Hello from PA!

We made it - the drive went so much better than expected. We left at 6:15 AM on Saturday and arrived at my dad's a little after 4 PM. We made a 30 minute lunch stop and a 15 minute restroom break and that was it! Little Sophie, despite being awakened at 5:40 AM, decided she wasn't going to sleep a single wink! She had a small meltdown after lunch while I was driving, so I drove for about 10 miles with one hand on the wheel and one reaching around to rub her leg. She was on the edge for the last hour of the trip but managed to hold it all together.

Maybe some pics tomorrow?

Over the river and through the woods...

...to Pap-Pap and Mamaw's house we go! We're off to southwestern PA for the holiday. We're packed (well, nearly) and ready to go. Let's hope the Sophie handles the LONG drive well.

Italian Sausage and Orzo Soup

I was gonna skip this week's recipe swap, because I really need to get to bed as we're leaving for vacation in the morning. But then I saw it was a swap of soup recipes this week, and I LOVE SOUP! I LOVE MAKING SOUP! So, here it is!

My friend DB and I went to Maggiano's in Boston one day for an excellent meal. For my appetizer, I had this wonderful sausage orzo soup. I loved it so much that I had to try to replicate it. I dug out a cookbook I have with 1000 soup recipes and combined two of them to get pretty close. I continue to refine it, but I think it's pretty darn close.

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1½ cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
½ cup chopped celery
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
6 cups beef broth
2 cans (14.5 ounce) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
4 to 6 ounces (1/4 to 1/3 of a 1 pound box) dried orzo

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Directions:

1. In soup pot, squeeze the Italian sausage from its casing and brown over high heat, using wooden spoon to break up. About halfway through the browning, add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to sauté with the sausage.
2. Once the sausage is cooked, add the broth, canned tomatoes, and spices. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add orzo and cook for 9-10 minutes or as specified on package.

Postcards from Buster - China

One of our all-time favorite shows on PBS is Postcards from Buster. This is a spinoff of the Arthur show. On Arthur, the Binky character's family adopted a baby sister from China last season. And this week, on Postcards from Buster, Buster visited China! We were so excited when we saw the commercial, so we set the PC to record it.

Whenever we mention China, Sophie gets all wide-eyed and says "Chiiiinnnnnaaa" in a slow trance-like voice! It's so cute. She often puts her dollies in the stroller, throws a toy purse over her arm, and pushes the stroller around announcing "I GO TO CHINA!!!!" And then we ask, "Who is from China?" and she'll say "E____?" and we answer "NOOOO, E went to China, but who is from China?" She'll get all giggly and say "Fofie!!!" And then we all clap and celebrate.

If you missed the episode, check out your local listing and catch it in re-runs...it's worth it. Of course, it just makes my heart ache to visit again! K and E and I sat here and yelled out, "Been there, done that!" and then sighed and starting dreaming about our next trip - still a few years in the future.

A productive weekend (and Quote of the Day)

Ahhh...I finally feel like I got something done this weekend. At least, something in addition to the normal grocery shopping and Mt. Laundry. I sorted through a huge pile of paperwork that I've managed to avoid for the last two weeks. I hate doing paperwork. I wish I could deal with it for just a few minutes each day, but alas, it's always the least of my concerns at night.

We went to a local craft fair on Saturday morning and found a few things - some nice hair bows for Miss Sophie and another good gift idea for some local folks. Later in the afternoon, Miss S from daycare came to babysit since she was home from college for the weekend. She had given me her email at the end of summer, but I couldn't find it anywhere...so I found her on Facebook of course! Anyway, K and I went out for a romantic dinner over a slice of fast-food pizza and then did a four hour holiday shopping spree, which ended up being quite successful.

We saw a few other ideas while we were out, so I was able to place an online order for that stuff today. While Sophie was napping, K took EJ to get her new tennis shoes and I actually baked some cookies to put in the freezer for the holidays. Tonight, K and EJ whipped up two batches of homemade clay that her teacher requested, and I was able to design and upload our Christmas card.

Whew...now I'm ready for bed. It's going to be a busy week. But first, today's best quote:

"Lazy Bones"

Before I can tell you about the quote, you need to understand a little background. Most mornings, Sophie is up before EJ. Before Sophie and I go downstairs, I'll tell her we need to go wake up EJ. So we go in her room and say "C'mon lazy bones, get up!" This morning, Sophie was awake about 6:45 and came into bed with us for a while. She was getting silly and started repeating her name over and over (but it comes out as "Fofie"). I asked her what her name was, and she said "Fofie LiLei H____". Then I asked her what my name was, and she answered "Mommy". I asked her what K's name was, and she answered "Daddy". Finally, I said, "What's your sister's name?" That's when she said "Lazy Bones". I lost it and laughed for about five minutes!

Christmas Photo sneak peek!

You can't see the rest until we do the 2nd Annual 12 Days of Christmas posts, but I couldn't resist showing you at least one...

Sweet Potato Casserole

So, over at Overwhelmed with Joy, there is a holiday recipe swap going on! You can click on the picture above to access the link to all of the recipes. There are already 30 out there, so please go take a look!

I'm not really much for the sweet sugary syrupy sweet potatoes. I actually like to just bake them and eat them with a little butter, but then I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens in 1997.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds sweet potatoes (I use the yellow ones rather than the orange ones, but either will work)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 beaten egg

3 Tbsp butter, cubed

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 pecan pieces

pecan halves (optional)

1. Scrub and peel sweet potatoes. Cut off and discard woody portions and ends. Cut potatoes into cubes. Cook, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain.
2. Combine hot sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, egg, the 3 Tbsp cubed butter, and vanilla. With a wooden spoon, stir to break up potatoes but not complete mash them. Put mixture into a greased 2 quart baking dish.
3. Combine brown sugar and flour. Cut in the 2 Tbsp butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecan pieces and sprinkle crumb mixture on top of potatoes.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25 minutes. Garnish with pecan halves, if desired.

This recipe makes 8 side dish servings. I usually double it for large holiday meals because aren't leftovers really the best?