Today....

In the crock pot, simmering away:

Black Bean Soup

1 lb. soaked black beans

1 lb. hamburger

2 cups diced carrots

2 cups diced celery

2 cups diced onions

3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp. each, cumin, thyme, oregano, pepper

1 bay leaf

64 oz. vegetable or beef broth

2 tbsp. tomato paste

2 tbsp. lime juice

sour cream, chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro

Cook hamburger with carrots, celery and onions. Add meat mixture and soaked beans to crockpot along with garlic, cumin, thyme, oregano, bay leaf and pepper. Stir in broth and tomato paste. Cook all day on high, until beans are soft. Stir in lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls, serve with sour cream, tomatoes and cilantro.

Makes 12 servings

I plan to serve this with my daughters famous herbed batter rolls. They are so good!

With a little prodding (ok, really, a lot) I was able to get school done with my two middle boys, the little ones had preschool and my two big kids are still working at theirs. Between getting snack out to the table and switching the laundry, I made a stop in the kitchen to make a bucket of hot cocoa mix.

At nap time today, I plan to get out all of my coupons and the ad circulars and see what shopping needs to be done. It's a big job when I haven't been keeping up on my coupon dates so I'm guessing I'll be at it at for at least an hour. I'll make a menu plan at the same time, hopefully for at least the next two weeks.

I'll bake a little something warm for the kids for afternoon snack, I'm thinking about black bottom banana bars.

On the roster for my 4:00 workout time slot:

We really like The Firm videos, they have more weights in them than most - this one is our current favorite.

Since dinner is already taken care of I foresee a calm and easy evening. I'll give a few baths after dinner and then read our current chapter book, Laura Ingalls Wilder, A Storybook Life by the Benges. After having read her series it is interesting to read an actual account of her life in this biography. We are all noticing the slight differences.

After that, a little time to relax with my big kids and then, off to bed for the mommy. And, then, we'll do it all again tomorrow!