January

Well, I said I would be here more, and I want to be, but …. two things: one, I am super busy with school and two, I haven’t had anything really interesting or earth shattering to talk about lately. So I haven’t said anything.

This term I am taking 5 classes, which equals 20 credits. Comparatively, most full-time college students take 12-16 credits per term. I am, apparently, insane. :) Actually, it is going okay. I am taking two communications classes (a good thing since eventually my major will be communications) and a science class, Spanish and a statistics class. There is a lot of reading, which is okay, except much of it is like reading a list. Not necessarily all that interesting. I appear to be doing well overall, so I will just continue to take it one day and assignment at a time.

One of my “goals” for this year is to try and take better care of myself. So, in that vein, I have started getting regular manicures, have gotten my hair cut and highlighted twice (since November-which is A LOT for me) and have gone back to regular bubble baths during the week. I usually read while I’m in there…sometimes for fun, sometimes for school.

Speaking of reading for fun, I recently re-read the entire Harlequin series about the town of Tyler Wisconsin. There is something like 13 stories, all with an intertwining story throughout. They are a fun read and relatively quick. I am also re-reading the Twilight series, just for fun. I am looking for some new books to read, so any suggestions are appreciated. I’m not into science fiction, but I love a good romance, many fiction stories, mysteries and non-fiction as well. I am not necessarily into politics, but I do like to read about food. Of course!

Speaking of food, I’m going to wrap this up with a recipe that I created recently. It is a great comforting dish, with lots of flavor, and low calories. It has a little over 200 calories per cup of soup. Add a side salad and a slice of hearty bread and you have a reasonable, delicious meal!

Hearty Turkey & Wild Rice Soup/Stoup (Stoup because it gets nice and thick the next day so it is like a stew/soup)

1 Tablespoon butter
1 Cup chopped onion
1 Cup chopped green onion
1 Cup roughly chopped Crimini mushrooms
1 Cup chopped carrot
1 Cup chopped celery
1 small can fire roasted Chilies
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 45 oz can (large!) reduced sodium chicken broth
2-3 Cups diced, cooked turkey (or chicken)
1 ¾ Cups long grain wild rice, uncooked
4 Cups water (or more chicken broth) if needed
2 Cups 2%, reduced fat milk
1/3 Cup flour
2 Tablespoons sherry (optional)
Salt to taste

Melt butter in large stock/soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion and next 9 ingredients (through garlic). Sauté 8- 10 minutes until onions are softened and mixture is starting to cook down. Add broth, turkey and rice. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour, or until the rice is tender.

You may want or need to add the extra water or chicken broth at this point, depending on how thick or soupy you want your final result to be. If you add more water/broth, be sure to bring it all back up to temperature.

Combine flour and milk in a measuring cup or small bowl and whisk together. Add mixture to soup, cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently until thickened (about 5-8 minutes). Add sherry and salt to taste.

Serve with a nice green salad and some crusty French bread.

The most important ingredient: enjoyment!