A Little Camping Trip

After what was (for us) a pretty long cold spell, the forecast was sunny and fine and the Bigs were gone for the weekend to DCYC, so we decided to take the Littles on a quick camp-out. We've never done anything of significance with just the three of them so it seemed like a really good opportunity for some good old fashioned fun.

I had to work Saturday so we picked Emma Long Metropolitan Park. It's close! We had a blast, but honestly, I won't go there again. It's expensive for the horrid bathrooms and broken down tables. A state park is cheaper and ten times better. But you know what, the Littles loved it.

They spent almost all their time collecting rocks and sticks to throw in the water. This was hilarious fun. They also spent a goodly amount of time just contemplating the water in the luxurious sun. Beautiful.

Of course I took advantage of the opportunity to try out some Pinterest ideas I've collected. For supper we went old school -- hot dogs and coleslaw. We had kielbasa, chicken dogs, and regular dogs. They gobbled up the coleslaw; they so love the purple cabbage.  The kids were ravenous. We spiral cut the dogs and grilled them. We will spiral cut from now on --- it gives you all these nooks for relish, etc.  For dessert we tried a new take on s'mores: bananas, marshmallows and chocolate chips in a sugar cone. (I forgot the called-for peanut butter!) You wrap them in foil and grilled them. They were so good; we may never make the other kind again. Oh and the toasty bananas took the cake! (Here's an pic without a flash of Dear Hubby standing guard over the grill)

It was a cold night but we fared okay with our cobbled together heat sources. We warmed up with warm cider while Dear Hubby started the coals for breakfast. Yes I forgot my hairbrush. It's my camping head.

We made orange cup muffins for breakfast. We took a can of pumpkin, a spice cake mix, and a little juice from the oranges. I filled them 2/3 full; half full would have worked better. Then we replaced the cap, wrapped them in foil and set them in warm coals. In 30 minutes they were done. Too bad I didn't think to snap the pix until I was halfway through mine. These were amazing. They had a slight orangey taste, a wonderful smoky taste. Oh. My. Goodness.  We served with last night's smoky meats sliced up and a salad of the orange insides and a banana. It was sublime.

Then Daddy had to take off to Waco to deliver kids home and the Littles and I had some more fun in the sun. They spent quite a bit of time collecting tiny shells and arranging and counting them. We eventually tore ourselves away from the sunshine and fresh air and headed for Rosie Pho's to round up our Little time away. I do adore these little guys and all that fresh air makes them hungry. They take forever but we didn't care because we were so busy loving each other.

We'll camp again soon -- even though the nights are chilly -- because it's so good for us all. Maybe Perdenales Falls for some clambering around on the rocks next time. We'll just have to plan ahead for that golden free weekend, maybe President's Day. It's something to look forward to.

Mamaw's Potato Soup with Egg Dumplings for Cold Weather

It's that time of year again. I was so grateful to see all the kids with their legs covered up this morning. Summer is long. I get tired of looking at their knobby knees! (I'm not being mean -- I'll say the opposite in March.)

It seemed like the perfect day to post Mamaw's Potato Soup Recipe.  I grew up on this soup and it is still my go-to comfort food.  A word of warning, this is the over-large family version. You may need to scale it down for your family, or just eat it two days in a row. When you refrigerate it, it appears to turn into mashed potatos, just add milk and water in equal amounts when reheating to re-liquify it. (No picture, sorry. We are always too excited to get to the eating!)

Mamaw's Potato Soup with Egg Dumplings 

5# Potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces (rough cut) (I like white or russet for this)
3 large stalks celery, cleaned and chopped.
1 Tablespoon butter
Water,
Salt,
Milk (lots - probably about 4 cups)
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
4 eggs
1 to 1-1/2 cups flour

Cook the celery in the butter in a saute pan. Just cover the potatoes with salted water and bring to boil. Add the celery to this. Once they boil, reduce heat to simmer and let cook 10 minutes. Test with a fork to see if they are almost done.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs with a fork and slowly add the flour until it is a thick batter. 1-1/4 cups of flour should be about right. Add about a tsp. of salt to the mix. These are your egg dumplings.

When the potatoes are nearly done, drop the dumplings on top of the potatoes and replace the lid on the pot. Simmer 15 minutes. Test dumplings to make sure they are done; they should be dry inside.

By now your water should be down to less than half the level of potatoes. Slowly add milk until it is up to the level of the potaotes; heat this until bubbly. When the milk is hot, add the cheese and turn off the heat. Slowly stir the cheese in.

Enjoy!

Variations:
Add cooked, crumbled bacon to the top
Include two peeled chopped carrots with the potatoes
Add a chopped onion to the celery (we're allergic)
Top with chives or green onions

This is also a very good potato soup recipe made with a really special cheese, Cougar Gold.