sausage and potato soup

 

    I haven't made this yet, but I'll be making it on Wednesday and thought I would share it (since I haven't posted in a *little* while...)! I'm making this for Reformation Day at school :)

   I found it on Cooking for Seven. I take no credit for the picture or the recipe. 

     Happy cooking!

sausage and potato soup

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 3 medium russet potatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons parsley
• 2 1/2 teaspoons flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage, cooked until no longer pink

Directions:
1) Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until transparent. Add the garlic, potatoes, salt and pepper, and parsley and cook 3 more minutes. Stir in the sausage.
2) Add the flour and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk. Bring to a boil and simmer just until the potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Serves approximately 4-6 people

in pursuit of Mr. Righ--oops, I mean Mr. Darcy

                                                                                  *ahem*

      So, yes. The title says it all.

      Whether we're looking for the incredible Mr. D., or these dudes...

 

      ....or ANY other dude that I forgot to mention ;)...I just thought I would remind everybody (including myself) something.

      We all know that falling in love with a liar is pretty bad, but there's also another mistake we are prone to make, and that is falling in love with a lie.

       "Men are responding with groups and forums with titles like, 'Real Men Against Mr. Darcy.' Real men are tired of being duped or turned down because 'they're just not Mr. Darcy.' They're understandably disgusted that the standard of manly perfection is not a real man, but the figment of a 19th century spinster's imagination. 'Never marry a woman who expects a man to be Billy Graham, Mr. Darcy, John Piper, Mr. Darcy, Cary Grant, and Mr. Darcy all rolled into one,' one man wrote. The young men we know express a holy terror of women who look at men through fiction-colored glasses-- we've encountered several who crossed from their lists of prospects girls who navigate reality by ideas picked up from romance novels. This is partly because a woman like that promises to be a perpetually discontent and frustated wife. It is also, however, partly because real men don't like being compared to imaginary dreamboats any more than we women like being compared to artificially-enhanced images."

(an excerpt from "It's (not that) Complicated)

   Yes, every girl wants to be swept off her feet by some handsome guy who is romantic (who wouldn't?). But we need to remember that because we ourselves aren't perfect, to not expect boys to be perfect, because they're not.

     

   Except for One. (guess Who?) *grin*

       

awkward and awesome

 

awkward-

~ nearly slipping on the rubber part of your razor on your shower floor

~ trying to hold on to a wet bar of soap

~  when your hands are sticky from eating a juicy apple

~ walking with rocks in your shoes

~ receiving a text when you're half-asleep: it's like looking into the sun

~ the movie Napolean Dynomite 

~ sneezing really, really loud in a really, really quiet room

awesome-

~ deer season!

~ hunting

~ apple cider on a cold day

~camping

~ your friends

~ the above picture

~ getting stuff in the mail

~ realizing how blessed you really are

~ green smoothies (so you don't get any colds!)

~ going on walks with your dogs

~ finding new recipes to try

~ watching the rain on your window

~ going outside just after it rains when you smell earth and wet pine trees

~ the smell of homemade chicken noodle soup filling the kitchen

~ bread fresh from the oven

~ eggnog

~ smiling for no known reason

~ watching a grey squirrel scurry up a tree

{What's awkward or awesome about your week?}

the cowgirl's life...

"No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle."
                             ~ Winston Churchill

"Cowgirl is an attitude, really. A pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head on, lives by her own lights, and makes no excuses. They speak up. They defend the things they hold dear. A cowgirl might be a rancher, a barrel racer, or a bull rider, or an actress. But she's just as likely to be a checker at the Winn Dixie, a full time mother, a banker, an attorney, or an astronaut."
                              ~ Dale Evans 

"And though she be but little, she is fierce."
                               ~ Shakespeare

 "Southern girls are God's gift to the entire male population. There is no woman finer than one raise below the Mason Dixon line. And once you go Southern may the good Lord help you to never go back."
                                 ~ Kenny Chesney

"I work on our family ranch that was settled over one hundred years ago. Ranching is not an easy life; but it is intensely rewarding. It can be brutally difficult-- physically, emotionally, and financially-- but in the midst of it all is a powerful spirituality and a sense of being centered and anchored to the most basic and beautiful things in life....Ranching means having both roots and wings."
                                ~ Becky Prunty 

"We have hard work to do, and loads to lift; Shun not the struggle--face it; 'tis God's gift."
                                 ~ Malti Babcock

 "The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature, and God."
                               ~ Anne Frank 

"Well mounted on a strong, spirited horse--
with a wide country before her-- 
on a clear, cool day-- with love 
for all the beauty around her, 
of the noble animal beneath her and 
glowing with the life within her, 
a lady capable of enjoyment 
is certainly prepared for it then.... 
The close-clinging of the horse,
the slight reliance upon stirrup and bit,
and the generally light proportion
of the rider to steed give a feeling of
being possessed of the power of a new life,
of riding upon the whirlwind,
and yet controlling it with a word." 
              ~ Henry William Herbert

 

tune my heart to sing Thy grace...

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing;
                        ~*~
 Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
                        ~*~
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
                        ~*~
Call for songs of loudest praise.
                        ~*~
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
                        ~*~
Sung by flaming tongues above;
                        ~*~
Praise the mount--I'm fixed upon it--
                        ~*~
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer; 
                  //*//
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
                 //*//
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
                 //*//
Safely to arrive at home.
                 //*//
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
                 //*//
Wandering from the fold of God;
                 //*//
He, to rescue me from danger,
                //*//
Interposed His precious blood. 


O to grace how great a debtor
                     {//*//}
Daily I'm constrained to be!
                     {//*//}
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
                     {//*//}
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:
                     {//*//}
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
                      {//*//}
Prone to leave the God I love;
                      {//*//}
 Here's my heart, O take and seal it;
                       {//*//}
Seal it for Thy courts above. Amen

Come Thou Font~ Nettleton 

what true love really is...

"The ultimate purpose of marriage is not to make us happy, but to glorify God."

~  Nancy Leigh DeMoss

       

peeta's stuffed cheese buns~ by Yammie's Noshery

   
      I just made these the other day.

      They tasted beautiful.

       Are you ready to make them yet? Me too. :)

       Basically, aaaaaaaaaaaaaalllll you have to do is make the dough, roll em' up, stuff a bunch of cheese in it, and pop them into the oven. Then voila! You've got stuffed cheese buns. Except I made one small itty bitty change: I halfed the sugar. And it still turned out great!

         But now you're probably wondering why they're called "Peeta's" stuffed cheese buns. Well, Yammie tried to copy the cheese buns the Peeta made in the Hunger Games book. How creative is that?! I'd say that's pretty awesome. In fact, before you make these, you should read about it on her website here. It's pretty funny :). 

Peeta's Stuffed Cheese Buns

1 cup warm water (probably somewhere between 105º and 115º. I just get it hot from the tap. Don't get it too hot or it will kill the yeast.)

2 tablespoons yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

-At least 8 oz. of cheese, the more the merrier (I used chunks of mozzarella for the inside and a mixture of shredded colby and swiss for the top. I was just trying to use up all the forgotten chunks in the hidden corners of the fridge)

-Parmesan cheese

-A few tablespoons of melted butter mixed with a sprinkle of garlic powder and some fresh herbs if you want. 

Mix together the yeast and water and let it sit for a couple minutes. Add the sugar, garlic powder, melted butter, and oil. Add the flour a little and a time, mixing in your stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the salt. Knead for 10 minutes, in the stand mixer or by hand. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl (I used the same bowl) covered with a wet cloth for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375º. Divide the dough into about 20 pieces or so (you can make them as big or small as you want).

Put about a 3/4 inch chunk of cheese in each one and make sure you pinch all the edges back up tightly. Put the pinched side down on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle the buns with more shredded cheese and some parmesan cheese. Bake at 375ºF for about 11-15 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Brush with the melted butter and serve warm.

         Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! :)

things that make me say yeay

This would just be A-W-E-S-O-M-E to make.

Wowzer...I wish I could do this.

Coolest. Autumn. Idea. Ever.

:)

*ohgoodnesssakesalive* I made these and they were delish! Just look at the cheese! *sigh*

 "Yeah dat right, girl"

 

Oh, and I just thought this was simply adorable and had to share it.

What is making you say yeay?  Sorry about such a short and boring post...I'll make up for it! ;)