I've been missing. I'm not even sure I remember where I've been, but I'll try! In my last blog I reported on my three sick kiddos.  Well, it spread.  Hubby got it, then 2nd born son got it.  Littlest boy had it pretty rough.  We ended up in the ER with him one night. 


At first they thought they might need to admit him, but thankfully, he responded well to the steroids.  He was such a cooperative patient.

The bug lasted a while, but thankfully it's done! 

Once they were all better, we had a little time to pile up some leaves.  Poor kiddos didn't get to do a harvest festival or anything.  Plus after they did finally get past the flu, they were ALL drained and exhausted and continued to lie around and sleep.  It was SO good to see them outside playing again!


Later we ended up running to Target to check out their costumes.  They put them 90% off.  I like to purchase "non-scary" costumes once the season has ended to stock their dress up box.  The selection was mediocre, but we found a couple that worked.  Here's Ninja girl and Commando boy:

It's ALREADY Monday. Where did the weekend go?  Yesterday we played hooky from church.  It's been too long since we had a little family time and it didn't look like there was any in sight.  We've been together some, but it's always with something else going on, so there's no talking or meaningful connection.  The kids are always being told to be quiet while the adults chat, so this was an opportunity to be able to let them talk.  Ken had to be at work at 3:00, and would be working the next few days, in addition he worked for the two prior days.  So, there ya go.. our excuse for not attending the corporate gathering yesterday. We took a mini-morning-vacay.

Add to that a very sick first born son.

He has the signs of flu, but won't be going to the doc.  He's between insurances having completed his time at one hospital and getting ready to start another.  Of course, he has been running a fever for days, so he won't be starting when originally thought.  Instead, it will be Nov. 9.  I feel so bad for him.  He's absolutely miserable.

But I digress. What did we do on our free Sunday morning?  We went up to the Peaks of Otter and did a little site seeing.  The leaf change has been absolutely  incredible this year.  This was definitely the last vivid weekend, however. There's a lot of drop going on.. very quickly.  I'll miss the color! 

And, we took pictures! 

My handsome hubby and two littles. The boy is posturing, as usual!


My girl in the bottom right corner.. and there goes my boy, rolling across the ground!


I love where we live! Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

One thing we absolutely love around here, especially this time of year, is a tasty pot of beans!  And one of our favorite bean dishes is Red Beans and Rice.  Unfortunately, it generally calls for sausage, which we're trying to stay away from right now, so we don't have it very often.

Last night, I came up with a vegetarian Red Beans recipe and OH! It was good!  Naturally, it's not traditional red beans, so you native Cajun cooks, just move right past this blog!  

Vegetarian* "Red Beans" and Rice

1 TBS olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 small bunch parsley, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 lb cooked red beans (or 4 cans, drained)
1 can undrained diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS chili powder
1 TBS cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
water or fat free chicken broth

In a deep dish cast iron pan (or dutch oven) caramelize onions and tenderize celery.  Place olive oil, celery, parsley and onions in pan and set to medium heat.  Simmer and stir occasionally until onions are translucent.  This takes about 20 to 30 minutes.  Add beans, tomatoes and spices.  If it appears to dry, add a bit of water or fat free chicken broth.  It needs to be very moist, but not soupy. Bring to a simmer and cook for about an hour.  Stir occasionally.  Serve with rice.  We used brown rice.

You can also do this in the crock pot, but you'll need to do the first step in a frying pan, then add to crock pot for cooking.  If you soak your dry beans the night before, then you can just put all the ingredients, including the uncooked, but pre-soaked, dry beans in the crock pot and cook for 8 to 10 hours on low. 

*For you meat eaters out there, feel free to add your smoked sausage; just omit the chili powder, diced tomatoes and cumin.  Add 1 lb of sliced smoked sausage to the onions when cooking them.  You could also use turkey sausage or kielbasa. 

We served this with Hannah's Homemade Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits:

4 cups whole wheat flour (you can use soft wheat flour if you have it, but any will do)
2 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick softened butter (or Smart Balance)
1 1/2 to 2 cups buttermilk (we use fat free)

1) Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and place into ta large mixing bowl. 

2) Put in butter and, using a pastry cutter or spoon, cut in the butter until it's mixed thoroughly. It's supposed to be kind of lumpy, about the size of peas.

3) Pour in 1 1/2 cups buttermilk and mix.  Batter should be able to be handled, but a bit sticky.  If it's too dry, simply add a bit more buttermilk, a tiny bit at a time.  Once the consistency is right, turn out onto well floured surface.

4) Knead dough until smooth.  Form into a large ball, then press out into a 1/2 thick circle.  Using a small glass (we usually make 2 1/2 in. biscuits) or biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits.  Make sure to flour the rim of whatever you're cutting.  Any excess dough, reform, press out and repeat process until all dough is used.  Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone.  Pat the tops with melted butter or buttermilk. 

5) Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through.  Cooking times may vary.