Saturday, November 24, 2012

Soup It's What's for Dinner

Ok, while I'm at it, I may as well share my latest obsession.

Soup.

I've been making all kinds of it lately.

This one has made many appearances since Halloween when I first tried it.  Here's my adaptation from Cooking Canuck:


Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe
Yield: Serves 6
From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com
Ingredients
*When I doubled everything but squash- it made A LOT (filled my 8 qt dutch oven)!
  • 1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (I didn’t have enough to double so I used costco 2 lb container + 1 ½ red peppers)
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used 2 rotisserie chickens from costco)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced (used one whole container roasted garlic from top foods-in fancy cheese section on the same wall as deli meat)
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes (I used tomato sauce)
  • 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives (I didn’t have enough to double)
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used a handful of dried)
  • I added couple pinches sea salt
  • I added 2/3 the bag of sun dried tomatoes from trader joes 
Instructions
  1. Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
  2. Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
  3. In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
  4. Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
  5. Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
  6. Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
  7. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
  8. Add minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
  9. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
  10. Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
  11. Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
  12. Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
  13. Stir in parsley and serve.
Another yummy one is from Amanda B (not my Mandy B but another Amanda B) for my crowd I doubled this recipe so there was enough for leftovers.  And if I were to cook this just for me, I'd fill it with mushrooms.  But if I did that no one in my house would eat any.

·         amanda b's wild rice soup recipe
wild rice soup

3 TBSP butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 box prepared uncle bens wild rice
1/2 cup minced ham
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
3 TBSP chopped slivered almonds (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup half and half or milk
2 TBSP cooking sherry (optional)
melt butter and cook onion until tender
blend in flour and add chicken broth
cook until it boils stirring the whole time
boil for a minute, add prepared rice, ham, carrots, salt and almonds
simmer about 5 minutes
blend in half and half

Another yummy one is from Barefoot Contessa's Italian Wedding Soup.  I remember having this type of soup at the Courthouse in Tacoma one day when I was pregnant with Sarina and never having it again.  So yummy- but if you make a lot for leftovers, pull out what you'll want to set aside so you can add fresh pasta on the reheat otherwise it's pretty gooey.  And since I'm the queen of short-cuts I used frozen prepared meatballs.  I made it for lunch Thanksgiving day.

And all of these go well with either Trader Joe's cornbread mix or this wonderful no knead bread from Frugal Living NW.  Which I have yet to prepare when it isn't a sticky icky mess but somehow it still tastes yummy and totally worth trying to manipulate a sticky blob.  In my 8 quart dutch oven the loaf is a bit flatter than I'd like- so try it in a smaller one if you can.

A Nice Day

Today was a good day.

I woke up to three sweet little boys happily playing legos.

I picked up my girls from their sleepover at Nonna and Grandpa's house with their cousin.

Then we headed down to the Olympia Rock Gym.

It was my first time in there and only Charlie had been there before.

Every chance the kids have had to rock climb they've seemed to love it, and I felt like it would be an active activity I could handle with the kids.

It was awesome.

I learned how to belay the kids so they could climb higher than 13 feet.

Which each one of them did.

Totally do-able and they're good!

And for all four for an all day pass (we lasted 2 hours) it was $30.  Not bad.

killing time until it was his turn

goofing around until she could rope up

what choo talking bout willis?

I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and wise!!
working it
charlie powered through his fear and made it to the top

sisterly love while mama gets Elsa in her harness
(when she was climbing she had to quit 1/2 way up because her hands got too sweaty:)

the natural

she's party billy goat, with chalk falling down

bouldering
Then after the climbing we headed just a hop skip and a jump away to our favorite- Sweet Charley B's for a treat.  Only Carl got a cupcake (cookie dough)- the rest went for candy.  Ok, I had to try the apple fritter cupcake.  Darn it everything in there is GOOD!

That section of town is getting pretty wonderful.

The new Hands On Museum is beautiful- but for me is a one kid at a time place and even then I lost her- too many blind spots to see where they dart to for me.  Anyway, the new museum right next to the rock gym, the beautiful sidewalks around the East Bay, Sweet Charley B's, farmer's market and Percival Landing all freshened up.  We live in a wonderful, beautiful place.

Now, if the homeless thugs that loiter all over downtown would find a different city to dirty up we'd have it made.  (Sorry, I couldn't resist that soap box...)

Covering the World in Concrete- One Project at a Time

So, I know I've disappeared for a while.  I've been pre-occupied.

I really don't know exactly why, but I feel more busy than usual.

Partially because I blog mainly when my husband is at work and he was home for a while.

Partially because I've been helping him to set up his business, running errands, doing his website (with a little- ok a lot of- guidance from a good friend), ordering business cards, putting together estimates, and even helping hold stuff while he completed an installation.

I feel like it's the least I can do to contribute to a business I believe with every bit of me will change our lives for the better.

He is so talented in what he can create.  I know that there are no boundaries in what he can accomplish.  Somehow he is able to venture into a project that is completely new and different and make it turn out beautifully.

And for the first time in a long time I feel confident that we will be able to save a little bit to help the kids with college.

That we can plan a little better for our future.

And maybe we can take the kids to Disneyland again.

I know it won't be handed to us, it is going to take many hours of hard work and dedication, but without sounding too cocky here, I think that we make a great team.

More often than not I'm just his sounding board to work through all the little nuances of his latest project.  Mostly I listen, sometimes I delight myself and provide a little bit of help.

I can see the potential for so many fun and challenging projects on the horizon and I have faith that we will tackle them successfully and with the joy of completing something beautiful.

Wish us luck!

And if you know of anyone that needs new countertops, I know the perfect person for the job...

Christmas Lists in 2012

Apparently, in this house lava lamps are a hot item.

Each of the kids wants one for Christmas.

Oldest wants either an iphone 4 or ipad mini (see previous post) and a blue lava lamp and maybe some clothes for her American Girl doll.

Next one wants an ipod touch with camera on top, red lava lamp, and some lego sets.

Number three wants this plush stump with little plush animals heads poking out we found down at Compass Rose one day in downtown Olympia and a green lava lamp.

And crazy pants dictated her list to me the other day:
*shiny new bicycle
*pet dinosaur  (when I asked what we would do if Ollie barked at it her response- in a duh tone of voice was- "Mooommmm, it'll be in my room!" picture that duh tone of voice with a what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you head shake)
*a shiny new boy room- with a bunk bed so her buddy Henry could sleep over and with a room in her room for her pet dinosaur
*and an orange lava lamp.

At least the lists weren't miles long.

My list for them is a cleaned out garage (not a scrap of crap stored in there) all tricked out with our porch furniture, an air hockey table, Foosball, ping pong, and darts.  Maybe even a TV with the Wii or drums.  Like their buddy's dad's "man cave" they all call it.

How heavenly would that be to have a sheltered place for them to go and be rowdy and get some energy out?!

We'll see if those lists change.

And I'm so up in the air on those darn i-everythings!


Greedy Greedy Greedy

Christmas is coming.

I'll admit it makes my heart race a little bit that I can't give my kids every single thing on their wish list.

When we were the proud parents of one, I'll confess I was a little picky- ok a lot picky- about every thing for my precious baby.  I wanted only name brand items, the newest and best of everything around.

Thankfully I was slapped into reality when I elected to stop working full time to take a more than 60% pay cut- so that I could stay home with my kids.

At that time I was pregnant with our second baby and beginning to realize that I couldn't provide all the newest and greatest of everything.

And even more thankfully, since then, I've consciously tried not to make a big deal about name brands or new things to the kids.  I didn't want them yearning for things they couldn't/wouldn't have.

Hand-me downs accepted cheerfully (cause really, who doesn't love free clothes?!), then slipped into drawers, new clothes also slipped into drawers so that both can be a welcome surprise.

My reasoning for this is two fold.  Practically speaking- because I cannot always buy brand new latest cool line of jeans/shoes/sweatshirts for each kid on a whim

but also because I remember watching an interview with Maria Shriver telling about when she was growing up, new clothes were not made into a big deal.

She had what she needed.

And that I provide.

I give my kids what they need, trying to do it with things they really like as well as need.

I also remember my middle school days.  A crowd of girls would hug you in the hallway then peek at the label inside your shirt to see if it was guess or gap or whatever brand was cool back then.

One girl, the biggest culprit of them all, even went so far as to sew a guess label on her other brand jean jacket.

Why?!

That's the last thing in the world I want my kids to give a second thought to.

Because, really, who cares?!

As long as they're clean, their clothes make them feel good, and the kids are happy then the rest really doesn't matter.

Does it?

My oldest is going tech crazy.

So and so has an iphone,

so and so has an ipad.

And I keep thinking, WHY?!

How on earth do these parents monitor internet activity on those things?

And through them the kids can contact each other 24/7.

Is that a good thing?

I don't think so.

For a while I've allowed her to take possession of my old iphone which has internet access and apps that allow her to text.  I was thinking it was a powerful tool to have ready to take when behavior wasn't up to par.

I understand curiosity is an important part of growth.  But there was a questionable youtube.com search I found.  So it disappeared for a while, I don't care who searched for it (she claimed it was a friend) it was far worse than looking up "fart" in the dictionary.

The other day the kids conspired to take it away from her, the littlest one sneaked into her sister's room at the urging of a bigger kid.

And miss big pants went on a rampage when she discovered it was missing.

She wailed on her youngest baby brother, believing he took it.

Warning, this photo is graphic.

I took it to show her each time she asked for an iphone/ipad or whatever.  I wanted her to have this visual reminder of why things are not as important as people.

Granted he is prone to bloody noses but I've NEVER seen him with one like this.

Ever.

It went on forever.  And then we pulled a clot the size of a cotton ball out of his nose.

Ewww!!!

I know.

Too much information?

And you know what he said once it slowed down?  "Elsa took it, but I'm glad Sarina thought it was me because Elsa is so little."

So, is this the result of bad parenting?

Is it that I have kept too many things from my daughter, that she feels anxious or threatened that when she has something she's coveted it might disappear?

Should I never have let her have access to the iphone in the first place?

Should I have better boundaries for the littler kids?

In my book that photo has gone straight to Santa and she can kiss good bye the ipad mini I was seriously considering buying for her, even though it would be a stretch financially.

Am I wrong?

What would you do?

Never a dull, calm, or quiet moment in this crazy life.

And the questioning never ends, does it?

Maybe it isn't such a bad thing that I can't give them everything they wish for...