Potato Veggie Soup Recipe

Since we were expecting a blizzard this weekend, I decided to put my Crock Pot to use and make some homemade soup to keep us warm.  :)  I searched the world wide web and ended up combining a couple different recipes to create my own.  I'm a super novice in the kitchen, so if I can pull this recipe off, anyone can!  ;)

The veggie ingredients you use can be customized for your preferences, but I used: potatoes, celery, chicken and vegetable broth, carrots and scallions.

I started by peeling and cutting 6 large potatoes into cubes.  Next, I peeled and chopped up 3 large carrots.  Then came the celery -- I used 4 thick stalks because I had a whole head on hand.  Finally, the onions or leeks for flavor.  I used approx. 5 long scallion pieces since they were on sale!  As you can tell, you don't have to be exact in terms of how much and which veggies you use -- be creative!  Make sure you wash all vegetables thoroughly before chopping!

No fancy knife skills needed for this recipe -- everything gets mushed together at the end, so just cut them up into small pieces as best you can.

Once everything is chopped up, into the slow cooker it goes!  Cover with approx. 6 cups of chicken broth, vegetable broth, or good old H20.  Today, I used leftovers that were already open got fancy and mixed it up, literally.  I used 1 cup low sodium chicken broth, 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth and topped it off with 2 cups water since my veggies were still sticking out and I was out of broth.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

Once the concoction was done cooking, I mixed in 1 can of non-fat evaporated milk to thicken it a bit.  And, since I was craving a bisque instead of a broth soup with chunky veggies, I blended the soup until it was smooth.  But, you could definitely skip the blending step depending what you're in the mood for.  ;)

After smelling it cook all day... voila!

 

Ingredients:

6 large potatoes (cubed)

3 large carrots (chopped)

4 stalks celery (chopped)

5 scallions (chopped)

6 cups vegetable or chicken broth or water (enough to cover)

1 can non-fat evaporated milk

Directions:

Combine all vegetables, broth or water in large slow cooker.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours for low for 8-10 hours.  Add evaporated milk and stir before serving.

Optional: use immersion blender or food processor to puree before serving.

*****

Although it was beautifully sunny today:

view of downtown Manhattan from our apartment

...it was definitely cooooold, so we appreciated our hot soup!  Shep made us some nice melty panini sandwiches to accompany the soup.  Delish!!

How did you stay warm this weekend??  I'd love to hear from any readers out there who have a favorite soup recipe they'd like to share!

Winter Storm Nemo

I do not want Nemo to find me.  The weather forecast is predicting heavy snow, winds and coastal flooding for our region.

Source

Source

I am quite tired of winter and want it to be over.  Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, we've had enough flooding for a whole lifetime.  And all the wind and cold temperatures over the first couple months of winter have already worn on my patience.  My skin is dryer than an alligator's, my nose has been running a marathon, and our bed is currently holding nearly every blanket we own.  I've written a note to Mother Nature.... now if only I could find her email address:

Please, please, PLEASE let the weather forecasts be wrong!  It certainly wouldn't be the first (or last) time, but this time it would be welcome.

Scram, Nemo!

I've heard hundreds of flights have already been cancelled.  I hope everyone traveling this weekend arrives safely to their intended destination.  If you can though, you should stay home!  Today, I am working from home -- I may or may not be in my pajamas.  ;)

Anyone else out there less than excited about this storm? Any readers out there have the unfortunate luck of having a vacation cancelled due to the storm?  I certainly know what that's like and can sympathize with you!

Escape to Lenox

A couple weekends ago we escaped to "The Blatnyre" in Lenox, Massachusetts.  We arrived on a Friday night to this beautiful sight:

Upon check-in, we found some treats in our room:

We didn't have much planned for the weekend (except relaxation) but we ended up having a great time!  We enjoyed a gourmet homemade breakfast each morning we were there.  From the whole wheat lemon poppy pancakes to the egg white omelettes -- everything was delicious!  There was hot chocolate, tea and coffee aplenty, plus a small fruit salad and biscuits served with homemade jams!  Delish!

On Saturday afternoon, we took a horse drawn carriage ride through the snow:

Check out this scenery!

The grounds were as blissfully quiet as they were beautiful. After our sleigh ride, we decided to get energetic and go snow shoeing!  It was my first time, and it was not as hard as I expected it to be.  Though my left shoe did fall off twice in one hour and I did temporarily lose my hat in the snow...

We warmed up by one of the fireplaces in the mansion before heading back outdoors to take a few spins on the tennis courts homemade ice rink!

And because no ice skating experience is complete without delicious hot chocolate and HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS (!!!!!, with banana bread!!!!!) we indulged...

The Blantyre offered a complimentary wine tasting to guests on Saturday evening, after which we received a tour of their wine cellar.  Wooo weee!!!  What a collection.  Their collection makes ours look like a few bottles in a cabinet.  Oh, wait...  ;)  After the tour, we listened to some piano music in the Music Room Lounge and then enjoyed a fantastic Chateaubriand dinner pour deux in the formal dining room.

On Sunday, we spent some time at the spa, which was very cozy and relaxing.  After getting our massage on, we headed out to visit The Normal Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.

And to cap the day off right, since it was past lunch time and getting verrrrry cooooooold, I had to enjoy one of these from a local bakery shop:

All in all, it was a great weekend and the perfect mix of fun and relaxation.  If you ever get the chance, I'd highly recommend spending some time at The Blantyre!

Alas, Monday eventually came and it was back to reality.  But our mini escape definitely made heading back to the office easier.  :)

*All photos are the property of This Is Life At Our Home*

Blanket Wars

It's winter.  It's cold outside and snowing.

You hate it.  We do too.

Fighting to get to work in 25 degree weather (don't forget to subtract for wind chill!) while it's sleeting is one of the worst battles a person can face. Even if you finally get there, yay, time to work for 8 hours!  But there is another, more discrete battle that winter brings.  It is the Eternal Battle of The Sleeping Blankets.

Let me explain: each night, my wife and I go to sleep in the same bed. Then the fighting really begins. We fight over the blankets. We do this while we are both completely unconscious. We go to bed with covers neatly tucked in, as if the hotel maid just finished tidying up. When we awake, it's like a heard of water buffalo took a nap on our bed. Covers, sheets and blankets are strewn everywhere. Most of the time they are on the floor, but sometimes they actually do remain on the bed, albeit crumpled up in a ball or under a pillow. Nicole, you see, is always "freezing." In the winter, she usually wears slightly more clothes to bed, than Shackleton exploring Antarctica. She goes to bed with more layers than an apple turnover. She then proceeds to put every blanket we own on top of her as if we were sleeping outside in January.

In the snow.

Throughout the course of the night, while Freezy McIcicle is asleep, she gets "hot" (shocking, really, as she is wearing enough layers to essentially stop bullets) and throws the covers off her, one by one. I, on the other hand, do not like to go to sleep with a lot of blankets, but tend to get cold during the night, and grab them in my sleep. You can see the conflict. The cartoon below encapsulates some of the many many Blanket Wars we have had. Nicole is partial to the "Grab and Roll" (what I call "The Burrito") and the "Diagonal". Sometimes, the Full Fetal. I tend to do the Fold Over, and the Glacier. Then we awake, hours later, confused and bewildered, and most often, without any blankets.

Click to Enlarge

Can't wait for summer!