Trick-or-Treaters....or the lack there of.

This is how much candy I have left. Yep, pretty much the entire stash I bought.

The breakdown of trick-or-treaters:

6--family
1--neighbor
1--kid from church
5--kids I didn't know

Pathetic! But, I think on our whole street, one other house besides ours was welcoming trick-or-treaters.

Oh well, at least the kids in my Sunday School class will be happy. :)

Panera at Home

I love Panera. Unfortunately, the closest Panera is in Lafayette. One of my favorite soups from there is their broccoli cheddar soup. Yum! I was perusing one of my favorite websites and found this Panera Broccoli-Cheddar Soup, although I did add an extra ingredient. I HAD to try it out and see if it truly resembled the taste. Guess what? It DOES. I usually get the smoked turkey panini to go along with it. I know, creature of habit right here. We had gotten a panini press for a wedding gift, and I had yet to try it out. So, I used it tonight, and made a turkey panini. Score! A Panera meal, made right here in my home, and with my own ingredients, thus making it less expensive. :)

Here is the finished product:

(cool pic with the steam, huh? :) )

Recipe:

5 cups broccoli florets (if you have a little more or a little less that is fine)

6 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups milk or 1/2 & 1/2 <---I used milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

3 cups grated/shredded cheddar cheese

I added 1/2 cup of shredded carrots (I chopped them into even finer pieces)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Steam broccoli until tender, about six minutes. Chop finely. Set aside. In a large saucepan combine broth and milk. Slowly whisk in flour. Cook over med to med high heat, KEEP stirring. Cook until it starts to thicken but not too thick. Stir continuously otherwise the milk/flour will thicken at the bottom and form "clumps". Do it until it just starts to boil. Add chopped broccoli and carrots. Reduce heat to med low. Continue to cook about 5 minutes. Add cheese stir until cheese melts. Serve.

Delish! :)

Photo Booth Friday

We went to the Pumpkin Patch a couple weeks ago. For the past few years this has been kind of an annual trip and we always go on a Sunday afternoon. We love going! Here are a few pics to enjoy from our visit to the patch. :)

Soup's On!

I love having a nice warm bowl of soup on a crisp, cool night. :) Nothing like a bowl to warm your hands and tummy.

Saw this over at Rachel's and had to play along as well. :)

♥ What are your middle names? Mine is Marie, and I'm actually called by my first and middle name together quite often...His is Allen. He doesn't like it. :)

♥How long have you been together? next month is our 1 year wedding anniversary, but we've been together since October of 2007. i know, quick. :)

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? not long. we only dated for 6 months before we were engaged.

♥ Who asked who out? neither of us really asked the other out. it kind of just happened. but, he definitely started the ball rolling. <= my answer is the exact same as Rachel's. ♥ Who made the first move? he definitely made the first "move" by kissing me. ♥ How old are each of you? me: 26 him: 34 ♥ Did you go to the same school? nope, we were from two different states. ♥ Are you from the same hometown? nope, see above question. ♥ Who is the smartest? We are both bright in our own areas. I don't think it's possible to say which one of us is smarter because we are each strong in different areas. ♥ Who majored in what? me: bible/child develoment/administration. him: computer science ♥ Who is the most sensitive? OK, asking this question is like asking is grass green. Me by a landslide. ♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? not much here in our small town, but probably Applebees or take-out from Beijing Chinese ♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Woodland Park, CO ♥ Who has the worst temper? him, not so much a temper, but he gets frustrated more easily. ♥ How many children do you want? we would like 3-4, but we'll just have to see! ♥ Who does the cooking? i am the one that does the cooking when he's home for dinner. i think J has cooked maybe twice since we've been together? he works crazy hours so most of the time i eat alone. ♥ Who is more social? probably me. but i like to have my alone time as well. ♥ Who is the neat-freak? I like things neat, clean, and put away, but certainly not a neat-freak. my time on earth is short and would rather focus the time i have with those i love and care about. there are more important things in life than to just spend so much of my time cleaning everyday. the messes will always be there. but time won't. ♥ Who is the most stubborn? we both are stubborn. but he balances me out with his patience with certain things where i don't have it and vice versa. ♥ Who wakes up earlier? usually J. for the most part he is an early riser. ♥ Where was your first date? my house and a movie. ♥ Who has the bigger family? i do. i have two older brothers. he has one sister. ♥ Do you get flowers often? Nope. I can count on one hand the number of times I've gotten flowers. ♥ How do you spend the holidays? most of the time with my family. J's mom and step-dad live in MO, and his dad lives in OH. ♥ Who is more jealous? me. :) ♥ How long did it take to get serious? not. long. at. all. ♥ Who eats more? him. and he seems to never show it. ♥ What do you do for a living? i work for our church as the administrative assistant and sell MK. he drives for a company that delivers milk and grocery to Krogers in Indiana and Chicago. ♥ Who does the laundry? i do. always. i'm too nervous to let him do it. i have a certain way i do it. ♥ Who’s better with the computer? him. ♥ Who drives when you are together? he usually drives about 90 percent of the time. ♥ What is "your" song? you are so beautiful by joe cocker. well we don't really listen to it, but if we hear it, we always reminisce. :) J used to sing it to me when he called while we were dating, so when i answered he was singing it. :)

Photo Booth Friday

This week has flown by. I can't believe we are now halfway through October already. It has been FREEZING here. Where is Fall? Oh, how I've missed fall. The crisp, but not FREEZING temps.

Not much is going on around here. Nothing new to really report. :) Finally have a break with the doctor appointments. I've been stuck more by the "bloodwork vampire"in the past 2.5 months than I have in several years. So thankful my arm can rest. :) Now, we'll just see what happens in the next 6 months until I see the doc again!


Well, for photo booth Friday, I leave you with a pic of the cutest kids around! :)

Creation Museum

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to the Creation Museum. We took a Sunday (that is the only day of the weekend that Jeff has off), and traveled east for the day. I went about a year and a half ago, but no one else had been there. It was a great day!

The building view from the gardens

The gardens

Mom and Richard

Jeffrey and I

Brian and Cathy

And of course...sweet Raley-bug :)

Have a great weekend!

Wisdom Wednesday

"I just can't get over how I feel. It's making me crazy!" Sometimes you have to choose to think and live differently than what was given to you in your past--or even what may be happening today. Dwelling on the negative, on your weaknesses, on your pain is a choice. Instead, let those negatives turn you to God! By making that choice, you're choosing to love God with all your mind just as the Bible commands (Matthew 22:37).

The result? It's good "spiritual mental health," the peace and well-being the Spirit of God gives when we think and act on the truths of God's Word.

Elizabeth George

YUM

Just thought I'd share a couple of yummy fall recipes, but you could have them anytime. :)

Easy Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie
(I tweeked it from the original recipe)

3 cups chopped cooked chicken (or you can use canned cooked chicken)
1 can of peas and carrots
1 1/2 cups of frozen diced potatoes, thawed (I used frozen southern hashbrowns which are diced potatoes)
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

HEAT oven to 375ºF.
COMBINE first 5 ingredients in a greased 13x9-inch baking dish.
UNROLL dough; place over chicken mixture.
BAKE 30-35 min. or until crust is golden brown.

(Original recipe came from Kraft foods)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

(Recipe courtesy of Everyday With Rachael Ray)

Delish. Enjoy! :)

Photo Booth Friday

Couldn't resist posting pictures of the munchkins. :)

Have a great weekend!