Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup

This is my Mom's recipe, it's really easy to make and so yummy. It freezes well too.

4 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 lbs. fresh broccoli (4 cups frozen)

1 large onion, diced

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. dry mustard

2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Salt, pepper, garlic, dill, thyme, or chives to taste (whatever you like)

In a 8 qt. stock pot, bring broth to boil and add broccoli and onions, cook until tender. In a sauce pan, melt butter, whisk in flour and mustard. Slowly add milk, cooking and whisking until thickened. Add mixture to broccoli broth. Add cheese; heat until melted. 

Serve with garlic bread, rolls, or even grilled cheese sandwiches -- we love to dunk them in the soup!

A few hints:

I always use the Pampered Chef Mini-whipper to whip or whisk the cream mixture -- it's the best for preventing lumps. There's probably similar ones from other brands, but I haven't checked. Also, After I cook the broccoli and onions, I mash them with a potato masher before adding the cream mixture.

Optional:

If you want more of a vegetable-cheese soup, you can add cubed potatoes and sliced carrots along with the broccoli and onions, cook until tender. 

I'll try to add a picture later...

We are having really random cold weather for June -- soup sounds good right about now.

Rely on the Lord

Have you noticed I haven't been blogging this week? Yeah... it's been a crazy week. I think I say that more than I don't so it doesn't really mean anything. (Reminds me of the "Incredibles" when the Mom says, "Everyone's special, Dash." and Dash says, "Which is another way of saying no one is." Yeah, I'm way off...) 

The younger kids are in bed. We celebrated Friday in style eating lots of ice cream and watching, "Ramona and Beezus." It has to be one of my new favorite movies. My Mom sent it to us for a Valentine's surprise. I was surprised how much I really enjoyed it. It just felt real. It made me laugh and cry and laugh and cry some more. Kaia is SO much like Ramona. I always felt like Ramona when I was growing up.

Zeke and my oldest son, Gabe, are sleeping in snow caves somewhere up the canyon with the Scouts... why they do this I will never understand, but they enjoy it.

So now comes the hard part. The house is quiet and I am "alone". Well, not really alone, the cats are sleeping nearby, but the house is SO quiet. TOO quiet. No more distractions to keep my mind busy.

What a week and what a finale! Crazy house stuff: flooring choices, meetings with all the builders and "big wigs", deadlines and delays, a broken window, and not-so-thorough bricklayers. Poor Beck has a double ear infection which means we didn't get much sleep, Parent/Teacher Conferences for Kaia and Gabe, my husband and I were so busy we barely saw each other at all. Oh, and one of our cats has been sick and had to go to the vet and the engine light on our van keeps coming on and we can't figure out why... almost sounds like the lyrics to a REALLY bad country song.

We tried to go out for dinner last night and it was a bit crazy. I was worn out, because of all of the above and more, physically and emotionally. Well, it wasn't the best Valentine's Day ever, but it wasn't the worst; after all, we did have sushi! Then, to top it off, I got sick later that night -- I've never gotten sick from sushi. Well, that won't stop me from eating it again!!

Today is a blur.

Before I put the kids to bed, we read a little verse and quote from "Stand a Little Taller" by Gordon B. Hinckley. It was the perfect quote and scripture for today. My heart needed it.

RELY ON THE LORD

"And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever." Doctrine & Covenants 103:7

"The Lord has given you this glorious Church. His Church, to guide you and direct you, to give you opportunity for growth and experience, to teach you and lead you and encourage you, to make of you His chosen daughter or son, one upon whom He may look with love and with a desire to help. Of course there will be some problems along the way. There will be difficulties to overcome. But they will not last forever. He will not forsake you." ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

On this Mother's Day...

I am so thankful for my Mom and my mother-in-law and all the wonderful women in my life.

But on this Mother's Day, my thoughts are with those who really want to be a Mommy, like my dear friends, Lora and Shari. I love you and I'm praying for you everyday. You will be the most awesome Mommies ever!

This is a very special picture to me. From left to right: my niece, Angee, held by her mother/my sister, Brenda, and then, my mom, holding me, probably December 1975. My sister and I were almost 18 years apart and my niece and I are only nine months apart.:)

My heart aches for my nieces and nephews whose Mommy (my sister) is in heaven: Angee, Brintton, Brooke, Jake, Jacey, Jaxon... this is for you!
I LOVE YOU ♥

This is my sister Brenda (top right) with all of her children and grandchildren (except for Kyden and Braxtten)

The Post you've been waiting for: Our Trip!

Me and my sweetie

Okay, for those of you that don't know, we went on our first overnight "getaway" without the children last weekend. It was absolutely so much fun. I really really really enjoyed every single second of it.
A BIG Thanks again to my Mom and Dad for watching our children!

For some reason, I've been feeling really antsy the last few days. Spring is coming and I have lots of projects I want to do before school gets out. I'm having trouble focusing on my blog... I go through phases I guess. So, here's a "quick" photo gallery with captions about our amazing trip:

This is Lily, she pulled our carriage. Isn't she beautiful?
I have to admit, I was a tiny bit scared to stand by her; she's HUGE!!

This is Kathy, our fabulous carriage driver. She was a lot of fun!
We really enjoyed riding around Manti and learning about its history and fun facts. It was very peaceful and slow-paced: something I am not accustomed to! But I could definitely get used to it.

Here's me right when the carriage lurched forward a bit.
Heh heh heh (nervous laugh)

Here's Zeke right before said "lurch", "How's that, babe?"

Dinner at "Dirk's Farmhouse" after the carriage ride. The B&B recommended it and gave us a coupon to use there. We were so twitterpated, we forgot the coupon entirely. DANG! Anyway, I thought the food was really yummy. Zeke got prime rib and I got salmon. We also got a slice of pecan pie and a slice of razzleberry pie to take back to the room with us. I love how Zeke always teases the server when we go out to eat. We always have a lot of fun regardless of the service or the food.
She took our picture, thanks.

The B&B we stayed at is called Yardley Inn & Spa .
We will DEFINITELY go back!

Here's the lobby... it's basically an old house that's been added onto and made into a B&B. I think there are 6 rooms you can stay in.
I love how it was decorated!
(Except for that painting of the lady at the piano, ca-reepy!)

Our room was on the second floor, we are coming down the stairs looking at the dining room where we ate breakfast Saturday morning. Good food, although a bit too health-concsious for my tastes (yeah, I'm terrible!)
But turkey-bacon? Seriously. I guess some people like it. This is the sunroom on the south side of the B&B off of the lobby; I was in HEAVEN!! This room reminded me of my mother-in-law, Patty's, house; full of light and plants. It was gorgeous! Zeke and I really want to build one of these on the back of our kitchen.

We stayed in one of the honeymoon suites called "Lavender and Lace."
Cheesy? Maybe. But I enjoyed every minute of it!

This was the bed. Isn't it gorgeous?
One of the things I really enjoyed was waking up the next morning simply because I was done sleeping. (What!?)
No alarm! No children! Pure BLISS!

Here's the jacuzzi and fireplace. The bathroom is through that doorway.

Close-up of the fireplace. Can I just tell you I love purple? There were hints of every shade of purple all over the room and the rest was white with dark cherry furniture. Beautiful and simple.

Zeke lighting the fireplace. How romantic!

Here's another view of the room. I think it was bigger than our living room and kitchen combined! We got sparkling cider and chocolate from the B&B. They also have a HUGE library/movie collection on the second floor (I forgot to take a picture). We took "Ever After", "Far and Away", and "Pride and Prejudice" back to the room with us. We ended up watching "Far and Away." I love that one. I wish Tom Cruise wasn't so icky now. Zeke is watching the end of it while I'm getting ready to go to the temple the next morning.

Here we are married 15 years and we still like each other!
I love the Manti temple. It is SO beautiful. I forgot how cool the live sessions are. We saw quite a few people from Salina and Redmond. Thanks, Brother Jensen for taking our picture. It was so fun! I really enjoyed the endowment session. The Spirit was so strong. There were quite a few brides and missionaries receiving their endowments that day. Awesome!

We took 4 family names through. My niece, Brooke, has been doing a lot of family history work and I really appreciate her letting us do these names. The name I did was "Charlotte Stroud." I had a stack of 8 names. I have a little girl in my Primary class named Charlotte (her Mom is a good friend of mine). And with the last name Stroud, I knew this Charlotte was related to my Grandpa Jody (my Mom's Dad). Her name really stood out to me and I just felt like it was her turn that day. I hope she was there and I hope she accepts the Gospel.

I love looking over at Zeke and smiling at him. I love the temple workers. They are so beautiful to me. I love all their little crocheted white sweaters and comfortable white shoes and pearl earrings. I love their wrinkles and their white hair. I wish I could go to the temple everyday.

We ate lunch at Miller's Drive Inn after the temple and then we headed back to Salina to see if my parents survived. They did. Gabe was a HUGE help to them and I love him for it! Kaia and Beck were having trouble with their asthma and my Mom had to give them breathing treatments and such. It's sad and ironic, but with my Dad's emphysema and all the medicine she has to give him, my Mom was the best person for the job.
She knew just what to do. I owe her big time!!

Me with my Mom and Dad

My Mom and the kids

My Dad and the kids
After this picture, my Dad said, "How much does Beck weigh!?"
I wanted a picture of us. Zeke said, "Here, I'll sit on your lap!" And he did!
I love this guy!! He is the greatest thing about me.
(Thanks, Mom, for taking this picture!)

Sneak Peek

Hello, blog friends... it's been awhile. Zeke and I were SO blessed to go out of town for the weekend sans children. (This is a first! Pathetic I know... but better late than never.)

I'll put up more pictures and write more later. Right now, I'm unpacking and dealing with two crazy children, hyped up on albuterol from a rough weekend with their asthma. Oh, my Mom is a saint!

Zeke and I had so much fun... here we are at dinner the first night:

NEXT POST: Anniversary Trip to Manti :)

P.S. Can I just tell you how much I love the temple?

Copy and Paste: My world with a smile...

I am being a slacker... I'm copying and pasting my FB statuses... "Life may take you where you least expect it -- always have faith that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Interesting thought... they say Faith is an action... at what point do you take action and make your life as close as possible to what you want? or do you just sit back and let things happen?" I was feeling sorry for myself this week... yeah, I'll go into it later - or NOT.

Today I'm thinking I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, because this is the world I am used to: "Well, this is my world: Kaia is sick with 104 degree fever and coughing, Zeke's been in New Jersey for work since Dec. 10th! and he's finally/hopefully coming home today, Beck is throwing crayons and making Zoe cry, but you know, I'm still happy, life is good. I'm so thankful for medicine to help Kaia and I'm so thankful for my Mom and for my neighbors who gave Kaia a Priesthood blessing last night. :)" Thank you Brother Sullivan and Brother Hale :)

Anyway, we had some Christmas travel plans... who knows with Kaia being sick. She has reactive airway disease and a small cold can give her pneumonia overnight. Really.
But what can I do at this point? We've actually been very blessed this fall... she hasn't been sick since Halloween and that IS amazing for her. It sounds crazy, but I actually feel at peace... we don't have to juggle schedules or trips yet... it all depends on when Kaia is feeling better. I believe Heavenly Father has a plan for us, for everything. Of course I don't want Kaia to be sick ever, but I just feel like there is a reason why she is right now.

Even though, Zeke has been gone, the kids and I have done pretty well. They have been very good helpers and we've had a lot of fun in spite of missing Dad. I had a special movie night with each of the 3 older kids, just one on one, they got to pick the movie... I think this will become a tradition. Not that I want Zeke to go out of town for work all the time, but hey, it is what it is and I'm trying to make the best of it. Netflix is awesome, by the way :)

Gabe's movie: "Fear of the Dark" what was I thinking?!?! Now, don't judge me, or if you do, don't tell me about it, because I don't care. I checked the movie on the internet movie data base and it's as "good" as a horror movie gets. We were both scared... but it was fun.

Zoe's movie: "The Princess Who Never Laughed" an old 80's "Faerie Tale Theater" It was actually pretty good. It had a good message -- YOU decide how you feel. Even though Howie Mandel was in this movie (and he had hair!) I still liked it. See, I got the message.

Kaia's movie: "Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief" Okay, she's really sick and I love her and I said she could choose... but seriously, I despise this movie! But I kept my thoughts to myself and she fell asleep before it was half way through (phew!!)

I had an awesome visit with my Mom yesterday on the phone. I don't know what I would do without her. REALLY. She is my therapy and my idol! At one point, my Mom said, "Now, I know this is the wrong advice and you probably shouldn't listen, but... and she went on to tell me anyway." I LOVE THIS WOMAN! Seriously, she is THE best! You are Grover and I am Percy. You are my protector, Mom.

I had an interesting road rage experience the other day... I was pulling out of the parking lot of the post office and planning to turn left (no light). It was VERY busy and well, it was going to take a minute. The guy behind me starts whaling on his horn like no tomorrow and I'm thinking, "What the heck?!" There is NO opening for me to pull out... I do NOT know what this guy is thinking. Whenever someone is being totally irrational like that, I like to think up a story to explain their rude behavior. Like, maybe this guy REALLY had to go to the bathroom or something!

Well, crazy I know, duh, but all of his honking just made me more stressed! NOT HELPING!! So when I was finally able to pull out onto the street, I was MAD. Yeah, I have a temper, and it's not good, but I'm trying to control it. I'm not one to EVER swear at drivers or make obscene gestures or anything, but I just HAD to yell something. So he was in the lane to my left, I unrolled my window, smiled my biggest smile, waved both my arms and yelled, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!" Anyway, it made me feel a lot better. Zoe was with me and she said, "Mom, you are WEIRD!" It was so worth it to see the confused look on his face. :)

Okay and now, I am so excited... my wonderful roommate/missionary who brought me to church with her way back when... she found my blog! Yay, Jen! I hope I'm not embarrassing you (ha ha ha) but this really made my day. We haven't been in touch for awhile and well, I love this girl!

Anyway, I need to go check on the kids... Beck is terrorizing everyone this morning (oh wait, that's normal too). It means I need to get off the computer. Merry Christmas to all... and I mean that in the most "non-angry will you please stop honking at me?" way. REALLY :)

Leaving a legacy?

Well, there's this skirt my Mom gave me and every Sunday I want to wear it and every Sunday I pull it out and think: Dang! I need to iron it! So one SATURDAY, I wrote a note to myself on the fridge and actually pulled out the ironing board and iron.. and ironed my skirt. YAY me! I was so proud. And then after the first twenty minutes of Beck wriggling on my lap in sacrament it was wrinkled again, but hey, I did iron it. And it felt good. I think I've ironed enough for a few years now.

The kids were fascinated by this bizarre ritual. Kaia said, "Mom, what are you doing?! Why? What is that? Can I help? Can we do that to my clothes?" Okay. So I NEVER iron. REALLY. NEVER. Even, Zeke said, "Yeah, I guess you don't iron much..." Nope, I don't. It's been YEARS. Really.

Oh yeah, and then there's dusting... let's not even go there. Let's just say, I don't need a message board... I could write messages to my family in the dust on my TV and nightstands and bookshelves. I loathe dusting.

Here's the deal, I'm really not a good housekeeper. I only do things if I like doing them. For example (say it like Hermione):

laundry (yeah, it's creepy)
vacuuming (stress reliever)
baking (obvious)

So any of you out there... can you somehow help me LIKE ironing, dusting, washing dishes, mopping, changing litter boxes? I'm always making my kids do the chores I don't like. I remember doing those same chores when I was growing up... Mom, is there something you should tell me? And I always vacuum, because it's fun! Mom always vacuumed too... hmm.

Anyway, I've noticed lots of my friends don't like doing laundry. Of all the things people complain about on their blogs and Facebook and such... a BIG majority complain about doing laundry.

Well, this is my "secret" to enjoying laundry. Now I can't promise you will enjoy it, but it will make it easier and you'll always have clean clothes. At least I think so. There's this cool chic called The Flylady. I subscribe to her daily emails to help me keep track of my house. Now, I obviously don't do all the stuff she tells me, but I really like her solution for laundry.
She calls it: "No more Mt. Washmore!"

This is my laundry pile, but I am so "persnickety" I must confess: this is several loads of clean clothes piled up just for the picture (I can't handle too much dirty laundry sitting around!) Yeah, I might seem crazy, but it's a great blessing! Here's the trick: the Flylady says to do one or two loads of laundry EACH day. That means washed, folded, AND put away. Done.

I don't have a "laundry day". And I don't ever have a huge pile of dirty laundry taking over my basement. But I always have clean clothes. Now, there's always a full basket or two of clothes that needs to be washed, but when I do one or two loads a day, I'm always making a dent in it.

Another reason I like doing it this way is when I used to have a set "Laundry Day" (mine used to be Monday several years ago), it seemed like something would happen that day that prevented me from devoting my entire day to laundry. The kids would get sick or I needed to run to the store or something. I don't know about you, but with 4 children, I couldn't devote one day to anything!

Anyway, the Flylady and her routines have been a HUGE help to me. I like the idea of doing a little bit everyday and it all adds up. It does. I just need to stop ignoring the email reminders to dust my house!

Oh, and this is totally random, but I when I was little, there was an awesome cartoon I loved to watch called "Hong Kong Phooey" I loved it! A Karate Master/Super Hero dog and his sidekick, Spot, a smart cat who really does all the work. Anyway, my dear hubby ran across an AWESOME cover of the Hong Kong Phooey theme song. It's from a band we like, "Sublime." I love the reggae and ska punk influence they put into it. I can't get videos to work on my blog for some reason. Zeke's going to help me figure it out when school is done (NEXT WEEK, by the way!!) But here's a link. It puts me in a good mood every time! I love how music can do that. (P.S. Just for the record, I think the band could use some shirts, but hey... they're having fun, right?)

Like Mother, Like Daughter -- Part 2

HAPPY 71st BIRTHDAY to my wonderful Mom, Rosalind!

She is one of my VERY best friends. We can talk on the phone for HOURS about nothing and feel like we've said everything. We change subjects faster than I can type this post. We finish each others sentences and we know what the other one means even when it makes no sense. Just one word can cause fits of laughter or teary, Spirit-filled silence. Testimonies are shared and strengthened. Advice is given and appreciated. Laughs are many and meaningful. She LOVES me. Some days I cannot understand why, but she does.

She is a tough cookie and I mean that in a good way. She has sacrificed so much and has patience and "sticktoitiveness" in spades. I am like her in many ways. I want to be so much more like her. I can hear her voice through mine sometimes... it makes me laugh (because I thought I'd never be like her) and cry (because I wish I could see her more).

I love when something makes us laugh. I love when she talks about the past. I love to hear about my Mom and her brothers growing up. I love to hear about my Mom and Dad when they were first married. I love when she tells me about a good book she is reading. I love how much she loves Zeke and my children. I love how she does things. She is very practical and organized.

I love to wander through any store with her and go "bumming." I love to watch ice skating with her. I love when I was little and I would go out to eat with my Mom and my Grandma Bonnie and they would fight over who was paying for the food and would throw cash back and forth at one another until one of them got some of the cash past the car window and into the drive-thru window to the cashier.

I love when my Mom sees a mouse (Sorry, Mom, I can't help it, it's so funny when you scream!)

I love how much fun we have doing nothing. I love when people tell me "you look so much like Rosy"! I love when she gets peeved with my Dad and tells him about it! She is SPUNKY! I love to see her grow in the gospel and tell me about her Sunday School Class. I love when the phone rings and I just KNOW it's her... and it is! She listens to me complain and cry and worry about everything. She just listens. And when I ask her, she always gives me wonderful advice. Wonderful because she knows me so well and wonderful because she always tries to be positive just like a good Mother should be.

I know I gave you most of your gray hair back when I was in High School, Mom, and I'm sorry for that. But I made it and you stood by me no matter what! I regret so much the years I was in high school and was a horrible hormonal brat. Thank you, Mom, for not shipping me off to some loony bin or just completely losing it and stringing me up from one of our apple trees by my toenails!

Thank you for teaching me to work. Oh, I remember washing dishes standing on a chair so I could reach the sink while you were buzzing around cleaning the kitchen and would come by and plop an extra spoon or three into the water. I would get SO mad!

Thank you for sticking up for me when Tonya's Mom threw away my Metallica? (I think it was) cassette, even though I probably didn't deserve it. Thank you for always letting my friends come over and making us feel so welcome. Everyone loved coming to our house because you were so nice. Thanks for forgiving me when I scorched a perfect iron shape on your light pink pants. Thanks for always having a houseful on the holidays and fixing us yummy food and always making sure there are clean towels for everyone.

Thanks for being an example in our family and being sealed in the temple to Dad, so I could be sealed to you. This is a miracle in my life.

Mom, I am forever grateful to you... YOU light up my life.