Okay so I've been on a soup rage. Every weekend I make 3-4 quarts of hearty soup for the entire week. Its been absolutely amazing, very very filling, and perfect for the winter! Here's the recipe I use. The bulk of the work is in chopping everything.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash cut in 1/2 inch cubes  (or a Zucchini, or 2-3 yellow squash, or a mix of both!)
1 chicken breast (1/2 inch cubes)
1 red onion chopped
1-2 garlic cloves diced
Spices: palmfuls of oregano, lemon pepper, paprika, and chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I add thyme, chives, and cajun)
1-2 carrot stick peeled and chopped
1-2 celery sticks chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup barely or bulgar washed
1 cup mixed beans washed (white beans, black eyed peas, kidney beans, chick peas, lima beans, pinto beans, etc) --> I just use prepackaged mixed beans bags
2 chicken or beef bouillon cubes
3-3.5 quarts water

Directions:

1- Boil water in a 4 quart pot with the bouillon cubes. Add all washed beans and barely and let it boil on med-high.
2- In a wok warm 3 tbsp oil and add onions. Once the onions are soft and pink, add garlic and chicken. Cook the chicken until opaque white and add all the spices. Next add all the chopped vegetables and tomato sauce. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until everything is a bit softened.
3- Transfer all the vegetables into the pot with water and keep on high. Add any extra salt or spices needed. (If you feel it tastes too tomato-ey then just add a bit of sugar or cinnamon)
4- Let it cook mostly covered for about an hour. If you have a pressure cooker you can cook in there for about 20 minutes.
5- Enjoy with toast or croutons!

You can play around with the recipe and add other vegetables like broccoli, potato, etc. Hope you enjoy it!

Qaddafi

I wonder if he knew today would be his last?

Did he know people would not show mercy on him.

Did he expect his body to be dragged,

Through the streets for people to see?

All leaders have to end,

Great or some not so great.

Insecurities

When you find fault in everyone else, you are the one who needs to change.

With the right intention and a little bit of effort, you can make the world turn up.

Bittersweet are the memories of the past,

Of struggle dismissal and finding out who we are.

Inspiring are the tales of ancients,

Who've lived their lives fighting just to accomplish one dream.

Love your neighbors, you're odd family members...

But most importantly love yourself.

You never know what you can accomplish.

The more you look into your heart the more you'll see the good in others.

Peach Cobbler

This peach cobbler is super easy to make. I've made it twice with great reviews. I wish I could make it over and over until peaches go out of season! I don't believe in using frozen berries for anything other than smoothies and cold things. Eat it warm with vanilla ice cream. It's delicious and you'll love it. :)


My photo isn't that great, but I made two batches last time since we had a lot of people over. Photo credit, my SIL with her cell phone. 

Here's the link and the recipe is below. 

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

The only "downside" to this is that it requires self-rising flour. I did not have self-rising flour but followed a recipe to make some. I didn't see myself using the flour often enough to go buy a bag. But it turned out great either way. I am lazy so next time I think I'll just buy some self-rising flour. 

Mid-Week Pick me up

Last week a group of people and I were talking about how Muslims are portrayed in the Media humorously and what is and isn't tasteful. Someone brought up The Simpsons episode "Mypods and Boomsticks." It's about a Jordanian boy named Bashir, whose family recently moved to Springfield. Homer's friends convince Homer that the Bashir's family is a terrorist and he sets out to investigate.

I just watched it and thought it was pretty funny and wanted to share it in case you haven't seen it. It's worth a watch. Let me know what you think. :) click HERE to check it out.

From Sanskrit

"Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope."

*Photo taken by me on Sept 3, 2011 in Manistee, Michigan 

Floating hyoid bone: miracles of the body

About three weeks ago I went to see an ear nose and throat doctor, an ENT, to check out the lump in my throat caused from a "choking sensation" and following a 6-hour emergency room stay.

After having two resident doctors and an ENT look at my throat, he said my hyoid bone, located above the thyroid bone, may have slipped out of place. It is the only free-floating bone in our bodies which is snuggled between two muscles. It helps us pull things down (swallow) or pull things up through the throat (vomit?).

The doctors put a slim long tube down my throat, while I said, "e-e-e-e", puffed up my cheeks or swallowed by instruction during a Laryngoscopy, an examination of my throat. My father, who took me to the doctor, watched behind me peeking on at some points and squirming as he saw the long tube make it's way through.

"Looks good," noted the main doctor, who made a few references and points while he explained the different parts of my throat. No allergies or there would be redness at the top of your throat, he said. He also found a node, or a bump, on one side of my throat, but noted it was not cancerous following the tests. Alhamdulillah, thank God.

My visit ended with a prescription for Motrin 800 mg, to be taken as needed. The other option was getting a steroid injection on the left side of my throat where the "lump" hurt. Two Motrin have put me back on track.

So here's to trying to live "back to normal" again.