I can't believe I haven't written anything in two months.
Ok, that's not exactly correct. I have written a lot in the past two months!
Papers for history. Papers for art. Papers for math.
I have written loads over the past couple of months, just nothing food-related. I'm not going to go back and check, but I'm fairly certain that hasn't happened a single time in the past 5 1/2 years I've kept this blog.
I've been gleefully busy, I forgot how much fun school is.
Can I make being a student a profession?
I think if I ever win the lottery I'll split my time between globetrotting and taking classes.
I 'm fairly certain that I would be incredible at that job. :-)
Anyway, so I've been neglectful of the blog as I've been finding my groove in balancing school and household.
There may have been a slight over-dependence on convenience foods recently- as in my husband finally said that he never wanted to eat another grocery store rotisserie chicken again.
I get it.
We've had to adjust as a family a bit- less "me" and more "we" when it comes to keeping up with things around the house. When you've been a stay-at-home mom for 6+ years things tend to fall squarely on your shoulders. Mom, wife, housekeeper, personal secretary, scheduler of things, chef, accountant...pretty much all of it.
I was good at it. I can also be a total control freak, so taking a step back and asking my family to step up has been a (completely necessary) difficult thing for me to do.
I love cooking (and eating), and I love this blog, and I'm starting to find my balance so I can do more cooking and posting than I have been.
I'll get there.
I should honestly be studying right now...but I'm going to take a moment to share this amazing soup with you instead!
I know when we first started to see a few shifts in the weather I wrote about chicken soup and my unreadiness to relinquish my summer sunshine.
Yeah, I'm over that. Bring on the chill in the air and gray skies, I'm totally digging both of them right now. Cozy clothes and actually having a use for the heated seats in my car (a small luxury I'm 100% old enough to find joy in) are making me very happy at the moment.
As the air has gotten colder I've found myself making comfort foods and soups more often, and thankfully the crock pot helps me make those things fairly effortlessly so that I can feed my family a delicious heartening meal at the end of the day.
"Effortlessness" is more important than I realized it would be when I started a 17 credit semester while still keeping up with home, family, and the commitments that go with both.
This Navy Bean Soup is fabulous. I learned a long time ago that adding kielbasa to a soup is a surefire way to add amazing flavor to the broth. Almost unbelievable flavor, actually, it's kind of crazy how that simple sausage can do so much for a soup.
This soup seriously could not be easier- the only things you have to chop are an onion and the kielbasa. That's it. For real. Everything else is from a can.
Don't judge. We all need shortcuts sometimes!
I threw all of this in the crockpot on a Saturday night right before bed and it was pretty much ready by the time we woke up. I turned the crockpot down to "warm" and when we got home from church I threw some of our favorite cornbread in the oven and we had an amazingly delicious and filling meal on a chilly afternoon. You could just as easily throw this in the crockpot in the morning before work and have a tasty meal waiting at the end of the day!
This one is definitely a keeper.
1 Tbsp olive oil
12 oz package kielbasa, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) package dried navy beans
6 C water
1 (10 oz) can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp dried parsley
3 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp chile-lime seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne
6 cups water
1. Add olive oil to crockpot and turn to high position. Add kielbasa and onion, cook for one hour (alternately, brown on stovetop and then add to crockpot).
2. Add all remains ingredients to crockpot, stir to combine, turn heat to low. Cook for at least 8 hours, adding more water if necessary. Discard bay leaf.
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