Cheesy Wild Rice Soup

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pic is from Roxie's first official basketball game meal last night. Her friends, Kendall and Mary Allison stopped by and gave her a "good luck" hug. Unfortunately, the team lost by five points, but it was a good game all the way to the end. A milkshake and fries seemed to soften the disappointment a little... that and the fact we play McAdory again in January. A re-match is always something to look forward to.

Yesterday's walk was just about perfect. I love walking in the fall with the leaves fluttering down around me. Today's storm will probably strip many of the trees of their leaves, but yesterday will be remembered.

Have you noticed life is speeding up a little since November 1? I certainly have. We are already getting dates for all of the activities for school and church and family gatherings. People are posting 45 days, 4 hours and 32 seconds until Christmas (which personally makes me hyperventilate). Gifts need to be bought and wrapped. Decorations need to be put up. Calendars and watches need to be synchronized. Parents many times have to divide and conquer if they have more than one child.

Yes, the holidays are definitely upon us.

This week, I'm going to be doing a little research and reading (blogs and books) on how to SIMPLIFY and enjoy this holiday season. December is the month I normally empty my "busy basket," but I'm thinking of simplifying even further. What I share with you the next few days will be a hodge-podge of things I've tried, things I'm willing to try, things which might work for your family, etc., etc. As always, I will give the references and credit for anything and everything mentioned. (I don't want to give a false impression I've got this Christmas thing under control... NOT!)

We'll call the next four days Holiday Organization Tips. (Could I be more clever?) So hold on.

Holiday Organization Tips - Day 1

Beginning today, November 9, 2009, let's do these things together. Most of today's tips will be about list making, but once that part is over, we can get to work.

List 1 - Begin working on your gift list (if you haven't already started). Try to have this finished (for the most part) by Friday, November 12. Realize this list is subject to change depending on the age of the children and how many toy commercials they see between now and Christmas. However, some people (spouses, parents, siblings, teachers, etc.) can be written in INK. Put this list aside.

TEACHER GIFT IDEAS - I'll give one or two Teacher Gift Ideas each day this week.

1. Chick-Fil-A Calendars (which have monthly coupons) cost $5.00 and add a $5.00 gift certificate. All teachers eat, and I've heard all teachers LOVE Chick-Fil-A.

2. A RAVE gift certificate for $10.00 wrapped with a candy bar for a movie ticket during the holidays. The RAVE movie theaters will let you use any money left over from a movie ticket gift certificate at the concession stand. (Most movie theaters do not allow this. Any money left over from the price of the ticket has to be used on another ticket.) That's why I prefer to give RAVE gift certificates.

Feel free to share any ideas you might have for useful, fun teachers' gifts. (Teachers, here is your chance to tell us what you really want for Christmas!)

NOTE - Once you do begin buying gifts, wrap one or two gifts a day and store them away. It was always overwhelming for me to wrap everything at one time. I rarely had the two or more hours it took to wrap everything a day or two before Christmas... even with Christmas music playing! But taking five or ten minutes a day is doable, and on Christmas Eve everything is wrapped and ready.

List 2 - Work on your calendar. Jot down all of the school concerts, church events, rehearsal dates if you are involved in a Christmas production, family parties, work parties, family traditions, etc. Again, this list is subject to additions as we get closer and closer to December 1. We'll talk about simplifying your Christmas calendar tomorrow. Today, we're just working on lists.

List 3 - Make a separate list for each event you are hosting at your home. Emilie Barnes' has an excellent "go-by" preparation chapter in her book (15 Minute Family Traditions & Memories). We'll also work on how to make this less stressful in the next day or so.

List 4 - Update your Christmas Card list. (Call me if you need my mailing address!) We'll talk about Christmas Cards later.

Okay. Now that you have your lists, you are probably having trouble breathing. If that is the case, call me, and I will rush over with some of my Austin Went to College, Josh is Driving Solo, Roxie is a Teenager and The Holidays are Coming medication. No charge. It's my little gift to you!

Tomorrow we will begin to SIMPLIFY!

Cheesy Wild Rice Soup

Please tell me you're not surprised. I couldn't help myself. This falls under the category of easy, delicious and it even has a variation. (I love variations.) And I promise next week I'll provide a delicious Thanksgiving dessert recipe EVERYONE in your family will love.

This recipe came to me via LeAnna Brown who received it from Tracee Durrett. I'm making it tonight, but LeAnna assures me it is a great soup.

You will need the following:

1 box Zatarain's Long-Grain Wild Rice
1 block Mexican Velveeta Cheese
1 large can Campbell's Select Creamy Potato Soup
1 quart half and half

1. Prepare the long-grain rice according to directions on the box.

2. In a large pot, combine and melt the cheese, soup and half and half.

3. Add the prepared rice. Stir until thoroughly heated.

Okay. If that doesn't sound good enough, for the variation you can add 2 large cans of chicken breast... but you'll have to change the name of the soup to Cheesy Wild Rice Chicken Soup. (It's a small price to pay, folks!)

Have a great (but wet) Tuesday. It's a wonderful day to cook a big pot of soup or chili! Wednesday I have another Seasonal Tradition to share, Wednesday Wisdom and some more tips (not from me) on how to organize and balance your life during this most hectic, yet important, time of the year.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda