Weekend Recap: R&R + D

Hello Lovelies!  Hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day.  With Mr. Isaac passing through much of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I got in my fill of R&R with a side of decorating and DIY.  I have a fun few mini DIY's to share later this week but thought I'd include some pics from our weekend.

wished we were enjoying this yard all weekend but had to admire the

green grass from inside the kitchen.

 

i made a roasted chicken on friday night a la julia child with fresh herbs from our garden. yum.

 

added a pair of these guys to my office - a score from a local thrift store for only $10 EACH!

shades from target.

 

hung this guy up in the kitchen with some mini clothespins. just need to add some cute hooks for keys. excited to have a mini command station for invitations, pictures, bills and more!

 

 

We still had our "BBQ" as planned on Sunday but with a few more rain drops than anticipated.  We had some wonderful friends in town (M and his lovely bride C) and got to use our newly decorated guest room (pics later this week) and D made ribs.  I'll see if I can score the official recipe this evening and hope to share it out later this week.

 

In addition to roasting a chicken on Friday night, I made some chicken stock from scratch (always good to have around) and whipped up a batch of Chicken Tortilla Soup on Saturday.  I'm not a big soup person at all, but my good friend E's mother, Miss. T. makes THE BEST Chicken Tortilla Soup ever and has shared some of her secrets over the years. 

 

 

- 5 cups chicken stock/broth (whichever you have, I used stock in this case)

- 1 lb cooked and shredded chicken (I used half of the 3lb chicken I roasted the night previously)

- 2 medium carrots, chopped

- 1 yellow onion chopped

- 3 stalks celery chopped

- 2 small/medium sized jalapenos, deseeded and chopped (our's were a little on the small side because they came from the garden)

- 1 tablespoon butter

- 2 teaspoons ground cumin

- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (less if you don't like it spicy)

- 1 corn cob cooked and removed from the stalk

- 1 roasted red pepper - chopped (good tutorial here)

- 1 half of a tomato (I used an heirloom variety from our garden and about 10 cherry tomatoes I had from our garden that needed to be used up)

 

Combine the celery, onion, carrots and jalapenos in the bottom of a soup pot with the cumin, chili powder and butter, heat over high.  Saute until onions sweat and carrots and celery turn brighter version of themselves - 5 minutes max.  Add in half the chicken stock to the cooked veggies.  Cook for 10 minutes more over medium heat. Carrots and celery should be softer now and stock should have reduced a bit.  Add in red pepper and corn and remaining stock and cook for another 10 minutes.  Add in the tomato and chicken.  Cook for 20 to 30 minutes on lowest heat.  Adjust seasonings to taste.

 

Serve with tortilla chips, shredded colby jack cheese, a squeeze of lime and fresh chopped cilantro.

 

 

Hope you enjoy this as much as D and I do - he frequently asks for this dish by name year round!

 

xoxo,

KC