Soup Season

Wow -has it really been almost a year since I put anything out on this blog? I guess home ownership really does suck up a lot of your time.

It's 20 degrees right now, and the high today MIGHT reach 32. It's SOUP weather for sure! I got home last night, put on some comfy clothes - leggings and a HUGE sweatshirt, and got to work in the kitchen. I love winter when the clothes are bigger, and you can fatten up a bit to keep out the cold. Yes, this is my excuse.

This is my first recipe post, and I'd like to start by saying that I am going to try to do a better job measuring my ingredients. I generally throw stuff together and hope it works. You can vary the meat and veggie amounts based on how chunky you want your soup.

As usual, Mom sent me home with a ton of leftovers from the holidays. Since it's usually just me at home, that's a lot of food to get through. I opened the fridge and pulled out some random stuff that might make a good soup. Here are the ingredients I ended up with:

Leftovers Soup
Makes 4 servings
1/2 of a Smoked sausage - cubed
1/2 cup of Leftover turkey meat - cubed
1/2 a zucchini cubed
1/4 of a large sweet onion - chopped
5 mushrooms sliced
8 baby carrots sliced
1 cup of quick cooking barley
4 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of water
dash of salt
1/4 tsp pepper - more if you like pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

In a large stockpot over medium heat, cook sausage, turning frequently to avoid burning. When almost cooked through, add the turkey meat. Get a tiny bit of browning on the turkey meat. This should take about 8 minutes total. Add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning to the meat. Stir to coat well. Add the carrots and keep stirring and tossing so nothing burns. After a few minutes, add the onion. The carrot and onion add great flavor to the soup, but you don't want them to overcook and get mushy. When the onions begin to soften, add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then settle to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes. check during the simmer to see if you need more water. Add up to a cup.

Add the last bit of the water, barley, zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to a light boil for 12 minutes. The barley will soak up some of the broth, so you can add more water if you like. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Turn on the TV and curl up under a blanket, 'cause baby it's cold outside!

House Trauma... part 1

I have been living in a lovely apartment for about 2 years now, and with the market the way it is, I decided to start looking at buying a house. The weekend before Thanksgiving, I got a lead on a great house in Braselton. I went to look at it the next day. I put an offer on it the day after that. After much hassle between me, the bank and another buyer, I thought I had lost the house. Oh well, I thought, I'll find another one. The day of my dinner party, Dec. 12th, all I could think about was the food I was going to cook, and the timing to get it to all done... When I get a call from my realtor. The seller decided to take my offer! I was now under contract for a house! I couldn't believe it. They were even telling me I could close as soon as the end of December. How exciting!
Well.... it's mid-January. I have found that dealing with a foreclosed house is very difficult. My people got me all worked up for a quick closing, so I was lining up moving men, and utilities to be turned on, I pissed off my apartment management with a short notice... And I shouldn't have been in such a rush. After several "false alarm" closing dates, it looks like it will close next week, around the 23rd. Yay!
The house is in good shape, it needs paint, and some appliances. My original plan was to buy new appliances once I closed the deal. However, I've become a "craigslist" convert. I scoured the ads for a fridge and stove. I couldn't believe it, but I found a package deal - fridge, stove and built-in microwave for a really good price. You always wonder when dealing with craigslist, is it on the up-and-up? Even the story the gal told me seemed a little funny- "My neighbor had to move to Florida suddenly, and she asked me to sell her stuff" Ok.... After talking to her, she seemed like a nice person, and I had all of her contact information should anything happen.
So, last night, I borrowed a truck, bribed a guy friend of mine to help, and headed to CARTERSVILLE to pick up some appliances. I had no idea where Cartersville was in relation to Flowery Branch. Let me tell you, there's no good way to get there from here. It was a long drive. And when we got there, the house is a split-level. With no electricity. The temperature is dropping like mad, and we're trying to get the microwave separated from the cabinets. The guys did all the heavy lifting - I held the flash lights... I know it's a tough job.
Now I hope the house deal doesn't fall through! :)

I've been "Blackberry'd"?

I have dodged the Blackberry/Treo/PDA bullet for the last 7 years. I got by with taking my laptop home with me at night, and if there was a problem, someone would call me. When I lived up in the mountains, I couldn't get data service anyway. Now that I'm in town, I hoped to stay under the radar... I didn't really WANT to be clued in to my work email on my off hours. I liked having a pile of email to delete on Monday mornings because they were usually "informational alerts" and didn't require me to do anything but put them in the trash. Well, I avoided the ultimate in techie geek for as long as I could. Yesterday I got assigned a Treo. The guys in Infrastructure think it's absurd that I haven't had one for this long - they each have a Blackberry permanently attached to their hip. So, reluctantly, I took the darn thing home. It's bright and shiny and it makes all sorts of beeps and boops. Anyone who has seen me try to send a text message with my phone, knows that this will take some getting used to. I learned this morning that I am not skilled enough to check my email in the car on the way to work. I'm pretty sure this gadget will hang out in the very bottom of my purse like my phone does - and it will be one more thing to keep up with a charger for. But hey, if it helps solve some monster problem before it gets to my boss - it might be worth it. (that and I got to check the weather on it before I left the house - how cool!)

Happy New Year!

Yes, I realize that it is already January 6th...and I will probably write -08 on my checks for at least another few weeks. But all the same, I wish you a Happy New Year. At the beginning of every year we open our hearts to the promise of good things to come. I am thankful for the blessings in my life, and look forward to the year ahead. I was even thinking this while nursing a hangover New Year's Day.

I love Christmas-time

I love this time of year. Especially when all my shopping is DONE. Reviewing my list last night, I realized that all of my gifts are under control. What an amazing feeling of peace. I am usually running crazy at the last minute, dashing to UPS only to find out that the box will arrive before New Year's not Christmas... it is enough to make you want to eat a whole pumpkin pie. (Not that I would do that... no way)

Thank goodness for the internet. I was able to send gift baskets to those who "have everything," find the 3-d version of Journey to the Center of the Earth for Jack, plus some cool toys that I wouldn't have been able to find unless I went to Toys R Us. I don't want to be anywhere near that store in the month of December... My girlfriends all got aprons, my niece and nephew got some bedtime stories, Mom and Claude are covered too. Whew! Now I can enjoy the fireplace and make some yummy food without freaking out about gifts I haven't found yet. That is the sort of panic that keeps Isotoner in business. At midnight on Christmas Eve, it seems logical that everyone needs slipper socks. Oh yes. Slipper socks will be so warm and toasty in the winter. I've received a few pairs. And really, one pair is enough. Because one sock will soon disappear to wherever socks go between the dryer and the dresser. And then you are faced with the decision to throw away the remaining sock -but you can't - because you know the minute you do, the other one will appear. I have witnessed this first hand, so this is not just a crazy theory.

I'm looking forward to posting more pictures after my new apron presents are opened on Christmas. Until then - happy holidays!

My Apron Girls

The dinner party Friday was really wonderful. The food turned out great, Elaine brought some amazing green beans, and her apple pie was to die for! If there had been any leftovers, I think there might have been some discussion on who got to take them home! Here is a picture of all of us together with our aprons on. This is the debut of Glenda and Shannon's!

After a big night, Steve and Ryan retired to the couch to watch Curious George, I couldn't help it, I had to take this shot:

In about a month, we'll all be together again, but in my new house. And hopefully with more of my darling girlfriends able to be there.

Holiday calories

The evil man who sits two cubes down from me brought MORE home-made candy in to work today. He's the guy who can eat fast food three meals a day and is skinny as a rail. I envy his metabolism. Must be strong and resist the temptation of the chocolate yummies he put RIGHT OUTSIDE MY CUBE. Did I mention he is evil? LOL