I really don't know where the time has gone, but way back in November, I cooked my first turkey for a Thanksgiving-themed potluck that I hosted for my friends. I was very nervous but I think it turned out fairly well, and overall it was actually pretty simple. Even though my friends made a good dent in the turkey, I still had quite a bit left over. I enjoyed adding it to salads for lunch and heating it up for dinner, but I got to the point where I really didn't want any more turkey, so I decided to put the rest into a soup.
Woops, forgot to get a picture before the turkey was carved. Sorry for this blurry one!
I just added ingredients as I went and hoped for the best. It kind of reminded me of the "button soup" story - did anyone else read that when they were younger? Anyways, I was actually really surprised by how well
it turned out!
Turkey "Button" Soup Ingredients:
- 15 cups of water
- 5 vegetable bouillon cubes
- about 10 green onions, sliced
- about 4 carrots, sliced
- leftover turkey, torn into pieces
- about half a bag of frozen spinach
- 1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- a pinch of dried rosemary
- a hefty shake of dried basil
- 2 bay leaves
- about half a bag of whole wheat egg noodles
Simmer all of the ingredients, except for the egg noodles, in a big pot for about an hour or so, and then add the egg noodles and let it simmer for about another 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before eating.
I'm not very good at photographing soup/ steamy things.
This recipe is extremely easy to customize based on the ingredients you have on hand - you could substitute another type of leftover meat (i.e. chicken, ham, beef roast, etc.) or leave out the meat altogether, use another kind of onion, different kinds of frozen or fresh leafy greens, use different kinds of beans, change up the spices, etc. The possibilities are endless!
This is a much better picture of the soup, which I had as part of my dinner one night. I also had a salad with romaine lettuce, a crumbled carrot, beet & bean burger, sliced almonds, and homemade croutons, with half a grapefruit on the side.
The soup kept well in the fridge for quite awhile and was great to heat up for lunch or dinner. Even then I couldn't finish it all, so I froze the rest of it and will pull it out sometime during the next semester when I need a quick already-made meal. I love that I know exactly what's in it, as opposed to store bought cans of soup.
Normally when I make up recipes as I go (which is a very rare occurrence), the results don't turn out very well, but this was definitely an exception. I'm glad I learned that homemade soup is actually very simple and doesn't take much effort at all!
I hope the new year is off to a great start for everyone! I got a new phone for Christmas and I've been having fun playing around with the camera on it. I'm really excited that it can easily take panoramic pictures! I took this picture on a little family trip to Michigan.
Song of the day:
"Coyote" by The Lonely Forest. My friend Caitlin turned me on to this band and I'm kind of obsessed with this whole album, which is called Arrows.
So back in April (was it really that long ago?!) I shared pictures from the kitchen of my apartment. I've made a few updates recently, so I've added new pictures to that post. Here's one of them:
I've got two amazing new paintings that my sister made for me, and a newly-painted black table (it used to be blue and pink). I'll share the pictures of the (long!) painting process soon, too.
And here are the pictures of my living room - furnished and decorated on a student's budget, with a lot of help from family and friends. If you've read my blog before, you've probably seen quite a few sunset pictures - this is the biggest window in my apartment, and I also have large windows in my kitchen and bedroom. They all face the same direction, so during the summer and early fall I can see the sunsets from them, and I can also see Lake Erie in the distance.
My rug is from TJ Maxx - I really love it, and it was such a great deal. The curtain rod and curtains are from JC Penney. The chair and ottoman are hand-me-downs from my great aunt.
My couch was my first real "grown-up" furniture purchase. The accent pillows came with it - they're not something I would have picked out myself, but I haven't really looked for replacements. The table to the right of my couch is a family hand-me-down, and it's pretty scratched up, so I covered it with a table cloth that I got on Etsy. It'd be really fun to refurbish the table some day, though, because it has a lot of character. The lamp on the table is also a hand-me-down from my parents. I've been considering spray-painting the base and either recovering or replacing the lamp shade. but I'm still thinking it through.
That's my front door and entrance hall in the back left corner of the picture. My coffee table was another hand-me-down from my parents - we had it in the family room of our first house, and in the basement of my parents' current house. Lots of memories! And a few scratches for good measure.
This is the view from the window side of the room. Notice my party lights? Haha. The tenant before me told me that the previous tenant put them up, and I thought they were fun, so I decided to keep them. A girl I baby-sit really likes them, and she was just shocked that someone could leave them behind :)
You can see my "work station" in the back left corner of this picture - I've got a bookcase, bulletin board, desk (another hand-me-down from my great aunt), and floor lamp. I actually use this area more for just storing things, though, and usually do my work at the kitchen table. I need to spread out! And generally make quite a mess.
Please ignore the terribly ugly cords under my TV. I've been wanting to get some big wicker storage baskets to put under there, but I haven't found any that I love yet.
My parents gave me that papasan chair as a birthday present when I turned 16 - I still love it! Although I pretty much instantly fall asleep when I sit in it...
And here are some close-ups of my "decor," if you will. I really love fireplaces, and although this isn't a working fireplace, I still think it's pretty fun. My mom got me the candle holder as a gift, and I bought candles that have wooden wicks - when you light them, they crackle like a fire! My cousin gave me that brilliant idea - I love it. I used an old vase I had from delivered flowers and put some decorative glass pebbles (yeah, not sure if that's what they're really called, but that's what they look like) and a few fake calla lilies from Hobby Lobby in there. I put some little knick knacks and votives on the mantle.
My best friend gave me these awesome pictures which she took at concerts we'd been to together, and I love seeing them every day! I think personalized artwork is such a special, amazing gift.
I got those three little frames from the dollar spot at Target when I was in undergrad, and I printed out some pictures in black and white to put in them. The glass bud vases are from CB2, and the fake gerbera daisies are from Hobby Lobby. I found that black and white print on Etsy, and got the mat and frame from... wait for it... Hobby Lobby.
I got that floor lamp from Ikea recently, and now I can see to read on my couch! Only took me two years... That wall-mounted candle holder is from CB2, and the picture is a vintage-y map of Paris that is actually wrapping paper from Paper Source, which I put in a poster frame from Target.
Upon my suggestion, my mom ordered those flowers for my parents' kitchen after they re-painted it, but they weren't working there. So I got them instead! Works for me.
So there you have it - another peek into my apartment. And I still need to share some pictures of my hall, bathroom, and bedroom, too. I promise it won't take me another six months to share them this time.
And just for fun, here's a picture from two years ago, before I got around to unpacking. Yikes!
So. It's been awhile. The summer got away from me, and the next thing I knew, school was in full swing. But I want to share a few highlights anyways.
One of my favorite things from this summer was a family vacation in Montana. It was absolutely amazing, and I kind of (really) want to move there now. I knew I'd like it there, but I had no idea how much I would love it. So without further ado, here are some pictures from my trip.
Although the Bozeman airport was small, it was really nice and had a lodge-y feel to it. This guy greeted us at baggage claim!
And this view greeted us in the parking lot. I could get used to that.
Welcome to Bozeman!
Is this not the cutest little dog you've ever seen? He was just waiting patiently on that little ledge until his owner came out of the store.
That's Lone Peak in the distance.
See the "M" on the side of the mountain?
Driving anywhere was a sightseeing trip.
Lone Mountain Ranch.
Learning to fly fish (dry run).
Pretty horses!
Outdoor music.
Bella's a fan.
Okay, she just came for the belly rubs.
View on our morning walk.
Ousel Falls. And a failed family portrait - typical.
First wildlife spotted in Yellowstone National Park - an elk's bum.
Hot springs!
Second wildlife spotting in Yellowstone - bison.
A beautiful paint pot.
The colors were incredible.
Mystic Falls, Yellowstone.
Old Faithful! Checked off the bucket list.
It draws quite a crowd.
And it didn't disappoint!
Yellowstone Lake. I had no idea that this existed - pretty nice surprise!
Lake Yellowstone Hotel.
A bison herd!
The top of Yellowstone Falls.
Rainbow in the Falls.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I also had no idea that this existed - absolutely breathtaking.
Mud pot - ewww.
Trail ride! It was so much fun to go horseback riding again - I probably hadn't been on a horse in 10 years or so.
View from the trail.
I want to go back!!
Chuckwagon dinner after the trail ride.
Alongside the Gallatin River.
Another view that I miss: the one from the bathroom! How nice is that??
Oh, and Bella says hi. She just wants to be where the people are.
So now I'm trying to figure out how I can practice law in Montana :)
Back to the grind!
PS For any Bachelor/ Bachelorette fans out there, I saw Arie (from the most recent Bachelorette season with Emily) at the Colorado airport on the way back.
I was too shy to say anything to him, but now I wish I had just sucked it up and asked for a picture. Ohhh welllll.
Song of the day:
"Man on Fire" by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. This is from their latest album, Here. I'm still not sure what I think about the album in its entirety - it might need to grow on me - but I do like this song.
