Light Loaded Baked Potato Soup

My fall front porch. Not super into creepy Halloween decorations. 

The natural fall front porch is warm and inviting! 

Wreath made from materials from Hobby Lobby! Super easy. Corn stalks, pumpkins, and gourds from Horrocks. Flowers from our favorite local market, Speyers. Welcome mat (from last year) Target clearance! 

Light Loaded Baked Potato Soup

You'll need...

8 slices crispy bacon chopped

1 white onion chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1.5 tsp fresh parsley, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

2 tbsp flour

salt and pepper

4 cups chicken broth (low sodium), divided

1 bag of frozen potatoes or 3 cups of redskin potatoes chopped into 1'' pieces
1 cup of carrots sliced
1 cup of chopped broccoli 

3 cups reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

1 can of fat free cream of chicken

2/3 cup low fat sour cream

2/3 package of light cream cheese

4 tbsp chives, minced
Crock Pot - Cook time (including prep) about 6 hours

Cook that bacon...crispy, baby. 

While cooking the bacon, I started my chopped veggies in the crockpot with the cream of chicken soup and 3 cups of chicken broth. Set crock pot to high. 

Leave some of the bacon grease in the pan (about 2 tbs) and put the chopped onion in there with the garlic powder. About 5 minutes...

In a small bowl mix flour and milk together. It will be clumpy at first but then add mixture into the skillet with the onions. Raise the heat of the pan to a boil, or until the flour mixture has dissolved. Continue to stir lightly until blended. I added in the other cup of chicken broth to this as well. Once it's to the desired texture  and all creamy looking, add it into the crock pot mixture (shown below).

Set aside your shredded cheddar, chopped chives, crumbled bacon, cream cheese, and sour cream. I refrigerated everything until I needed it again in a few hours.

I cooked this for about 3 hours on high at first and then 1.5 on low as I noticed the veggies were cooked, and it just needed to simmer for a bit. I added the cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese in then (so about 4 hours of cooking had occurred and all veggies were soft). You could cook it on low for 6-8 hours and add the cheese/sour cream in after. I had to whisk it a bit to mix the cheese and blend the soup.

Needless to say, this soup was delicious! It hits the spot on a cold night. :)

Add your bacon, extra cheddar, and scallions on top and it's a perfect meal or even starter soup before a meal! It really tasted like a loaded potato too. Hope you enjoy it!

Jute Lamp Shades, Painted Pumpkins, Homemade Applesauce, and a Beagle pup!

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" Ecclesiastes 3:1

Fall is in full swing. It's always been one of my favorite seasons. For one, it was always the beginning of soccer season in college. I looked forward to chilly games believe it or not! I disliked the wet games though. As goal-keeper, that was nightmare! However, now in this stage of life, the seasons remind me of God's creativity and the beauty of "change". Nothing stays the same. Growing older, I've realized this is something I value greatly. My husband and I are so drastically different in that. He is a man sure of his love for certain things, order, and sequence. Variety for him isn't a pleasant thing. It really throws off his routine ;) Me, on the other hand, I love trying new things and the saying "variety is the spice to life" was probably coined for people like me. I'm not ashamed. I embrace it. Hopefully my husband is getting used to it by now!

With "change" being a theme to the season, we've FINALLY decided to add a little variety to our life with a new furry member of the family...Duke will be making his debut to our home November 8th! This was quite the process to first decide on a dog breed. Mercy. We thought about an English Bulldog for many months. Austin's love for all things "Rob and Big" truly inspired. I came around eventually to the idea. Unfortunately, we researched dogs, emailed breeders, and came up short on that idea. We were not so sure if that's what we really wanted...So, eventually, we landed on the Beagle breed...and the name Duke. Found a breeder in Rockford who kept us in the loop as new litters were born. And eventually, we knew we had found our "Duke". We've visited twice prior to bringing him home..we just love him that much! If I could imagine the adoption process (translation from humans to baby dogs) this feels quite similar. Can't wait to snuggle with this little bugger.

Just look at those eyes! Makes your heart melt doesn't it!

Okay, onto crafts...my life line and self-proclaimed healing therapy.

 Painted Pumpkins

Just keep that Chevron obsession coming! Anyone who has been in my office at work can attest there is a lot of chevron happening. So why not add it do my fall decor? These were a bit more difficult to do than anticipated...

I wish I would have painted with actual white paint instead of the spray paint as it seemed to dry funny and crept between the tape design. Note to self!

{Pictured above is white spray paint and glitter paint I had left over from other projects}

First do some taping!

Then some painting! Allow a good several hours dry time before taking the tape off. 

 "L" Pumpkin! Super easy to do yourself. You can stencil for a more accurate paint job. 

My little pumpkins needed some paint too!

You gotta roast the pumpkin seeds! Tasty treat. 

Recipe found at: http://jadelouisedesigns.com/roasted-pumpkin-seeds-recipe/

Jute Wrapped Lamp Shades

So I'm on a jute high these days. I may have gone a little overboard. Ahhh well. Boring lamp shades come to a more natural and fun looking state of being. 

(Before Pictured Above) - That's my Pumpkin Apple Yankee Candle burning there. Smells like heaven!

You will need a lampshade, rope/jute fiber (You can find this at your local Home Depot or Lowes), a hot glue gun, scissors, and lots of glue re-fillers (I went through a ton of glue!)

This project requires some patience. Settle in with your favorite 2 hour movie and get to gluin'. 

After! The only complaint I have is that the light doesn't shine bright through the jute. I wish I would have used more of a pure rope like fiber. However, they're still pretty for a decorative look. 

 Fix it and Forget it Crock Pot Apple Sauce

We were gone for most of the day Saturday running errands. I spent about 20 minutes peeling all the apples, threw them in the crock pot with a couple other ingredients, and 6 hours later....boom! Applesauce! Seriously, that's what happened and it was just like that. 

Recipe taken from the following blogger: 

 http://thefrugalgirls.com/2010/10/homemade-crockpot-applesauce.html

Only adaptions I made: I used mostly macantosh, honeycrisp, and empire apples...which are very sweet naturally, therefore I probably would have left out a 1/4 cup of brown sugar blend and only used 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract instead of 1 tsp. 

For a bigger turn out you'll need more than 6 apples as this recipe above calls for...

I used 12 apples total

1 cup of water

1-2 tsp of Cinnamon

3/4 cup of brown sugar blend (splenda/brown blend)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

(and a Crockpot of course)

All ingredients mixed together on high for 6 hours.

Once the 6 hours are up, you'll want to mash the apples up a bit and let it simmer. It will be a little wet, but some of those juices will absorb into the sauce. The apples should be really mushy and the smell...well let's just say it's going to smell awesome in your house for the next couple of hours! 

Yields about 3-4 cups worth. You could easily do another 6-12 apples in a large crock pot for more apple sauce!

Hope you enjoy some new ideas. Get crafty. Get cookin'. Enjoy the fall! Be blessed everyone. 

Fall Craftiness

Life just keeps going and going...I'm just trying to keep up some days! I'm grateful for fall. It's one of my favorite seasons. Life at the Lettinga household continues to be one filled with 40-50 hour work weeks and some fun times on the weekends with family and friends. We're looking forward to adding a special member of our family come November, nope not a child, but a beagle puppy! We're very excited and anxious for him to be ready to come home with us. 

With the cooler temperatures and earlier darkness enclosing, I've had more time for indoor fun. Stops at Hobby Lobby, being that it's so close to work, is a blessing and a curse! Here's a few projects that won't break the bank to do!!

I call this..."turn a pillow you don't like anymore into one you do". This is a permanent project...meaning I used hot glue so this pillow will be like this for a while - it's not a pillow cover. However, it's festive for the holidays! So I bought this burlap material using my 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby. It came to 3-4 dollars. Not bad for a new pillow!?

Cut material to fit pillow. It should be a lot like wrapping a gift. The lines must line up etc. I had to cut a few times to adjust well. The glue goes along the folds and does need some pressing to hold down and dry. 

Done - I added a felt broach. I did not make that. It's perfect! :) I loves it. Not the most comfy thing to lay on but it is really adds something to the decor for fall. 

Next...Jute Wrapped Wine Bottles

This is a project easy to do in front of your favorite hour long TV show. It takes some discipline and focus, but it's easy enough. Materials you'll need are: hot glue gun, plenty of Jute (1 medium spools worth), Wine or glass container, and burlap flower decals if desired. 

And then you get to wrappin'... settle in for the project with your wine and favorite movie.

These were 5.99 at Hobby Lobby. They added an extra something to this project.

Done! So fun and perfect for spring and/or fall. 

Happy Fall! Get crafty :)

Shout out to two of my bestest friends in this world. Where would we be without good friends?!