Rollin on the River...

I rode along the river today. I only made it three miles before I turned around. The wind was blowing hard and very cold. There were a few fisherman along the way trying to catch some steelhead. I know the soup picture doesn't look that great but it was delicious! I made it with 1% milk and it was incredibly creamy AND, we can have it again tonight.

Turkey Carcass Soup

I love browsing the website "Allrecipes.com" for recipes that include what I happen to have in my refrigerator. For instance today I will make:

After Thanksgiving Turkey Soup


INGREDIENTS

1 leftover turkey carcass
3 medium onions, chopped
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 cup butter, cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
3/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place turkey carcass in a soup kettle or Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove carcass; cool. Set aside 3 qt. broth. Remove turkey from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside.
In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, saute the onions, carrots and celery in butter until tender. Reduce heat; stir in flour until blended. Gradually add 1 qt. of reserved broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Add cream, rice, salt, bouillon, pepper, remaining broth and reserved turkey. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender.

The forecast calls for snow and very cold temps this week. Perfect soup weather!

BSU vs NEVADA

The Boise State football team is a win away from becoming only the second team from outside the Bowl Championship Series conferences to crash the big boys' party and play in a BCS game.
Saturday the Broncos play at Nevada, which is riding an 11-game home winning streak.
The undefeated Broncos are 11th in the BCS standings and have to finish Number 12 or better to automatically qualify for one of the big-money bowls.
But a loss will knock the Broncos out of the top 12.
The Broncos get a boost with the return of running back Ian Johnson, who is averaging nearly 150 yards a game and has 21 touchdowns.
He plans to wear a flak jacket to protect two cracked ribs after

Big game today! Jim and I plan on being there via big screen tv. GO BRONCOS!

Happy Thanksgiving

While everyone is still asleep I'm taking this moment to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We stayed up late watching "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington while Jim was shooting up the turkey with his special marinade. Yes, we are having "Deep Fried Turkey" this year. Sister Sue is bringing a bone in Hickory Ham. I'm making Pecan Topped Sweet Potatoes, a recipe I got years ago from sister-in-law Diane. Sister Kathy (from Valdez) is making the classic Green Bean Casserole. She made two pies yesterday. Jims parents arrived yesterday to help us eat it all. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful sunny day here. Yes, a lot to be thankful for.

Sunday Rides

In case anyone is wondering, I have been riding bikes, as promised, every Sunday with Heidi. We take turns now rousting each other out of bed. She has decided to name her bike Pumpkin since my bike is named Squash. Not only does it match vegetable wise, it also happens to be the color of her bike. We either go long distances with small challenging hills or shorter distances with bigger heart pumping hills. Here are some photos from one of our rides.

Tyson

Here is the newest member of our family. His name is Tyson and we love him very much. He was given to us by someone who could no longer care for him. When Jim first brought him home I thought, Uh Oh, here we go again but I have to say Tyson has truly won over my heart. So much so I now long for a female lab to mate him with. Call me crazy!

Knock, Knock

8:30amKnock, knock. Woof….woof…WOOF WOOF WOOF!Uh oh, that’s Heidi. I throw the covers back and run to the back door. There stands Heidi in the pouring rain, geared up. Did I wake you? No, no, it’s just when you said no matter how cold…I didn’t think you also meant no matter how wet. She waited for me patiently and once we were out on the road we rode over our goal of ten miles. Soaked and happy and feeling great, without Heidi I would still be snoozing. Zzzzzzzzzzz

SQUASH

SICK!Around the beginning of June of this year my friend Heidi and I got out our pitifully old bikes and decided to get into shape. She was riding her son’s bike which was too big (hers had the chain wrapped tight around the pedals…long story) and mine was an old beater that I paid $10 dollars for at a garage sale years ago. My bike was making a clicking sound and driving her crazy and her bike was out pacing me by a good 500 feet. Was it the clicking? At the end of the ride we decided we both needed new bikes. We went to the local bike shop in Eagle and found our new rides and put them on layaway. When I finally brought mine home around the first of October Gavin took one look and said SICK! When he saw the puzzled look on my face he said, it means "COOL" mom. Teenage lingo. I had my first few rides on Squash (the name matches the color) commuting to and from my new job in Eagle. It’s about a five mile trip that goes from the busy town of Eagle then past several pastures full of cows. I got in the habit of mooing at the cows and I swear they mooed right back! After a heart pounding ride this past Sunday, Heidi says we should take our bikes out on the trails every Sunday, no matter how cold. Gear up! She says. I say SICK!

Fright Night at the Friedrichs

Here it is Halloween Night. Jim's sister Kathy is here visiting from Valdez Alaska, busy making Salmon Fritters. She is the chef in the family and she canned the salmon herself. She has also made a fresh coleslaw salad and onion rings. Yum. I like Kathy! Kathy is the one who has introduced me to "blogging". She has her own blog titled "Fish Taxi". We enjoy reading about her daily life in Valdez.