COLD Day!

So today is what we call a "Cold Day" in the upper midwest.  They say it hasn't been this cold in almost 20 years. The HIGH today is -17 . . . yup that's right. The wind chill is around -40 to -60.  You should have heard Matt's car start up this morning. I really thought it might blow up. 
As a kid I remember in 1997 when the govenor of Minnesota called off school for the entire state and it has happened again this year. Our govenor did not call off school here; he left the decision up to the school districts. I wonder how many actually did have school today. I was called around noon on Saturday to be told we were officially closed.  School cancelled 2 days in advance? That doesn't happen often! So today I have the fire place on and am enjoying cooking, cleaning, working on my PDP and maybe I'll sneak in a little crafting.
BRRRR . . . hope you're staying warm today!

Amazing Black Beans

2 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight
8 cups water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbls chili powder
handful of cilantro, chopped

I soaked the black beans overnight; actually for about 18 hours. In the morning I drained and rinsed them.
In a pot, soften the onion for about 2 minutes with oil, then add half the garlic. After about 1 more minute add 6 cups of chicken broth and then the beans. Add chili powder. Bring to a boil then put on low for about 45 minutes. (The black beans I bought most recently were smaller than usual...they were soft after 45 minutes. Cook yours until they are soft.) Add the rest of the garlic and all of the cilantro. Cook for another 15 minutes.
My beans had quite a bit of liquid so I might try less next time, but like I said, the beans seemed smaller than usual. Just watch your liquid and add more if needed.

I'm done, I'm done, I'm DONE!

My blogging has fallen behind but . . .    This morning I finished the binding on my mom's quilt JUST in time for Christmas. We spent the night with my dad last night and today we'll head to my mom's for dinner. It took me an entire year to work on this quilt (with interruptions for the baby quilt and to finish our Christmas stockings). I lost track of the number of hours sometime after I reached 80. It was worth it though because it is going to look great in my mother's southwestern theme bedroom.

I got the pattern idea from:
www.swdecoratives.com but had to change the size and borders quite a bit.

 

My mom's cat is already enjoying the quilt

 

Ham Potato Broccoli Soup

Each Thanksgiving we are blessed with a (large) half ham from Matt's employer. Last year, once we broke it open, we were struggling to eat it all quickly enough. This soup was a result, enjoy!

Ham Potato Broccoli Soup
16 cups potatoes
10 cups water
5 cups ham, chopped
2 cups onions, chopped
16 oz. pkg. broccoli
8 oz. pkg. cheddar cheese
freshly ground pepper to taste

I sauteed the onions first and then threw everything else in (except the cheese). I didn't even peel the potatoes but I have a Norwex veggie cloth that cleans them really well. And we don't mind skins. After the potatoes had softened I took a couple cups at a time and spun it through my manual food processor until it had a nice creamy texture. Then I added the cheese at the end.

Our ham arrived last Tuesday. We haven't opened it but I'm already looking forward to this soup again!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! We followed our normal traveling patterns again this year.
We were blessed with one deer so far this year. Matt got it after work on Wednesday. Then we spent some of our Thanksgiving Day taking care of it. We did get to enjoy a small Thanksgiving meal with Matt's family. On Friday we celebrated with some of Matt's extended family. We traveled to my mom's to make cookies Saturday morning and then to my Dad's family on Saturday afternoon. My beautiful little sister took a picture of Matt and me for our Christmas card. Didn't she do a nice job?

Vegetable Beef Soup

Vegetable Beef Soup
12 cups water
soup bones (I used one package from some beef we processed. About 3 lbs. I think)
1 pkg. corn

The soup was a little more soupy than this . . .
my husband tends to go for the chunky part of soups and this was his bowl.

1 pkg. green beans
1 pkg. peas
1 pkg. mixed veggies
4 beef bouillon cubes
5 tbsp flour
4 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tbls salt
2 tsp marjoram (I didn't have any so I omitted this and it was still fine)

I boiled the water and soup bones for quite a while until the meat was easy to pull from the bones. After that it's basically dump and stir. Add the flour with care to avoid chunks - use water from the pot and stir in a small bowl before adding.

Another Shower

It's Baby Lincoln's 2nd shower today. I broke out the crochet needle this time. I just love Newsboy Hats!
I found this pattern on pinterest: http://smiley-netta.livejournal.com/30951.html I made hats like this before (pre-pinterest) and couldn't find it on my favorites. This one turned out fine too. I'm not super good at following patterns. I stopped at the brim directions and missed that there was supposed to be one final row.
I used a size I/5.50mm hook.
Lion Brand Wool- Ease in Chunky Willow.
The buttons are from JoAnn. Green Earth Brand in Brown Bruse