Moving Along

Well, this last week was awesome! Jacob was able to squeeze out 32 hours at work and is working at least 1/2 the day today. This means that we should be good for this month and not have to dip into savings. I also have started the application process for substitute teaching. It turns out the my teaching certificate is NOT expired like I originally thought. Now it's a matter of getting transcripts, placement files, finishing the application and paying the $85 for finger printing plus $35 for the application fee. If I get all this turned in by the 17th of this month I can attend the last orientation of the month/year and come January when school starts back up I will be able to sub right off the bat! Meaning that we won't have to dip into savings ever! What a relief!

This last week we have also had fun eating from our food storage. We've made pizza, chili and corn bread, cheese soup and Chicken Divan. The cheese soup is the recipe I'm going to share with you. I realize that it's Monday but I am going to be super busy tomorrow with my Dr. appointment and just stuff. I will be 17 weeks tomorrow so no finding out yet what we are having. I do get to see how much weight I have or haven't gained though which is my favorite part (since I'm usually on the negative side). That reminds me... I need to work out today! Great, another thing on my list. I bought this hip hop dance workout video back in the summer and I LOVE it! I look really stupid doing it and I make sure the door is locked (so Jacob can't just barge in and catch me doing it) and all the blinds are closed. If you are looking for a workout that burns your abs and legs, then I would suggest a video like mine.

Without further adieu here is this weeks recipe:

Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Minced chives, optional

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add the flour, salt, garlic powder and pepper; stir until smooth. Gradually add milk; cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add carrot and celery; simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add to milk mixture and stir until blended. Add cheeses. Cook and stir until melted (do not boil). Garnish with chives if desired. Yield: 4 servings.


I made this with my favorite roll recipe that I posted a few weeks back. You can look under my recipe label and look for the roll recipe if you forgot to copy it. I didn't really measure anything. I just threw the ingredients and seasonings in until it looked good but the first time I ever made this I followed the recipe and it is SUPER YUMMY! Jacob loves it and so does Emma ( Emma likes everything I make though so don't base the goodness of the recipe off of her opinion. Jacob is the picky one). What would have really made this soup complete would be a green salad. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think! Oh and I have to give a shout out to Taste of Home for having this recipe. Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE their website?

We will be heading over for Christmas around the 22nd or 23rd and leaving on the 26th or 27th. I'm excited to go home again. Tyler will be calling and this will be the last call we get until he comes home! I wasn't able to talk to him on Mother's Day this year so it's been a whole year since I've talked to him last. I love him so much! I was such a jerk to him growing up and now we are best friends.

Speaking of brother's and sister's being best friends... Nick and Starr won the Amazing Race and Jacob and I were totally stoked about it! From the very beginning I have wanted them to win and am now rejoicing that Dandrew didn't win.