Creamy Potato Soup

Growing up, one of the best things about cold weather was it was time to make soup. In my family we really only had three types of soup, Chili, vegetable, and potato, and my favorite was always my mom's potato. So since the cold weather has more than set in, I have been itchin' to make some good ol' potato soup, but there is one problem. Ya see I am married to a farmer who is out working hard all day long, and when he comes in to eat he wants something that is gonna stick to his ribs, and well my momma's potato soup is not that kind of meal. Ya see it's kinda runny, and I am needin' something that can hold it's own. So I had to think back to my college day's when I use to cook with my roomie Amber. We use to make this oh soo good potato soup from her mom's recipe. All I could really remember is that I we would all so add onion, carrot's and sour cream. So I went from there and did my own thing with it and as promised here is the recipe for my Creamy Potato Soup.

Start by peeling 4-5 potatoes.

Next chop them into 1/2 in cubes.

Peel 1-2 carrots and chop carrots into small pieces.

Chop one small onion.

Now mix all three together in a pot and cover with water.

Then boil until potatoes are soft.

Drain water and place pot of vegetables back on the burner on medium heat.

Next add 1/4 stick butter and probably 1-2 cups of milk.

Now comes the part that took me a while to figure out. How do I get the sour cream into the soup and it not look lumpy? I wanted that smooth creamy texture, like you get when you get the country potato soup from McAllister’s Deli. Then it hit me....

...on the head as it fell out of the cabinet...my Tupperware gravy shaker. So I rubbed the knot on my head and then filled it up and started shakin' it! So in the gravy shaker put about 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sour cream, and then fill the rest with milk. Then shake it all up...do a little dance if ya want, cause you can and it will taste better then! ;)

If you don't have a gravy shaker then use whatever lidded container you have and mix it all up.

After you have it all mixed together add this to your pot. Then fill with milk till all the potatoes are covered, and cook till thick and creamy. Also add plenty of salt, and some pepper cause without it, the soup will be very bland!

 Once you have it to the consistancy you want to be then put it in your favorite bowl...

Throw a little cheese and bacon bits....the real ones cause they are so much better, and you're worth it...and enjoy with your a big glass of sweet tea, or whatever wets you whistle!

(Also, I like to make some cornbread muffins to eat with eat my yummy soup.)

Onorey Little Stinker

Logan: "Aunt Janet can we have an apple for snack?"

Janet: "Sure, will you bring me one?"

Logan comes back into the room with one apple and gives it to me.

Logan: "Here you go."

Janet: "Where's your's?"

Logan: "I'm gonna have have a different one."

From the kitchen I hear "crunch, crunch."

Janet: "Logan, what are you doing?"

Logan: "Getting chips and dip. I can't find the dip."

Janet: "So I have to have an apple, and you get chips and dip?!?"

Logan: "Yep."

This my friends would be what we call an 'Onorey Little Stinker'!!!

5.31 Seconds

5.31 Seconds is how long it takes for three little boys to destroy a room.

     I spent this past week taking care of my sister, Kim's, children in Columbia, MO, while Kim and Brandon were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary in Hawaii. I'm pretty sure I should get sister-of-the-year award, cause while they were in Hawaii soakin’ up the sun, it was in the 30's and cloudy here the entire time. O-well I had a blast with the boys just the same. I have plenty of stories to tell about the week and I will share them in other posts but this one is about last Friday night.
     On Thursday evening I got a call from my cousin Jeremiah. He wanted to see if it would be ok if he and his family stopped by to drop some clothes for my sister. When I told Landon and Logan they were ubber excited about it, cause this meant that Fletcher was coming and they couldn't wait to play with him.
     Well when Friday came, Landon went to school and Logan and I headed up to Shelbina to do a couple of things. I will go into everything we did in another post, but while we were there I was talkin' to my dad about Jeremiah and how he said he was gonna stop by around dinner time. Then dad proceeded to ask me if he was coming at the dinner (lunch) or if he was coming at supper (dinner)? Well crap, I didn't think about that. I just assumed that when people use the word dinner they are meaning what I call supper. So I hurry back to my sisters’ house and find no boxes of clothes sitting outside and no message on the machine, so I am figuring that they really did mean the evening dinner as I had thought. Thank goodness for that, it would have broken the boys little hearts, because all they could talk about is playin’ with Fletcher when he got there. After picking up Landon from school and we go back to the house and wait for them to show up. While we were waiting I made the yummy chocolate cake, I had posted the other day for a welcome home cake for when Kim and Brandon when they got back. This time I did the 9"x13" pan and cut the icing recipe in half. Then I made some delicious creamy potato soup for supper. I will give the recipe for this another time. The entire time I was making all of this Landon and Logan both kept coming in and asking "when is Fletcher coming?"

Well finally the door bell rings and in they come. Let the craziness begin!!

Logan tried to teach Fletcher how to bowl, but all Fletcher wanted to do with the pins is play baseball.

Now let’s get the monster trucks out and run things over!

Then it was quiet, almost too quiet. You know like the calm before the storm....

...then we head back to Logan's bedroom and that's when it hit, the storm I mean.

5.31 seconds, the amount of time it takes three boys to destroy a bedroom. 

All the balls that are now all over the floor were once in that large football, but Landon has now decided that he would like to sleep in there tonight. Can we say crick in the neck?!?

Before they left we attempted to get a picture of all the kids together and well...

...this it as good as it gets.

Landon did get a little practice holding a baby so when in May when baby Viers comes he will be ready!

   Even though the place was destroyed the boys did a good job picking things up without complaining so it would be clean when momma comes home.

When the snow melts....

     Since Christmas we have had that cold white stuff al over the ground and boy has it been cold!! Everyone around had been sayin' they couldn't wait till it all melted away.

     Well the beginning of this last week their wish was granted, as the temperatures got warmer the snow piles got smaller. I myself wanted the snow gone; I just didn't want what was to come with that.

Muddy boots, muddy roads...

.....muddy trucks....

....well just plain muddy everything. I thought we bought a red truck but I must have been mistaken! When it comes to playing in mud, I love it, but when it comes to working in mud, well it's a drag!!!

     The past few days have been extra foggy all day, but the dogs and I decided to go for a walk anyways. We still got some good shots even though the surroundings were less than ideal. Here's a few of what I took.

 

I know that right now it's a mess out side but before you know it, we will be smelling all the beautiful spring flowers and I can't wait!!

Playin' Doc

     Wednesday afternoon Caleb and I call all the cattle in, on our farm, so we could give all the little ones some pills for scours and stick some tags in their ears. For once we didn't have any major set backs. Everybody but two little ones came up and walked strait into the pen without a problem. It was almost hard to believe. I really wasn't sure these were our cattle, cause that never happens, but they were really hungry, and like me I will do just about anything for food when I get hungry!
     We got all the momma's sorted off and then sorted the big calves from the little ones, and there was no yelling involved, not even at the cows. Wow, how amazing is that, and I didn't let a single little one slip by me while running the gate.
     After sorting the little ones off we ran them down the ally way, one at a time and would have to pin them against the fence cause we don't have head gate. Then we stuffed some pills down their throat and sick a tag in their ear and boy would they holler. I'm not sure what the big deal was it was just one tag. I have eight holes in my ears and they didn't hurt all that bad. At least not enough to make the ruckus they made. We got them all done with no major injuries, I did get kicked once but it didn't hurt, then we sent all the babies back out to be with momma and boy were they happy. They all took off running as fast as they could in the opposite direction.
    After we were done with all the calves from the big group of cattle we still needed to give one more calf a tag. It was one we were keeping in our misfit pen. This was the calf that Caleb was petting the other day, when the crippled momma cow was running up in the back ground. We had intended to keep them over in their pasture, but Caleb came home one morning at the beginning of the week and told me that the crippled cow was down. It was something we had expected would eventually happen. I just knew she was no good and that we were gonna have to get rid of her and then take her baby for a bottle calf, but boy was never happier to be wrong. When we got back over to the pasture and started messin' with her we actually got her up on her feet, yea!!! All we could figure out was that she had gotten knocked over on her side by another cow and just couldn't get back up. So we pushed her and baby into the pen and loaded them up and brought them home. Now she's getting a little extra feed and both momma and baby are doing fine. And you know what the great thing about this is...I don't have to bottle feed the calf!!

Well, after we were done working with the cattle on Wednesday, I had a chance to pull my camera out and take few shots of all my misfits.

Spot now thinks he is 'King of the Hay Bale!'

Red always has to come in for her close-up...Actually she is hoping I have some feed.

And here are my boys...

They don't really care for having their picture's taken, but too bad!

A Chocolate Lover's Cake

     If you were to ask my family they all would tell you that I am good at talking, I love farming and gardening, and that I love horses, but they probably wouldn't say anything about cooking....but I love to cook. I don't always get the chance to make things for everyone since I live so far away from them all. So Christmas '08 I came in with some really yummy and cute looking cupcakes everybody was surprised that I made them. Well thanks to my Grandma Dorothy, I get the 'Taste of Home' magazine, which is full of all sorts of fun things to make. It is also where I got the idea for the cupcakes last year before Christmas and this year in the pre-Christmas magazine there was this yummy lookin' chocolate cake on the front and I wanted to make it for Christmas, cause I know my sister-in-law's would love it, but if you have read my previous post's then you would know it was kinda crazy at that time and it wasn't happening. So when I found out that one of my best friends was coming to visit at the beginning of the month I decided to make it and it turned out wonderfully!!!

Chocolate - Strawberry Celibration Cake

Cake

1 pkg. (18-1/4 oz.) Chocolate cake mix

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) instant chocolate pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

4 oz semisweet chocolate, melted

Frosting

2 cups butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cups baking cocoa

1/2 cup milk

Garnishes

2 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted

1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled

Ganache

4 oz. semisweet  chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Cake

Comebine all seven cake ingredients; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Transfer to two greased and floured 9-in round baking pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutesbefore removing from pans to wire racks to cool completly

Frosting

Beat butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa until blended; add milk adn and beat till smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake.

Arrange straberries on top of cake.  

Ganache

Place chocolate in a small bowl. Heat cream just to a boil; pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the top of the cake allow ganache to drape down the sides 

Chocolate Garnish

Pipe or spoon melted chocolate ontowaxed paper in decorative designs; let stand until set.

Top cake with chocolate garnish

Next time I make it I would probably use a 9"x13" and probably use 2 lbs strawberries on it. It is really easy to make and look great and is so good!!!

New Farm Photo's with New Lens

So for Christmas I got a new camera back in July and then at Christmas I said I was gonna save all my Christmas money and get a new lens for my camera...then my wonderful husband said that he would foot the bill for the rest of it so I could have my new lens. I finally decided what I wanted and it arrived in the mail the other day, so even though it was extremely cold out side I decided to bundle up and put my new toy to work.

As always our cattle never let me down and we had one of our previously weaned calves who needed some meds so here are a few pics from the adventure.

Caleb cheesin' it up while we are stayin' warm in the truck while waitin' for Calvin to come help with the calf

Caleb decided he wanted to play with my new toy too, so I got my picture taken.

With everything on the ground the head gate wasn't wanting to work just right so we had to get some hot water to melt some of the snow and ice....while the calf waited patiently in the chute...ha, yea right!

Oh, we almost have it....

...now we have him....

....now lets try to stuff some pills down her throat.

Now that we're done Caleb is tell a story, but we have no idea what it was about.

After we put her back in her pen it was time put some hay out so they will have something to munch on.

Now here's some pics from doing chores on Sunday afternoon

Caleb just makin' sure the calves have water

Caleb says he is couting the cattle, but I think he's really sayin'

"I'm King of the Hay Bale"