Outdoor Wednesday

I am linking to Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer's blog.

Raking leaves for Granddad?

Sure.

It starts out well....

Is anyone looking?

Woo Hoo!

Meatball Tortilla Soup

It will be Thanksgiving in just a few short days!  I have a houseful of family already.  My three grown sons and their families are here for a week...and that means, cooking, cooking, cooking.

Everybody loves soup and I especially love a good tortilla soup,  (and I've made many) so I found this one by Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman and thought I'd give it a try, since it is combing two of my favorite soups--Tortilla and Albondigas.

This was a good soup, we all enjoyed it and I would definitely make it again, but I have just one issue with a lot of Tortilla soups---they say to put the corn tortillas in and they will 'soften'.   I prefer  my tortilla strips to be fried and crispy, but that's just me.

I didn't fry these because the  recipe didn't say to do so, but I will next time.

By the way,  I have 3 little 4 year olds running around my house...and a 10 month old baby....and an 11 year old dropping in every so often.

Lots of grandkids, lots of fun.

On Thursday we, as a family are doing the Turkey Trot---a 5k run/walk  which takes place downtown.  We're going to wear turkey hats with googly eyes made by the kids.

At least Granddad and I are---their parents are a little hesitant about this.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Meatball Tortilla Soup

Ree Drummond

Meatballs

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup pepper Jack cheese

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1 egg, beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup seasoned panko or other breadcrumbs

Juice of 1 lime (about 1 tablespoon juice)

Soup

1 half-stick (4 tbsp.) Land O Lakes® Salted Butter

1/2 large onion, diced

2 ears corn, kernels sliced off (or you can use 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

6 cups low sodium beef broth

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with chilies

1 4-ounce can tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 14.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

6 6-inch corn tortillas

Fixins

Sour cream

Avocado

Extra grated pepper Jack cheese

Cilantro leaves

Combine all meatball ingredients and mix well. Shape into small balls (about 24 total) and chill for 30 minutes.

After chilling, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a heavy pot. Briefly brown meatballs in three batches, then remove to a plate.

Add 2 more tablespoons butter to pan and allow to melt. Add onions, garlic, corn, and bell pepper and stir to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add beef stock, canned tomatoes with chilies, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and salt. Bring to a boil, allow to boil for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the beans, and then place the meatballs back into the pot. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until meatballs are done all the way through. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Cut tortillas into thin strips. When the soup is ready, stir the strips into the soup (they will soften).

Serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream, a slice of avocado, a little grated cheese, and a few cilantro leaves.

Outdoor Wednesday

It's Outdoor Wednesday!

I will be honest.  I am at work.  I probably shouldn't be posting on my blog.  But, here I am anyway...thinking:  Hey! It's Outdoor Wednesday. I wonder what pictures I have on this computer.

And this is what I found:

Two years ago, we did a river float, with my parents some of their friends and my good friend Theda and her husband John,  down the Grande Ronde River in Eastern Oregon.  I love pictures of water---especially sunlight on water.  There is nothing more beautiful to me  (except my grandchildren's faces) (sorry, I am one of those grandmas.  True story.)

Anyway, the river is beautiful.  Oregon is beautiful.  These two guys below are beautiful.  WAIT---what?    I didn't notice the gray hair (that one is mine) or the bald spot (that one is Theda's).   How in the world did this happen?  It seems as if  we were just kids a moment ago.  (sigh)  How fast things change.

I am linking to Outdoor Wednesday hosted by A Southern Daydreamer.

Stop by and check out some of the other great outdoor pics.

Applesauce

While  glancing thru some of my favorite blogs the other day, I found this easy homemade applesauce recipe at  "At Spoonful of Thyme".

I love homemade applesauce, so much more than store-bought.  I love it warm, and traditionally as a side dish next to some pork chops.  So, that's just what I did last night---made pork chops and applesauce.

Because I am a child of the 70's,  whenever I hear or in this case, write, pork chops and applesauce,  I can see Peter Brady, on the Brady Bunch doing his Humphrey Bogart impression, saying:  Pork chops and applesauce.

Does anyone besides me remember that?

(I am sure my friend Theda does--yay Theda!)

I didn't have to go far to find apples for this applesauce---the ones left on my tree needed something to be done with them FAST, so I went out and gathered some, peeled chopped and added them to the slow cooker.

My house smelled--FANTASTIC all day long.

I love fall.

Thanks Kathy for the great recipe.

Homemade Applesauce
A Spoonful of Thyme

6-10 large apples, peeled, cored and chunked
1/2 cup water
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 to 1 cup brown  sugar, packed

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook  on low for 8-10 hours.
Use a potato masher to get the desired consistency.

Random Post

I grew up in Washington State.  I love Washington  State....yeah, I KNOW I always share pictures, stories and fond memories of Nevada   (cuz Home means Nevada--it's the state song---and Washington and Oregon too!)  (and I've lived in Nevada longer than anywhere)

That's all beside the point.  I grew up in Washington State--a couple hours away from a little town called Leavenworth.  I love Leavenworth.  It's a Bavarian Village set smack dab in the middle of Washington State. 

There are two places I'd like to spend Christmas someday.  One is in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.  I want to spend a Christmas Eve Church service in the same pew as George Washington did. (seriously---they have the pews marked.  I was there.  But it was summer)
So... an historic Christmas in Williamsburg and then... then....
a Christmas at home in Washington state---Leavenworth...

I have a glitch!   There was a video here, and now it's gone.

Post by Icicle TV.

Post by Icicle TV.

This looks like my little Christmas village I put up each Christmas year.

Okay, I can have fun ANYWHERE at Christmas time.   Cities are fun, the country is fun, Mexico is fun, Italy is fun  (We have family traditions from these two places)

But Leavenworth.  That's where my heart is right now.

(and I really want a cuckoo clock. The last time I was there, they had a great clock store. )

Saturday Snapshot

I was in Boise, Idaho last month, and while walking downtown, we came across a postcard. If you know me, you know I love to get postcards in the mail.  So it seemed fitting that I take a photo of this postcard and  turn it in to a "photo" postcard to send to my friend  Shelly... to thank her for showing us such a good time in Boise.

It was two. Two.  Two postcards in one!   When you looked at it from different sides, it showed a different postcard view.

I am linking up to Saturday Snapshot, which is hosted by  West Metro Mommy Reads.
To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then link up on her blog. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you.