North Woods Bean Soup

I'm such a soup lover. (I crave it year-round, even if it's 90 degrees outside!) A year ago my mother-in-law introduced me to this outstanding soup from Cooking Light, and it's been a favorite ever since.

image from Cooking Light

North Woods Bean Soup {adapted}

•  Cooking spray
• 3 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 cups chicken broth
• fresh parsley, chopped
• couple turns of fresh ground black pepper
• 3 cans Great Northern beans (I like it not drained!)
• 1 6 oz. bag fresh baby spinach leaves

1. Heat a large saucepan coated w/ cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, garlic, and kielbasa; saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add the broth, fresh parsley, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Place 2 c. of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process till smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an addt'l 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts. Serve with grilled cheese samo's... or warm, crusty bread. :) Thanks Mama Farr for sharing this delicious recipe!

It's a... It's a...

I guess I should share "the story" to clear up some confusion! 
We DID NOT know if it was a boy or a girl till that night, when we all found out together. Jonathan and I went in for my sonogram that morning, and asked that the sonographer NOT tell us if it was a boy or a girl. Instead, she wrote down the results, and put it in an envelope along with the sonogram picture. We then went home and gave it to Alissa, who's one of my closest friends and also lives right next door. She opened the envelope by herself to "find out", and then bought some little boy things. She put it in a box, with the sonogram picture on top. She had all the people who thought it was a GIRL on the left side of the room, and all the people who thought it was a BOY on the right side of the room. Jonathan and I opened up the box, and together we all found out that...
 IT'S A BOY! Whooo hoooo!

...getting ready for the big reveal...

...Sky helpin mama open up the big box, to reveal... that...

IT'S A BOY!

Wiping away tears of joy. We're so thrilled. We're going to have a SON!

Yay. :) :)

I'm so excited to see Jonf be a daddy to a boy.I hope he's just like his daddy! ♥

 This will be the first boy in the family on MY side since my brother Jon was born, the first boy on Jonathan's side since McCarthy was born, and the first FARR boy since Jonathan was born. (Got all that?)

Excited Aunties. :)