Thursday, December 31, 2009

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Nothing like enjoying the produce from your garden in the middle of winter. This is one of my favorite soup recipes. Chicken Tortilla Soup. I can't remember where the recipe came from, but I'll leave the recipe below for anyone that wants to try this delicious soup! I probably altered it anyway! I used the tomato sauce that I canned this summer for the very first time!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 large onion
3 or more cloves of garlic
tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano (I used some from the garden)
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp chili powder
I am not very exact with these, I like it a bit spicy...
saute till soft
add 3 cups water
3 tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
simmer
add 1 lb chicken cook till pulls apart about 15 minutes
pull out chicken, pull apart
separate the liquid from the solids and puree the solids return all to pan, chicken, puree and liquid and add tomato sauce 1 can or 1 jar
cook 5 more minutes and add tortilla strips ( I fried them and added some spicy seasonings), cheese and avocado. (my pic is cheeseless, Dairy free for Eli! Uhg! Miss my cheese!)

I hope you try it, it sure is good!


Sunday, December 27, 2009

Looking forward to 2010 gardening year!

Sure hope I have time and energy for it cause I am getting very excited. I got a new mini indoor/outdoor greenhouse stand for Christmas and I can't wait to use it!


For my birthday, I got a new camera to take beautiful garden photos with! A canon Powershot SX200 IS. I need to practice with it cause it is nicer and can do more than the one I had before!
Seed catalogs are coming in and I hope to order a few new seeds and I hope to start a few EARLY this year. Especially peppers, my peppers took so long last year some of them didn't even start producing till right before it got cold! And, my cabbage, broccoli, etc, I need to start earlier! It'll be here before we know it!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Diaper Sewing Ministry

This post isn't about gardening, but hey, its winter, and I have other "green" things on my mind!
Earlier I posted a link on my FB and on my blogs to highlight an organization that I think could use some attention. Miracle Diapers is an organization that helps new moms in need with cloth diapers...Not the rubber pants and cheap prefolds most people think of when they hear about cloth diapers! Those are the diapers of our mothers day!
For example...
These are some Pocket diapers I made for my children. They have velcro closures and go on just like a disposable!

These are called wool longies. The are diaper covers for quality prefolds and fitted diapers. Cute fluffy butts huh?

This is a snapping cover.

There are other even easier varieties as well. Some fluffy, some trimmer!

Someday soon, I would like to start a ministry that helps organizations like these, including local pregnancy centers by providing diapers that we have sewn. It is my hope to find others in my area or in my church that like to sew and get together on a regular basis to teach and learn to make diapers to be donated to these groups for mothers in need and interested in using cloth. And there are more than we realize that would be interested! I've thought about this for a while, all I need to do now is have the time and motivation to actually get it started! With the whole country trying to find more ways to be green this is the perfect time to do something like this.
I really hope you read this far and hope you have the opportunity to spread the word about organizations like Miracle Diapers! And my intention for highlighting this organization is not only for new moms to find help, but for others to find it in their hearts to donate in some way, whether it is diapers and accessories you no longer need or money.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Zone Defense

Just a picture of my little "green" baby! Well, he is growing. Up to 10 lb 12 oz now. Can't wait for him to sleep through the night! Hopefully soon. All the company/helpers are now gone and we are left to what the kid's soccer coach calls zone defense! (Instead of man to man defense!) LOL, yep, we are out numbered and we can feel it!



Absolutely nothing going on in the garden. Dh has done a little clean up here and there. But the christmas lights are up and they look very nice. Maybe if we get a new camera I will be able to get a picture of them. Yep, the current camera has pretty much died...it won't read a memory card. It has about 14 pictures worth of space on the camera itself, but that certainly does not get you far! Looking into either a canon Powershot SD780 IS or a Nikon compact S630. Anyone have any opinions? I did want to get something a little bigger and better, but I figured that wouldn't be practical when taking it places and having to carry it around.