Laughter IS the best medicine!!

Sleepy Time!!

One morning Jake woke up early so I brought him into bed with John and I. After he ate he fell back to sleep and I couldn't resist taking a picture!!!

Brat, Beer & Cheese Soup

Last weekend I tried a recipe I got from one of Mom's magazines. It came out delicious and here is a picture of it!!!!

Brat, Beer and Cheese Soup
3 bratwurst sausages, cooked and sliced

3 TB olive oil

1 cup onion, minced (about 2 medium onions)

1 cup celery, minced (about 4 large stalks)

1 cup carrots, sliced (about 3 medium carrots)

¼ cup flour

1 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced

6 cups chicken stock

1-12 oz can of beer

½ tsp regular mustard powder

½ tsp granulated garlic

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ - ½ tsp chipotle pepper

½ cup milk (use half and half if you are feeling decadent)

¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook about 15 minutes or until tender, stirring every so often to keep from sticking. Stir in flour; cook about 1 minute. Add potatoes, stock and beer. Bring to a boil and cook 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add mustard powder, granulated garlic, salt, pepper and chipotle. Combine milk and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Stir into the soup. Remove soup from head. Add the cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted and smooth. Remove 2 cups of vegetables with some liquid and add to a blender or food processor. Puree. Stir back into the soup to give it nice body. Return to low heat and add sliced, cooked bratwurst. Cook until bratwurst is warm; 5 minutes should do it.

NOTE: The only thing that I changed was I added more brats (it was a package of 6 so I added 5 instead of 3) and I did not have chipotle spice, so we used the smoky chipotle Tabasco sauce we had and it was delicious! I used Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and I did use the cream!Yield: 12 (there were only 5 of us and there is just about a serving left over!)Source: Penzey's Catalog, http://www.penzeys.com/

There's more than just Rice Cereal???

Jacob tried applesauce for the first time today! First I gave him some rice cereal, and he was doing great with eating it. So I decided to try some Gerber Applesauce! I had picked that up along with some sweet potato and squash as well. He made a few funny faces with the first two bites, but then he just devoured it! He ate about 1/2 of the package! Yippee!!!

Blast from the Past.....

Today I got to see two of my oldest friends, Jenee Mork (now Jenne Montagrano) and Malia Wagner (now Malia Geary). We were great friends in high school; known as JMJ. We've grown up and times have changed, but it was just like no time had passed after we met today, the day after Malia's wedding, in Tahoe City!!!



Jenee, me, and her daughter.

Jenee and Olivia!

This is the view from Malia's back yard!

Malia and Tom sent us home with a centerpiece, a case of votive candle holders with the candles, a couple bottles of red wine and the TOP of her chocolate wedding cake!

Here are Malia and I.

John, Jus and Jacob enjoying the sunshine!

More of the view from the back of Malia's family cabin.

Jacob and John out at the water line...in the backyard....I can see myself out here in the mornings having coffee and toast watching the water.....