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!

Four Camping Trips and a Hotel Night

Hubby and I took off with Huaka'i Annie, our '57 Aloha trailer for the long, long trip in August. We took Snoqualmie Pass, stopped for lunch at DRU BRU, brewery number one.

Our first overnight stop was for two nights at Elk Ridge Campground along the Naches River.

I love this campground! Tent, RV spots and cabins, movie night, the river, the twinkling lights display at night, and the wonderful owners. Tim is the campground marriage counselor, he comes out and helps your hubby back into your spot.

The selfie isn't what is significant about the photo.  It's the rock wall pool in the background. Two days of floating, yes please!

We left Elk Ridge to attend the annual Nile Valley Rally, a private rally hosted by friends, Steve and Rita and Ben and Denise. Yes, our vent was up.  We turned out of one park and into the next, the Jim Sprick Community Park. The rally hosts rent the park and we have it all to ourselves.

On to Camp-Heep-A-Fun!
Oh Denise and Rita, you are the best!

Nile Valley Rally is a summer camp theme and we can earn badges, take classes, flamingo float, enter the rubber duck race, go to potlucks, and have an open house for the public on Saturday. 

Since Annie is so small, we used a trailer dolly and flipped her around, so our front window had the river view.  I took this pic out of the window and I am guessing Hubby is reading instructions for something.

It's dry camping so we rely on our battery for lights and fans and solar lights.

Liz taught a wood burning class. Students made leather bracelets.

I taught a Old Book to Scrapbook class.

Every one's book turned out so great.  The creativity was just overwhelming.

Meanwhile, Hubby went to a cooking with a Dutch oven class.  He is psyched to find some cast iron and get cooking.  There was axe throwing too.  Lisa led a domino necklace class. Something for everyone on Friday.

Saturday morning we all cleaned up and got our trailers ready for the bed making inspection and for the public open house.  I think we clean up pretty well considering it's a 3 minute campground shower and no power.

I love my peeps!  It was fun to be neighbors.

We're ready!

Okay, so we were ready, but wow, not ready for that many people!

There were so many visitors. Larry and Shelly went for a walk and while they were gone I had a line up to see their Airstream.  Crowd control!

After open house we went for ice cream at Elk Ridge.  Huck and Bean ice cream is crazy good and has the best story.  The owner, Izzy, started the business when she was 11.  She is 14 years old now and is restoring a vintage trailer to sell her ice cream.  Her little sister works for her.

 

 Saturday afternoon everyone brought their flamingo float to the river and we relaxed.  Hubby floated across the river to take photos of camp.

 Our neighbors, Cindy and Wade relaxing by the river.

 Larry and Shelly floating the natural lazy river.

Saturday evening after burgers and potluck we enjoyed the closing ceremony and got our badges.
Our rubber duck came in first place so we won the cash.

Some people are always working...

Sunday morning we enjoy sweet cream pancakes and raise funds for the local fire station.

Then it's time to say good bye.  

The third stop was Yakima for Hubby and I.  We enjoyed Bale Breaker Brewery and Guerra's food truck. Then we checked into a hotel for the night. 

I had the pool to myself. We took an uber (remember we had Annie hitched up to the Jeep) to dinner at Cowiche Canyon Kitchen and Icehouse.  Yum! We had long, hot showers and a king size bed.

Monday morning we took the back roads to Moses Lake where we stopped at Ten Pin Brewery for lunch. A stop at Safeway and we were off to our next destination.

Smokiam RV Campground in Soap Lake is a very well maintained park with a lot of amenities.  I was excited about the pool... until I got there.  I went in the morning, every chair had something on it, no one was actually sitting on a chair, there were 23 children and myself in the pool area. Uhm, yeah, I wasn't happy.  I went to the office as it clearly stated (in two languages) no one under 14 could be in the pool area without an adult. I was not willing to be any one's adult.

It was disappointing.  After the office lady kicked all of the kids out of the pool, she left and they all hopped back into the pool. 

I had high hopes for this campground for family reunions or Sisters on the Fly gatherings but unless you come with your own tribe you'll have a tough time using the amenities.

We did relax in our site, read a lot and played cards.  Max and Kassie came for dinner and that was fun too. The scenery is very pretty. The bathrooms are new and nice. Besides the pool area and unfriendly people it was a nice campground.

We spotted this little Hanson Love Bug on our trip and I did talk to the owner.  He wasn't willing to sell but I'll keep checking in with him.

 Next stop was at Max and Kassie's house. We had a great visit and it's fun to see them settling into their home and marriage.

 Bo likes to lay in Annie.

On our way home we stopped at Flyer Brewery at the Skagit Airport.  It's a great setting, marginal beer, good food and boring wait staff.  I'll let you decide.

 Then it was home for one night where we did laundry, got groceries and packed up to leave again.  This time we went to Silver Lake with my family.

 No family trip is complete without Jeans bars and licorice.

 Jeff and Kathi tented, Bill and Jodi car camped and the kids tented. Ken took his camper.

 There was a shelter behind our spots and that was fortunate as it rained most of the time.

 Aurora was the cutest little camper.  It was her second trip and she is 3 months old. Her Mom is pretty determined to camp.

Hubby and I played pinochle with Jeff and Kathi and reminisced about what a great card player our Dad was. It was good to get together, remember Dad and Mom and all our camping trips with them. 

This is a long post and it should have been five, but one and done!
Elk Ridge Campground
Nile Valley Rally at Jim Sprick Park
Best Western Hotel in Union Gap* not camping but hey we needed to shower and stretch out.
Smokiam RV Park
Silver Lake Park

Hubby went back to work today, school starts tomorrow and fall is in the air.
The mornings are foggy, the nights are cool and I am freezing peaches... must be the end of August.

We are thankful for all of the safe miles we had, the fun with friends and family and a beautiful summer.
Good stuff, my friends!