Chicken Barley Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1-1/2 lbs skinless bone-in chicken breast (makes 14 oz cooked)

7 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 bay leaves

2/3 cup dry barley

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a large heavy pot on medium heat. Add the oil, carrots, onion, celery and garlic to the pot and stir. Add chicken, broth, parsley, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer covered over low heat until the chicken and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken, shred or cut the meat, discard the bones and return the chicken to the pot along with the barley, adjust the salt if needed and add fresh ground pepper. Simmer an additional 40 minutes, until the barley is cooked. Discard the bay leaves and serve. Makes about 9 cups.

Servings: 6 Size: 1 1/2 cups Calories: 262

KonMari: Preparing for Success

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m Jennie, a 45 yrs. housewife, former at-home-mom/homeschool mom. My husband Shawn works in the IT dept. of a local hospital as a Systems Administrator. Our children are grown (21, 25, 26, and 28), 2 of our 4 children still live at home. We have a 5 yrs. granddaughter and 3 yrs. grandson. We’ve spent the last 7 years downsizing our possessions /becoming rational minimalist along with redoing the house. My home is over 100 yrs. old and is perfectly imperfect.

 

I’m thankful that the discarding, organizing, and decorating portion of my KonMari journey is finished. I'll do a quick look over of each categories but I'll mostly be following the red portion of the challenge when it applies and working on my own projects. We have moved onto projects, repairs, painting, and refinishing the woodwork in our home. I have a list that’s specific to each room that my husband and I will be trying to get done. I'll deep clean my house along with the challenge too.

My project goals so far for the categories:

• Books-Finish typing up the recipes for my Cooking Notebooks.

• Furniture- Paint the grandkids furniture stored in the barn. Purchase table for family room seating area. & Paint Entertainment center. & Paint the living room and family room.

• Sentimental- Delete unwanted digital pictures, organize our 6 photo boxes of printed pictures, scan printed pictures to digital, and update our gallery wall.

My vision is to be a light and love as Christ loves me. My husband and I to enjoy our empty nest years with many adventures. To be a blessing to our children and grandchildren while sharing many family times. Have a peaceful relaxing home that supports our life together. We enjoy our home and love to welcome our family and friends.

Our Living Room

Welcome to our Home.  I wanted to share my living room with you today.

The living room view from the doorway.  We plan to paint this year and eventually refinish the floors.

The living room view toward the closets and entertainment center. My husband and I use the closets for our clothing and personal thing rather than the very small master closet.

The living room view toward our couches. We hope to replace the couches this year. I'm considering painting the end tables.


 

















The living room toward the double door entry. I have sentimental photos and memory books on stored in the entertainment center. I hope to paint the entertainment center this year.

The corner of the living room with my decor.

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

 

2 cups water 

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon or 1/2 vegetable bouillon cube

1 package (16 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter, cubed

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup 2% milk

1 pound process cheese (Velveeta), cubed

In a large saucepan, bring water and bouillon to a boil. Add broccoli. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup liquid.

In another large saucepan, sauté onion in butter until tender. Whisk in flour until blended. Add the milk and cheese. Cook over medium-low heat until thickened and cheese is melted, stirring frequently. Stir in broccoli and reserved cooking liquid. Yield: 4 servings.

Clutter Busting Challenge December 2017

I'm purging 15 items this month, that makes 424 items purged for 2017. I went through my closet and purged a good amount of stuff including the dress that I wore to our Vow Renewal. I did go thrifting and got a few tops. Self care is important, feeling good about yourself including the way you look and what you wear. It doesn't matter your budget, you can look good and feel good.

My purge pile:

Stairs Carpet

I started removing the carpet from the stairs about 2 yrs. ago. I got it off the bottom landing and the first 4 stairs.






















All these still needed done. I stopped and put it off for too long.

In February my husband and I removed the carpet from the upstairs landing.

I decide to make it my goal to get it removed by the end of the year. It had been left partially done for too long. I finally removed the carpet from all the stairs leading to the second floor.

It took about 5 hours but I'm glad it's finished. I was tired and ache but it's worth it.

December 2017 Reading List

The California Gold Rush Romance Collection
The Price of Love by Amanda Barratt
The Best Man in Brookside by Angela Bell
Civilizing Clementine by Dianne Bell
The Marriage Broker and the Morticain by Anne Greene
The Lye Water Bride by Linda Farmer Harris
A Sketch of Gold by Cynthia Hickey
Love Is a Puzzle by Pam Hillman
The Golden Cross by Jennifer Rogers Spinola
Golden Haven Heiress by Jamie Jo Wright