Happy New Year!

Well, 2015 is here!  We had intended to wrap up the year back home with friends, but a broken jet changed our plans and Southwest ended up putting us up in Birmingham for one more night. 

Here are a few more pictures from our trip southeast.

A beautiful river canyon in Desoto National Park.

Date day with my guy, thanks to Pop & Mimi babysitting Ryder.

Walking through B'ham our last night. 

And now, here we are - home sweet home! As wonderful as family time is, nothing feels quite like home - especially after nearly a month of living out of suitcases, not to mention more than our share of sickness.

We were greeted in Reno with a beautiful dusting of snow. 

After a morning trip to Costco, our fridge is once again stocked and ready to get us through the next couple of weeks. 

Of course, I was anxious to get home and try out my new huge Le Creuset dutch oven (thanks Braden!) and what better way than homemade chicken soup for my 2 sickies?  

I started out by roasting a whole chicken.  Once it was finished, I removed the breasts for another meal and let the rest of the carcass and skin simmer in water with veggies. 

Before long, the meat that was left practically fell off the bone and I added seasonings and pasta before serving.  If you're looking for a recipe, here's one that I came across on Pinterest that looks great.  It was my inspiration, though I can't say that I followed it.  The only similarities between mine and this one were lemon juice and a few dashes of dill. 

Suffice to say, I love my new dutch oven and look forward to more experimental recipes in the days to come. 

It's great to be home and I'll make it my goal to be posting more regularly, now that we're somewhat settled. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

J