Stuffed Pepper Soup

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If you are a soup lover like me – especially this time of year when the temperatures turn cooler and the days grow shorter – you are going to love this hearty, rich, and flavorful meal in a bowl.

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If you love the taste of stuffed peppers, but not the fuss, you are going to be in heaven.

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Stuffed Pepper Soup is one of my all-time faves.  You can make it on the stove top or throw it in the crock pot to simmer all day.  Your house is going to smell like Grandma’s kitchen, and your belly is going jump for joy!

Here is my easy, yummy recipe.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients:stuffed-pepper-soup

  • 2 1/2 lbs. ground beef
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 beef bouillon cubes
  • 1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups cooked white rice
  • 2 cups diced green pepper
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

In a large dutch oven, brown ground beef with onion and garlic.  Drain.  Stir in remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for approximately one hour until peppers are tender and flavors have had the chance to blend.  Serve piping hot, and enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Looking Up

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Looking up
past the bare
tangled
web
that tries to
block our view…

Looking beyond
what is
closest
and darkest
and right before
our line of sight…

Is beauty
and brightness
and color
and possibilities
and hopefulness
and mystery.

Look up…
Look beyond…
See the beauty.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Seeing the Weeping in the Willow Tree

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Weeping Willow Tree, Conneaut Lake, October 2016

When the physical things of this world
blur and fade through the lens of our eyes,

A different kind of vision
grows stronger and clearer…

The ability to see the weeping
in the leaves of the willow tree,

The arms that extend and embrace
in its branches,

The foundation that centers and steadies
in its strong, solid trunk.

The weeping willow
is crystal clear

in our heart
and soul
and mind.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Classics

red-chevelle

Things that are Classic…
a short list…

Red sports cars, Red Woolrich flannel, Red lipstick
Converse tennis shoes, Peep toe pumps, Timberland Boots
Ray ban sunglasses, Blue blazers, Black dresses
Levi’s jeans, Heather grey hoodies, crisp white cotton shirts
Cashmere, Herringbone, Houndstooth
Diamonds, Pearls, Mood rings
Chanel, Armani, Dior
Aerosmith, Beatles, Elton John
Chocolate chip cookies, Apple pie, Birthday cake
Champagne, Martinis, Cabernet Sauvignon
Monet, Picasso, Van Gough
Kindness, Honor, Grace
Smiles, Hugs, I love you’s

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

#Nostalgia
#Local

 

 

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

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It is such a great time of year to slow cook meals in the crockpot.  And if you love the sweet and spicy flair of many Asian chicken dishes, you are going to love this fast and easy way to make a real crowd pleaser.

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It seriously goes together in under 10 minutes, makes your house smell wonderful all day, and creates a dinner that tastes like you slaved.

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Serve it with your favorite rice or noodle.  My son even liked it shredded up on a bun as a sandwich as it is so tender and juicy and falls apart that easy.  Serve with a salad, and you know it – you have another….

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

I made this for the last dinner before my son moved out this weekend and sent the leftovers with him.  He can enjoy it again in his new home.

Here is the recipe the way I made it.  Feel free to adjust hot sauces and seasonings to your taste.

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:crockpot-honey-garlic-chicken-2

  • 2 lbs. Boneless Chicken Breast and Thighs (combo or one or the other if you prefer)
  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 2 Tbsp dried parsley
  • 1 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Cholula hot sauce
  • 4-5 cloves fresh minced garlic
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp smokey paprika chipotle (optional)

Directions:

  • Place chicken pieces in bottom of crockpot.
  • Combine remaining ingredients and pour over top of chicken.
  • Cook on low 4-5 hours.  Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sesame seeds.
  • Serve over rice (I love brown rice and quinoa combo) and sprinkle with additional sesame seeds if desire.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Different?

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Tools of the Trade – Sauerkraut Stompers – Krautfest 2016

It may be a different color…
a different size…
a different shape.

It may be old…
It may be new.

It may be made of a different material…
or put together in a different way.

But it still does the job…
it still has purpose.

Tools of the trade
can be as diverse and unique
as the people who use them.

Why, though, is it so easy to accept and embrace different “things,”
but difficult, for so many, to accept and embrace “different” people?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Time

sun-dial

sun dial and hydrangeas, conneaut lake, pa, october 2016

Time…

Can fly or crawl,
is free yet priceless,
is forever or an instant,
can be treasured or wasted.

Can be measured by clocks or by moments,
can be traveled in dreams or books,
can be stopped by a kiss or a look or a touch,
can be managed, but never recovered.

We all have the same
seconds in a minute,
minutes in an hour,
hours in a day.

But none of us know
how many days
or hours or seconds
we will have.

Cherish the moments
not measured by clocks
or sundials or calendars
or schedules.

Cherish the moments well spent
with people you love,
or with yourself,
doing the things you love.

Cherish all the moments…
every single moment…
at life…
in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Krautfest 2016!

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This past weekend was one of my favorites of the year!  Time for the annual Brugnoli Family and Friends Krautfest Party!

Those of you who have been hanging around here awhile, might remember Krautfest 2015 or even Krautfest 2014.

The festivities kicked off this past Saturday in the beautiful Autumn weather at  Conneaut Lake, PA with our dear “Oh Rob” welcoming guests and instructing newcomers on the sauerkraut-making process.

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It starts with cutting….  800 lbs of cabbage cutting!

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The cut cabbage goes to the shredders, where experienced cutters teach newbies on equipment passed down through generations from grandparents…

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and taught to new generations – where Moms teach sons…

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and sisters show brothers….

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and families do together.

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It then gets measured,

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and salted,

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and pounded…

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while friends and family chat,

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and laugh,

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and hug.

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Old friends meet up after decades.

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and new relationships bloom.

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There is plenty of fun for kids of all ages!

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From Jumbo Jenga…

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to pick up sticks…

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to lawn bowling,

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and searching for bones and candy and money in hay.

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There was pumpkin painting…

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and t-shirt painting.

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krautfest-2016-from-the-greenhouse-shirt-painting

There was apple picking…

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and apple pressing.

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The kids loved learning how to turn apples into fresh apple juice!

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and so did some of the parents and grandparents!

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krautfest-2016-apple-pressing

There was lots of food.

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I made Grandma’s halupki – another Krautfest tradition served up next to hot dogs and kraut and homemade pierogies and cheesy polenta and fresh smoked ham and lots of other yummies.

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There was an entire dining room table filled with desserts.

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and of course plenty of wine.

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There was tire swinging,

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and bonfire-building.

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There was Marty (hubby – on the left) and Martin.

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There were quiet moments from afar,

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and lots of singing and music after the sun went down and drew us indoors.

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krautfest-2016-singing

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Even dogs of all sizes made friends!

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Can you imagine a better time?

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Thank you Joyce and Oh Rob!  We love you!   We ALL do!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Best Show in Town

The Old Dogwood,
in her Autumn crimson cloak,
steals the show again this season
on the green carpet.

Nature….
the best show in town.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Do Small Things with Great Love

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September Sunrise – Mars Cemetery – Mars, PA

“Not all of us can do great things.  But we can do small things with great love.”

-Mother Teresa

Don’t let it stop you
because it’s not grand…
because it’s not important enough…
because it’s just something small.

Do it anyway…
knowing it matters,
because it has been done
with great love.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi