Snow Day

Ahh, the snow day.  A source of so much joy and elation for children, and so much pain and suffering for parents.  I was actually looking forward to this particular snow day.  I thought it would be a nice chance to bond with the kids over sledding and hot chocolate, and avoid the hectic pace of our after school activities. That said, I'm fairly certain if you check back with me around lunch time, my outlook on this day will be far more jaded.

I have very fond memories of snow days as a kid.  Waking up in the wee hours of the morning to the quiet, snow-laden world.  Hunkering down around the radio and listening anxiously for 1010 WINS to announce our school closing.  Rushing to be the first of the six kids out of the house so I could take the inaugural run down the swing set slide, which always caused a great deal of consternation among the siblings.  You see, the first one down got to push all the snow piled on the slide to the bottom.  There wasn't anything very special about that snow, just the fact that you got to be the only one out of the six who could do it - once that snow was gone, so was the thrill of the slide.  Mind you, I often tackled little siblings on my way out the door and I was so darn tall that my legs fit half way down the slide while sitting on top.  But I'll be damned if I was going to let anyone get there first.  The resulting arguments among the six of us would force Mom to lock the back door and leave us outside for the remainder of the day.

Once we got past those early morning spats, playing in the snow was pure joy. Snowmen, forts, snowball fights with the big kids up the street, ice skating on Mindowaskin Pond - quintessential outdoor fun. And Mom would never disappoint. Nestle hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, chocolate chip cookies and her famous chopped meat soup.

As a family, we've created our own traditions for snow days.  The kids always have scrambled eggs and cinnamon toast for breakfast, we've found our favorite sledding hill a few towns over, and I cook up a huge batch of chili for dinner.  This time around, I'm reverting back to the traditions of my childhood and swapping out the chili for chopped meat soup.  Enjoy!

Chopped Meat Soup
1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
16 oz can of stewed tomatoes
8 oz can of tomato sauce
2 C water
10 oz package of mixed frozen vegetables
1/2 envelope of onion soup mix
1 tsp sugar

In a large soup pot, brown the ground beef and drain.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer for at least 1/2 hour before serving.  Can be frozen.