Simple Pleasures

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather-you know, the whole cough/cold thing.  It has been coming on gradually, since the children had it last week.  The other day, I went to my friend Esther’s house to help her with her chores.  She and her husband raise calves from the local dairies and house them until they are old enough to become a benefit to the dairy industry.  Those little cows are so adorable!  We emptied and refilled the milk and water bottles, feed buckets, and had a fun time together doing the work.  Sorry I don’t have a picture.  My hands were full of wheelbarrow when I wasn’t driving the water truck. 

Well, in addition to my cough, the wheelbarrow toting got to me last night.  I just felt a little sore in my low back muscles.  I decided that I needed a little bit of pampering.  After getting the children settled into their school routine this morning, I headed into the bathroom for a long, luxurious soak in a tub full of coconut lime verbena bubbles.   Ahhh!

I was able to relax and ease all those tense muscles (undisturbed, for all you incredulous mothers out there) and come out feeling like a mostly new me!  Thank goodness for hot running water!  And bubble bath! :)

On the stove, a pot of hearty vegetable soup is simmering, ready for lunch.  I love soup on a cold day, and believe me, the days in South Dakota are definitely chilly right now!  So I am looking forward to a very healthy, yummy meal!

Here is my recipe if this makes you want some, too!  It is super easy, and you can customize it with your favorite vegetables.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

1-46oz. can of tomato juice

1 can light red kidney beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained (you can also use dried beans, but they must be soaked first)

1 bag frozen cut carrots

1 bag frozen cut green beans

1/2 bag frozen pearl onions

1 lb. ground meat, browned (I used ground sirloin this time, but I usually use venison)

Put all ingredients into a large pot and let simmer until well heated.  You can also do this in the crock pot, which makes for a lot less supervision. 

You could substitute  or add other ingredients such as rice, potatoes, corn, your own home-grown veggies, etc.  There is no wrong way to make this delicious soup!  I like the carbs in my soup to be beans, since they have protein as well.  Potatoes are one of my favorite foods, but they, alas, are not as healthy for me, so I have eliminated them from this particular dish.  There is so much other yummy goodness in it though, that I don’t really miss them!