Baby it's cold outside! (Sausage & Rice Stew)

We've been freezing here! I can't believe how cold it's been. If it's going to be this cold, we should at least get some snow. I made Sausage & Rice Stew on Wednesday and it was yummy, perfect for a cold night! Here's the recipe:

Sausage & Rice Stew
1 pkg (16 oz) smoked turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 lg sweet onion chopped
3 lg garlic cloves minced
1 Tb canola oil
2 cups water
1 can (14 1/2 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cans white kidney beans or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups fresh baby spinach

In a dutch oven, saute the kielbasa, onion, and garlic in oil until onion is tender. Add the water, broth beans, rice and seasonings. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in spinach *. Cook 5 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.

(*I'll admit that I didn't add the spinach for the whole family. I only added about a handful of the spinach to my bowl. I knew the kids and Michael wouldn't go for it.)

We have yet another busy sports weekend coming up. Bo played basketball last night, Sophie will play tonight. They both have basketball games tomorrow. Bo also has baseball practice tomorrow and I get to go to a baby shower for my girlfriend Janell. I decided I would sit out a week of tennis so I could go to Bo's first scrimmage game on Sunday. I think Bo's team is really good so I can't wait to see how they stack up against the other teams he will be playing.

Staying out of the Kitchen!!! (Chili)

Here it is Friday and I haven't posted 1 blog all week. The main reason is that I have been trying to keep myself busy. The reason I am trying to keep myself busy is that I am hungry! Most of my friends know that I am into Nutritional Cleansing through Isagenix (http://jodistallings.isagenix.com/). I slacked off a little during the summer and over the holidays I think I went into SELF-DESTRUCT mode. I ate anything I wanted to and I never exercised, so here I am trying to catch up. I am on day 5 out of 11 and I am definitely on the upswing.

I've got a couple of things motivating me:

1. I have a pool in my backyard and I want to be able to enjoy it without feeling self-conscious.
2. My 20th class reunion is this September, enough said.

3. I just want to be healthy and be a good example for my kids, especially Sophie. I never want her to feel self-conscious about her body and I don't want her to see that in me.

With all of that in mind, I made Chile this week:) It was really good because it was REALLY cold this week. Luckily, it's warming up today, because Bo has his first outdoor baseball practice.

These are a few pictures from our week. On Monday, MLK jr Day, Michael decided to ride his bike to work! This is normally a 30 - 45 minute drive. He said it took him about an hour and a half. I did go pick him up at the end of the day because I didn't want him to ride home in the dark in busy Douglasville. Michael loves to ride his bike. Sometimes, he will get up at 5:00 AM and ride his bike then come home and leave for work before 7:00. He's crazy!

Cooper and Sophie play really good together. Now that she is in Kindergarten, he really misses her during the day. It's just not the same playing house with Reed, although he does try. This is a picture of Cooper and Sophie playing "Super Spies" one day when Sophie got home from school.

Here's my really quick, really easy chili recipe (I got it from Tiffany):

Chili:

1 lb lean ground beef

1 red or green pepper, chopped

1 sm onion, chopped

1 chili seasoning pack

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 Tbsp. Franks red hot sauce

1 15 oz can Chile beans, undrained

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Brown meat with pepper and onion, drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sunshine on a Rainy Day (Vegetable Soup)

This is what I saw when I looked out my window yesterday morning. I don't know if it's the rain or the "after Christmas Lull," but I am so BLAH right now. I did make some homemade vegetable soup for dinner. That would be my number 1 comfort food. When I was little, my grandmother would always cook me a birthday dinner and my request was always vegetable soup with macaroni. I vaguely remember going to the restaurant, "Campbells" as a child with my grandmother and their vegetable soup had macaroni in it. I don't make it with macaroni now, but a lot of my food memories start with vegetable soup. Here is the recipe I used last night. It changes often, depending on what I am in the mood for:

Vegetable Soup

3-4 lb roast

1 carton (26 oz) beef stock

2 lg cans diced tomatoes
1 carton Chicken Broth
some salt and pepper
corn, green beans, onion, potatoes, baby lima beans, carrots, celery (just add the vegetables you like)
1 can V8 juice

First, I cut up my roast into big chunks. Then I put it in a large Ziploc bag and put some flour and a little salt in it. Then I shake it to make sure each chunk is covered with flour. I then put some olive oil in the big pot I am making my soup in and let it get real hot. Add the roast in a single layer in the bottom of the pot.


The roast will start browning very fast. Let it sit for a minute or two then turn the pieces so you are browning each chunk on all sides. This doesn't take long and the bottom of the pot will get almost burnt looking. Don't worry, that's the good stuff. After the beef is browned, not cooked all the way, add the beef stock and a little water, so you are covering the beef. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the drippings. Cover your pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, making sure you stir it a couple of times.


The next step is to add the tomatoes and the chicken broth. After your meat starts to become tender, start adding the vegetables. The ones that need the most cooking time need to go in first, like the potatoes, onions, carrots and celery. If you want to add macaroni, you need to add that just about 30 minutes before you serve the soup.



I love soup nights. It doesn't really take that long to cook and it is so worth the extra effort of chopping up all those vegetables. Usually, the kids love my vegetable soup.


Here's a picture of Sophie and Reed waiting on dinner to be ready:
And yes, Sophie did come strait home from school and put on her princess dress up clothes, tiara and all. And you don't realize it from this picture, but Reed isn't wearing any pants. Since we are working on potty training, he is all about taking his clothes off. I am really lucky I caught him with a shirt on.
I am telling the truth when I say my kids eat my vegetable soup. Here's Bo enjoying a bowl:
He thought I was crazy, taking a picture of him while he ate! Thank goodness Bo went back to school today. He was sick on Monday and Tuesday. I still don't think he feels great, but he was well enough to go to school.