Fall=soup

I don't know what it is about fall...the cool weather. The desire to stay indoors, snuggled under afghans and blankets...but something about fall weather really hitting, makes me want soup. Bowl after steaming bowl of hot soup...

Tomato. Vegetable Beef. Baked potato. Chicken and wild rice. Grilled cheese sandwiches with the tomato, crusty fresh artisan bread with the rest...slather it with butter...and tuck in...yuuuummmmmyyyy...

Lately, my favorite has been a Vegetable Beef that is really easy. I make it with my homemade (canned this summer) Country Vegetable Soup, but you could easily do it with a qt of V8 juice...

Basically, all it is about 3/4s-1lb of grd beef, browned with some onion and garlic, drained a little bit (we prefer ours with a little of the fat still left in the pan), and then added back to the pan. Pour in the soup (or V8, original kind!), and an equal amount of water/beef bouillon cubes, or beef stock. That's about 2 qts of liquid. Then I start adding my veggies...a can of green peas, green beans, diced tomatoes, carrots, corn, and then 4-5 smallish potatoes, peeled, and chopped into bite size pieces. And I get it to a low boil, and let it go. The bread can be done later in the day, shortly before dinner (if I've already gotten the dough made, it takes about a 20-30min second rise, and then into the oven it goes). Hot, fresh, and tasty.

So we've got soup on the brain. Deliciously warm soup. So the pot of soup I made last week before our trip, is now on the stovetop, heating up for lunch. We're still keeping the thermostat as low as possible, so the house is cool (we're fine--got the warm clothes on, and a warm breakfast in our bellies, lol), but a bit of warm soup in a few hours will hit the spot, I am sure. We are supposed to have a high in the mid-upper 40s today, not to mention the breeziness of it all, and so we're staying inside, nice and toasty in our tights and warm clothes...

Oh...if anyone is reading this, please send up a prayer for JoAnn of Creamer Chronicles. She burned her entire thumb something fierce this weekend (she has a pic up on her blog), and while I am sure that the pain has diminished somewhat, she is still going to have to heal, while working and running her home at the same time. Prayers for a speedy recovery would be appreciated, I am sure...

I'll be posting the pictures I have of my weekend away, as well as my thrift store finds, later today. Still getting all of them through the washer and dryer, and need to get the camera out, as well...

Hopefully, your week is off to a great start....now I am off to get the homeschooling going for the day...