Healthy Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup

Good afternoon readers! How has your winter been? Here in Ohio we usually have dreadful winters full of snow and ice and below freezing winds. However this year, for some strange reason, has been devoid of all of these nasty weather conditions. Has it been cold? Yes, but I think the coldest day has still been in the 40s and we’ve had plenty of days in the 50s and even 60s. It’s strange but I’m not complaining!

I love making warm dishes for dinner during these colder months, especially soups. The winter months are also usually the sick months, so soup is good for warming the body (and soul!) as well as providing the ultimate comfort for an ache-y throat.

I found this recipe while browsing Pinterest. It sounded really good, but I made a few tweaks. If you’re being bombarded by cold weather or the sniffles, I highly recommend you try this soup!

Start off by browning 2 lbs of burger and 1 chopped onion in a large pan. Drain if needed.

After the burger is cooked all the way through, add 2 cups of chopped potatoes, 1 ½ cups of chopped carrots, 1 ½ cups of chopped celery, ½ cup of brown rice, 1 can of green beans, 1 can of corn, 6 cups of water, and spices (salt, pepper, basil, dried oregano, and 2 bay leaves). Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 40 minutes.

Once the soup has simmered for 40 minutes, add 15 oz of tomato sauce. Simmer the soup for another 20 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Healthy Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef

1 med onion (chopped)

2 cups chopped potatoes (peeled)

1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup brown rice

6 cups water

15 oz tomato sauce

1 can green beans

1 can corn

3 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 bay leaves

Directions

First, brown the burger and onions in a pan. Add one tsp salt for flavor. Drain if necessary.

Next, add the potatoes, carrots, celery, rice, water, corn, green beans, spices, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about forty minutes.

After the soup has simmered for about forty minutes, add the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil again and let simmer for another twenty minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Molly

Motivational Monday 16 - A Quick Pep Talk

GUESS WHAT???

You guys have survived Christmas (and everything that goes along with it)! Give yourselves a big round of applause.

The New Year is almost upon us. 2015 is sure to have its share of ups and downs; things are sure to occur to make you doubt your ability to go on. But you know what? You can do it. You’ve gotten through all of the previous years and their share of obstacles; you even survived Christmas 2014! You can do anything; you can survive. I know you can.

I hope you all have a happy (and safe!) New Year. Go out there and make it the best year yet! I know you can do it.

Cheers!

Molly

The Season of Getting

Merry Christmas everyone! As I said in my latest Motivational Monday post, this is the time of the year that has pretty much all of the stress of the year stuffed into just a few weeks; it’s the season of joy and giving… and rising blood pressure.

With all of the hype and stress that goes on, it can be easy to forget the real reason why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place. Instead of remembering Christ’s birth, we’re struggling to remember what it is that our friends and family have been asking for.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve heard the spiel “it’s not about the gifts” one too many times. Honestly, by emphasizing that it’s not about the gifts, we can inadvertently forget that the season really is about getting; the entire Christmas season exists to help us remember the gift of Christ’s birth.

The whole reason why we even have Christmas is because God sent his son to die on the cross for our sins. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that we wouldn’t have to. He gave us the most precious gift. Even if we might not mean to do it, we can almost snub God’s gift by stressing that Christmas is not about the gifts.

It’s nice to get together with loved ones during the holiday season, but that’s not why we celebrate Christmas. We celebrate because God gave us an amazing gift. Instead of worrying about finding the perfect gift for every person in your life, take the time to remember the whole point of Christmas. It’s not supposed to be a stressful time; it’s supposed to be a time of celebration!

I hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Don’t stress the small stuff; don’t put more stress on yourself than needed. And if you’re still stressing out over finding the perfect gift for someone on your list, how about you introduce them to the reason for the season (if they aren’t already acquainted with it)? God gave us his good and perfect gift not so that we could stress out every year, but so that we can experience freedom and salvation.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Isaiah 9:6

Cheers!

Molly

Motivational Monday 15 - The Holiday Spirit

Image courtesy of Sabrina Bailey from The Red Room Photography.

Because it’s the season of giving, a lot of people are going to feel the pressure of spending a ton of money to bestow wonderful gifts on family members and friends. A lot of people’s credit card debt is going to sky rocket between now and December 25^th (and possibly even January 1^st). The knowledge that you have to find these wonderful gifts, paired with the knowledge that these wonderful gifts are going to cost a ton of money, is enough to make any person’s blood pressure rise.

We like to stress the importance that it’s the season of giving and not getting because, for some reason, people believe that focusing on the getting takes away from the Christmas season. Unfortunately, focusing on the giving can have the same effect. If you are so focused on the giving, you might find yourself worrying that you aren’t a good person if you can’t find these wonderful gifts for your family and friends, so you’ll be pressured into buying these gifts that you might not be able to afford, and the issue described in the above paragraph will commence.

I think it’s time that we stop stressing the giving part of Christmas. It’s not about the giving or the getting; it’s about celebrating the birth of Christ and spending time with loved ones. And if these loved ones are worth your love, they won’t care if you get them wonderful gifts or not. If we do things correctly, they’ll be happy just to spend time with you.

The holidays have always been a stressful time for my family. We’ve never had the money, but my parents still wanted to give my brother and me pretty much everything that was on our Christmas lists. This led to arguments. I’ll admit that I did want EVERYTHING on my lists when I was growing up, but now it’s not about the getting to me. It’s not even about the giving. I just like spending time with my loved ones; that’s what makes the holidays for me.

My family and I were watching Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the REAL one, not the live action one) and I was struck how the Whos all grasped the concept of Christmas. Although I’ve known the point of the story for years, I think it just sank in for me. Everything was taken from them. Not just their gifts, but their decorations and their food, too. But they still all got together at the end of the movie to sing songs. They didn’t let their situation define their Christmas; they knew it was about much more than stuff.

Image courtesy of Google images.

So, wonderful people, please don’t worry about giving this year. Don’t worry about getting every single person in your life a gift that they will love. Get your loved ones something meaningful and from the heart. And please make sure that you can afford everything that you’re purchasing; I’m sure your friends and family will understand if you can’t get them gifts. Do you really think they want you to go into debt because of them?

Can I take a second to suggest handmade gifts for your family and friends? Most people I know would love to receive a batch of homemade cookies. (If you aren’t a baker, though, I might suggest you try something different!) As for your kids, I would say it’s okay to get them some things that are on their wish lists, but how about you make sure that they REALLY want it and will use it for years to come before you go out and spend hundreds of dollars on said thing?

I honestly can’t tell you everything I’ve ever gotten over the years, but I can tell you that every year I decorate the house with my family, bake cookies with my family (and eat most of them before Christmas), look at the Christmas lights, watch Christmas movies that I've seen so many times over the years, go see my dad’s family on Christmas Eve and my mom’s family on Christmas Day. 

Family photo with Santa at my dad's family's place.

Memories make the holidays. People make the holidays. Things don’t make the holidays.

Cheers!

Molly

GIVEAWAY Annie-Themed Prize Pack (Open to US Only, 18 and Older. Ends 12/19/14)

ANNIE - December 19, 2014
Visit: http://www.annie-movie.com/site/
Like: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAnnieMovie
Follow: https://twitter.com/AnnieMovie

A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures’ comedy Annie.

Director/Producer/Screenwriter Will Gluck teams with producers James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith, Caleeb Pinkett, and Shawn “JAY Z” Carter, Laurence “Jay” Brown, and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith with a modern telling that captures the magic of the classic characters and original show that won seven Tony Awards. Celia Costas and Alicia Emmrich serve as Executive Producers.

The screenplay is by Will Gluck and Aline Brosh McKenna, based on the musical stage play “Annie,” book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and on “Little Orphan Annie,” © and ® Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Academy Award® nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) stars as Annie, a young, happy foster kid who’s also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday, it’s been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything’s about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) – advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) – makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he’s her guardian angel, but Annie’s self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it’s the other way around.

***

With the remake of Annie hitting theaters next week, Asha Butterflys over at the blog by the same name has the privilege of hosting an Annie-themed Giveaway. Awesome, right? And I got to have the privilege of helping promote the giveaway. Double-awesome! The giveaway kit will include some fun stuff in it that your child will love playing with. I mean, look at that cute little doggie! (I personally wouldn't mind getting those socks!)

 

Honestly, I have never watched the entire movie of Annie. When I was younger, I watched bits and pieces of it over at my friend Kaylie's house, and a couple weeks ago I saw the first fifteen minutes of it via Netflix. I do, however, know some of the songs. I'm not sure if anybody doesn't know a single song from Annie! My personal favorite is "It's the Hard-Knock Life," and it always come to mind when someone mentions Annie. I also like "Dumb Dog," and I find myself singing it from time to time (especially when my dog does something rather dumb).

To enter this super awesome giveaway, you can fill out the entry form below. Good luck!

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick Book Review

Image courtesy of Goodreads.

There’s nothing like reading about characters who get stuck on a mountain in an awful snow storm to make one appreciate the little snow flurries they’d normally complain about. I know I am super grateful for the little snow that we’ve been getting compared to the tons of snow and ice that’s featured in Becca Fitzpatrick’s latest novel, Black Ice. Also, I've become an even bigger fan of my nice warm bed and fuzzy socks.

I was a bit hesitant to read Black Ice at first because I like to read fantasy and sci-fi novels, and I’ll only read just plain fiction books occasionally. However, because I’m such a fan of Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush saga, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to put Black Ice on my wish list and give it a try. Now I am not just a fan of the Hush, Hush saga, but of Fitzpatrick herself.

My personal opinion of Fitzpatrick is that she has an amazing writing voice and has believable stories with believable characters. I am also a fan of the fact that she can write tactful romance; she balances on the line between naughty and nice without falling off into Naughty Land completely. If you ask me, Fitzpatrick knows how to write great Young Adult romance novels.

Black Ice follows the story of Britt Pfeiffer as she takes on the task of backpacking through the Teton Mountains with her best friend and her ex-boyfriend. So what if there’s been a few murders in the very same area? Britt is determined to go on this trip and either win her First Love back or spite him; she has yet to make up her mind when a giant snow storm hits and detains Britt from meeting up with him. Instead of cuddling by the fire with her sweetheart, Britt finds herself taken hostage and being forced to lead a couple of fugitives off of the mountain, wild weather be darned. It isn’t too long before Britt starts to feel a weird attraction to one of her kidnappers, who may or may not be involved with the murders.

Like I said, I was kind of hesitant to read Black Ice at first. The Hush, Hush novels are fantasy books, but there’s nothing fantastical about being trapped in a snow storm and being kidnapped by some fugitives. I’m very glad that my curiosity got the better of me and I ended up reading Black Ice. The genre might not always be my cup of tea, but the characters, their relationships, and the plot itself are developed so well that I wasn’t bored in the slightest. It did take me a couple weeks to finish, but that’s only because school got in the way. If I didn’t have a ton of homework, I probably would have finished the book within two or three days.

I was a bit concerned that Britt’s character wasn’t as developed as she could have been, but by the end of the novel I decided that she’s still a driving force. I might not fully appreciate her character during the first half of the book, but I think she develops nicely by the end (can you say, girl power?). The same goes for Mason’s character (minus girl power, of course...). I might not understand them completely at the beginning, but by the end I came to know them and accept them. I don't think they're as developed as the characters in Hush, Hush, but they suffice. However, the relationships between the characters are really well developed and I absolutely love them.

Besides the minor issues with the character development, I couldn’t really find anything that made me question why I was actually reading Black Ice. Fitzpatrick has concocted a wonderful suspense novel, and I couldn’t help but want more by the time I finished reading. I mean, come on, I need to know what happens next. Sadly, Black Ice has a wrapped up ending, so I don’t know if there’s going to be a sequel. However, I will be on the lookout for Fitzpatrick’s next novel, Sapphire Skies, which is supposed to be released in October 2015.

In case I haven’t made myself clear, I highly recommend Becca Fitzpatrick’s books. If you’re a bookworm, go check them out! And if you know a bookworm, you now know the perfect gift to get them for Christmas. (Also, if you or someone you know needs a new perspective on the awful winter weather, Black Ice is the novel to read!)

Happy reading!

Molly

Motivational Monday 14 - The Good, The Bad, and The New Year

Happy December everybody! The year is drawing to a close; so many things have happened during the past 365 days, both good and bad. A couple weeks ago we had a couple days to reflect on our blessings, and I encouraged everyone in my Thanksgiving Post to forget about all of the bad things for those couple days. Unfortunately, just because we ignore our problems doesn’t mean that they go away.

Bad things happen to people, both bad people and good people. And for some reason, bad things just tend to pile up all at the same time. As the saying goes, when it rains it pours. The good news is that it can’t rain forever. Even in Ohio, one of the dreariest places during November through April, the weather doesn’t stay bad forever. It sometimes seems like the snow and slush and rain in sleet and all the other nastiness will never end, but the dreary season does eventually end and we’re gifted with beautiful weather.

Even the nasty snow and ice can be beautiful. Not everything is completely evil,
not even the bad things that happen in life. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Bailey from
The Red Room Photography.

As the year comes to a close, it’s okay to reflect on everything that’s happened this past year, both the good and the bad. Sadly, bad things are never going to stop happening. But instead of being discouraged by everything bad that has happened, I want you to realize that you’ve survived a lot. You have the potential to survive whatever happens in life. Remember that as you go into the new year.

Just like bad things are never going to stop happening, good things are never going to stop happening, either. So remember the good things that have happened this past year, and realize that even better things are on their way. Never give up hope, no matter how bad things seem; you never know what good thing is right around the corner.

Christmas is a time where both good and bad things happen. The world is full of joy and happiness; it’s the season of giving. At the same time, people are full of stress and their blood pressure rises. It’s like the whole of the year stuffed into one month. But, just like you’ve survived the year, you can also survive the Christmas season. I promise the stress won’t last forever!

Ah, Christmas. The season of joy and rising blood pressures! Photo courtesy of Sabrina
Bailey from The Red Room Photography.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year! Remember: you’re going to survive (both the Christmas season and the New Year)!

Molly