Just Another Busy Day at Home!

Today was a pretty uneventful, though fruitful day at home. The older boys and I worked hard on our schoolwork today, since we want to finish most of this week's worth of work before Peepah arrives for his visit Wednesday night. I'm finished with the older four boys' clothing, but I'm trying to weed out all the baby clothes to garner myself more closet space. I have a weakness for cute baby clothes, and tend to keep waaaaaay more than I need or than the current baby can actually wear in each size. This afternoon I was humbled as this mommy who at least used to have a photographic memory got thoroughly whooped up on by 4-year-old Jordan in a game of Memory (which he calls "remembory cards" lol), then he proceeded to beat Joseph and me in a game of Sorry with an amazing come-from-behind last minute charge!

Dinner tonight was Tortilla Soup, from a recipe I got several years ago from my Grandma. It's one of my favorite soups, and I like to make homemade soups once the weather starts cooling off. I thought I'd share the recipe, in case anyone's interested.

Tortilla Soup

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and chopped (I usually omit this for the children)
2 cloves minced garlic
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 large can (28 oz.) tomatoes (I use diced tomatoes)
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
3 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 tsp. cumin (I usually double this)
1 tsp. chili powder (I double this as well)
1 tsp. Tabasco
salt to taste

Cook chicken, onion, and garlic in butter and olive oil until chicken is done and onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer about 1 hour. We serve this sprinkled with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. Diced avocado is good on it as well.

I usually make this on the stove, but on those occasions where I'm really organized or won't have time around dinner time, I've been known to start it much earlier in the day and throw it all in the crock pot after the cooking the chicken and onion step. This is super yummy! Let me know if you try it and like it! :)