Deck the Halls

I thought I would share a bit of our Christmas decor. I decorated before Thanksgiving this year as we were not here. It was such a good idea! I loved coming home from Thanksgiving and having Christmas ready. So welcome to our home. This is the display on the hall table when you first come in the door.         I don't know if I'll be on much in the next couple of days. My parents are coming tomorrow for a couple of days. I hope you all have a merry Christmas!!

the gift of bread

One of my favorite things is the arrival of my Aunt's gift at Christmas. It consists of a lovely white box with the name Boudin on the side in brown letters. Once you open it up the smell of sourdough fills the room. I admire the six soup bowl loaves she sends to us each year and then quickly wrap them all up for the freezer. I will have one for my birthday in March and save the others for other special occasions through out the year. Then I will pull the last loaf from last years package and warm it up for dinner savoring each bite of its wonderful flavor. Nothing beats a loaf or real San Francisco Sourdough Bread. Thanks Aunt Beth, every time we eat a loaf we are reminded of your generosity of such a wonderful gift.

Zuppa Toscana

Ever wish you could have some of those restaurant dishes at home so you don't have to go out and spend the money? Or wish you could create a healthier version with better ingredients? Look no further! This recipe tastes just like it does at the popular restaurant. I was so excited to try it.  It was so yummy! My son summed it up well. "Mom, this one's a keeper for sure"! While it's not necessarily a freezer meal, I did cook the sausage before hand. Everything else was done the day we ate it, it was very easy to throw together.

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1½ tsp crushed red peppers

1 large diced white onion

4 Tbsp bacon pieces

2 tsp garlic puree

10 cups water

5 cubes of chicken bouillon

1 cup heavy cream

1 lb sliced Russet potatoes( I used red potatoes that I had)

¼ of a bunch of kale

TO PREPARE: Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, set aside. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour. Add the heavy cream and just cook until heated.  Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve.
Recipe from Tuscanrecipies.com

Return

Are you as sick of looking at that last post as I am every time I open up the ol' blog? It doesn't even have a photo to help it! I have been quite busy this past month, but that is not really why I dropped off posting entirely. You see I have been sick all year, I just didn't know it until my hair started falling out. Then I finally decided to go to the Doctor, nothing like waiting until the extreme begins to happen. I am a great procrastinator. :)  I mentioned all of the things bothering me, cold all the time(even in the middle of summer when it was 100 degrees), dizzy, so tired I couldn't get out of bed, pale skin, etc. Believe me when I say there was a loooooong list of things. He sent me off for some blood work and after many vials of blood and a couple of days wait, it was determined that my Iron and Vitamin D levels were extremely low. I began taking supplements, and about 5 weeks later around the beginning of November I could feel myself getting better. I had so much more energy, wasn't dizzy, and could get out of bed without a struggle. After my 6 week check up for another round of tests, I felt like I was bouncing off the walls some days I felt so good. With that came the urge to clean my house. I began to notice all those things I was to tired to do before, like wash windows, and cabinets, and the walls. I went on a cleaning spree and scrubbed the first floor from top to bottom, nothing was left untouched. I didn't want to sit down and blog I wanted to do something! I feel so much better but my hair is still falling out, not as much as before and I can see new growth coming in, but I believe I lost about half of what I had. My mother really noticed it when we were visiting for Thanksgiving, thankfully I have a LOT of hair on my head to start with or I would have bald patches. I am ready to be back to normal and be able to keep up with the daily tasks and still be able to do all the extras that need to be done.

We have been spending a lot of time just being together, having fun, making messes, and living.  

I am so thankful to be feeling better, and am trying to not look to all the regrets of what could have been if I had gone to the Doctor sooner. God is good and he carried me through so many days when all I wanted to do was hide under the covers and sleep. I plan to pick up my camera again and capture all the things I have been missing, and focus on being thankful for every day good or bad.

Another cook done

Well I finally finished cooking last night. I had one meal left on my list so I decided to make it for dinner and then freeze the extras. Here are some of the things that went on this weekend, along with some reminders to myself. I think bullets will make it easier to write it all down. It was a crazy weekend for sure and there are many reasons it took me so long. Such is life, it's never perfect, but always worth living.

• Next time I cook remind me to follow my own advice. It really makes sense!
• For example: Only choose one new recipe to try. It takes time to learn a new set of directions.
• Preparation the night before is necessary to saving time on cooking day. Wish I had remembered that. Sigh.
• Its ok if it takes longer that 3 days to finish. Its still DONE!
• Our dishwasher broke, this really wasn't an issue with cooking as I reuse so many of the pots anyway, but there are still dishes from the meals. Remember that it makes a nice drying rack or storage space when out of room on the counters.
• My husband was not feeling well(and still isn't) I needed to take time to take care of him and the children. Instead of him watching them for me.
• Don't forget important dates in your life. It was our anniversary, I forgot and then remembered so we took Saturday evening to go out to dinner and then have cake for desert. 
• We had fun! Some of the children are really able to help out now that they are older.
• Children discussing who gets to grate the cheese? Music to my ears as I did not have to do it! They also helped peel the garlic, measure out spices, and stir the pots.
• Plan to incorporate the children helping the next time I cook. Yes, it must be planned or they constantly ask me what they can do next. This is actually a good problem. :)
• I made 65 meals, more than I expected, and there are 4 more in the freezer left over. 
• Do the math right when adding up pounds of meat. Its no fun to have to go back to the store because I forgot something. Twice.
• I thought of a good method for freezing in small spaces. I will share that soon.
• Now I must go clean the kitchen, the floor is a bit sticky.

That about sums it up. ALL DONE! I do have lots of new to you recipes to share. This is my winter rotation menu, and I added a couple of new ones in this time.

Where did my baby go?

Do you see it or is it just me but the baby face is disappearing at an alarming rate. I don't think I'm ready for that yet!! Sometimes I wish we could freeze time but then I guess in a way we do, with the photographs.

Eleven years

Today we celebrated eleven years of marriage.

How time flies! Picture take by our son. At least there is one of us together this year, even if we are a bit fuzzy. :)