Just Cant Get Enough...

So lately I just cant seem to get enough food.  I swear I'm hungry all day long!  This completely goes against everything I've trained myself to do over the past three years, yikes!!  I think it's because I've recently fallen in love with cooking again and I get so excited to taste the evenings fine cuisine, and therefor I'm no longer afraid of food as I have been.  In a way it's incredibly liberating, not being so confined and consumed by the unquenchable need to diet and stay in shape, or rather, get in shape; And of course, as you've by now guessed my plan to do a figure contest has waved bye-bye, but for now I don't even care, I can hardly believe my own cavalier thoughts on the matter.  Perhaps this is a new me...geeze I hope not!

Barley Vegetable Stew

So, I don't typically like the soup recipes I find so I compiled this one on my own and it is fantastic!! It's now my most favorite vegetable soup recipe and it's 100% healthy!

Barley Vegetable Stew

7 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked barley
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 zucchini, chopped
1 (16 ounce) pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 onion, chopped
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS Pour the vegetable broth into a large pot. Add the barley, carrots, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, garbanzo beans, onion, and bay leaves. Season with garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, parsley, curry powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 90 minutes. The soup will be very thick. You may adjust by adding more broth or less barley if desired. Remove bay leaves before serving.

We arrived home from the hospital around noon, and Ammon has been sleeping ever since (currently four hours and counting).  He is doing so great and healing so rapidly.  His tolerance for pain is so amazing to me; through our whole hospital stay he only cried a couple of times despite his inability to see anything, he is truly an amazing little man!

This picture is of him the day after his surgery with his swollen little eyes.

Afternoon Photoshoot

I wanted to take some fun pictures of my little sweety before his surgery, so we went into the front-yard while Ammon worked it for the camera. Say Cheese!!