thank you!

thank you for supporting our relay team!  relay for life was this past weekend and went well :)  we were all a little worse for the wear on sunday morning, but our team raised over $4,500 and the event overall raised over $100,000!

now that it's cold enough for soup...

i was looking for a healthier version of our family's potato soup (which is DELICIOUS by the way, i'll post that recipe soon) and i think i found it!  this baked potato soup (from cooking light, where else?) was delicious and fed an army:

• 4  baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2/3  cup  all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
• 6  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4  cup  chopped green onions, divided
• 6  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• Cracked black pepper (optional)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

it makes 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup, 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon).  and 1 serving is 329 calories and 11 g of fat - not bad for a very filling soup!)  we had it with salad and rosemary bread.  yum yum!

i didn't take a picture of ours, here's cooking light's, and their link.

november? but it's 80+ degrees!

so it's been a warm fall for us so far!  but i figured out something:  that's not nearly as bothersome when you're lying on the beach :)  we just got back from a fantastic weekend with glen, suzy and family in captiva.  it was WONDERFUL.  much tennis and beaching was had.  and the wildlife!  i couldn't believe all the activity on the beach.  we saw a great blue heron, which i got some great pictures of when he caught a fish!  we also saw a fisherman on the shore catch a shark- twice!  the surf was full of fish.  how do i know?  because they were doing backflips about every 20 seconds while we sat and watched the sunset - it was the coolest thing!

i posted a bunch of pictures on our picture site here:  http://floridaiveys.smugmug.com/November-2009

but here are a few of my heron friend :)

can you see that fish's mouth?  he knows what's coming.

showboating his catch:

happy november ;)