Everyone been saying how they want soups. So, Mom said to all come down to the rec room and let's can it together! We loaded up our cookers (that Dad's gave to us for Christmas one year), put many, many jars in the Yukon, grabbed all my ingredients to make vegetable soup and chicken corn noodle soup and then with the two youngest with me, I went to Mom's to start browning hamburger and chopping veggies!
We all decided to make different soups and if you wanted some of the same kind, we took the recipe times ???. I took my vegetable soup recipe times five! Here's the recipe we used.
VEGETABLE SOUP:
1 Qt. String Beans
Carrots
Potatoes
Peas
Onions
Corn
Lima Beans
7 Qt. tomato juice
3 lbs. hamburger, fried
3 TB. beef bouillon
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Tb. Chili Powder
3 Cup alphabet noodles
Precook at vegetables. Mix everything together and cold pack for 2 hours.
I also wanted some Chicken Corn Noodle. Mom cooked some chicken legs and also got three BBQ chickens at market that we chopped up. We kinda made up our own recipe as we went along with this one. Maybe that wasn't the best idea but I make this soup often for our family and I have a recipe of mine own I like. I based it off of that and we mixed and added and then mixed some more. Here's my recipe I created for my family.
CHICKEN CORN NOODLE SOUP:
Cooked chicken
Chicken broth
Wide noodles
Corn
Cream of Celery Soup
Salt & Pepper
* Boil the noodles and then add your broth. Add cooked chicken and corn. Open up one can of cream of celery soup and add it. This gives your soup a creamy, yummy flavor. We did add this plus some chopped celery. Salt and Pepper to your taste. Fill jars and cold pack for 3 hours.
I browned tons of hamburger for our vegetable soup.
Jody brought all the Chili Soup ingredients!!! And we chopped so many vegetables!!!
Potato Soup and Chili Soup.
Dad's gave us these huge caners for Christmas this year!!! We used it for mixing and canning!Vegetable Soup mixed and ready for jars!
Chicken Corn Noodle Soup ready for jars!!! And here we are ... the Riehl's Canning Company! Well, at least for one day!!! :)))) We lined up our five cookers and canned away!!!
Vegetable Soup ready for the caners!
We also made Cheeseburger soup. It was a hard working day but, oh, so fun to now have my canning shelves restocked with yummy soup!!! Thanks to my mom and sisters for making this a fun day!!!
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This week was another week of basketball games and volleyball games! The kids played hard and Hadassah's team won their first basketball game!!! Yeah!!!
We've been emotionally challenged too with the news of Damien's cancer coming back. John and Suz have been friends of ours for years but just in the past few years, they have become really special friends!!! We love to travel to our annual football games together and we are blessed to have them at church and in our lives!!! A few weeks ago, Damien had his annual MRI scheduled. They took the trip to Hershey expecting normal results. But, this time something showed up on Damien's brain again. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in the brain. He survived surgery and many treatments. He now lives with affects of both. He has been in remission for awhile now and so hearing the news of something not right is heart breaking for Damien, John and Suz and their family!!! Damien went for surgery and had another small tumor removed. This time not as severe and the doctors could do it through laser. He came home the following day but ended back up in Hershey Wednesday from being in a seizure. There he was for another week. They did more tests and it shows that the tumor that was removed was cancerous. And that there is now another tumor on his spine. PLEASE, please join us as we lift this family up to the Lord!!! They are tired. They have a family of five boys and a baby girl. They need God's leading and direction on what to do next to fight this terrible disease!!! John and Suz believe in God!!! They know that God cares for them but in these dark, tough moments they can't help but wonder why God isn't answering their cries and prayers!?! Again, please pray for them as they have some big decisions to make very quickly. Damien is out of the hospital again and feeling OK. It is comforting to know that the God who created our bodies does really know all about Damien's situation!!! Lord, please give this family strength, mercy and endurance until the very end of this battle!!! We are praying for complete healing. Touch Damien's body!!!
On Thursday, Hadassah had a birthday!!! Her day was packed with school and sporting events. I baked a batch of bars to take along to her volleyball game and we shared it with her team. We hope to celebrate her birthday dinner tonight!!!
We got a text from John and Suz later that night. They were just hurting and needing encouragement. A group of us close friends all said that we would come over. We hugged and cried out to God! They really do need His leading and guidance right now! It was so good for them to share their burden and feelings. They have an appointment with the doctors on Friday to discuss what next? What now??? They dreaded breaking this news to their boys and Damien. It just doesn't seem like life is fair right now for them! Going through this again the second time is a real blow in the gut!!! "Lead them Lord!!! Let them feel your presence! Shower them with your love and hold them tighter than ever before in your loving arms!!!" ~ Amen.
Friday, was our 16th wedding anniversary!!! Hadassah and Matthew were invited to a birthday party last evening and we dropped off Ashlyn and Austin at Linda's. (Thanks lady!!!) This gave us a chance to go visit The Speckled Hen coffee shop!!! We ate delicious sandwiches. We drank yummy 'pour over coffee's'. The live music was cool. But the best part of all was to just be together!!! Without the kids distracting us. Just Mike and I!!! I'll take that as a gift even though it was for only a short moment in time!!! Date nights are always good for us!!! It brings us closer together and we get a chance to laugh, talk and chat. It re energizes us! Thanks Babe for being my wonderful husband!!!
Normally, after we get back from a date night, we watch a movie together. But, this time Mike was totally exhausted. He was up Wednesday night until 1:30 AM working in his office. This happens about once a year. He came home at regular time on Wednesday evening. Ate supper. Hung out with the kids and then after they were all in bed, he went back to his office to work. He got caught up with emails, bills and invoices without the distraction of the phone ringing or customers wanting this and that. It's totally not my way of getting things done, but it works for him. :/// I think he even gets a kick out of it. It just proves that he's a good worker and gets it done!!! :))) Then it was another late night on Thursday. So, by Friday night, he feel asleep early! :) I was totally OK with this and seen it coming! Plus, we are super excited to have a getaway trip coming up! Just him and I!!! We can't wait!!!
The kids had off of school yesterday and that gave us a chance to pull out our first winter puzzle. I love doing these when it's cold outside!!!
Now, cheers for the weekend!!! We are going to celebrate Hadassah's birthday as a family tonight! Then drink in God's word at church tomorrow. Then serve the youth some yummy snack! :))) Life is never dull and boring for us!!! We live a good life! Action packed!!! We are so blessed!!!
