Minestrone Soup

Fall must be in the air . . . we have been eating this soup for the last three days.  It makes a lot.
(This is actually a picture of my sister's soup . . . this is a repost of this recipe from last year and I didn't feel like taking a new pic)

1 large onion (chopped)
4 carrots (sliced)
3 ribs celery (sliced)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 oz. can tomato paste
14.5 oz. can chicken, beef, or vegetable broth (I used beef)
24 oz. can pinto beans (undrained)
10 oz. pkg. frozen green beans
2-3 cups chopped cabbage
1 medium zucchini (sliced)
8 cups water
2 Tbsp. parsley
2 Tbsp. Italian spice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup dry acini di pepe (small round pasta)
grated Parmesan or asiago cheese

1. Saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil until tender.
2. Combine all ingredients except pasta and cheese in slow cooker. (I had to use a pot on the stove instead because my slow cooker was too small.)
3. Cover. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low, adding pasta 1 hour before serving time. (on the stove, I just cooked it on low for about 4 hours)
4. Top individual servings with the grated cheese and enjoy! (I served it with Irish soda bread from Great Harvest Bread Co. . . delicious!)

enjoy!!

Easy Chili Recipe

Before we went to the apple orchard on Thursday, I threw some chili ingredients into my crock pot.

I was so glad I did!

  It was so great coming home to the smell of hot chili.

I used my husband's mom's recipe because it uses only a few ingredients and he says it tastes like home.

:)
I also like this recipe because it is mild enough for the kids to eat it and they like that there are no "yucky chunks" (green peppers, corn, etc.) in it like some of the chili recipes I make.

Easy Chili

Brown 1 lb of hamburger with 1/2 large onion (chopped) and 1/2 tsp. chili powder (I added more), 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and salt.

Drain fat.

Add 1 quart tomatoes (I used diced), 1 can chili hot beans,  1 can kidney beans, and 1 can tomato sauce.

Add other half of onion, more chili powder, and a little garlic. 

Simmer on stove for at least 1/2 hour, or put in crock pot on low for as many hours as you are going to be out apple pickin'.

:)

(I doubled the recipe so we could have some company over and also for the leftovers!)

Apple Pickin'

The kids didn't have school on Thursday, so I took them to an apple orchard near Rockford, Illinois.

We went with some good buddies of ours.

(apple orchard + good buddies = lots of fun)

Of course, we had to make apple crisp when we got home!

Luke helped with the cutting. (they used pumpkin carving knives so they weren't too sharp)

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Psalm 34:8



Have I told you how much I love Fall?

Always Pray and Never Give Up

Yesterday, my 10-year-old son, Jake, had a baseball game.
He pitched great, but he was not happy at all with his hitting. 
Actually, he was downright sad, mad, and depressed about it . . .

When I was putting him to bed, he looked at me and said,

"Mom, the thing that bothers me the most was that I was praying so hard that God would let me hit the ball really well and He never answered me."

Silence . . .

I explained to him that God heard his prayer, but for some reason was not wanting to let that happen.

We didn't have our usual book to read that night since we had already finished it, so I pulled a random book off the bottom shelf of his bookcase.  At first, he said he didn't want me to read it, but I opened it anyway.  It was a book  of stories that went along with parables in the Bible that my mom had given to Jake. I was curious to see what it was like.

I started reading.

I turned to a story about a girl who had been praying for something and God just didn't seem to be answering her. 

(um . . .hello!)

Jake was very interested now . . .

I continued reading about how this little girl waited and waited and kept on praying until God finally did answer her prayer.  He answered her prayer in a way that was different than how she had everything planned out, but it turned out to be for the best and she was very happy.

The parable that it paralleled was the "Parable of the Persistent Widow" (I didn't remember ever reading about this, so I looked it up)  It is found in Luke 18.  (verses 1 -8) A persistent person is someone who never gives up.  The woman in this parable had a problem that she wanted a mean and selfish judge to solve for her.  She kept on asking him about this problem until the judge got so tired of the woman bothering him that he did what she wanted.  If a selfish judge would help someone just to get rid of the person, how much more will God help his own children? 

God wants us to keep talking to Him about the things that worry and bother us. 

He cares about us very much and He never gets tired of hearing from us.

These verses tell us not to give up hope. 

We should keep believing and keep praying. 

It is wonderful to know that all of our prayers are being heard.  Our good Lord is always listening.

 

Always.

He will do what is best when the time is right.

Jake felt better just knowing that God wanted me to read that book to him at the right moment.  His cute freckled face was smiling just knowing that God was speaking to him at that moment and all was well. 
He was asleep within minutes.

Here is the book that I read to him . . . It was written by James Dobson and his daughter, Danae.

"Get Well Soon" - craft idea

Today, I took a homemade gift to a sick friend.  The kids and I were trying to think of the best thing to give this particular friend and they reminded me of his love for m&m's. 
I purchased this plastic container at Hobby Lobby (they have glass ones at Dollar Tree) and filled it with plain and peanut m&m's.
Then I hot glued a piece of yellow paper and buttons all over the top.  I thought they kind of looked like m&m's. :)
I also hot glued a polka dot ribbon around it.I think it turned out pretty cute . . . I may be making these for teacher gifts. (filled with their favorite kinds of candy.)

This craft was super simple, super cheap, and the recipient thought it was super thoughtful. :) 

Who can you make one for today??

Scents of Fall

I love the scents of Fall. 

They are just so warm and cozy.

To fill my home with these scents, I purchased wallflowers from Bath and Body Works.  I LOVE the Leaves, Pumpkin Patch and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin scents.  Creamy Nutmeg is good, too.  (Okay, so maybe I like them all.)  You just plug them into an outlet and it smells like you have a yummy Fall candle burning all the time.

Speaking of candles, this is my favorite Fall candle.  Yankee's Autumn Leaves.

mmmmmmmm . . .

Fall Means Football

Caroline and I left for a few moments and look what we found our boys doing when we returned.

I love Fall.

Don't you??



The football season is well under way, but I am trying my best to hold off until October 1st to buy our first pumpkin of the year.  I never make it that long . . . we'll see.