Yummy Potato Soup

Yesterday was a rainy day and nothing sounded better than soup. I happened to have a bunch of potatoes lying around so potato soup it would be! And Pioneer Woman's Soup no less. I started by cutting the onions. If you don't have a pair of these, don't hesitate. Get some now! They are perfect for tear free onion cutting! I felt so stylish in them I continued cutting the carrots and celery with them on. Try not to be jealous!

And here is the best part of the soup. The BACON! Mmmm... LOVE ME SOME BACON!

After the bacon is cooked and you scoop it out of the pot, try not to eat it while you cook the rest of the soup. I bet you can't resist at least one piece.

 Here is my newest kitchen gadget. Costco had it on sale and I HAD to get it! It worked so well pureeing part of the soup.

And here it is! Toped with a little sour cream, bacon, cheese and green onion! I'm actually salivating as I think of it.

 And here was the true test. The kid test!

 HOORAY! WE PASSED!

 And here is the recipe. Pioneer Woman's recipe to be exact . . .

Ingredients

• 6 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into 1-inch Pieces
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 whole Carrots, Scrubbed Clean And Diced
• 3 stalks Celery, Diced
• 6 whole Small Russet Potatoes, Peeled And Diced
• 8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Or Vegetable Broth
• 3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun Spice Mix
• 1 teaspoon Minced Fresh Parsley
• 1 cup Grated Cheese Of Your Choice

Preparation Instructions

Add bacon pieces to a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.

Return the hot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.

Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food process until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley, reserving a little for garnish.

Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces.

Pooh Sticks

Every year when we go camping it's tradition to play the game "Pooh Sticks". This game comes from the classic Winnie the Pooh and is really quite a simple game, but the kids LOVE it and look forward to it every year! And truth be told, we (mom and dad), do too! To play, all you do is find a stick. Go to a nearby bridge with a river flowing underneath it. Starting at the upside of the river, everyone drops their sticks in at the same time. You then run to the other side of the bridge to see whose stick comes out on the other side first. The first stick to show up on the other side is the winner!

So here we are doing our first round of Pooh Sticks. This was the first time that Piglet was really involved and it was a lot of fun to watch her discover the excitement of this game.

 Here they are waiting for their sticks to come out on the other side.

 And here is our winner!

 Look how excited she was! LOVE IT!

 Even Porkchop was SUPER excited!

But shortly after our first couple rounds of Pooh Sticks, Piglet found a nearby field of buttercups and had to stop to smell the flowers. 

 She's our free spirit . . . or should I say strong willed!

 These really are silly traditions, but we LOVE them and look forward to them EVERY year! I only hope that my kids don't become to "cool" for Pooh Sticks!

A New Camera Lens

My hubby got me a new camera lens for my birthday! I have had the stock lens that came with my camera for a long time now and have wanted a nicer lens for a long while now. I am pretty happy with this little lens. It does a really great job of blurring the background when I want it to, allowing for my focal point to stand out. So here is what I did today, in no particular order. 

I'm still learning how to use it!

Indoctrination in Common Core ELA Texts

After watching this video attached, I do not know where to even begin. I think all parents should be very aware of the Common Core standard whether you're public school or not. If you do public school, please take the time to watch this and check with your school to see whats really being taught. We are getting ourselves deeper and deeper into a mentality that the government knows better than us as parents in what and how to educate our children. And in what is shown in this video, by putting in "suggested answers" they are creating a new generation of an indoctrinated "herd", if you will. But you can decide for yourself!

Common Core

http://youtu.be/rGph7QHzmo8

Dutch Oven Cornbread

Best Ever Cornbread

So as Memorial Weekend approaches and we are preparing for our annual "campout" I was reminded of a recipe I used last year and I never posted about it. It's this AMAZING cornbread that we did in the dutch oven. This stuff is sooooo good! It tastes like honey, but there isn't any honey it. We served it with chili and it was PERFECT! If you are looking for a low fat, low sugar recipe than turn away, because this isn't it! But once you make it, I promise, you won't be disappointed. Now we did it in the dutch oven but I'm sure you could make it in an oven as well. I'd say maybe 350 for the same amount of time should do nicely. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Best Ever Cornbread

1	cup butter; melted	2	cups cornmeal
4	eggs; beaten	3	cups all-purpose flour
3	cups milk	4	tsp. baking powder
2	cups sugar	1	tsp. salt

In a large bowl mix together butter, eggs, and milk. In a separate bowl sift together sugar, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients 1 cup at a time until well blended. Spoon cornbread mixture into a lightly greased 12" Dutch oven and spread evenly. Cover Dutch oven and bake using 8-10 briquettes bottom and 14-16 briquettes top for 45 minutes or until cornbread turns golden brown. NOTE: For even browning make sure to turn the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions every 10 minutes. Serve warm with honey butter. Serves: 10-12 *recipe found here http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/

Uh Oh Jar and Blessings Jar

So here is another attempt at making our home run smoother. I have made up these 2 little jars. One is an Uh-oh jar and a blessings jar. If I find a child acting up, being disrespectful, fighting, tattling, etc. they get to pick a slip from the uh-oh jar. These slips contain chores that I might need to be done around the house, mainly ones that I don't want to do. If they complain about having to get a chore from the uh-oh jar, they get another one and will continue to get more chores the more they complain! Crossing my fingers that this works!

And as to not be a complete negative nelly, I decided to do a blessings jar as well. These are for times when I notice one of the kids being extra good. Inside this jar are little rewards, like a piece of gum, chocolate, extra computer time, etc. 

I'm hoping this will make me notice more of the positive things my kids do and not just focus on the negative.  

Wish us luck!