Beautiful day made even more beautiful with the cancellation of school!!

TGIF!!

How to Make Hungarian Mushroom Soup*

How to make Hungarian Mushroom Soup*

* = if you are like Me!
I have been hungry for this soup, having not made it in quite a long time. It's been warm during the day (65-degree-ish) but the nights are still rather cold here. Something warm, cozy, and comforting was in order after a loud, chaotic, and hectic day today. So soup it is- Lindsey style.

You will need: Vegetable broth (I like Swanson's), fresh pre-cut mushrooms (any variety- mix & match with what's on sale), light sour cream, plain white flour, fresh parsley (can substitute with dried parsley), lemon juice, ground black pepper, butter, paprika, & dill.

Not shown above but still needed: Garlic salt, milk, & onion

I began cooking, and then decided (about 4 steps into the creation) that I wanted to photograph & write this out into my silly blog. So here goes!

Missing steps:

#1- Melt butter in pan

#2- Add package of frozen pre-chopped onions

(Frozen pre-chopped onions are a wonderful invention!!! And so kind to the eyes)

#3- Cook onions on Medium heat until soft

#4- Add all of the mushrooms*
*If you are like me, you will add all the mushrooms first, and then realize (of course, too late) that the shallow skillet is not going to be deep enough for all of the mushrooms!

**If you are like me, you will then (messily) transfer all of this mixture of onion-butter-mushrooms into a much-larger soup pot.

#5- Add both cans of vegetable broth. Stir in any remaining mushrooms that did not fit into the shallow skillet.

#6- Add paprika, garlic salt, pepper ("the spices"), and flour

#7- Pour a glass of wine.*
*If you're like me, you will also have lumpy end-of-long-day hair and a fantastic apron that was purchased on a relative's trip to Germany. Worn over pajamas, of course! It doesn't matter at all that the apron is probably many sizes too small...


#8- While broth/mushroom/onion/spice mix is boiling low & covered with a lid, let simmer for about 10 minutes so mushrooms soften up.

#9- Retrieve the cutting board, sharp knife, & Fabulous CHOPPER utensil.

#10- Cut the lemon in half & set aside for now. Cut parsley leaves into sections (use of parsley stems is not recommended!)

#11- Use Fabulous CHOPPER to cut the parsley into tiny-ish pieces.

#12- Stir in container of light sour cream. The broth/mushroom/onion/spice mixture should be turning a light beige color with the addition of the sour cream.


#13- Add parsley to the soup.
If you used fresh parsley, be sure and remember to breathe in that yummy, fresh-chopped parsley air!

#14- Squeeze juice from both halves of the lemon into the creamy, tan-colored soup.
Be careful of seeds! No one likes mushroom soup with a surprise crunchiness.

#15- Stir well. Put lid back on, let it all simmer together for maybe 5-7 minutes, so that parsley can soften up. Drink some more of that wine while you're waiting.

#16- Pour in the milk. Be careful not to pour too much in- it will get too runny!*
*If you're like me, you will decide to just loosely eye-ball the amount of milk poured in, rather than measure properly.

As a result, your soup will be too runny and you will have to add in extra flour to thicken it up. As a result, you will have to wait another 5 minutes to allow thickening to occur. Sigh. Better to just measure properly.

#17- Put lid back on soup. Let it all marinate together...*
*If you're like me, you will wash dishes from cooking (shallow skillet, cutting board, Fabulous CHOPPER), counter-top where the mess has been made, and any dishes remaining in sink from the days prior to this one...

**You also might unload the dishwasher while you are at it, of course, if you are even more like me!

#19- You might also look through the New Frontiers' sale ads for intriguing ingredients for future concoctions, as well as set out* some Tupperwares to store all of this soup.
*If you're like me, you will also set out your favorite bowl and spoon to eat dinner with. They are clean now, since you've unloaded the dishwasher!

#20 - Ladle some soup into your favorite bowl and lift your favorite spoon.

#21- Sprinkle top of soup with a little bit of that fresh parsley for appearances.

(You want to look a little closer? Okay.... )

Eat & Enjoy!*

*Lastly... if you are like me, you will serve yourself a second bowl! Yummm.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

12 oz. of fresh mushrooms

(Use variations of types- portabella, baby bella, etc. See what is on sale! I used 3 medium packages from the produce section.

If you can find them pre-cut, you have saved yourself that task!)

2 cups of chopped onions

(Frozen pre-chopped onions are a blessing... I used 1 bag.)

~6 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

(Unless you add too much milk...)

2 cups milk

3 Tsp of dill

3 Tsp of Hungarian paprika

(Regular paprika works just fine- the same red kind you would use on deviled eggs.)

2 Tsp salt
2 Cups of vegetable stock

(I use Swanson's canned- the pop-tab lids are great! I used 2 cans)

Fresh lemon juice - to taste

(I cut one lemon into halves, picked out the seeds, and squeezed juice from both halves)

Fresh chopped parsley - to taste/to look

(I chopped the entire head of fresh parsley, discarding the stems)

Fresh black pepper - to taste

2-3 cups sour cream

(I used an entire container of light s.c.- It depends on how creamy you want your soup!)

Saute the onions in butter. Salt lightly. Add mushrooms, dill, 1 can of vegetable stock, and paprika. Cover and simmer on medium heat (low boil). Melt remaining butter, whisk in flour, add milk and cook until thick. Stir into mushroom mixture and add remaining can of vegetable stock. Simmer on medium heat, covered with lid. Add sour cream, salt, pepper, lemon juice, milk, and parsley. Simmer for another 10 minutes (to soften parsley). Stir very thoroughly.

Top the bowl off with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Eat!

Enjoy!

Share with family & friends!

PF Chang's Half-Marathon

"Don't waste life in doubts and fears;

spend yourself on the work before you,

well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties

will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The PF Chang's Half-Marathon event was one of the most fun things I have done in a long time. Yes, it was loud- Yes, it was long- Yes, I wound up with 3 blisters and ached for days afterwards. But it was SO SO SO worth it! I already want to re-register to do it all over again in 2010! I finished walking ~14 miles through Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale in about 4.5 hours. Because my co-workers all are runners, I was the only walker in our group. I found a sweet lady named Jane to walk with. Jane also happens to be 7 months pregnant! We weren't really able to talk a whole lot while walking, but Jane is from CA and works with "special" young adults, helping them learn how to budget finances and spend their money in real-life adult situations. The fact that we both finished in 4.5 hours really wasn't too bad for a beginner and a pregnant lady! There were still hundreds of walkers behind us... I had a great weekend with my co-workers, and like I said, I can't wait for 2010's event!!

Since I've returned, I've been working really hard on a few goals: to establish time for ME each day (that isn't tv), to increase my amount of exercise, prioritize tasks at work, use my work hours more efficiently, eat better, and sincerely make an effort to drink more water.

Now: a few photos...

Team Big Park & Co: Mike, Jessie, Matt, Diane, Heidi, Alex, myself, and Jackie

Heidi, her daughter Alex, and Jackie's daughter Jessie - just before their corral of runners took off! (The shadow on Heidi's arm is me.)

Marching through downtown Phoenix - the temperature that morning was cool, but the sun was shining brightly and our winterized bodies soaked up the sun! At least, mine did...

Myself & Jane, just after crossing the finish line. We walked 13.5 miles in 4.5 hours!!

Team Big Park & Company - exhausted but all of us felt so accomplished! WE DID IT!!

In other, much-smaller, and somewhat significant news, I've decided to re-subscribe to Match.com once again. (I did for a few months last year) Lonliness is a facet of my life that I would like to become braver about seeking change and confidence with. I figure this is a safe method & I can do this from the comfort of my own home (and pajamas!)... We'll see what happens! Maybe I will keep you posted... maybe I won't! ;-)

New (trial) layout... Will see if I like this well enough to keep it... Comments/suggestions welcomed!

Now, I'm off to the PF Chang's 1/2 Marathon! :)
Have a great weekend!!

Thank Goodness it is FRIDAY!!

TGIF!!! I am relieved. I woke up at 4am today just happy and feeling peaceful about the week ending. It has been a good enough week- though still just so jam-packed with things to do and people needing things. Not a lot of meetings, fortunately. It has been a good week in that I have gotten over my wretched cold (mostly), I saw a few areas I was able to admit that I was helpful to some students, my students were happy, I was able to disassociate myself from a ZJ meltdown, and I didn't have any run-ins with Steve (which makes me happy).

After school today I am driving up to Flagstaff to take Sayde to my parents' house for the weekend. I will drive back to Sedona tonight (late) and then tomorrow will be going down to Phoenix with Heidi, Jackie, Jessie, Matt, and Diane- PF Chang's half-Marathon is on Sunday!! We will see if I am to survive walking for 13.5 miles... lol. I'll let you know if I make it!

Somewhere, out there... Beneath the pale moonlight...

...someone's thinking of me, and loving me tonight.

I do wish that song were true, and I weren't a single individual, lol. I love its simple message, though. Its a good reminder that "love" isn't just romantic- that I know somewhere out there, my family loves me, and my friends. I do know that a lot of times, lonliness is just a cruel mind trap that brings people down way too easily. (Admittedly, myself, and on more occasions than I'd like to admit.) Ok... so it's been quite some time since my last entry. Thanks, Dawn, for encouraging me to come back!

Been BUSY. This past week has been the first week we've been in school since Christmas break. 2009 has hit the ground running, and even with the past 3 days off, I'm still reeling. I managed to catch a pretty nasty cold, as well. The mucus-y, drippy, hoarse kind-- I will spare you the details. I haven't been sleeping well due to the coughing, so while I did spend the last 3 days on my back, it hasn't been so restful. I stayed home from school today since my voice is all froggy and I'm still so tired. Too much to do this week to stay home another day, so tomorrow I return.

Been THINKING. I am feeling more and more like I do not want to stay in Sedona next school year. I just don't feel "at home" here, though I know the system of this District (who to ask questions to, etc)- and I don't feel that supported. I still avoid certain people every opportunity I am given. Every school I've researched has at LEAST 2 SpEd teachers and a self-contained teacher. Next year (if I stay in Sedona) I will very (VERY) likely be doing the work of 3 teachers, with no instructional aide. It's already exhausting doing the amount of work I've got currently- while we do have a part-time resource teacher. It just seems more and more to me like Sedona isn't willing to set up the program to its best benefit, to allow its teachers to help EACH student. At present, I'm good for helping two or three kids at a time, and somewhat multitasking throughout the entire day. My schedule bounces around between different groups of kids, and it's hardly long enough to truly get inside the projects at hand. I don't see that as fair to the kids. I am typically e-mailing, collecting input, or organizing at the same time that I'm working with the kids. If I don't get that stuff done, I don't get other parts of my job done. I wish I had the TIME to focus on each kid, and to be more present. It's just frustrating most of the time. I have little to no help in this sense. I don't know yet where I will land. Been looking at Prescott, Flagstaff, Tucson, and yes, even Raleigh. Also about time to get cranking on preparing for GRE and Grad School. More thoughts on that later.

Been in FLAGSTAFF. I spent the 2 weeks of Winter Break in Flagstaff, staying at my parents' house. Sayde loved being in the snow and by the fireplace. She really did love it, and she was so funny to watch in the snow. Over those 2 weeks, Flagstaff accumulated 35 inches of snow. It was so beautiful! I was able to meet up with a few friends, spent time with wonderful family (Grandma stayed with us, cousins visited to play in the snow), and even spent a beautiful day skiing with my old buddy Paul. It was wonderful to be away from "the vortex," and I felt so much more recharged. I didn't want to leave... My older (favorite) cousin Jenny had her little girl just before Christmas. It is so amazing to me that my family tree has just grown a new generational branch. This is the first child of all of my cousins, and it's really pretty amazing to me. It's beautiful to know that there is a little bundle of Jenn & Matt combined, somewhere out there.

Been THINKING. Really wanting to change some facets of my life for the better. I'm tired of dealing with the depression, though my medication helps some of it. I'm tired of feeling overweight and seeing a body that is twice my normal size each time I look in a mirror. (Then again, what is normal, anyway?) I can do better. I want to do better. I am going to try to do better. I have a few ideas for a plan, but I need to get it down on paper and see what I can do to make it truly happen. Nothing radical, of course. Stuff like menu/grocery/exercize. Want to get it down on paper and at least see it laid out there. I'd like to try to journal more- it's good to see thoughts down on paper, too. Not just goals for bettering my health, but thoughts of life and junk. :)

Been TIRED. Ok, already said that, but this is long enough for a post, and I'm needing to get myself to bed. Maybe I will post some holiday pictures sometime soon. I certainly have a few, as I did buy myself a new camera for Christmas!

Oh- and next weekend, did I mention that I'll be walking with 4 co-workers in the PF Chang's half-marathon? It's gonna be a wild weekend, and hopefully fun. I'll be tired, though. Oh man!

.... If love can see us through...