HOMEMADE Cream of Chicken Soup

TWO posts in one week???   What.   How did that happen?

Okay, I have been talking about this for months but I thought with Thanksgiving this week...and with all of the EXTRA time to cook, HA! this was the time to post the recipe and maybe you guys could try it.

In all seriousness, if I may be serious, :) it takes longer to get all of these dry spices out of the cabinet than it does to whip it up, and let me me just say that everything tastes so much more flavorful,
NO LIES.

Here is the list of stuff to grab:

1 1/2 C Chicken Broth/Stock

1/2 teaspoon Poulttry Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon Parsley Flakes

Dash of Paprika

1 1/2 C Milk, divided

3/4 C Flour


AND WE'RE OFF :
  In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth, 1/2 Cup of milk, and seasonings to a simmer. In a bowl,
whisk the flour and remaining cup of milk together.

Slowly add in the flour mixture and keep whisking briskly but gently.  Get any large lumps out but remember that it will thicken as you go, (and will continue to thicken when you take off of the heat)....so don't over do it. Continue to boil until you reach the consistency needed for your recipe or liking. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Off you go! Try it! I promise you will not regret it.
This recipe makes the equivalent of two cans of condensed soup. I use half then freeze the other.

And, here are some pictures from my purse-camera, meaning crappy focusing camera that makes my children look like racoons, but please enjoy and try not to judge how badly I need Photoshop  :)

Skinny Legs

Happy Thanksgiving!!

November, Already??

Hey! Guess what? It's November.

and it's almost December.
Who knew?

after three months and three e-mails I decided maybe it was time to erase my blog, or actually post on it.
Here I am.

Where to start? We have joined an amazing bible study, a MOPS group, the children are swimming like fishes, especially H, we went to Shreveport, and then San Antonio to Sea World and the Fort's, Halloween happened, I got a new iPhone (very important for Apple lovers), then Russ and I had company from his family for a few weeks so that we could visit together and head to Las Vegas alone. We just got back last week and now we are moving. I lied, we aren't moving. just seeing if you are listening or just waiting for pictures :)

Moving on, Russ and I, like every year, realized two days ago that we needed a turkey for a family of four, but always end up with the one that would feed the church reception hall due to our lateness. That's cheap :)

I will be making my Nana's dressing (a favorite of ours) and green bean bundles (one of Russ' traditions) and an ENORMOUS turkey bird.

I'm hoping we will eat too much to really need a dessert as I have no desire to make yet another thing after those three. (Nana will be so dissappointed in me). Here's hoping, right?

Hey, we have pop-ices in the freezer...that should work.

Happy Thanks Day! We are grateful for most of you. Kidding, kidding, you know we love you All.

I have started my long list of crafty Christmas things I'm making for many of you guys and so this means that I will not be able to share them with you today or you will be like "Geez, i hope she isn't making ME one of those olive scented fruit cake wreath things for my bathroom"

No worries. I have been actually re-decorating our house over the last few months and I have surprised myself and others living here just how easy, fun and inexpensive crafts can be. It's awesome to be inspired and head over to the Hob Lob and pick out some new fabric, wood and Mod Podge and get after it.

It's time for dinner so here are some pics:

 Bailynn colored every single piece of furniture in her room with a large blue crayon.
She really likes Blue.

I made her clean it.  All of it.

She did it again the next day.

 Swimming with Instructor John. He puts up with a lot.

See you in three months :)
Lying again.

Making. Baking. Eating. This is what I do.

This is what i'm eating as I type. 

Don't forget your snack while you're blogging.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie, that is...with a homemade crust. Yep. I need my own show.

Stop buying store-bought. the crust was super cinch.  Here let me tell you how to try it.

For 1-9 inch crust :
1 1/3 cup flour
1 stick (8 T) real unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
dash of salt
cup of Ice water

You can use a food processor (if you're lucky and someone awesome told you how important they are) or a hand mixer worked for me. 

Pulse the butter and flour until pea size balls form, about 15 times, (add the dash of salt while doing the pulsing), then one Tablespoon at a time add one, then two, then 2/3 of the third tablespoon of ice cold water. The cold water and butter helps the dough to be easy to work with. Mix until it starts coming together into a large ball, but not too together or it will be harder to manipulate.  Place ball of dough on floured surface and roll it out to about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Put in a greased glass pan. 4 ingredients, 4 minutes. Glorious.

Then top with Cookie Pie

Beat 2 large eggs until foamy, 2 minutes, Add in 1/2 Cup of flour, 1/2 C granulated sugar, & 1/2 C packed brown sugar. Beat in 3/4 C room temp real butter.  Stir in 1 C semi-sweet or dark choc. chips morsels, and 1 C chopped pecans (can omit). Bake on 350 for 60 minutes. Top with vanilla ice cream !

-------------------------------------------------


A few days ago, my sweet husband decided to bring home (a gift from a co-worker) a 27 count basket of fresh peaches. 

My eyebrow is creeping up as he tells me we are going to be "canning some of these, babe."  And, I might have hallucinated, but then there was a "making of some jelly" that made it in there. 

Okay, are we already to that stage?  When did I turn 60?

I know what you're thinking "having canned frozen stuff is great, Paige"

So, if you have some of these

Make one of these
  

What a great idea. Im so awesome.

Actually, I think Russ MAAYYY have said something like "go make a smoothie and you'll thank me" but the details are foggy on that.

i agree this was a fabulous idea NOW...but like most things i say I will not try, or do, i end up loving. AND, it was a lot of work blanching those suckers.

it's the way i stay humble

AND, because I know you are all wondering, IM NOT MAKING ANY JELLY.  just to be clear.
put your recipes away.  now.

Moving on...

Because i'm extremely into what is not bad for you, i have decided that now, TODAY, is the time to start making my own dish detergent.  Don't worry, Mom, I'm still wearing deoderant almost everyday.

It is super cheap, and ridiculously simple. Do it.

1 C Borax ( No, Russ i did not say Borat, get it at the W store or Target $ 2.98)
1 C Baking Soda (big box $1.12)
1 C Vinegar (cheap)
2 Tbsp of Real Lemon (the brand) juice { if you don't have any, ask your husband to borrow some little packets from the hospital cafeteria, we'll return them }

Mix it up ( it can get a bit science fair project-y with all of the frothy-ness, act normal, its fine ) and Recycle that old bottle, you know, the one you will be emptying out prior to making this, and pour it in. Use half of what you usually do in the dishwasher detergent section. 

And send me a thank you note.

Also, because I love her (and she was determined to be photographed)

Miss B

Goodbye Summer

I guess it's close enough to say the truth {although i'm sure I don't want to}, Summer has packed it's little bags. Shoot. Here comes cold weather, then the mounds of snow. So, while I still can, we are heading out to every water play place in town...trying to preserve summer for a little longer.

Doesn't H just look like he was photoshopped right into his own little part of heaven? This is totally H in action.

He is 3...not 6 people

B loves ANYTHING messy, therefore, sand is perfect for her. Wet sand...even better.

She calls this "swimmin like a mermaid" Yep. There is a spraypark in the same park as the man-made lake/beach/sand area. Sometimes I like Missouri. a lot. sometimes.

No matter where we go, Harrison discovers new friends and invites them on his "afternoon adventure."  Here they are fish hunting. This boy is six.

Stealth...like any good fish hunter

                                     Bailynn was having none of this hunting stuff

as she wanted me to bury her feet in the sand. all. morning.

...probably even while this was taking place. Hmmmm.

Where is this little boy's mother?? hello?
Oh, wait I'm over here playing in the sand. So mature.

It was a good day...not even one timeout. Crazy, right? Maybe after being home with them all summer, they now have great respect for when I say "No."

Who am I kidding?

Fourth of July

The fourth here was really nice weather, around 76 degrees, which is substantially cooler than it has been! We did the traditional grilling a nd fireworks show and had a great time together as a family celebrating this beautiful country we love dearly.  It never fails, this time of year always makes me feel like a patriot...even when political discussions make me frustrated at times, errr... My last post said something about "figuring out how to use my sewing machine" {that I got for Christmas} and so I did get out the manual and look up how to wind a bobbin and upper thread my machine...haha, who knew I could make a little dress for B and add a homemade patch on an old shirt for H? Well, here are the pictures of our funtastic time:

And, with our tongues out...

{Why is it so difficult to get the not-too-squinty-smile from little babes?}

Ready for Fireworks!! And, Popcorn....

What a fun day!

A new refreshing day

I can hear the quote in my head "God closes a door so you can open a window." But for me, if I don't listen patiently enough I can't hear the birds on the windowsill singing. Change is something I have experienced quite a bit in my life. It keeps me growing, learning. I like this age, or place, or whatever I should call it about my life that I can say I'm still humbly finding my way to who I am. I gave up the last quarter of a Physical Therapist Assistant degree to be a stay at home Mother. Now, quickly it would be easy to judge my decision and find reason to think of weakness. It was the complete opposite. I spent weeks trying to figure out what was wrong with my tiny baby that couldn't gain weight. I had failed him, or so I thought. Later we discovered his allergy to my breast milk. Weeks after that discovery, Russ and I had another one. I was pregnant again. I was scared to death and neither one of us felt like anyone would be supportive seeing that we had just delivered H. This was not my first time to deal with speculation :) I knew I wanted a son first and I wanted a daughter second. I know we shouldn't try and pick what we want, but I'm too honest to lie about it. I was lucky I guess.... I do know it was planned far beyond " my wants."

As for growing and changing, There are things I can tell you that I was sure of. And like many things, I find myself to be wrong. I NEVER thought I could be a boring, no-make-up wearing, plain Jane, constantly baking, stay at home mother...until I was one for two and a half years. What an idiot I had been. I realized quickly how selfless this job was. Who had time for make-up or shampoo? And , I now love to bake :) As a SAHM I thought, how could I ever let someone else take care of my children? How selfish working Moms were for dropping off their children to fulfill personal career goals...until I was one. What an idiot I had been, again. Where is the fullfillment when the guilt outweighs all other things? Seeing your children for one point five hours a day stinks. Knowing that they are now comfortable with someone else all day , and not you, feels just wonderful.

Over the last year I have worked with amazing patients and brilliant colleagues. And, I was able to learn even more about how I can't understand any situation until I'm in it. Being at home with babies all day was hard for me in many ways. Being at work and not seeing them other than in their carseats or table seats eating dinner was hard for me. Now, I know it will not ever be EASY, but sometimes a balance is due. To weigh the two isnt fair. We all just do the best we can.

It will be a challenge either way.
I'm grateful that I am still growing and hope to continue on my journey....as a SAHM starting tomorrow.

Hopefully, this means I can learn how to use my embroidery machine, sew a dress for my daughter and Blog more than twice a year!

A little behind...okay, a lot

Lots of things have been happening with us and working seems to take my time away from pretty much everything :(

I have yet to post Birthday pictures, or even Easter. the worst part is that I forgot to even take actual photos of the children dressed up for Easter, therefore, the egg hunt at their school (where B is always dressed in some array of random clothing due to potty accidents) is all I have of her. As for little H, Russ forgot his camera while taking Harrison for his egg hunt...we have to separate.  Boo.

As for weather:  I'm starting to dislike Missouri again, after I recently fell for it.  It is the middle of May and still rain has taken over our lives, and our yard.  The last four weekends it has rained here...which means for working parents...no outdoor fun with kids :( Which stinks. I guess I understand what Seattle must be like regularly.  Actually Mother's Day was nice but we had other things going on so we weren't able to play out then much either.  Hopefully, things will be looking brighter soon!