Egg Roll Soup

It was raining on Sunday morning.  When we got home from church I knew I wanted to make some soup.  Hubby and I love soup and I make a batch almost every week in the fall and winter. I discovered Egg Roll Soup last winter and there are many recipes and variations online.  I found a good one and tweaked it just a bit.

When our guys were still at home I bought the frozen egg rolls from Costco.  With three growing boys, I kept a lot of snacks in the house. If I smelled an egg roll cooking in the microwave, I had unreal cravings to have one too.  It was crazy, like an addictivelittlechemical** crazy.  This soup is more delicious and a healthier option than frozen egg rolls.

 Egg Roll Soup

• 1 pound hot(it's more spicy than hot) Jimmy Dean sausage* 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped - other recipes don't include celery but I think it amps it up.
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced - I use the shredded carrots and toss in until it looks like 2 carrots.
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small green cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 6-8 cups chicken* or vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Toppings: toasted sesame seeds, thinly-sliced green onions, store-bought won ton strips

1. Add ground pork to a stock pot and cook over medium-heat, stirring and flipping occasionally, until the pork is lightly browned.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to a bowl and set aside.
2. Add the olive oil, onions and celery, and stir to combine.  Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the carrots and garlic, and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the cabbage, stock, ginger, and cooked pork, and stir to combine.
3. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the carrots and cabbage are nice and tender.  Stir in the sesame oil until combined.  I think the sesame oil makes the soup, so don't skip it.
4. Add your toppings and enjoy! 
5. Substitution notes:  If you prefer ground turkey or chicken, they would work.  The Jimmy Dean Hot sausage does add something to every recipe that I use it.  *If you are vegetarian or vegan use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and use mushrooms instead of sausage.

**So I Married an Axe Murderer movie reference.

And It's September

And it's September and it's half over, just like that. I love September! Especially after a dry, smokey, hot August. Meh. Let's get caught up.

Becky came to town so the Pie Pals got together for pie and laughs.

Jodi hosted and Becky helped with the pie baking which included picking the black berries. I never knew a Southern gal would care so much about harvesting black berries by the side of the road. Now I know. They were delicious berries.

I didn't have my first day of school until the 14th.  Last year as a sub it was the 15th so now I am going to assume the first two weeks of September are a good time to vacation.  Or to clean my house, do yard work, change out our closet for fall, do the big Costco shop or just flake out and then panic when I get busy.

The week after Labor Day is the Mt. Baker Vintage Trailer Rally in Lynden.  Since Jeremy and Rene' now run that rally they come on Monday and stay with us.  A good time was had by all.  I couldn't get a picture of all five trailers in our drive way but it did happen and they did fit.

 On Tuesday, Hubby and I set up Annie at the fairgrounds so we could come and go all week.  Our friends all come to town so we had field trips to Edaleen Dairy and Overflow Taphouse and to our house.

There were 213 trailers this year, including a modified vintage horse trailer.

They did beautiful work and I loved it.

I didn't take many photo walks so I don't have too many trailer pics.  I generally ride my bike at this rally. I love this little green trailer from Poland.

Liz brought The Barclay to the rally and she'd gone from beachy to campy theme.  I love that she changed her decor on Wednesday and arrived on Thursday.

The trailer with pink and wallpaper is darling.

Nancy takes her garden with her wherever she goes.

Good times with our tribe!  We always dress up for Open House on Saturday.

My friend Marzi drove from Tennessee this year.  She says she is not doing it next year but I think she'll get lonely for me and change her mind. I bought her a special glass for her Bees' Knees cocktail.

Oh Liz!  I am so happy you could join us this year.  We had too much fun and we won't wait a year to see you again.  Dinner soon?

Steve had fun with his Honda 90 and antlers. We had a Honda 90 growing up and I went right down memory lane thinking of my Dad's Honda at hunting camp.

We enjoyed a luau hosted by Jeremy and Rene'.  It was the largest potluck ever. The photo booth, the music and the fashions were fantastic.

There were a lot of Sisters on the Fly at the rally so we called them over for a group photo.

Of course, we are having more fun than anyone.

After unpacking and cleaning Annie, I got her ready for some fall camping.  Flannel sheets and wool blankets, candy corn in a jar, some pumpkins and I'm ready to go.  Hubby and I like to go to Silver Lake in the fall for some hiking and canoeing and relaxing by the fire.

I am loving the rain, doing some fall deep cleaning and settling in for one of our favorite seasons.

Yay for autumn!