the frame next to it and proceeded to spill a gallon of wonderful paint all over the dirt.  Darn!

Mr. J came to the rescue again and washed off things that got splattered and I kept painting my frame and a basket, dipping my brush carefully in the paint pool on the ground.

My plan if I liked this color on the shelf was to paint my vintage cupboard that I'm bringing into the dining room for my Grandma's dishes.  But now I only have enough to second coat the shelf.

It's getting into the 30's at night now so we're hoping we can roll up the paint in the morning when its still pretty stiff to prevent more embarrassment for me.  Mr. J can paint a room and not get a speck on himself, the woodwork or the dog.  I wear it and the floor and woodwork always need to be touched up back to their original color.

Will this week never be done??? 

Bonnie

Hunting Elusive Winterberries

It's that time again...time to sneak over to gather the Winterberries I need to make arrangements for the holidays.  People have asked where I get them but I never tell.  They aren't very easy to find so we keep our secret.

We have quite a few types of evergreen on our property so its convenient to take the pruners and collect branches.  Interesting weeds are plentiful - just not on our acreage.  So through the years we've taken our drives to find those lovely red reeds and the scarce winterberries.

The winterberries make each arrangement whether in a pail, sap bucket, coal bucket or basket much more  interesting.

Yesterday Mr. J and I set out to our secret stand of winterberries.  In the past years it has been pretty cold (icy) when we've gone hunting.  This year has been so mild and wonderful that it was to be a new experience.

I've had some back issues lately so Mr. J pulled the truck to the side of the road and said I should just stay by the truck while he headed out to the berries.  It had been a good year - the stand was glowing it was so red with berries.  Yay!

We knew that they were across a ditch that normally was frozen or mostly frozen.  Not so much yesterday.  Mr. J did take preventive measures and wore his rubber work boots.  Pruners in hand he determined he would jump across the water.  Not so good.  I lost sight of him as he said a couple of words he normally doesn't use.  He was in the muck...and so were his boots...stuck in the muck.  This man is pretty finicky about his feet and socks. 

He was able to pull one boot out but the other boot was sucked in deeper when he tried to get the first boot out.  Brother!!! 

Now he would lead a pretty solemn life if it weren't for me.  He was pretty adventuresome in his youth - owning and driving a race car amongst other things to do with snowmobiles.  Now he clings to his books on the couch when he's not in his workshop making something or fixing something for me and our sales.

He huffed and sputtered and did more of the same.  I didn't think he would get his boot out - but he got his foot out of his boot and then couldn't get the boot out of the muck.  Not mud - really stinky muck.

I stifled my humor until he was safely back across the moat.  He thought he might have to walk along the ditch for a half mile but it finally narrowed enough to jump across it - with one boot on and his other foot in a black, mucky sock. 

My hero cut many branches for me before he traversed the moat.  Just another reason I love him! 

When he was back by my side at the truck - I had to laugh and he kinda smiled.  I always say that one of  my goals each day is to make him smile.  What a round about way to achieve my goal yesterday!  Ha!

He stripped on the deck and saved his jeans and sweatshirt but alas the boots went on a trip in the garbage truck this morning.  I was going to suggest that he keep them so I could plant in them next spring but the stench from the stagnant water was too much to bear.

This has been an adventurous week for us.  We've almost made it through - only two more days. 

Take care,

Bonnie