Healthy Black Bean Soup

The winter chill is upon us and our menu for the week or two has lots of soups on it! Warm the body up from the inside out-- this is one of our favorites and we enjoyed it tonight as the temps plunged under 20 degrees-- Brrr! This can be adjusted to your tastes-- like it spicier, add some chili powder or hot salsa or jalapenos-- it's a great base recipe that can be personalized to your tastes-- but here is how we enjoy it!

First, we add two spoonfuls of oil-- we used coconut, but olive oil is just fine and dandy (also, if you've never used coconut oil before, this is not the recipe to begin-- stick with some evoo and it will be delicious!)

Next, add a tablespoon of minced garlic. Notice my handsome helper? This is also a good recipe to make with your kids-- lots of fun and they get bragging rights at dinner.

We chopped one medium onion and one bell pepper-- don't worry about the size because this is one of those times where size doesn't matter!

We sauteed all of that with a few red pepper flakes and salt and pepper (this up to you on how much) and breathed in the heavenly aroma (disclaimer-- this soup will also open up your nasal cavity-- esp. if you lean on the spicier side of things-- added bonus if you have a cold!).

Next, we added two and a half cups of vegetable broth. We just made a Big HUGE batch two weeks ago and yeah, well, thats why we are going to be immersing ourselves in soup! I can't wait-- literally, I LOVE soups in the winter!

Anyway, back to the current pot of soup-- next, we added two cups of water.

Now, onto the beans-- the star of the soup! We added three cups of rinsed black beans-- a little nervous about how much you like black beans-- cut it back to two and just add one cup of water-- see, you can totally adjust this to your tastes!

We added one cup of salsa.

A tbs. of cumin and a bay leaf.

Now let it simmer to a low boil for about 20 minutes. While we wait, here is what we were up to this weekend:

Our Baby got dedicated-- it is such an honor to raise all of our children in the ways of the Lord and keep ourselves accountable with our church body as their parents. Our daughter celebrated a birthday and we had a fun afternoon celebrating with family. She is such a delight to our family-- she adds the sugar and spice for sure!

Okay, back to our soup-- time to blend it up. I start on low and then high (time will depend on your blender).

At this point it looks like mud-- but I promise you, it tastes amazing!!

If you stop here, it's completely vegan-- but we couldn't help ourselves and added a small scoop of sour cream and sprinkled on some cheese.

It was delicious!

I hope this soup makes it on to your table and would love to hear what you and your family enjoy on cold winter evenings! "Soup is a lot like a family-- each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor."- Marge Kennedy

School Year 2013-2014---- It's Coming!!!

Weve been on "summer" break for a little over a month now; however, our books for the new school year which begins for us on July 8th (maybe sooner if we really just can't wait) are here, organized, and just ready and waiting. I get asked often what we use and since many people shared with me, I'm going to share here our current school year picks. There are some newbies thrown in, but most are a continuation of curriculums we've already used. BIBLE: We akways begin our morning with Bible. While the kids eat breakfast I read from Egermeier's Bible Storybook and Aesops Fables. This is something from a sonlight core but I like them so much we still incorporate them into our morning. I love this children's Bible-- it takes us over a year to get through it once and we aren't quite done our second read through. It covers way more than the average sunday school lesson and childrens picture Bible while telling the stories in a child-friendly format. This year we are branching out and trying apologia's Bible curriculum Who is God? Im excited because my 6 and almost 4 year old have a coloring book that corresponds to my older sons notebook. I went back and forth about getting the notebook journal for my 6 year old but since this is her first year with more writing and reading, I decided to keep it simple for her and just have her do the coloring book. My little guy is excited to have his own book that matches the older twos. I am really hoping one day the add coloring books for their science curriculums as well. Math: We are sticking with Singapore math because I love, love, love Singapore. I love math and the way they present it makes so much sense and isn't overwhelming to the student. Each day there is 1-3 workbook pages to do and if I ever feel that we're tackling a tougher concept, I spend some extra days doing that lesson. I think that's the beauty of homeschooling and Singapore. Its a very visual and mental math focused textbook, but I do have some manipulatives that I keep on my hand for my daughter as she is a kinesthetic learner and needs to touch and see. Spelling: We used spellwell for the first time last year and really liked it. My almost 8 year old will be using the 4th grade book and my daughter is starting her first book with them. I think its a pretty straightforward spelling book but my son liked the games and amount of words they gave him each week. It wasn't too overwhelming and actually for the most part something he could work on by himself while I helped someone else. Logical Thinking: This is new for my son this year, but he is a very logical thinker like his mother and I found it appealing when I saw it online so I am hoping he enjoys these as well. Im hoping it will build on his math and thinking skills. http://www.amazon.com/Logic-Safari-Book-Bonnie-Risby/dp/1593630891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369328278&sr=1-1&keywords=logic+safari History: This year we are venturing into the second book of Mystery of History. We have really enjoyed this curriculum as it offers an activity for each lesson for three different age groups-- younger, middle, and older. Its all from a Christian perspective as well and Im looking forward to continuing on with it and our discovery of the mystery of history. Science: Last year we did apologias astronomy based on a friends recommendation and we loved it and so this year we are continuing with botany. I like that we're going in order of things God created-- space and then plants. Both of my kids have the junior notebooks, but there are older notebooks available so again, you can do multiple age groups with the same subject. I also like that this too is from a Christian perspective which makes a huge difference. Art: My little guy saw me taking pictures so you have a model for showing off the art category ;) For his age this again a book from sonlight that we are using with him-- the come look with me series is really nice for his age group. It shows them a famous piece of art work and asks some great questions to get them to really appreciate the piece so much more. My older two are trying something new this year-- the draw write now series. I got my daughter one about animals in different forests which I thought would go well with our botany lessons in science. I got my son one that has more of a history focus and I tried to match it up to where we are in history or more accurately, where we will be. But what boy doesn't want to learn to draw knights and the like? I do like that these are reusable books and they'll do their art work on a separate drawing pad. I love art and having it a part of our school day as its something not very stressful and something they can work on independently a bit while I do math with someone else. Reading: I did find a reading list of literature that corresponds to the Mystery of History we are doing this year and will be having my oldest son read through those. My daughter will be reading through some books that I have from an old sonlight core and we still have those books sitting on the shelf and I know my son enjoyed them, so I am hoping she'll be ready for those and enjoy them as much as he did. So that's what our gang will soon be working on and we are looking forward to another wonderful school year..... coming soon!

Pick-a-Dilly Lunches

I think one of the biggest thing I hear from other mommy friends is that their kids are picky, so allow me to share one of my kids favorite lunches that we change up all the time and is a big hit with all 3-- Pick-a-Dilly Lunches!

The basic idea is that I put a litte of this and a little of that in each plate cubby and the kids are happy because they can chose what to eat first or last and it also allows me to sneak something they dont normally pick for themselves on there.

On one day, they had a sandwhich (PB&J for the boys and toasted cheese and tomatoe for the girls), oranges, carrots & tomatoes, and dip. I dont why but for some reason my 3 year old has decided he doesn't like cold tomatoes-- so this is a way for me to sneak some on his plate and he knows he needs to finish everything to get a snack. This is a pretty general lunch and not true pick-a-dilly, but this next one defines it for us...

What you have here is homemade applesauce (that my 3 year old helped make-- so important-- if you want them to eat better then they have to be involved in the food process), havarti cheese (my 3 year old also doesnt like cheese slices, but if it were the same cheese grated, he wouldnt stop eating it-- he's a strange one that guy) and 3 slices of organic nitrogen and hormone free genoa salami, carrots and tomatoes again, and organic honey mustard dressing (this was a step out of my daughters comfort zone-- she doesnt like condiments at ALL, so I was very proud of her that she tried some). ***************************************************************************************** Some other things we have tried: cucumbers (my 7 year olds least favorite, but he'll eat them this way), apples, berries, string cheese, salad, melon, cranberry sauce, etc. It just makes a fun an manageable way for them to pick what they're eating and when they're eating it and they are still getting the right portion size of each fruit and veggie. I try and throw something on there on purpose that I know one of them doesnt care for because when its like this, they're more likely to eat it all :) Happy Lunch time!