Happy National Chocolate Day!

I heard through the grapevine that today is National Chocolate Day. Ode to chocolate.

When I was pregnant with my last child, I was, as usual, sick, sick, sick. I was worshiping at the porcelain throne often. When I wasn't, I felt like I wished I could. I have a condition called hyperemesis gravidarium. I won't go into it, but believe me, unless there is something new in the past two years I have tried every natural cure and every drug available in my six pregnancies.

I don't remember why, but my mom had chocolate on her coffee table. It was nice chocolate from Trader Joe's I think. Dark. Each one was individually wrapped with a country name on it. I snagged a piece. And another. And another. I SWEAR to you, it healed me. Mom said to just keep eating it. I did.

Several times during that pregnancy I ate chocolate and, I tell you, it helped.

For several years, when my husband would go to the U.K., he'd bring home a bunch of these babies.
He'd bring home little teeny ones, regular sized ones and big huge ones. HUGE. They were a real hit with all of our friends. And I appreciated them. I really did. But, for me, they were too sweet.


I love it when you know where you stand with someone, don't you?

Nowadays hubby has to go to Germany for work sometimes. His first trip he brought home a bunch of different kinds of chocolate. But this -- THIS, is my favorite. It could be my all time favorite chocolate. Well, next to Peanut Butter Mountain Bars -- because they remind me of the time I owed myself a poo load of money in Jr. High. I just kept eating my fund raiser PB Mountain Bars. I must have raised alot of money for my school.

Why don't kids sell those for fundraisers anymore? They always sell wrapping paper, magazines, candles and cookie dough. Where, I ask, are the Peanut Butter Mountain Bars? In addition to kids not selling them for fund raisers, I can rarely find them in grocery stores. (Wellll, lookie here. On Google, I found a place to buy them. Hmm, maybe I will do my own fundraiser for a missions trip....)




I just googled and I see they are made by Brown and Haley. Aren't they the same guys who make those three colored neopolitan chocolate coconut candies I remember loving as a child but hate now? Google again. Oh they are made by Brachs.

I used to wait in line between buses at See's Candies to get one of these in chocolate.
I'd make them last all the way home.

Me and Chocolate. Dark chocolate. Not milk chocolate. We go waaay back.

I could go on all night. But it is late and I still have hot chocolate to drink.

Happy Chocolate Day. Kisses.

Homemade Hot Chocolate
1 Can Cococut Cream, heated in pan with
1/2 can very hot water (use can from coconut cream)
Cream, Milk or Half and Half to taste
6 Tablespoons each Powdered Cocoa and Rapadura (or Sugar)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Optional: 1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter, Cinnamon to taste

Mix all together. Bring to boil.

I took a picture but it is late so I'll have to post it later.

Pantry Raid!!!!!

No, No, NOOOO!!! I said PANTRY!!!!




UGH! I did NOT say panties IN the PANTRY!!!


I said PANTRY!!!!




Last week I was looking at our pantry. I was envisioning some changes I want to make, in better keeping with the products we use, the way I cook, how many people access the pantry, etc.

So I took a picture. You can see it above. No, huh, just kidding. That's not my pantry. Sorry. I had you going didn't I? (Ahem.)

I thought this might be a good opportunity for us to take stock, both of the state of our pantries themselves (or wherever you store your food) as well as what they hold -- just in time for holiday meals and baking.

So, for the next two Mondays, I will be putting up a Mr. Linky for you to post sometime during that week (or for my non-bloggy friends, non-public bloggy friends or those of you who would rather remain anonymous with regard to the state of your pantry -- email me your pictures and posts and I will add them to that day's post on my blog, with or without your identifying information).

First Monday of November: a current picture of your pantry BEFORE with a post saying why you do or do not like it, some ideas for changes you want to make as well as what your idea of the perfect pantry is. If your pantry is already perfect, or if you have recently revamped it, wait til the next week.

Second Monday of November: a picture of your pantry AFTER you have cleaned it or painted it or rearranged it or restocked it or..... with a post about what you did and how it will make your life easier for the holidays. Give a shout out to any friends, products or companies that you found useful in helping you get it that way.


Next Monday I, too, will post the real picture of my pantry, with no cleaning, no arranging, no changes of any kind, along with my post. And hopefully I will have it the way I want it by the following week...

And if you want to post some cute picture of granny panties, well, that's your business.

Menu Plan Monday: October 27- November 2

Menu Plan Monday

Thanks for looking at my menu and recipes. I try to have recipes or links for most of my meal plans as I find it so much more useful when I look at other's meal plans and they are included.

Please come back on Saturdays for my Soup's On! Saturday carnival!

When I am planning my menu, I try to make sure I also think about my schedule and that of the family. If I am going to be gone all day, I try to plan for a crockpot meal. With children ranging in age from 2 years old to 18 years old, our schedules can be erratic, and often at least one member is not at the table with us at dinner time. I try to plan nicer meals for evenings when I know all or most of us will be sitting around the table together.

Sometimes one meal works better on a different night than I originally schedule it. And that's just fine. This way at least I have a basic framework to pull from, so I know I have ingredients on hand, I know what I need to thaw, etc.

If you go back and look at my Menu Plan Monday from last week, I have added a note after each evening to show what we actually ate on each night. I hope to remember to do this each week. That way you can see that you are not alone if your meals don't always go as planned. And I can look back and see any amendments I made.

This week, I have ground beef, salmon I bought on sale, and whole chickens in our freezers, so I am planning at least one recipe for each of these.

My 13 year old has been having a hankering for steak, so I plan to make steak from the freezer next week. I have not prepared steak too often and,while I can find recipes online, I wonder if any of you have a great marinade or a way you make your steaks that I should try? If so, can you email me or post it in comments? Thank you!

Monday: Lentil Chili with cottage cheese
(Actual: As planned, yummy. Whole family loved. Adjusted spices a bit to make it spicier.)
Tuesday: Creamy Dill Salmon and Vegetable Rice Medley (ingredients ready in freezer)
(Actual: I was still sickly so leftovers were had tonight)
Wednesday: Firecracker Casserole
(Actual: Came home to an almost dead chicken so had to invent another, quicker option so I could make believe I know how to cure injured/sick chickens.)
Thursday: Shish Tawook Marinated Chicken ( made with whole chicken), Homemade Hummus (basic recipe in book Nourishing Traditions but I add cilantro and etc.) , Tabouli (from Nourishing Traditions), Homemade Pita Bread,

Friday: Beefy BBQ Macaroni with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Saturday: FAMILY NIGHT (I hope!)
Build Your Own Pizza using Laura's Whole Wheat Pizza Crust recipe

Sunday: Chalupa served with tortillas, avocado, tomato, sour cream, green onions, cheese....

For more menu ideas go to www.orgjunkie.com

Women of Faith 2008 and Then Sings My Soul Saturday

I have been listening to some music lately that I've had for quite awhile. I was reminded when I went to a Women of Faith conference, why I love Nicole C. Mullen so much. So I am tying in a WOF post with a Then Sings My Soul Saturday post...

If you want to see other blogs participating in this, you can go to the blog Signs, Miracles and Wonders


I am not a sitter. Okay, I am kind of even childish about sitting for long periods of time. Car accidents, a fall, childbirth and Ants In My Pants all combine to make it very uncomfortable for me to sit for long periods of time without squirming, shifting and moving around.

So I do not relish the idea of going to any conference, meeting, car or airplane ride, or anything where I have to sit still for long periods of time or disrupt others with my squirming. So it is quite a feat that I have gone to the Women of Faith conference each year for about 10 years. I think I started in 1997, missing only 2001 because conferences were canceled due to the events of 9/11.

Thankfully my husband has worked for companies who lease suites at the Rose Garden Arena, where the event is held in our area. And I have been able to get a ticket for myself and a friend(s) to attend the event in the suite. This means I can walk around, not disturb anyone, not miss one word of what is being said and truly enjoy the entire event.

And I got to hang out with several girlfriends for a whole evening and most of a Saturday. Because of the suites, even my friend Jane who has a nursing baby was able to attend (I will have pictures to post later so will write more about this then).

I have never been bored. I always walk away with lots of encouragement. The music is worshipful. They even bring food to us so we don't have to negotiate the throngs of women, unless we want to.

And, yes, I did wait in line to get Mandisa's autograph for my little girl, just like I said I was going to in my Saturday post of that week. Mandisa is gorgeous. And she is real. She's not just a Hollywood Christian.

I got to meet Nicole C. Mullen too, which was a big deal because one of her songs means alot to me. She, too, is real. When she sings, she means every word. When she dances, you can tell what she is expressing what is truly in her heart. What I love best is that she is herself, with a fun, funky, and unique style that is all her own.

There is a song of hers that is so much more impacting in person with her vignettes, or on her video, than it is to just listen to it on a CD (see below).



Here's me with my girlfriend Nicole:) Not the greatest picture, but it was really fun and meant alot to me.

No matter what we are dealing with -- abandonment, rejection, addiction -- or whatever, if we can just touch the hem of Jesus like the woman in the Bible, he removes it all from us (please click on "abandonment" to read my friend's story) . This song, "One Touch", touches my spirit and reminds me to call on Him. And that is why I am posting it for "Then Sings My Soul Saturday". It just takes One Touch and we can shed all of our "issues". I hope this song touches you as it does me.

Soup's On! Saturday: Versatile Chicken Soup

If you are new here, please read my newly rewritten info about Soup's On! Saturday. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you find a recipe -- or a few, and that you stop by again.


I remember My Older and Wiser Sister telling me years ago that she got three meals out of a chicken. She told me she made the chicken itself for one meal, used the leftover chicken in burritos or whatever, then used the bones -- and whatever else is left, to make soup. I took that to heart and began squeezing as many meals as I could out of one chicken.


These days I have a large family, and one chicken pretty much is stripped, like a school of piranha got to it, within minutes. And I have since been more educated on the benefits of using broth in general. So I try to use any stripped meat bones, of any kind, to make broth. The burritos, well, they will need their own protein source!


In my Menu Plan Monday a couple weeks ago I posted a recipe I received from a friend (which I also found online) called Sticky Chicken. Boy howdy, my family loves that. I made it nice and spicy that night for my spice lovers. And that pile of bones that was left afterwards is the picture I had in mind as I typed the piranha comment above! It was picked clean. I don't know that I have ever seen bones in this house picked so clean.

But there were still lots of wonderful juices in the pan as well as the bits tucked here and there, of meat and liver type stuff. So I made a bone broth overnight. The next day I added some fresh veggies (cabbage is my fave) as well as some cooked brown rice and some spices. My older son especially appreciated eating some of this nice, warm soup when he got home late from a long day at college, and even commented that it was really going to "hit the spot".

The next day was a Saturday and I was afraid there wasn't enough rice left in it to really make a meal, so I found a recipe online for Whole Wheat Dumplings and threw those in, along with one extra box of chicken broth just to make sure I had enough. It was a hit, and I made my chicken last for three meals:)

Most of you probably have heard (or seen) me mention the book Nourishing Traditions:The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. It is a fascinating read and really opens your mind to a whole new way of thinking about food and the way you prepare it. This link, to an article called Broth Is Beautiful, takes you to an article by Sally Fallon, the author of that book. The article is very interesting and explains some of the reasons why your Grandma always wanted to give you chicken soup when you didn't feel well.

Below, for my soup recipe this week, I am posting her recipe for making a good broth. I am adding my own italics/bold to a few parts I found especially helpful or interesting. Then you make it your own. Add rice, noodles, dumplings, more meat, veggies, herbs and spices (such as basil or lemon pepper) tabasco sauce -- or whatever makes it be your family's chicken soup.

"Stock or broth begins with bones, some pieces of meat and fat, vegetables and good water. For beef and lamb broth, the meat is browned in a hot oven to form compounds that give flavor and color--the result of a fusion of amino acids with sugars, called the Maillard reaction. Then all goes in the pot--meat, bones, vegetables and water. The water should be cold, because slow heating helps bring out flavors. Add vinegar to the broth to help extract calcium--remember those egg shells you soaked in vinegar until they turned rubbery (Tiffany notes, use about a half tablespoon of vinegar per quart of chicken broth. You really don't taste it).

Heat the broth slowly and once the boil begins, reduce heat to its lowest point, so the broth just barely simmers. Scum will rise to the surface. This is a different kind of colloid, one in which larger molecules--impurities, alkaloids, large proteins called lectins--are distributed through a liquid. One of the basic principles of the culinary art is that this effluvium should be carefully removed with a spoon. Otherwise the broth will be ruined by strange flavors. Besides, the stuff looks terrible. "Always Skim" is the first commandment of good cooks.

Two hours simmering is enough to extract flavors and gelatin from fish broth. Larger animals take longer--all day for broth made from chicken, turkey or duck and overnight for beef broth.

Broth should then be strained. The leavings, picked over, can be used for terrines or tacos or casseroles. Perfectionists will want to chill the broth to remove the fat. Stock will keep several days in the refrigerator or may be frozen in plastic containers. Boiled down it concentrates and becomes a jellylike fumée or demi-glaze that can be reconstituted into a sauce by adding water."

Please don't forget to look at the other recipes linked here throughout the week.

Have a wonderfully healthy, wholesome and comforting chicken- soup- for- the- soul kind of week!

Soup's On Saturday Info

Welcome to my blog and to Soup's On! Saturday!

Isn't soup just about the most comforting comfort food? My family enjoys eating soup often, especially during the cooler months of the year. Where we live, in the Northwest, we are known for R-A-I-N. It keeps things so beautiful and clean smelling, especially out where we live. But it can also sometimes feel like everything is wet and muddy, all of the time. That is definitely soup weather!

For anyone who might be visiting for the first time, Soup's On! Saturday is a place for you to come and find tried and true soup recipes, and a place for you to post or link your own favorite soups.

Each Saturday, sometime around 9:00am, I post the Soup's On! Saturday post for that week, along with the Mr.Linky for you to include your own post.

1. Read my current Saturday's post and comment if you wish.

2. Go to your own blog and post a soup recipe your family loves (please make sure it is one you have actually tried!).

3. Come back and give the permalink to your specific post about soup. (If you go back to your blog and click on the title of your soup post, or click on your time stamp, it will take you to that specific post. Then cut and paste the URL that is in your browser, come back here and put your name in the first blank and paste your URL in the second blank)

OR, post your recipe in my comment section. You can also tell us the name of a store-bought soup that you love that fits with that week's theme (if there is one).

OR send me your recipe and I will post it here for all to see, under your name and link it on the Soup's On! Saturday page.


4. Look at the other soup links and see if you just found a new favorite.

5. Comment Love is appreciated, especially if you tried someone's soup. You can give comments on this site or on the specific site where you saw a great recipe.

6. Stay cozy:)

Please don't forget to tell your readers about Soup's On! Saturday and link it with my adorable button (html text to link it can be found in my side bar, made by my Fairy Blogmother, Darcy) so they can come too!

I've Got To Talk To Somebody, God

On my recent trip to visit my Grandma, she gave me a few old books she was finished with. In her condo, much smaller than the house she lived in while I was growing up, her bookshelves are full to overflowing. And I love old books. Okay, I love books, period. But old books are something special, especially if they once belonged to my Grandma.

These days, I don't have much time to read long books. On the days I do, just about every attempt leads to sleep. I am a pretty energetic person. But when I sit still my body thinks it must be time to sleep. So I find myself reading books that are short, magazine articles, etc. And blogs. Of course blogs.

One of the books Grandma gave me is a normal sized chapter book. But within each chapter is a series of prayers. I have a similar one by Elisabeth Elliot that I love. This one is written by Marjorie Holmes and is called I've Got To Talk To Someone, God -- A Woman's Conversations With God, published in 1968. I love the conversational style in which she writes. And the authenticity I hear through what she writes.

How much of this prayer rings true for you? What parts? I love that she is just so real. And I love that the Lord is just so always there.



"I've got to talk to somebody, God.

I'm worried, I'm unhappy. I feel inadequate so often, hopeless, defeated, afraid.

Or again I'm so filled with delight I want to run into the streets proclaiming, 'Stop, world, listen! Hear this wonderful thing'.

But nobody pauses to listen, out there or here -- here in the very house where I live. Even those closest to me are so busy, so absorbed in their own concerns.

They nod and murmur and I make an effort to share it, but they can't; I know they can't before I begin.



There are all these walls between us - husband and wife, parent and child, neighbor and neighbor, friend and friend.

Walls of self. Walls of silence. Even walls of words.

For even when we try to talk to each other new walls begin to rise. We camouflage, we hold back, we make ourselves sound better than we really are. Or we are shocked and hurt by what is revealed. Or we sit privately in judgment, criticizing even when we pretend to agree.



But with you, Lord, there are no walls.

You, who made me, know my deepest emotions, my most secret thoughts. You know the good of me and the bad of me, you already understand.

Why, then, do I turn to you?

Because as I talk to you my disappointments are eased, my joys are enhanced. I find solutions to my problems, or the strength to endure what I must.

From your perfect understanding I receive understanding for my own life's needs.

Thank you that I can always turn to you. I've got to talk to somebody, God."




I pray you can turn to Him today, to share whatever it is that is on your heart. Me too:)

Menu Plan Monday: October 19-25

For more menu ideas go to www.orgjunkie.com. And, if you are new here, please come back on Saturdays and leave your soup recipe for my new "carnival" Soup's On! Saturday.

I try to buy pasture fed meat for our family. I cannot always afford it, especially the products that are specifically labeled as organic. But when I find meat from someone who I know fed it on pasture and did not give it hormones, I go for it when I can.

Well, this week I am picking up ground beef from an entire cow. That's alot of meat. We are not keeping it all, but we will have a freezer full of ground beef. Don't be surprised to see that all of my recipes this week contain ground beef.

Thankfully, my husband actually requested tacos and/or taco salad this week. Pretty much no one ever requests anything or expresses an interest in what I make other than to say "Yum, this is good", "I love it when you make this" or to keep silent and, when asked, say "It's okay" if they are just tolerating it. So for someone to 1) make a request and 2) for it to be something as utterly simple as tacos, well, that just makes me happy. The fact that it includes ground beef is even better. I'm glad they seem to be happy with their meals for the most part, but it does help when someone makes a suggestion once in awhile!

When you meal plan, do you find that you usually stick to the plan? Do you vary slightly, or make what you plan but juggle around the days you make it? I know that I rarely stick to the plan to the letter. But it sure helps to have a framework to go from anyway!

Have a great week!

Monday- Tacos/Taco Salad (scroll down for recipe)
(actual: unexpectedly had to take son downtown to school, hubby to doc for ankle injury and drive up to Washington to pick up meat. Then son had to be taken to CAP. So I broke open a can of Mexican Tortilla Soup. Nice. Will probably make this on Wednesday since Stroganoff ingredients are easily used another time, while produce for tacos/taco salad will spoil if not used.)

Tuesday- Sloppy Joes (using premade spice packet from Simply Organic) with Homemade Buns (I will let the breadmaker do all but form them into buns and bake them)
(Actual: as planned. House was on the cold side so buns did not rise as much as I'd hoped. But they were still very tasty and, in my opinion, made the Sloppy Joe's even better. The beef was from what I just purchased and is very lean, good meat. Served with veggie slices and sticks of garden fresh zucchini, cucumber and carrots.)

Wednesday- Poor Man's Stroganoff (except I will either be making my own noodles or using whole grain noodles, not egg noodles)
(Actual: As planned.Very easy.)

Thursday- Firecracker Casserole (It's easy to make your own black beans too)
(Actual: Tacos originally planned for Monday. I don't buy crunchy taco shells very often and they were a yummy treat!)

Friday- Nacho Spuds
(Actual: As planned, family loved these. After they were cooked through, I put the potatoes under the broiler for a few minutes before I covered in cheese, the broiled again til edges of cheese were crunchy before adding the other ingredients and more cheese.)

Saturday - Leftover Buffet
(Actual: No leftovers. Made another batch of Nacho Spuds as above)

Sunday- Cheeseburger Soup
(Actual: As planned, used mushroom broth and beef broth rather than the chicken broth I usually use. The mushroom broth added a very good flavor, will use it again. Also used extra homemade buns I made for Sloppy Joes to accompany soup.)

1984. Because I Can And Because It's Funny.

This is when my friend Brad from my Teen Missions days came to visit our family from Idaho with a few of his friends. I remember the trip but I have no recollection at all of this picture being taken and I do not know where we were. Maybe in front of the Willamette River in downtown Portland? Anyhew. I'm lovin' it.


Me. 1984. Feathered hair. Rabbit fur coat.

My mother. Pink leather coat with fur trim. Layered hair.

My Princess Sister Toe-Toe. In a brown ski coat.

My baby brother Bubba T. Bun wearing a tribal animal head.

My brother Wuzaker-Buzaker. Wearing a rainbow ski coat. (Click on his name and then scroll down to where it says "Uncle Josh" and shows my son with a guy in glasses, and you can see what he looks like now:)

My brother Hievel. He has such a nice bowl cut. Hmm, I wonder who cut his hair in those days? (Yes, it was me. And, no, I did not use a bowl. I am a freehand artist. It was in style then for little boys okay?)

Yes, these are childhood nicknames bestowed upon young, helpless siblings. They are not their real names so don't make any remarks about us being from the backwoods.


And, no. It is NOT okay for you to say I am becoming my mother. Got it?
(No offense mom. It's just one of those things! I'm just kidding, of course!)

Where is your picture from 1984? Or were you even BORN yet?

Soup's On! Saturday, Cheeseburger Soup

I am barely making getting this up here before my 10 am deadline. Eeek. Well, when a kid needs to be taken to a Junior High trip to the pumpkin patch, some things just get shoved aside for awhile.

If you don't know a thing about Soup's On! Saturday, click here and read all about it. Basically, you come here to look at soup recipes, post your own recipe on your blog then come back here and post your link (the link specific to your soup post) in the Mr.Linky below so others can go to your blog and look at your recipe. And then you leave comments on as many blogs as you like, especially recipes that sound good or that you try. Feel free to leave how you changed it up for your family too. We all know that each family has specific tastes and like to try new things!

This week I am providing a link for a recipe rather than typing it out. I have subscribed to Taste of Home since 1995 (when I was 14;) and this is a recipe I found there and have made for my family for several years. It is pictured above, straight from their website. Personally, I don't think the picture looks that great. It looks very familiar and not because it is a soup I make. My friend Jenny N. might be familiar with it right now in her house. But it really and truly is yummy and my kids especially love it. Some of my family members make it for their families too and it has even won an award at our annual Christmas Soup Cook-Off (I will write more about that another time!).

So go and look at this recipe for Cheeseburger Soup. If you know me or have been reading here long, you'll probably know right off one thing I change when I make this, in addition to a few specifics I might sometimes mention. Can you guess? Who knows me best?

Might I just mention that I made Theresa's Taco Soup from last week and that my entire family loved it? (I took a picture but my email won't open up so I can't get it. I will post it later if/when I can get to it). As I told her, anything with taco seasoning and ranch seasoning is sure to please! And I will also add that Theresa is my only big sister. She isn't very big though. I am bigger. Uh-hem. But I am younger, always will be -- and I can lose weight. But, as you can see, I will never, ever be as tiny as my eensy-weensy, "big" sister!

I am very proud of my "big" Older and Wiser sister. You should look at their blog and see some about the humanitarian aid they have participated in for many, many years, including living in a foreign country for 15 years. Or you can read about their escapades as a family, or about how she, darn right, had a meeting with the Governor of Alaska yesterday. You betcha!

She is one of my closest friends and best cheerleaders. And a wonderful example to me for all most of my life. Excluding the days when she would pinch me and give me Charlie Horses for copying everything she said. And when I was "accidentally" annoying when my mom forced me to be a chaperone on her car rides with love interests. When she told me I had a big nose and called me Tif-Fanny-Butt.

But she's a little older now, and more mature. So now she just smiles when I copy her. And mostly she endures graciously enjoys my chatty thoughtful company. If you need to book any travel from anywhere, please check out her Way2MuchFun link too. It is a travel booking website similar to other online travel reservation companies. She has started this home-based business to supplement their income since they work for a humanitarian aid company.

Now, go post a soup recipe on your own blog and come back here and link to it. Or include your recipe in my comments section. Or email me your soup recipe and I will post it here, giving you full credit. And, if you do make a recipe linked here, please let us know!

Have a week full of autumn beauty!

Autumn Open House

My sweet blog friend Deena over at "Can I Be Pretty In Pink" is hosting an Autumn Open House from her home in The Singing Woods. Deena shares her story of surviving cancer on her darling blog. Please keep Deena in your prayers. She has three more brain radiation treatments to go.

So, for Deena, and for my other friends who have posted pictures of your fall homes, here are a few from our home in the country.


Most scarecrows protect the harvest from birds. This guy is here to keep the goats away!



Antique bushel basket for prunes, and one of my favorite fall items.



Going down the stairway.


My Grandmother's old Fire King divided dish and two coffee mugs with tea lights in them. She said they came in Gold Medal Flour sacks. The wheat lap try is also from the 50's. And the Ultimate Muffin recipe is from The Lazy Organizer.


Our family started going through this book several weeks ago. Since then, the elections have become more intense and the "bailout" and banking crisis have come upon our country. We definitely see now even more than usual why we need to pray for our great democracy.

My great grandma's old cookbook and some mini fall gourds in a Plantation patterned Heisey glass candy dish.


My Little Man's ET finger touching one of the pumpkin lights I bought for his first birthday party last year. I cannot believe he will be two on Friday.


Painted in a warm tone of a butterscotch shade, our living room is kind of fallish year round.




Some friends got together last year and made these adorable placemats with our little girls. I don't usually like fake candles, but my baby has climbed up on the table a couple times lately. Better safe than sorry!



These are mercury glass pumpkins I bought several years ago on clearance. I love them in our entryway.

One of the best things about fall decorations is that, after you put a couple harvest specific ones back in the attic at the end of October and add a couple Thanksgiving items, you can leave them out until the end of November!

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by orgjunkie.com. You can see WAY more plans if you go there!

Don't forget to check out all of the soup recipes that are being linked here on But I Had A Tiara! on Saturdays -- and add some yourself. For more info, click here.


You may have asked yourself at some point if my family is starving because I usually only list a main dish. I just want to reassure you that I DO give them a produce dish and a starch as well. I just keep those things on hand at all times. Unless I am making an actual dish (i.e. not just steaming or slicing or whatever) I don't usually list it here.

This week:

Monday: My Older and Wiser Sister's Taco Soup (we have our small groups for church tonight and this is a crockpot recipe)

Tuesday: Sticky Chicken (My friend Steph makes this and lookie here -- I found the recipe online so didn't have to type it out:) I still have whole chickens to use up. Serve with RR's Jalapeno Rice

Wednesday: Cranberry Nut Turkey Salad over Homemade Buns (or greens or store bought croissants, if I don't get the buns made). I am going to attempt to adapt Laura's buns slightly, only so I can let the breadmaker do all of the work for me until it is time to do the final punching down and forming into individual buns. Don't worry Laura, I won't make your buns look too weird;)

Thursday: Escondido Wedding Soup (Book Club this morning so make meatballs on Wednesday)

Friday: Nacho Spuds

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Chalupas (adaptation of this basic recipe). Serve with homemade corn tortillas from the Mexican family, and fixins such as avocado, cilatro, sour cream, etc. It is so lovely after church to walk into a home that smells good. And to be able to feed hungery tummies quickly too.

Pink Chocolate

I have to say I can't believe it.

I appreciate each beautiful sunrise, each flutter of a delicate bird's wings as they fly past my admiring eyes, or when I see one of my babies do something precious (or, for you Donna, when I see "Sunlashes":). I believe these are all miracles and I expect them, fully believing they are each a thought-out and specific gift to me from The Creator. He knows what I love, even more than I do.

It's not that I don't expect He will send miracles, so much as it is feeling like I have many lessons to learn, and some will require painful losses to register and to embed all of the learning...

If you know me personally, it is likely you know that I love vintage jewelry. It is so unique - history walking through life on someone's lapel or neck or whatever. I love to think about the story of the original owners of pieces. I like to try to think of the economic trends at the times they were made and contemplate if it was a sacrificial purchase for a treasured someone, or if it was an incidental "no skin off my back" token. Who bought it? Why? Who was it for? Where are they now?

I have pieces from several eras. I go for pieces that I will enjoy wearing, not a certain brand or year. I have no desire to have a drawer or jewelry box full of dusty items just so I can say I have them or collect them. They are for wearing and enjoying.

Of course I have my favorites, like everyone does with their clothing and jewelry. One of the pieces I love is a brooch. It is speculated to be from the late 1800's but I have not had it confirmed.I would guess later, maybe 20's or 30's, but I am by no means an expert. I fondly call it my "Pink Barnacle Pin". I bought it several years ago from a lady back east, a collector selling off her collection, from whom I have acquired several pieces. I won't bore you with details of how it looks as you will see a picture below. I think you will know why it reminds me of barnacles.

With a little one, I don't wear brooches often at this season of my life. But this morning I wore it to church on the lapel of my pink jacket.

I was hot during church, in the Cry Room where I sat with my little boy. And I took my jacket off.

When church was over I picked up my jacket to put it back on. I caught a glimpse of the Pink Barnacle Pin and glanced appreciatively over it's tiny pink barnacles, each with a little rhinestone in it's tip. All 16 of them. Screech. Halt... 15 of them!!! 15 of them??? Oh no. OH NO!!

One little barnacle is missing.Very little.




The problem with unique vintage jewelry? You cannot get missing components replaced.

My husband came in about then and we searched. I rehearsed where I'd been. Oh no.

I wore it to the Women Of Faith Conference yesterday at the Rose Garden Arena.This is the big arena in Portland. Think NBA. And, in my efforts to meet Mandisa and Nicole C. Mullen, I walked around quite a bit. In fact, I was wearing this brooch when I met them both.

I figure it is lost forever.

I do touch briefly in my memory on my high school days when I find a diamond chip that has fallen out of a small ring I had, after playing basketball in the school gym. My friend Julie's wedding ring got lost in the ocean on her honeymoon and a young boy found it. My 100 year old friend told me about a lady who lost her ring in the outhouse at church once and, many years later it was found on the church property.

I know of a few stories. But I figure the Rose Garden Arena is not a location where my tiny pink barnacle will be found. I say "Okay God. That's okay. It's just a thing. It was fun to have. I will paint that spot pink so it won't be too noticeable and I will still wear it. I am thankful for what I do have. My family is healthy"...blah, blah, blah. You all know what I said because you've said it yourself a hundred times.

Fast forward six hours or so.

I had been snuggling with my baby but come downstairs as I need to get to a few things. Little Mister stays upstairs to watch "amnimals". I am now in my kitchen starting some clean up for the week and trying to get the house pretty enough to photograph for my post on the 15th for Deena's Autumn Open House.

My baby comes downstairs, handing something toward me saying "totluht (chocolate) mama".

In his chubby little fingers, being clutched clumsily,

is something very tiny...

and pink.

Not believing it, I run upstairs to see which remaining barnacle he picked off of the brooch. There are still 15.

My two year old child found my barnacle.

Instead of doing what most two year olds, including him, would normally do and putting it in his mouth, he obediently brought it to me to ask if he could eat it. For all I knew, it was at the Rose Garden Arena. I never would have known to check for it if he ate it. You KNOW what I mean.

He was met with squeals of delight -- and a piece of chocolate from Daddy's last Europe trip.

Yes, son. You may have THIS chocolate!

(Here he is with his famous cheesy grin -- and his "totluht")



Thank you God, that You care about me, even in my silly feminine ways --- and you care about my pink barnacle too, and are going to let me enjoy each piece of it awhile longer (after I take it to a professional for repair).


(Sorry the pictures aren't a little better, but you get the idea. I will try to get a better picture tomorrow.)

Soup's On! Saturday: Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup

Soup's On! Saturday
If you haven't been to Soup's On! Saturday before, you can read about it here.

I am all about doing my best to cook healthy and mostly- from- scratch- food for my family. But tonight I was busy. And I will be busy all day tomorrow. I am spending my day, UH- Gin,, with Mandisa and Nicole C. Mullen (polishing fingertips on shirt now). So what if I am sharing with, like, 14,000 other women?

I am going to wait in line for as long as it takes to try to get Mandisa to sign my girl's CD. In addition, I am really going to try to work up the nerve to ask her if she will say hello to my girl on the phone. Nervy, yes. But so priceless. My girl will be pleased into Never Never Land, forever and ever. You see, my girl and I, we voted for Mandisa every week when she was on AI. Dial. Vote. Hang up. Dial. Vote. Hang up. Avoid boys who want to use the phone to vote for another. Dial. Vote. Hang up. And so it went. Over and over and over and... We love 'Disa.

Nicole Mullen sings a song that brought me great comfort at one of the most difficult times in my life. So it is with great joy that I finally get to see her in person. She is a character. She wore Converse Boots. CONVERSE BOOTS, I say. Red ones (wasn't it you Deanna that told me someone you know is wearing pink ones to their own wedding?).

I digress. How shocking.

So aaaannnyway, as i was saying, my time is at a premium, as shown by the time stamp on this Early To Bed, Early To Rise Girl's midnight post. Which made me think of a quick and delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe my treasured high school friend gave me a few years back (hi JL). So I thought I'd post it as my recipe tonight, since I know some of you are also busy. In fact, maybe you are one of the 14,000 I must share our 'Disa with. If you see me in line, please show compassion for my 7 year old daughter and make way.

(I will be posting another, less quick, recipe for this same soup on another day)

'Disa Fan Chicken Tortilla Soup
4-6 cups Chicken Broth
1/2-1 Cup Chopped Onion
2-3 Uncooked Chicken Breasts, chopped up
Can Diced or Chopped Tomatoes
Can of Diced Green Chiles
Can of Green Enchilada Sauce
Cumin, they say 1 teaspoon. I say at least twice that as I am a cumin fan.
Garlic to taste (approx. 1 Tablespoon)
Grated Mozarella or cheese of your choice
Tortee-Ya Chips

Saute onion and garlic with some olive oil and the cumin until soft. Add chicken, enchilada sauce, green chiles, diced tomato and chicken broth. Let cook at low boil until chicken is done, 30-45 minutes (it is much better if you do NOT precook the chicken as it releases it's juices into the soup while cooking).

Put chips and cheese in a bowl and serve soup over top.

You could also serve with the delicious cornbread I talked about yesterday.

Did I mention this is quick and easy?

I also want to tell you we had Em's Potato Soup and it was luscious. I added even more basil, and had extra ham so used that too.



Then we topped with fixins. Thanks Em!



Link away! Make sure you check comments too, for more recipes as some post there. Oh, and please make sure you tell your readers to come here to see even more soup recipe links:)


Wishing you a blessed Autumn,