The Bumpkin's Superbowl Sunday Spicy Southwestern Soup

Ingredients
1-2 pounds ground beef ( I like mine meaty so I use 2)
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 red bell pepper chopped fine, but still enough for the color effect
2 (16-oz.) cans light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes and jalapeños, undrained
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes and mild green chiles, undrained
2 (14-oz.) can beef broth
3 shredded chicken breasts
2 cups frozen yellow and white whole kernel corn
1-2 (1-oz.) HOT envelope taco seasoning mix (1 for 1lb beef-Or 2 for 2)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

For the toppings.
1 cup Tostitos (any kind will do, but the small round ones are the best because you don't have to break them, but if you get the big triangles or the big round ones break them in about 2-3 pieces)
sour cream
grated Monterrey Jack cheese (I always grate my own!)
Super thin sliced green onions.
Tabasco Hot Sauce (caution optional, on the Coast "Some like it hot")

Preparation
1. Brown ground beef, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring often, 12 to 15 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink and onion is softened; drain.
2. Stir in kidney beans, next 10 ingredients, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Just before serving: And by Just I mean in the bowl wham, wham, wham, and get. it. to. the. table ( the TV tomorrow), or the chips get soppy, and it starts to sink.

Float 5-6 Tostitos rounds in the middle of bowl, then top with grated cheese
Finish with green onions, on top of small dollop of sour cream, on the top of Tostitos and grated cheese
(Don't let the sour cream touch the soup is the key, because it turns the soup cold)
Dash of Tabasco, for da Cajuns or brave at heart!



I'm having this and Ree's (The Pioneer Woman) Spicy Shredded Pork
I love me some Ree Recipes, if you don't read her you should! I wanna be Ree when my blog grows up. What are ya'll having?
**ALERT***Never fear to share a recipe with the Bumpkin!



P.S. You see that "I love me some up there", the bumpkin slipped out. I will leave it for authenticity but don't tell My J!

P.S.S. In the future we will make Southwestern Egg Rolls with this soup. The Egg Rolls are My John's, family, and friends' Bumpkin favorite!



I'm going for the Steelers tomorrow, and My John for the Cardinals, but only because these guys aren't available!


Yes, sorry, My John and I are die hard Chicago Bears fans, just in case you were wondering,
Have a fun, fun great day!
Love,
The Bumpkin

I am so excited! I have been tagged.

Well, Well, Wendy at Wendy's Wit and Whimsy has tagged me.

I didn't even have my acceptance speech prepared. Here are the rules!

1. Go to the the 4th folder where you keep your pictures on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in the folder
3. Explain the photo.
4. Tag 4 fellow bloggers to join in the fun!

Back to the picture.

Can you believe this guy? What an idiot uh? This is My John on New Year's Eve 2006.

For my birthday that year, John surprised me with a trip to Denver. My birthday is on the 29th of December, so this was to be a vacation/birthday I would never forget.

Now remember everyone the Bumpkin is from south Mississippi, and had never seen snow. My John is from Chicago, and fears no snow. So snow it was to be for that birthday, he said, and off we went. Well, we never made it to Colorado, due to the worst ice storm in 40 years, so we spent our dream vacation, in a pheasant lodge in Dodge City, Kansas WITH NO POWER! The history of Wyatt Earp can only keep you occupied for so long. I got to see my snow alright, but the ice was horrific. I wasn't as scared during Katrina as I was when John got us stranded in the snow, trying to make it to Colorado. Actually, we were in the Dairy Queen parking lot, he was showing out in the Xterra trying to scare me and accidentally got us stuck, and there were more than 100 people wanting to cross into Colorado in the highway 100ft away, that could have saved me, but alas in my mind, I was going to die, right there, dig. a. snow. cave. starve. and. die. My revenge turned out to be that I lost one of his gloves somewhere along the trip, and he had to dig us out with only one glove. snicker snicker snicker.

I saw more snow than I ever care to see again. It was beautiful out west, but the Bumpkin will stick with her Category 4 hurricanes Thank You!

How do you, that live in these places, take this?

I was taking this picture and he said, "Do this faster than you have ever done anything in your life." I tortured him with the focus button!

Alright I tag....

Mojito Maven at Make Mine A Mojito

Tara at Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes

Puttin on the G.R.I.T.S, but she may not play understandbly because she is having horrible insensitive male a**hole problems, boy if the Bumpkin could get her hands on "Country" right now......the Valentine teaser, and a phone break up...boy...ummmm I would, ummm oh well.

And another favorite recipe blogger mmmmm goood chicken soup for the soul from

Landlocked Mermaid ...

Now if only these Blog Divas actually read my blog, it would be nice!

The Ninny is coming this weekend I promise!

Love,

The Bumpkin

#1-Roscoe

Blog world meet Roscoe our #1 dog. Now, he's not #1 because we love him more than the others, he's #1 because he's the oldest. Rescued to be a friend for the first #1 Bull Henry. Bull Henry was lonely while My John and I were away and working, so we began the search for a friend. The newspaper ad said "Free Great Dane to a good home." He was delivered in an Escalade, and I remember opening the back hatch, and seeing him for the first time. Since Bull Henry was a 140 pounder at that time, we knew we needed a big boy to be compatible, but oh my goodness we were awfully surprised at how big he was. So, he became our #2. He filled the role of buddy to Bull, and worked his way right into our hearts. The lady who brought him told us his original owner had joined the military, and was going to be away a lot, and that he had been living with her and her 5 little dogs, but she felt he needed more attention, and wasn't much experienced with big boys, so she had been searching for him a home. As with most rescues, they tell potential rescuers only the "good" parts. We eventually learned the probable reason he was adopted out, was well, he's a Houdini of sorts. Literally, the smartest 4 pawed escape artist we have ever experienced. This one can turn the door handle and set off on adventure any time he chooses. He loves to go on an excursion, and it wasn't to the last 2 years, that My John finally built enough fence, and latches on the outside to keep his roaming to the bare minimum. We always questioned the Great Dane. We knew it wasn't quite right. The veterinarian finally nailed it once when he broke his toe on an escape run, and told us he was a Catahoula Leopard Hound, and one of the most beautiful ones he had ever seen. After research we found he had hit it right on the nose. There are two types of Catahoulas, Catahoula Currs, and Catahoula Leopard Hounds, thus the spots like Roscoe's. A normal gate latch for Roscoe is a joke. Remember the five little dogs that he originally lived with? Well he has forgotten them either, so when Houdini escapes, not only does he run the neighborhood, but he also goes around and um, well um, he sets free all the little dogs in the neighborhood by nosing the latch up, pushing the gate open, and then he and little dogs start a doggy train around the neighborhood. Try figuring out which dog goes in what gate before the owner finds out they're gone.

Roscoe can also smile, see up there in the first picture. Also when I post the Katrina story in the future, you will never guess who ran away in 120 mph winds, and Daddy had to dodge metal roofing and chase him with the truck, smack dab in the middle of the hurricane. Our best guess is that he's around 7 years old, but he's still healthy as an ox, and can still out run any Greyhound you care to pair against him. When Bull Henry passed away, in 2005 he slid from #2 to #1, and we added a friend for him, to fill his empty buddy role.

Come back for the next post, and your gonna meet Mamma's Ninny Baby! See you then!

Love,

The Bumpkin

Come ride the swing with me, it's a 2 seater!

Hello Blog World!
This post has been written for over 24 hours, and I just haven't had the um' kahunas to post it yet. I wanted it to be inviting, intriguing, and captivating. I have edited, and edited, and edited. But, sometimes you just have to jump, so away we go.


I thought at first I would start, with a little history on the swing.

The swing was my first Christmas present from the love of my life, My John, 7 years ago. It was originally hung on the front porch of our first home together, a little pink beach house. Oh, those first years can be so trying, but I think the swing may have just saved me. It was my place to be alone, to stay in touch with my girlfriends and sister. A haven, mind you, a place to take a time out, from the crazy spin of new love. I would spend hours on the swing, sorting it all out, and nothing has changed since that very first day, except where it hangs.
Before the pink beach house, I had lived in the same house since I was 1yr old. Mamma got sick, and we left the little pink beach house to come back home to take care of her, until her death from uncontrolled diabetes in 2004, and yes blog world, My John came home with me, and was amazing in the process of letting Mamma go. With the death of Mamma, my very best friend, came the chore of splitting the assets, and selling the house I had lived in for my entire life, with the exception of the two years I moved away to the little pink house ( Yes I would sing the song, as I pulled in the driveway on late summer evenings). Oh, I thought what it would be like to give up the house, part of me was sad to let it go, but I had been there my whole life. So I was outta here, gone from Mississippi was the plan. I dreamed of Chattanooga, Tennessee. My John had taken me to the mountains for the first time that fall, and I just knew that was where I would start my new life, as his better half. Now that Mamma was gone, what kept me here? Well, it turns out her name was Katrina. She destroyed the Mississippi Gulf Coast that I had called my home my entire life. Yes, Katrina hit Mississippi, not New Orleans. That post will come in the future, it's quite a story, and I can't wait to tell you it. You'll never guess what My John did, but when you hear the story, your'e gonna love him just as much as I do. If you are wondering, yes we stayed, and remember this is 1000 yards from the Gulf of Mexico. We were very fortunate in that even though we were on the strong side of the storm, the fact that my Daddy bought a house on the 3rd sand dune in, saved our butts. The landscape in the front yard floated up to the front door, while the back yard remained high and dry, there was a Mercedes floating in our driveway. One block separated complete devastation from flood, and nothing separated flood from my front door. We were really lucky. Times were tough for all, and my remaining siblings needed the money from the sale of the home to carry on, so as the easiest solution to the estate, My John and I bought out the rest, and just like my parents did after Camille in 1969 we moved on. We were determined to see my hometown rebuilt to it's pre-Katrina beauty. My old single pane aluminum bedroom window stares out into the yard where I rode my Hot Wheels, till Mamma said, "Don't make me come get you," where Daddy and I planted the honeysuckle when I was six, where I had my first kiss, where I played with my siblings, where my childhood friend buried my Ms. Beasley doll when I was 8, where we survived Frederic in 1980, and a few other hurricanes that now seem like such a joke. In the picture you see above, note the sand bags holding the roof down, this was in preparation for Ike just this past year. I can still see myself at every phase of my life staring out the window of my bedroom onto the front yard, at 6 when I was Donna Summer singing "The Last Dance" in my hairbrush, at 12 when the boxes of Girl Scout cookies delivered were as high as the house, because Daddy sold them at the shipyard, determined that I would win the contest that year, and I did win. Through the tears when I had my first broken heart at 17, the same window I stared out wondering how I would live without Mamma those last few days, right above the spot where the best dog that ever lived my 1st Bullmastiff Bull Henry is buried. That my new friends in that exact spot out a double paned Pella window with a granite sill, covered by custom hand built hurricane shutters, is where the swing hangs, and it's still my haven, and it's really, really home!
Come back to the swing for the next post, and you are going to get to meet my boys! Those 20 paws I say to the side here, that melt my heart. They will tug on yours a little too!

Coffee is at 2pm, see you then....

Love,

The Bumpkin





Please if you read this blog leave me your advice or suggestions. I am new to this, and I really, really, want to know what you think. Feel free to email at bumpkinonaswing@aol.com