Monday, November 24, 2008

Black Bean Crockpot Stoup Recipe

So, I've been craving black beans, but only had an idea of how to make them. I finally took a few recipes and mixed them together to make this stoup. A stoup, for those who do not know, is a middle place between a stew and a soup, it is usually more chunky and think, but still a bit watery, if that at all makes sense, lol. The great part was everybody enjoyed it. The nice part about this is that you can scoop out some of the beans and put on a tortilla for a burrito or on chips for nachos, or just in a bowl for stoup :) Here's the recipe, let me know what you think.
Ingredients:
1lb Ground Turkey meat cooked up till browned and seasoned with garlic salt, drain fat
1 16oz bag of dried black beans
1 small onion chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic crushed
1-1 1/2 Cups of salsa
Optional Toppings
cheese
sour cream
avacodo
green onions chopped
Put black beans in crockpot and pick out all the beans that are cracked or broken and discard them. Place chopped up onion and garlic into crockpot as well. Add enough water to beans, garlic and onions so that it will cover the mixture plus about 1-2 inches higher. Place lid on it and cook on low all day. That night drain all the contents of the crockpot into a colander. Add beans, salsa and cooked ground turkey back to the crockpot. Add water or chicken broth till desired thickness is achieved. Let cook for about 30 minutes (doesn't take long if you have just cooked the ground turkey as that will be hot) or till everything is heated through. Now the fun part. Put stoup in bowls (liquid and all) and sprinkle with whatever toppings you like, we did avacodo, shredded cheese, and sour cream, Mike and Brandon made theirs into burritos so they used a slotted spoon to put the beans onto a tortilla and made it that way. Our family consumed the entire contents of the crockpot, so we will probably have to do two bags next time for a couple of left overs. Hope you enjoy and let me know if you make it, what you think, and what tweaks you made to it.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Holding our children's hearts...

"No one else named “Mom” lives in our homes and holds our children’s hearts and lives like we do. Let’s not miss our greatest ministry!" I received this out of a great e-mail from a friend (thanks Kim) that just smacked me up side the head and these two sentences were the last ones on that e-mail. As I read that I looked and saw how many opportunities I miss because I want myhouse clean, or I want homeschooling done, or I want my kids to act just right, or sometimes even my husband, but how many times have I missed their hearts? I know that is one of the biggest reasons why we homeschool is for our childrens hearts. Isn't it amazing how God can put a simple sentence on our heart that makes us search so much deeper for Him and for Him for our family?!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Annika is 7!!!





Can you believe it?! My baby girl is 7. Yes she is still has tiny as ever, wearing only size 5 clothes, but she is amazing. Some of the many accomplishments she has had this year: Horseback riding (thank you Chelsey for making that dream a reality!), sewing - yes with a real sewing machine, she has made a double sided apron and a Christmas stocking with a pocket for her stuffed baby monkey, reading and writing like a whiz, and drawing everything she can. We were blessed to have some dear friends come over and be a part of her special day. Hope you enjoy seeing the pics. Have a great week!!!