Austin Photographie-- A Day With Becca

A little while back my sweet friend Becca came to visit. I told her as her rent for staying with us for a night, she had to let me take photos of her in downtown Austin. Who wouldn't want to? She is gorgeous. Becca is one of the most selfless and humble women I know, and loves Jesus so so passionately.

We walked, talked, laughed, and of course, shopped. 

I asked her to sit in the middle of the sidewalk on Guadalupe St.... Um, can you say, "rockstar?" 

We then made our way over to South Congress. We left our love with these little puppies... 

And then we came across some official SXSW action, graffiti that I'm sure has been the spot of countless photos already, and the best backdrop ever (last shot). 

But no, my friends, the fun did not stop there. Bry (-bear) and I took her out for Amy's ice cream and Mt. Bonnell to watch the sunset. 

And what could have possibly made her stay any better??? 

Why, we are both bakers!! We must bake, by golly! We spent quite a while deciding what to bake, and the winner was... 

a MAGNIFICENT Big Crumb Coffee Cake with Rhubarb. If you've never tried rhubarb, I highly recommend it. 

Becca, I love you and I am so grateful for our friendship!!! 

Momma Robichaux's AWESOME Chicken Soup

Warning: there are no pictures in this blog post!!! Boo, I know.. I wasn't prepared for this awesomeness...

So my sweet mom and I are really close, and one of the coolest things about her is how she cooks-- I don't remember the last time she used a recipe. She just throws things together and they ALWAYS turn out INCredible!! No lie. 

Well, she was describing a soup she made the other day and it sounded fantastic! So much so that I'm pretty sure I called her 10 times asking what was in it because I never wrote it down. Shame on me. BUT... If you make this soup, I promise you won't be disappointed-- it is officially me and Bry's absolutely favorite thing that I've cooked in a long time. Start drooling. 

Momma Robichaux's AWESOME Chicken Soup

makes about 8 servings

1/2-3/4 cup flour

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup olive oil

Minced garlic

3 Leeks- chopped

1 bunch of celery- chopped

1 bell pepper- chopped

1 can Rotel tomatoes

Chicken broth

1 lb chicken tenders- cut into pieces

Lots of fresh green beans- cut in half

1 lb of carrots- cut into rounds

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium/high heat in a large soup pot. Stir in flour to make a light roux, until it darkens slightly. Add garlic, leeks, celery, and bell pepper to the pot. Stir together and saute until slightly wilted. Add can of Rotel and cook for a few minutes until juice is absorbed. Add chicken broth and  bring to medium/high heat. Stir in chicken, green beans, and carrots. Cook until chicken is cooked through and carrots/green beans are cooked to your desired tenderness.... Voila!! 

A few notes...

*I was out of all-purpose flour, so I used pastry flour. Don't know if it made a huge difference, but it made a really nice roux.

*Mom doesn't like onions, that's why she used leeks. I'm sure onions would work fine, but trust me-- the leeks were SO good!

*Use a lot of veggies. Literally. As in, the whole celery bunch :) 

*I used original Rotel (aren't you proud of me, friends?? I didn't get Mild!!) and it gave it a bit of a kick. 

*The amount of chicken broth you use depends on how chunky/watery/condensed you want your soup to be. I use chicken bouillon cubes and tend to make the broth stronger than normal. It's your call! 

Thanks for the best soup ever, Mom!!!!! Love you!!!