A weekend for good eating

This weekend I had my husband a little longer than normal thanks to good ole Columbus, and incidentally, it also happened to be our first weekend of legit cold weather. For us here in Texas, legit cold is anything 65 degrees and under, and it was in the 50's quite a bit the past few days.

Due to these frigid conditions, I made some very fall-like recipes that had sweet and savory aromas drifting through the house and wrapping us up like a warm blanket. Mmmm....

I'm sharing my recipe for Crockpot Smoked Turkey & Split Pea Soup below, and while split pea soup isn't all that pretty to photograph, this is the heartiest and most delicious version I've ever had. You can make it right in your crockpot, and freeze it for later, too! Enjoy.

Crockpot Smoked Turkey and Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:
1 16 oz package of split peas
1 large smoked turkey leg (as large as will fit in your crock pot) - a meaty ham bone could be used as well
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 bay leaf
4 cups of hot water
4 cups of chicken broth
1 TBS of salt
1/2 TBS of ground pepper

Directions:
Dice onions, carrots, parsley, and garlic, and set aside. Add split peas to the bottom of the crockpot, and lay the turkey leg on top of them.  Then put in the onions, carrots, parsley, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and pepper, and pour in the water and chicken broth last. Do not stir. Put on the lid, and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 2-3 hours. Mine was ready after 6 hours on low.  Remove the bay leaf, and remove the turkey leg to a cutting board. Strip off the meat, discarding all skin and bone. Chop or shred the meat a bit and return it to the pot. Be sure you've fished out all bone splinters that may still be swimming around in the soup. Now enjoy! (We like ours with some nice melty grilled cheese sandwiches.)   :)

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Oh, and one more thing! I tried these pumpkin stuffed croissants this weekend, as well, and HOLY YUM. Not only were they delicious, but the aroma while they're baking will blow your mind. I still had a good amount of filling left when all was said and done, so I mixed it into pancake batter the next morning... gosh was it good!

7 Years

Seven years ago today these furry little butts entered my world, and I'm hoping for another good seven before they leave it. Gracie and Cooper have been with me through a fizzled relationship, living alone, all of college, three moves, meeting my husband, getting married, working from home, losing a loved one, and everything in between. They are the most constant things in my life, and if I love my children one day half as much as I love these dogs, well... everyone will be really, really loved. :)

Happy birthday, babies. Mommy loves you more than you'll ever know...

Read more of Gracie and Cooper's story here.

Friday Faces

Another week, gone so soon! Friday usually means meeting new faces around here, so since I have quite the to-do list I need to get to-doing today, we'll jump right in.

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Meet new face number one: Julie of Can Soup Lover! Julie lives in Paris and writes her blog posts in both English and French--I like to read the English version and then skim over the French one too, and pretend like I can read it. ;) I love her Me in 3 post (isn't that a fun idea?) and her about page proves this girl has tons of personality (favorite line: "sometimes you just need a damn blog!"). I agree, Julie, I agree. :)

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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The next new face is the incredibly sweet Miss Christa of The Me and Mine Book. The thing that will stand out to you right away about Christa is not only her funny writing but her amazing love for her family and positive outlook on life. The Me and Mine Book is a story about life and the people Christa loves, and she makes it darn FUN to read, if you ask me. Learn more about the "me" part of the equation here and the "mine" part here. Enjoy!

Blog | Twitter

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Grass Valley, Part II (the nuptials)

There's something about the energy at a wedding, don't you think? Especially if you're behind the scenes with either the bride or groom. The excitement, the tension, the being on the brink of what will hopefully be a lifetime of love and happiness and, yes, ups and downs, but commitment and forgiveness through it all.

There's just something about that. :) Here are the remaining pictures from our Grass Valley weekend and the beautiful wedding we attended. Jared, Miranda, and family... thanks for everything, and congratualtions! Wishing you two a love and adventure-filled life together...

A frat brother performed the marriage ceremony... it was amazing. Quote: "By the power vested in me by the state of California and the Galactic Empire, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

 yep, the boys were drinking before the ceremony even started.

that beautiful veil had been in the family for generations!

speech!

 the bride's brother was hilarious.

Even though I enjoyed taking some photos from a guest's perspective, I still have no interest in doing wedding photography. To be honest, it scares the crap out of me. Talk about pressure! ;)

Have a great day!

PS - Yes, I wore white to a wedding. No, I wasn't doing it to make a statement or anything. The "don't wear white to a wedding rule" didn't even cross my mind when I packed that dress - if it had, I might have used it as an excuse to go buy something new! I do think rules like that are incredibly silly, though. I wouldn't have cared a bit or even noticed if someone wore white to my wedding. :)

My husband, the (ex)addict

 

He looks like a pretty normal guy, right? Like, if you saw him on the street you'd think, "that guy has it all together. What a healthy looking dude. He probably doesn't have any chemical dependencies." Or something.

AND YOU'D BE WRONG. You see, during the last couple of months, Matthew finally kicked a drug habit. A habit he's had for going on five years--an addiction, in fact, that he didn't know he had, and since quitting cold turkey and experiencing withdrawal symptoms one might liken to that of an addict coming off of meth or heroine, our quality of life has increased exponentially. Confused? OK, before you go thinking my husband just came off hard drugs or something, allow me to explain.

Matthew works out. Duh. And he takes various protein and workout drinks daily, and he has, for the past five years, taken one particular workout drink that's supposed to give you a blast of energy before pumping iron or whatever.  Thing is, over the years he's upped his intake of it to a dangerous amount, since you tend to develop tolerance for energy drinks if you have them a lot. For pretty much as long as I've known him, Matthew has been somewhat lethargic throughout the day, tired all the time, and often irritable. More so than a normal person, and he thought for a while that he might have some sort of immune disorder, and even went to the doctor about his symptoms. It took a hippie "wellness" doctor here in town to finally figure it out, though. He asked Matthew to list all the supplements and workout drinks he's taking, and figure out their ingredients, as well. 

Long story short, between the workout drinks, a cup or two of coffee a day, and occasional Rockstar or 5 Hour Energy drinks, Matthew was consuming the equivalent of 17-20 cups of coffee per day. PER DAY. And I thought my two little cups of half-caff joe per day addiction was intense.

Matthew decided to quit caffeine cold turkey, and if I ever doubted that caffeine was a "drug" before, I don't doubt it now. Poor guy experienced a week and a half of extreme fatigue, cold sweats, nausea and intense vomiting, and a migraine that lasted throughout that entire time. He had to use my migraine medicine, and was taking around three naps per day because he just couldn't make it through a day without them. It was CRAZY, y'all. 

But like I said, our quality of life has skyrocketed since Matthew kicked the caffeine. He has been so pleasant, it's unnerving. Every time I ask him how long this new and improved husband of mine will last, he says "I'm caffeine free, baby. I'm ___ weeks sober. I'm a new man." 

And he is! And I like it.

The moral of the story is this: watch what you put in your body, and pay attention to how it may be affecting you. Moderation in everything.  17 to 20 cups of coffee a day is excessive, obviously, but even lesser extremes of things can be really unhealthy, and so can lack of attention to detail when it comes to what you're consuming. So, take that and run with it. Happy Wednesday!

Grass Valley, Part 1 (a cabin and a burger)

Forgive the randomness of today's post.  I took a lot of pictures in Cali over the weekend, but they don't really flow well together, if you know what I mean.  Above I have some pretty pictures of the property and a couple scenes around the cabin, and below some snaps around a fast food joint? Go figure.

Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, we stayed in a cozy cabin in Grass Valley while Matthew carried out his groomsman duties at his friend's wedding, and even though it was a quick trip, it was punctuated with lots of fun little moments.  I'd love to go back to Grass Valley and nearby Nevada City one day, and explore a bit more. It was a charming area, and very different from the type of landscapes we have here at home.

As for In-N-Out burger. Yes, it was my first try, and yes, I liked it! The "special sauce" was yummy, though I was alarmed and slightly annoyed that they didn't even have mayo anywhere on the premises. Some of you may argue, however, that it would be a crime to have an In-N-Out burger without the special sauce, and I would agree the sauce IS what sets these delicious mouthfuls of meat apart.  (that's what she said)

I'd rate In-N-Out a definite "A" as far as fast food burgers go, though I expected a choir of angels to erupt from inside my mouth and start singing glory hallelujah or something when I took my first bite, based on the hype. That did not happen, but yes, the burger was great! The presentation was really nice and you can tell that the employees are kept to a strict standard of quality. I was impressed! Austinites: if you want a similar experience, I think P. Terry's here in town tastes almost identical, minus the special sauce. But that's OK for those of you who are like me and revere your mayo, anyway. :)

 a small menu allows employees to focus on quality, I imagine

 the meet, cheese, and bun were warm, and the produce nice and cold... as it should be!

probably thinking: get that thing out of my face.

YUM

A quick trip

Happy Monday to you! There's me and some horses near our little cabin in Grass Valley, California this weekend. We took a quick trip there for a good friend's wedding, and now we're home getting caught back up on regular life... sigh. I feel hung over, but I'm not even.

Some highlights of the weekend included:

- Trying an In-N-Out burger for the first time
- Hearing some crazy stories from Matthew and his buddies' old frat days
- Crying like a baby at the wedding, even though I barely knew anyone (weddings and funerals... get me every time...)
- Purchasing J.K. Rowling's new book (I will review it here when I'm done. All I can say so far is that it's the complete opposite of Harry Potter in every way, but I sorta knew that going in.)

More to come on the trip later! Gotta go play catch up. Have a great day now, ya hear?