Bacon Potato Soup

It's been a while since I have been on here and that can all be blamed on laziness and motherhood. Not sure which one is more to blame at this point!

My mother-in-law makes a great Bacon Potato soup and I just wanted to share this recipe with those who love soup! It is an easy make. It takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and the left overs are fabulous.

Part 1:

3 tablespoons of butter (preferably salted)
1/2 cup celery  (or leeks will work too)
2 tablespoons of diced onion (I just more like 1/2 cup because I like the flavor)
1/2 lb bacon cut into small pieces

Add all ingredients to a stock pot. Cook on high until bacon is yellow/tender.

Part 2:

2 1/2 teaspoons of salt (2 3/4 if you use unsalted butter)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup flour (I make gluten free all the time and I use about 2 1/2 tablespoons of gluten free flour)

Add salt and pepper to the bacon/butter/onion/celery combo and mix thoroughly. Add flour and mix well.

Part 3:

1 cup chopped celery
5-6 potatoes (this is about three large russets)
4 cups of water

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and mix. Cover the pot and cook on high for 5-7 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium/low and cook until tender (about 15 minutes).

Part 4:

1 can evaporated milk

Add milk, stir thoroughly and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

And voila! Done! Caesar salad goes well with the soup and so does warm bread.

Hollajenos!

Tonight's meals was so freaking awesome and definitely the easiest one so far.

Jalapeno Roast was what we ate this evening and it is going on the "keeper" list. So easy and amazing!

I used chuck roast from costco. It is as simple as the recipe states. Salt and pepper your roast. Add five quartered jalapenos (seeds removed) and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

I was worried it might be too spicy, but no problem there. The meat had a slight jalapeno flavor and really no hotness.

We used corn tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and olives to create some fabulous tacos. There was enough extra that lunch plus another meal is covered.

This would be a great dish to make for a party. It is different, but not to far out of the normal taco comfort zone



!

Garlic Breath

The next meal on the crock pot adventure was Garlic Lemon Crock Pot Chicken.

The instructions are incredibly simple and chicken was fantastic. I cooked it for 3 hours longer than the instructions said, but that was only because I couldn't get home soon enough. It was still very very good. I can only imagine how good it would've been if I had stopped cooking it earlier.

I prepped the garlic and onions the night before just to make sure I was ready. Threw everything in and turned that baby on.

The greatest thing about all the meals that I have cooked so far is there is always left overs which turn into lunch for the next day and dinner for the next night. In fact last week I only had to make three meals, because by day four I had so many left overs there was no need for anymore. Love it!

It was so tender the chicken just fell off the bone leaving the grease and bones.

Carnitas

Day 3...Mexican Style

It was carnitas this evening. The pork cooked all day and it was awesome.
The recipe can be found at Life as a Plate.

The recipe was super easy. I think it took 10 minutes to get everything all together last night.

I threw the meat and other ingredients in the crock pot at around 6 am and we ate around 7 pm. We used the meat and made tacos. There is a cool little grocery store by Lindo Lake and it sells fresh tortillas, and salsa. I also bought some cotija cheese and crema. The tacos were amazing.

The only thing I would warn you about is that there is a lot of meat left over. This isn't a bad thing but I just didn't realize there would be so much extra meat. This would make a great recipe for a party.

Garlic Beef Stew and Cauliflower Mash

Day 1 was a success so on to Day 2...

For the meal, I used the site Everyday Paleo.

I got all the ingredients ready the night before and put them in a bowl so all I had to do was throw them in the Crock Pot and get started.

This meal called for a lot more veggies than yesterday's and it was well worth it.

The house smelled fabulous when I got home from work.

The cauliflower mash was very good and so easy. I boiled the cauliflower because I don't have a steamer that can fit two large heads of cauliflower. I boiled it until it was soft and then threw it in the Vitamix (I would recommend a food processor if you have one) with less turmeric then the recipe asked for. I had to add a little milk because it was too dry for the Vitamix to blend. Salt and pepper came last and we were ready to eat.

The cauliflower mash was much better than I was expecting. The texture was good and it tasted great.

All in all, the stew was very good and I am definitely going to use the recipe again.

Food organization: Day 1 Smokey Roast

I feel like I have been failing at my life recently. My house doesn't seem to ever be clean. Teaching has taken a back seat. It is exciting to take a shower without feeling rushed at the moment. Dinner has become a horrible event of disappointed expectation. I am so stressed out about what to have for dinner every night. I think about it during work and worry that just like everything else I am not able to keep up. Well, today I took hold of my life a little bit. I found a blog on pinterest that listed 30 paleo recipes that can be cooked in a Crock Pot. I am not completely sure about the paleo thing, but I am definitely willing to go in that direction. This little experience can provide me with new ideas for meals and the structure to start cooking again.

So today I purchased a Crock Pot (super cute one!) and I started on my new food path.

Today I made Smokey Roast with Sweet Potato Rounds and Green Beans.

The roast was super easy and tasted excellent. I cooked it for 5 1/2 hours and it was so tender. The rub was very good.

The recipe can be found at Everyday Paleo.

The sweet potato rounds are my own thing. I used two large yams. Washed and cut into thin slices. Throw them in a bowl, add olive oil pepper, kosher salt, and paprika. Mix and coat all the slices. Lay out the slices on a rack so that there is little to no overlap. Cook for 20 minutes at 425 F.

The green beans were steamed.

There was enough food to make sure that lunch tomorrow is very much taken care of.

Tomorrow: Beef, garlic, and cauliflower...oh my!

A long week but feeling refreshed...

Although this week was only four days long it felt like it is taking forever. I started out the week on a bad note. I had the first of (I am sure) many difficult mornings. Thuglet was so unhappy. I have no idea what was bothering him, but he was unhappy from the moment he woke up till I dropped him at the sitter's. It is so hard to get ready for work when your little one is crying and fussing. The more he cried the more anxious I became. Needless to say, the start of the day was very rough which pretty much carried through until the end.

Thankfully, each day of the week has gotten progressively better. And today I realized that I have so much to be thankful for. To be happy about. It is wrong to be upset by situations that are so trivial in the big scheme of things. We all have the right to complain about our lives regardless of the circumstances. But I really need to curb the complaining. Life is good!

I have a Husby who is now sleeping in Thuglet room because he wants to play an active role in his nighttime activities and give me a chance to regain a bit of my sanity.

I have Thuglet, who besides not sleeping ever, is a very happy boy. He is adorable, funny, sweet and so amazing. He is already starting to crawl/scoot around. He is laughing. He is so cuddly.

A little blurry but the perfect example of my happy little Thuglet.

I saw a picture of someone's closet on facebook and right then realized I was so lucky to have a amazing closet and beautiful home. There are so many things we want to upgrade, but it is so nice to have a house on a nice street with a big yard.

I have a good job with a lot of time off. I have the opportunity to see my family more often than most. I got to spend 9 straight weeks with my little dude this summer. I get to spend time with him in the morning and evenings. Although I feel discontented about my job I know it allows me time with those I love most.

I have a great mom who loves my beautiful Thuglet so much. She watches him two days a week and does the dishes while she is at it. She is giving me a whole month's worth of birthday presents because this month I turn 30. She is selfless and generous. I couldn't ask for a better mom.

There is so much more but it feels nice to start my list and be thankful.

Back in the saddle again...

I have made over 30 interactive quilts for various babies and families.  Thuglet loves the one he has been using since birth. I am happy to say those little quilts really hold up to the daily use of a baby. Spit up and weekly washings and that little blanket is still going strong! It has taken over 6 months but I have finally made Thuglet his own interactive baby quilt. I changed the design a little bit to make it work with his name.

Creating the flaps

Love the polka dots

Just finished the quilting

Sewing the binding on.

It was so exciting to go the Rosie's and pick out fabric for his personal quilt. For my little man's quilt I went with the ninjas, bicycles, pirates and owls. Under the G is a giraffe, the R is a robot, the E is an elephant, the A is an anchor and the T is a train. All so cute and so boyish!!  Thuglet loves oil cloth and minkie so I doubled up on those for his textured fabrics. Even the back is cute, a combo of ninjas and bikes!

I was excited to get back in the saddle again. My sewing machine was getting dusty and feeling neglected. It took about 6 hours, but the finished product was worth it. He loves his new quilt and I love being able to make things for my lovely boy. It sits in his crib and I love how he rubs his face on it and scratches to feel the different textures.

Thuglet and his new quilt

And it begins again!

My 9th year of teaching began last week and I cannot believe that it has been almost a decade since I began. 9 years and I still don't know how I feel about the whole profession. I know I am meant to do something more and I know that teaching is a noble profession, but I have lost my drive.

Each year I feel more and more upset about being intellectual stagnant. I never realized how important it was for me to use my mind, to learn new things, to challenge myself. But as I continue a job that begins and ends every year the exact same way I understand my intense need for change and challenge.

What to do though? How to change my life in a real way when this job is consistent and necessary. Husby and I share a mortgage, a son and a life that will drastically change without my income. So how do I go about taking care of my family and being true to myself? How do I keep my mind sharp?

I guess it all starts with a plan. So now I start the process of my new path...

6 Month Breakdown

Thuglet will be 6 months old tomorrow! 6 months...a very merry half birthday to him!

After 6 months of motherhood I feel like I am finally getting the hang out it. I know what he wants when he gets upset. I can tell when he is sleepy or hungry. I can make him smile like no one else can.

It is fabulous. But this post isn't about the joys of motherhood. This is about all the crap that accompanies motherhood that is conveniently left out during discussions of motherhood.

Such as me...where did I go? I am not me anymore. I am some weird morphed version of myself. I knew having a child would change me, but sometimes I feel unrecognizable.

Is it the lack of sleep? No wonder people can use sleep deprivation as a form of torture...it is. I can feel myself slipping away the more sleep I miss out on. I have never been sleep deprived before and I hate it.

I hate getting up several times during the night. 

I hate not being able to finish my sentences because I can't remember what I was saying. 

I hate that I find items in random spots around the house not remembering how they ended up there (a case of canned refried beans were found in the fridge after I put the groceries away). 

I hate even when I have time to sleep my mind is so wound up it is hard to find my way to Sleepy Town.

Bottom line...sleep deprivation sucks.

The parts of my life I once held dear are hibernating.

I canceled my gym membership a month ago and it was as though I let a part of myself go. I didn't realize how much I identified myself with the gym.

My quilting has suffered tremendously, which is to be expected. However, just in the last week I have finally started sewing again. It has felt great!

I used to cook and bake with the best of them. Now it is hard to find the time or the motivation.

My body is still not back to what it was. The muscle control and elasticity of my girly region hasn't returned. You gotta love leaking a little pee here and there when you laugh, sneeze, cough or whatever triggers it. Good times!

It only makes it harder to deal with when I look at Husby's life and it barely seems affected by the arrival of our child. He still does all of those things he used to do or so it seems. I know things have changed for him too, but not nearly as drastically.

I know that one day I will feel more like myself even though motherhood has permanently changed me (for the better I believe), but it is hard to wait for one day. Despite all my bitching and moaning, I love that little 6 month old more than I ever thought possible and wouldn't ever to go back to not being a mom.

2 Weeks Left

How is it possible that I only have 2 weeks left of summer break?

This summer has gone by so quickly. Thuglet and I have been spending so much time together I know it is going to be hard to go back to work and only see him for part of the day.

I have definitely not done as much as I wanted, but with a small child I didn't have high expectations. Despite my lack of production I was able to spend so much time with my little man. He is amazing and I have loved all the moments of this summer with him. He has developed so much this summer.
He is eating solids now.

He is getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. He loves Baby Signing Time.

He is laughing more. He is so inquisitive and focused.
He is so cute with his blue eyes and cleft chin.

His hair is growing in tufts and they get bed head.
He loves to be naked.

He takes great pictures.