Updates from the Homestead

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I had such a nice day today. I woke up with a to do list that was a mile long. I got some of it started and then my daughter Hannah came over with Rylee and Elizabeth.. and the whole list got set aside.. and how great my day was. One thing I miss about little babies is sitting and rocking them and holding that sweet little bundle. :) So when Hannah does bring that little bundle over I drop everything and enjoy the moment! Life is too short to stress.. and rocking babies has always been very high on my priority list!!

Little Miss Rylee is almost 6 weeks old now.. my goodness how time flies. Elizabeth is 2 ½ and loves her baby sister.

My son Jacob also came along and it was good to visit with him as well. Nothing is better than the chance to sit and talk with your grown children. The years go by quickly and it becomes even more meaningful to me to spend time with my children.






Aside from children and grandchildren life here on my homestead has been moving along at a steady pace. My corn seeds look as though just about all of them now have come up and are about 2 inches high. Amazing to me, I only planted them one week ago. I hope to put them in the garden next weekend. .. if the weather cooperates!

We have had a few good days, and the temps are coming up but still a lot of cloud cover and not much sun. I am praying this changes soon… my garden needs some sunny hot days!!

Due to the lack of sun and cool temps I am making a lot of soup lately. A couple of weeks ago I took out 3 gallon bags full of veggie scraps from the freezer and made a HUGE pot of veggie broth. I ended up with 14 quarts.


Last night I used 2 bags to make some quick and easy hamburger soup. I don’t have a pic to share but will share my recipe.

Easy Hamburger Veggie Soup

3 to 4T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ green pepper or several small mini peppers, chopped
3 or 4 large mushrooms, sliced
1lb hamburger
8 cups stock (beef, chicken or veggie)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 quart (or 2 cans) green beans, drained
½ quart (or 1 can) corn, drained or you can use frozen corn (16oz)
1 can – 16oz diced tomatoes
4 to 6 oz pasta of your choice
1t salt
1t seasoning salt
½ t pepper
1 to 3t Tabasco sauce (depending on how much kick you like)

Heat olive oil in a 6 quart soup pot. Add onion, peppers, and mushrooms and cook until they start to get soft. Add hamburger and continue cooking until the hamburger is no longer pink. Add stock and carrots and cook for about 15 minutes. Add veggies and pasta and cook as long as your pasta needs (about 8 to 12 minutes). Season with spices. Let simmer for another 15 minutes or so to blend flavors. Serve with homemade bread, crackers, or biscuits and a big green salad.

Enjoy!!

That’s all from the homestead for now.. hope you enjoy your weekend!! :)
 

Comments

  1. Heather's Blog-o-ramaJune 10, 2011 at 11:32 PM

    Okay, I LOVE hamburger and so does my dad :) :) I'll have to see about making this recipe.

    Your grandchild is adorable..and you are right, you have to enjoy those moments when they present themselves. Childhood goes by quickly :) :) You don't want to miss a thing :) :)

    I've been really, seriously working on cleaning the house. I've got the kitchen pretty much clean. So it'll be easy to maintain from now on. I have to add some shelv ing to my cupboards, to maximize space.

    My father and I also did grocery shopping at Costco for a few basics. We don't have a lot of storage, so we didn't buy much. However, what we did buy was a great deal :) :) I'll be blogging about that sometime the next few days :) :)

    Have a lovely weekend :) :) Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bobbi Jo NicholsJune 12, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    As always a pleasure and inspiration to visit your beautiful blog. Love all the pictures of the grandbabies, so sweet and the yummy hamburger veggie stew. You are looking beautiful as ever. Thank you for sharing with us. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

    ReplyDelete
  3. MonicaJune 13, 2011 at 11:05 AM

    I have to tell you my family has loved every one of your recipes I have tried. You are a life savor. I have been so tired of cooking the same old thing all these years. I am trying to expand my horizons. Thanks for all you do!

    ReplyDelete
  4. CrystalJune 13, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    Heather.. great job on the cleaning!! It always makes me feel better to get things clean and in order!

    Bobbi Jo... (((hugs))) thank you for the sweet comments!! :)

    Monica.. I am so glad to hear your family enjoys my recipes! You are so welcome! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. DanaJune 14, 2011 at 5:57 AM

    Aww your grandchildren are precious!! I didn't realize Jacob was on his own as well. I've been following your blog/website/forum for so long it just doesn't seem possible that they are old enough to be on their own. I get so wrapped up in householdy things you post I guess haven't seen where you posted on Jacob.
    Glad your garden is going well, I am pretty tickled with mine!! I am so looking forward to canning season!!
    Enjoy your day!!
    Dana

    ReplyDelete
  6. Louisa McFarlandJune 14, 2011 at 10:24 PM

    I hope your weather improves, down here in Australia our summer started out just like yours, cool and wet, then it stayed that way. Our garden thrived but so did the weeds, we couldn't keep up with them. The tomatoes grew so well they forgot to fruit. So I am hoping your season turns out better than ours was.

    ReplyDelete

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