Lentil Soup

I don't know why soup has been sounding good lately, since it's still summer weather here, but this recipe was really good, too. I didn't think I liked lentil soup, but tried Progresso's, which I liked. This one is even better. Give it a try (if you like beans) - you might be surprised! Here's the recipe by Giada De Laurentiis.


Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stocks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
11 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
2/3 cup dried elbow pasta
1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pastas is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

Bed before and after

BEFORE


AFTER


Probably needs one last pillow, but I haven't found one yet!

Vegetable soup

I just tried this Vegetable Soup recipe today for the first time. After reading the reviews and adding some things, here's what I came up with. It ended up turning out to be really good! I did add ground beef too, which wasn't part of the original recipe.

2 (14-oz) cans chicken broth
2 (11.5-oz) can tomato-vegetable juice cocktail (I used V8)
1 cup water (I just realized I forgot this part...hmm...so this recipe may be off - ha!)
1 large potato, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
2 stalks celery, diced
1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh green beans
1 cup fresh corn kernels
salt and pepper to taste (I used 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper)
Creole seasoning to taste (I used 2 tsps)
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning

In a large stock pot, combine everything! Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until all vegetables are tender. (I did 45 minutes)

A few fun days

REDONDO BEACH

I drove 7 hours to Redondo Beach to visit my friend Shannon who was house-sitting there. We went to Redondo Beach one day and Manhattan Beach another day, as well as lots of different boutiques, and even better, a consignment store...as well as lots of movie-watching and book reading. Ahh. It was nice to have a get-a-way while John was on a trip.


BUILD YOUR OWN BURRITO SPOUSE SOCIAL

I helped host a squadron spouse social this week - build your own burritos. My friend who also hosted has a nice yard, and it was really warm outside, which was fun.


HANGING WITH MY BESTIE

John got home on Monday, so we got to hang out this week. A couple things we did...fro yo and breakfast at Waffle House. Fun! He leaves again tomorrow for a week, so we've tried to hang out a lot this week. Maybe I will get more done next week! : )


2ND PLACE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS!

I'm glad John has a little outlet for his stress by playing intramural sports on base! I like watching the games, too.


15 WEEKS!

The MIL visit

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law came from Florida for 9 days. We took her to see lots of different things (she's never been to CA before), so she had fun. I was a little weary after entertaining the whole time, being in my least energetic trimester, but I'm happy to say that my energy seemed to come back a bit these past 2 weeks, being my my 2nd trimester. I had only spent 3 different days with my MIL (ever), so I didn't know what things would be like. It was interesting to see the little ways John was like his mom, or where he got things from. And although the visit was busy and a bit long, it was good to get to know his mom a little better. We went to the Sacramento Fair, Muir Woods, San Francisco, and Napa. Here are some pictures from Muir Woods and San Fran.

The BEST chocolate chip cookies

I realized that I never posted this cookie recipe, but I hope you all will try it! This recipe makes great cookies every time, for everyone who has tried it! I got this recipe from a friend, and am so glad I found a fail proof recipe. P.S. Don't freak out when you see it calls for 3 sticks butter. There is double the amount of flour, so it kind of evens out, right? : ) They're good for a reason!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 sticks unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (or for chocolate ones, use 2 1/2 cups flour and 1/12 cups Hershey's cocoa powder)
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix butter and sugars, then eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and chocolate chips. Bake for 10 minutes (I do 11 in my oven).

12 weeks!

BIG news! I never knew how hard it would be to wait 12 weeks to share the news, but here it is. I have been feeling pretty good the past few months...I just get sick if I don't eat every couple hours. So I can't complain too much, except that being hungry all the time requires a lot of extra planning when I go anywhere. My grocery bill has also gone up, but I'm too tired to care sometimes! Hopefully my energy will come back soon. Anyway, we are really excited! We heard the heartbeat at 10 1/2 weeks, which made it seem more real. As it is, it's still pretty surreal.

I quit my job a couple weeks ago because it wasn't worth the money considering the hours and drive time. It's been a relief to not have to worry about that 2 day a week job. I think it will be hard to find another job for only a few months. I've wanted to do projects since now I have a time line of when I want them done, but have lacked the energy so far.

For those of you who saw the news on Facebook, thanks for your excitement! We felt so loved by the response. : )

July catch-up

Here I am again, playing a month's worth of catch-up! My friend reminded me that I have been slacking on my blog. Most of my highlights are on Facebook, so I sometimes feel like I don't have anything interesting to say on here. July was a pretty busy month though, so I will recap with some pictures.

BOOGIE BOARDING

John and I met some friends (that I grew up with in Coulee) in Santa Cruz to boogie board. The water was freezing, but they had a wetsuit for me to borrow. Here are some pictures of Allie and I. It ended up being really fun, except the time I got pummeled by a wave and got a headache!



SAN FRAN WITH EMILY

My friend Emily (from WA) and her mom went on a 2 week road trip to CA. I was able to meet up with them to go to San Fran for the day (a ferry from Larkspur to SF, lunch in North Beach, the Ferry Building, Tartine Bakery) and also Mill Valley to go to Tyler Florence's store and restaurant, El Paseo. It was a fun day, and the restaurant was SO good. I ended up ordering his cookbook Dinner at my Place.



GAMES

John got free tickets at work to the San Jose Earthquake soccer game at Standford and the Giants game.



MY FAMILY

My family came for a week. It was really good to see them. We took them to do all the touristy stuff that we always do...Napa, Old Town Sacramento, San Fran. They also stayed at a timeshare in Windsor (north of SF) for a few days, and saw stuff around that area.