Kale Soup

I have spoken about my love of kale, as well as my love of soup, before.  So what could be better than combining my two loves...Kale Soup.

Thank you Trisha Yearwood for sharing this easy and yummy recipe via Trisha's Southern Kitchen.

Also a big "Thank You" to Allie for hosting today's link up: 

You can find the recipe here.

Kale Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound fresh chorizo 
• 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed *I used 8-10 'mini' yukons
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped  *I used 1 large shallot
• 4 cloves garlic, minced *I used minced garlic from a jar (2 heaping tsp)
• 8 cups chicken broth 
• 1 pound kale, stems removed, leaves torn into 1-inch pieces 
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt and black pepper 

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Brown the chorizo in the oil, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the potatoes, onions, garlic and chicken broth.

Simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the kale, and cover. Cook until the kale wilts, 7 to 10 minutes.

Uncover, add the Parmesan, and heat through for about 5 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Brown the chorizo.
I also added the shallot and garlic during this step.

Add the potatoes and chicken broth.
Simmer until potatoes are fork tender.

Add the kale.
Continue to simmer until the kale wilts.

Add the parmesan cheese.

ENJOY!!

Until Next Time,

Heather

What's Up Wednesday?

Unfortunately for me, What's Up today is no internet 😠.

Upon a call to our provider it was determined "that there is an interruption between your house and the street".  So a tech has been dispatched and it should be back up and running by Friday.

Given this unfortunate event, I will not be bringing you my regular "What's Up" post so instead jump on over and check out my hosts:

Mel,

Shay

&

Shaeffer

Check back here on Friday for my latest edition of Friday Faves!

See you then...

Heather

A Day in the Life...

...of us.

It's time for another installment of "A Day in the Life of Us".  I always love to read other bloggers post about their daily lives & routines; just call me #noseyrosey.

But seriously, it's always nice to see how others "do life".

So here is a glimpse of how I do "Friday".

February 17, 2017

First of all, today's date was picked randomly by my husband.  I throw out a series of numbers for him, "1-28 and not 14", and he makes his choice.

Up and at 'em at 5:30 a.m.

On this particular day, due to some unexpected car trouble, I had to take T to work.

As a side note, I have previously mentioned that I love the Google Keep App...this is why.

There is no way that I would have remembered, upon waking, that I needed to take pictures for the blog, so I set myself a reminder in Keep & it kindly reminded me.

Thank you Google Keep!

Since I was out and about so early in the morning, I decided to surprise Zane and AB with breakfast upon my return home from dropping T at work.

Bojangle's for the win!

I arrived back home at 6:15 and it was time for COFFEE!!

Zane makes the absolute perfect cup of joe.

I had 15 minutes to enjoy my coffee before having to "get ready".

During this time I check social media for any breaking news...see what I missed while catching some zzzzzz's.

Facebook

Instagram

Follow me @heatherausburn

Snapchat

Follow me @ hal1974

6:30 and it is time to get serious about my day...

First up~makeup

I sit on the love seat in our bedroom and apply my makeup with this compact mirror by the light emanating from the bathroom.  It's a miracle that I don't leave the house looking like this...

Image from Google


Next up~Hair

Time to tame this mane...going with the 1 day dirty style today.  Add a few curls, some hair spray and VOILA~done!

Rise and Shine!

Someone didn't want to wake up...

What do I want to wear today?

We are ready and out the door by 7:35 every morning.

First stop...elementary school

What AB does to pass the time it takes to get to school...all of about 8 minutes.

On this day, I had to make a detour on the way to work in order to purchase our annual car tags from the tax commissioner's office.  They don't open until 8:00 so I enjoyed my breakfast in the car while I waited.

Cinnamon toast with butter
#buttermakeseverythingbetter

Tags purchased...
Happy Birthday Zane
now...
off to work.

8:15 a.m. and I am now in my office, ready to tackle this Friday.

During lunch I often take 20 minutes to get my workout completed for the day.

This Friday, I chose to ride the stationary bike.  It gave me a run for my money...I struggled.

BUT, I got it done.

Lunch

Tuna Creations Hot Buffalo Style over lettuce with ranch dressing

Pita chips with hummus

And of course...water

AND...just as I sit down to eat, I get a phone call from my son that he had been the passenger in a mild auto accident.  Luckily he was just down the road by a couple of miles so I ran out to check on him.

Luckily, no one was injured and he was able to go back to work for the remainder of the afternoon.

So was I...back at the grindstone until 5:00.

YAY!!!  Time to start the weekend...

Picked up Wendy's on the way home.  Nothing like eating at the bar, browsing the weeklies for all the good deals in preparation for grocery shopping on Saturday.

Finished the night with a little reading...Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks.

9:55 p.m.  Nighty~Night

Well there you have it, a day in the life of us.  A pretty typical Friday with work, friends and family.

Until Next Time,

Heather

Monday's Motivation

Happy President's Day

LOL

So for those of you that are lucky enough to be off today...enjoy!

#jealous

And for those of you that aren't (#me)...here is a little Queen to get you through yet another Monday.

Make today GREAT my peeps!

Until Next Time,

Heather

Dukes Creek Falls

Dukes Creek Falls

Richard B Russell Scenic Highway

White County, GA

I have been itching to get back on the trails and finally decided that I wasn't going to wait for mother nature to cooperate.  So we bundled up and took a hike.

This was our first hike of the season and we had a newbie with us so we decided to try a falls hike that was rated Easy/Moderate.  A 2+ mile, in and out trail that would give us all something to look forward to, along with some river scenery on the route to and from the falls.

AB with her friend, Ava

It was a brisk 40 degrees...

Bundled up and ready to go!

The beginning of the trail has these very nice "boardwalks" to get you started.  You can also catch a quick view of the falls from here.

I love that this man will go on adventures with me!

I wasn't lying when I said it was cold.  

These icicles were formed from the water trickling down the rocks found on the side of the mountain.

Once at the base of the falls, there are once again boardwalks and decking.  Unfortunately part of this deck was closed due to a downed tree.  But that didn't deter us from some great views...

150 feet tall

While at the base there are benches for resting, picnicking, relaxing...

I love to hear the roaring sound of the falls as the river rushes by!

#sillygirls

At this point the natives were getting a bit restless and I was a bit hungry so we hiked out.

Just right down the road from the Falls is Smithgall Woods State Park.  We stopped in there and had a picnic by the river.

Grilled chicken, pasta salad and sugar cookies...the perfect way to finish our day in the woods.

If you're in the N. Georgia area...Dukes Creek Falls is a must see!  I give it ★★★★★ .

Until Next Time,
Heather