Author Archives: Pam Larson

About Pam Larson

I’m a follower of Jesus, wife, mom, and Mimi to 8 grandbabies here and 5 grandbabies I’m waiting to meet in in heaven. I live in the Twin Cities and serve as the Minister for Women‘s Ministry at The North Church in Mounds View, MN.

Pam’s Lentil Italian Sausage Soup

Here’s the “recipe”, along with the “enhancements” I made:

1 package of lentils (I think about 1.5 cups?)
(I added some small red-orange lentils that I had on hand)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
Carrots (recipe calls for one, I used many!)
3 celery sticks, chopped
2 ham hocks or shanks
2 bay leaves
water (recipe called for about 7 cups, but since I had more of everything else, just added more)
Hot Italian Sausage ( 1 pound package)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Day before-cook ham shanks in a large pot of water, with salt, pepper, some cut pieces of onion and celery. Simmer all day. Cool slightly, remove meat from bones and set aside. Discard vegetables. Remove fat from broth using gravy separator. Store broth and meat together overnight.

Day of-

Heat 1 T olive oil in large soup pot, and gently cook the onion for about 5 minutes, add celery, leek, carrots, bay leaves, and lentils. Stir. Add ham meat and broth. Bring to a boil and skim surface if necessary. Simmer for at least an hour, longer is ok.

Add italian sausage (uncooked) to the soup pot and cook well, another 30 minutes minimum. Take these out when cooked and quarter lengthwise and dice. Return the meat to the pot and keep soup warm until serving.

In my case, I served the soup to a group of 10 hungry high school boys with some banana bread, fresh whole wheat bread and some chocolate cupcakes. They left satisfied! And there was enough left over to refrigerate for reheating!

Packers complete season sweep over Winona

By Scott A. Kolb
Post-Bulletin, Austin MN

After taking an unexpected break with a rainout on Thursday, the Austin Packers boys soccer team recorded an overtime win on Saturday afternoon at Art Hass Stadium.

This was the second meeting of the season between the Winona Winhawks and the Packers. The first game, won by the Packers, counted in the Big Nine Conference standings, so for good measure they completed the season sweep.

Jacob Larson scored a goal in overtime to give Austin a 4-3 win in the non-conference contest.

That makes it seven wins in the last eight games for the Packers. The Austin boys struck early with a couple of goals, but Winona mounted a comeback.

Starting the scoring on the day was Jacob Brehmer. The Packers mid-fielder made a quick strike off a pass from Henry Darling for a 1-0 lead at just three minutes into the game.

“We kept the momentum rolling with a goal from Martin Manocchio at six minutes into the game,” Austin coach Jens Levisen said. “Martin’s goal came off an assist from Jacob (Brehmer). We took the early lead, but Winona came back with a penalty kick and another goal to tie it 2-2 at halftime.”

In the second half, the Packers got a goal from Rolando Rubio. The third goal of the afternoon for the home team came off another assist by Henry Darling. The game was then tied at 3-3 and went into overtime.

Not only did Rubio provide the offense for the Packers in the second half, he also played a role in the winning goal.

Rubio provided the assist on Larson’s decisive shot into the net. The Packers fired off a total of 21 shots on the day.

Austin (8-3) travels to Rochester today for a non-conference game against Schaeffer Academy.

6th Straight Win for Packers

By Scott A. Kolb
Post-Bulletin, Austin MN

Youth Soccer Night at Art Hass Stadium provided the perfect setting for the sixth straight win by the Austin Packers.

With a lot of younger players watching from the stands, the Austin boys put on an offensive show in a 5-1 win over Rochester John Marshall.

The Packers scored three goals in the first half to put the visiting John Marshall Rockets in a deep hole for this Big Nine Conference game. The comfortable lead allowed the home fans to enjoy an extended halftime with the little soccer players getting a chance to play on the big field.

When the halftime fun was over, the youngsters shook hands with the Packers as they took the field for the second half. The kids all received a team poster and then they got to watch the big boys continue their offensive display.

“I’m glad we had a nice turnout with the young kids and it looked like they had a good time,” Austin coach Jens Levisen said. “This was a fun night for the players in our youth program and they got the chance to meet the guys on the varsity. Hopefully, the way we played in the game inspired them to continue developing their soccer skills.”

Passing to the open man and getting a flurry of good shots enabled the Packers to dominate the Rockets in the conference win. Henry Darling, who recently returned from a suspension, got the Packers rolling with an early goal.

Getting a shooter like Henry Darling back made the Austin offense even more dangerous. Darling scored another goal in the second half as the Packers won their third straight Big Nine game.

“I noticed in the first half that I could get away from their defenders and my teammates hit me with some nice passes,” Darling said. “I’m getting back into the groove of the game and scoring two goals always helps your confidence. Their defenders got kind of frustrated in the second half and started grabbing a lot, but we got through it with a win.”

Dante Ortiz made it a 2-0 lead for the Packers midway through the first half. The goal by Ortiz came off an assist from Jacob Brehmer.

The offensive forays into the JM end of the field never ceased as Austin fired a total of 23 shots on the night. The Packers would add another goal to their lead late in the first half.

Larson #1

Jacob Larson had the assist on the opening goal by Darling and his passing set up another scoring opportunity inside the final seven minutes of the half. Alex Klock took the pass from Larson and beat the JM keeper for a three-goal lead at the break.

“We worked the offense pretty well in the first half and got a lot of good looks,” Larson said. “We did a decent job of using the short passes to get the ball to the fast guys on the outside. The strong offense kept the ball in their end and allowed us to play good defense.”

Packers goalie Ryan Rasell spent most of the game watching his teammates kick the ball around the other end of the field. Rasell only faced a total of five shots and had four saves. He almost recorded his fifth straight shutout, but the Rockets got a goal in the 68th minute.

By that time, the Packers had already put the score out of reach. Physical play became a characteristic of the second half as each team was issued a pair of yellow cards.

The tide turned for good against the Rockets when Ortiz got behind the defense for an open shot with 25 minutes left to play. Ortiz was knocked down by a JM defender and Austin was awarded a penalty kick.

Tim Horn took the penalty shot for the Packers and nailed it for a 4-0 lead. Just a few minutes later, Horn got the assist on Darling’s second goal. This gave the Packers an insurmountable five-goal lead.

“We have a lot of different guys that can score goals and that’s what makes our offense tough to stop,” Levisen said. “The defense can’t just key on one guy, because we keep moving it around the field. The guys trust each other when they make a pass, and everybody keeps looking for shots. The team is attacking and playing well.”

Austin (7-2, 3-2 Big Nine) travels to Rochester Mayo for a key conference showdown on Tuesday night.

Packers come out firing in 5-1 win over Rockets

From the Austin Daily Herald (Rocky Hulne):

The Packer offense keeps rolling.

Austin's Howie Underwood kicks the ball from Rochester John Marshall's Taylor Kloss during the first half Thursday night at Art Hass Stadium

The Austin boys soccer team won its sixth straight match with a 5-1 win over Rochester John Marshall at Art Hass Stadium Thursday.

Austin (7-2 overall, 4-2 Big Nine) got the ball rolling when Henry Darling scored one of his two breakaway goals on a deep lob by Jacob Larson in the 11th minute. Darling is finally starting to get his legs back into it after re-joining the Packers a few matches ago.

“I haven’t played very well the past few games and I’m still getting back in the groove of things,” the senior forward said. “At the beginning of the game I wasn’t sure how fast their defenders were, but I kind of noticed I’d be able to get away with (my speed) early on.”

The Packer offense fired off 23 shots Thursday and it has scored at least three goals six times this season. That trend continued against JM (0-8-1 overall, 0-4-1 Big Nine) as the Packers cruised.

Dante Ortiz knocked in a rebound of a miss by Jacob Brehmer in the 19th minute and Alex Klock scored on a 15-yard shot from the center on an assist from Larson in the 34th minute.

“A lot of times in high scoring games you like to run the long ball a lot,” Larson said. “We did a good job of making short passes, getting it to our fast guys and capitalizing on all of our opportunities.”

Austin's Francisco Torres settles the ball along the sidelines Thursday night in the first half against Rochester John Marshall at Art Hass Stadium.

Austin took a 3-0 lead to the half and Ortiz instigated some more Packer offense in the match’s 55th minute. He got to the goal and drew a penalty, which set up a penalty kick that Tim Horn knocked in. Horn set up Austin’s last score on an assist to Darling.

Lucas Djehdian scored in the 68th minute for the Rockets.

While they stayed up on the scoreboard, the Packers also kept their cool against a physical John Marshall team.

“Their defenders definitely practice grabbing at you when you run by,” Darling said. “It was frustrating, but we got through it. Scoring helps and it gives you more confidence.”

Austin head coach Jens Levisen was pleased with how his team handled themselves. Austin goal keeper Ryan Rasell, who had four saves, was knocked to the ground late in the contest, but nobody retaliated for Austin.

“They’ve really done well (with keeping they’re cool),” Levisen said. “You always wonder if when they’re challenged are they going to do what they’re supposed to or default to instinct where it’s ‘this guy hit me, I’m going to hit him.’ They don’t do that and they keep their composure. That will take them a ways.”

The night was youth soccer appreciation night and the Packers represented well to the youngsters.

“I’m glad we had a good turnout with the kids,” Levisen said. “I remember when I was in high school and it meant a lot to the kids to come out and just shake hands with the varsity guys. All of them were so jazzed to be there. It’s a fun thing.”

Austin 5 Faribault 0 (9.21.09)

From the Austin Daily Herald:

The Packers weren’t messing around. The Austin boys soccer team got off to a fast start in a 5-0 win over Faribault in Art Hass Stadium Monday night.

Austin's Martin Manocchio (right) battles for posession with Faribault's Ben Heppner during the Packers' 5-0 win over the Falcons at Art Hass Stadium Monday. Manocchio scored two goals in the win.

Senior forward Martin Manocchio scored two breakaway goals in the first eight minutes and Austin (6-2 overall, 3-2 Big Nine) went on to score four times in the first half. Manocchio’s first goal came off of a strong boot from keeper Ryan Rasell, and the second came on a bomb from Jordan Broers. Austin’s Alex Klock said the Falcons (2-5 overall, 0-3 Big Nine) were practically daring the Packers to go deep. “Faribault pushes up towards the half line a lot. So we ended up with a lot more long through balls. ” he said. “If they want to play that off-side trap on us, we’ll eat them up every time. We’ve got people who can beat their defense one on one.” Pedro Herrera scored in the 18th minute on the first of Rolando Rubio’s three assists. Peter Lindahl scored in the 32nd minute for Austin and Herrera scored again in the 59th minute. Klock said the Packers, who have won five straight, still remembered when they settled for a tie at Faribault last season. “Faribault’s a rivalry game and we feel like we have a lot better team this year and we had a lot of momentum coming in. When we played Pine Island (Saturday) and got the lead, we slowed it down,” Klock said. “There was definitely no intention of doing that here, no matter what the score was. We’d of ran it to 30 if we could.” Austin head coach Jens Levisen was pleased with what his team showed, although he thought they may have tried to push it up-field a few too many times. “They knew they wanted to come and show something tonight and we played solid soccer tonight,” Levisen said. “I saw a few more through balls then I’d like to see, but that’s how they were setting up their defense and you have to react to it.” Austin will host its youth soccer night Thursday. All youth soccer players wearing a jersey will get in for free and there will be two youth games at halftime. Players will also receive a free poster of the Austin varsity soccer team.

Jacob Scores a Goal in the Pine Island Game

(Jacob is on the near side with the black knee brace on)

From the Austin Daily Herald:

Austin's Jacob Larson is sent flying after colliding with Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa's Noah Smith in the first half Saturday afternoon at Art Hass Stadium.

The Austin boys soccer team got the whole team involved in an 11-0 win over Pine Island/Zumbrota/Mazeppa at Art Hass Stadium.

The Packers (5-2 overall) attempted 48 shots and had eight different players score a goal as they cruised to victory. Jacob Brehmer knocked in a career-high three scores for Austin, but he was just as happy to see his teammates get off the bench in the second half.

“We had a bunch of guys get in and score who probably didn’t think they were going to get in,” he said. “That was good.”

Brehmer’s third goal bounced off the top post and deflected off the PIZM goal keeper for a score.

Alex Klock knocked in a point blank shot and Brehmer knocked in a corner kick from Rolando Rubio on a header 15 minutes into the game.

Rubio finished with four assists for Austin as he made a habit out of penetrating the defense and dishing off.

“This game I was just looking to pass and we were playing as a team instead of people looking for their own shot,” said Rubio, a junior. “It was fun, because everyone got in.”

Francisco Torres knocked in a crossing pass from Rubio to make it 4-0 in the 31st minute and Martin Manocchio, who scored twice, booted a 30-yard shot through the goal with four seconds left in the first half.

“We moved the ball around well and we created some opportunities,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said.

In the second half, Jacob Larson had a goal and an assist for Austin, Lucas Akkerman scored a goal, freshman Jake Hagen-Erickson had a goal and an assist, Andrew Striker scored a goal, and Klock had an assist.

Akkerman and Striker had their first career varsity goals.

The Packers reduced their lineup to nine players with 28 minutes left and still scored twice. They reduced the lineup to eight players with 10 minutes left and scored one last time.

“I didn’t want us to keep pounding on them. We had already done enough to show that we were the better team,” Levisen said. “I never feel quite right after a game like this. The guys have worked so hard and they know how to play the game. That’s reflected in the score, but I didn’t want it to be that much. You can’t stop them from playing soccer.”

Austin keeper Ryan Rasell had five saves, but he made a diving stop and a point blank stop in the last 10 minutes.

Austin will host its youth soccer night Thursday. All youth soccer players wearing a jersey will get in for free and there will be two youth games at halftime.

Austin U17 Boys earn STATE SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP!

Jacob Larson and Martin Manocchio, Age 9

A few years ago, this team did not win a single game. (U9- they were 9 years old…)

They stuck together, worked hard, listened to their coaches, and when they were 13, they advanced to the State tournament, taking 2nd place.

Bumped up a level, they again had to work through some tough times and improve their skills. Last summer, when they were 16, they also qualified for the State tournament, but did not make it to the final round.

The team overcame some challenges during this season, but did not qualify automatically for State. (The first place team from each district auto-advances to State…this year it was the LaCrosse team, who beat Austin twice during the regular season.) HOWEVER, in the playoffs, Austin kept winning until they finally beat the South St Paul team for the opportunity to play at the State Tournament in Coon Rapids, MN. They defeated Central and Mankato to earn their way to the State FINAL. (A note of bragging here: Jacob Larson scored the last goal against Mankato, on a header/corner kick combo!)

An intense game! Goalie Jacob Brehmer with a save!

Last night was the FINAL Championship game versus none other than the team from LaCrosse, the team from our district which had previously beaten the Austin boys, twice, and had gone on to win their bracket of the State tournament. The game was intense and fast-paced. Early in the game, Austin’s goalie, Ryan, came out to get the ball, defending the goal. A red card was issued to him, and Austin was forced to play the rest of the game short one player, and to put another player in the goal. The fans all wondered what this would do to the morale of the team. Austin came on strong, playing hard and working together as a team, making up for playing short by stepping up their level of determination. LaCrosse scored, but the Austin boys did not give up. They kept the pressure on, and eventually scored a goal to tie the game. The score remained tied until the end of regulation time. Then came the overtime, consisting of 2 5-minute halves. Still tied!

The most intense moments of the game came in the shoot-out which followed. Each team choose 5 players which would shoot, one-on-one, with the opposing teams’ goalie. Alternating teams, best of 5 would win the championship. At the “bottom of the fifth inning” (to borrow a baseball term!) the Austin team was up by one, and LaCrosse was up with the chance to even the score, which would have sent the game into sudden death shoot out.

Austin’s substitute goalie, Jacob Brehmer, faced yet another tough challenge….and STOPPED the ball! Austin WINS!

Sara is 1st RunnerUp for Miss MN!

Last night Sara was amazing in the Miss MN Pageant, simply stunning! We love her SO much, and will post more photos later.
Today we are moving her out of the hotel, heading to church at BBC downtown Mpls and then celebrating Father’s Day with Grandpa Jack.
Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and support!

Miss Minnesota Week! Send Sara a note…

Sara is spending this week (June 14-June 20) with all of the other contestants for Miss Minnesota, at a hotel near the Mall of America. If you would like to send her a note of encouragement, gift or flowers, here is the information you need:

HOLIDAY INN SELECT

ATTN: Miss MN Contestant- Sara Larson

3 Appletree Square

Bloomington, MN 55425

Please be in prayer for Sara, as this week is very busy with appearances all over the Twin Cities, rehearsals and just the overall pressures of getting ready for the preliminary competition on Friday night, June 19 at 7:00 pm and the FINAL night of the pageant, which is Saturday, June 20 at 7:00 pm at Eden Prairie Performing Arts Center.

Tickets are available at the door for $30, but I have a few extras here, so call me or send me a message if you would like to purchase one of the extras that I have. (The benefit is that you would be in a section of “Sara-supporters, cheering!”)

“…not quite fast enough…”

Compare the two sports headlines (in the printed edition) from Monday June 8, regarding the State track meet….the Rochester JM senior is rightfully deemed “very fast” and congratulations to him for a wonderful achievement. On the other hand, the Austin boys were handed a headline that was not quite as flattering, “Fast, not quite fast enough.” While I understand the premise behind the words, (it is correct that the Austin boys did not return with a 1st place finish) to pronounce the Austin boys insufficiently fast implies that they failed at the State meet. Nothing is further from the truth. These boys have been consistently improving their times, even setting new performance records at the State meet. Of the seven Packer boys that qualified for State this year, just one is a senior. Expect that those returning next year will be putting forth maximum effort. Perhaps next year they will earn a headline of “very fast” instead of “not fast enough.”
Incidently, the Austin Packer boys finished 18th of 65 teams at the State meet, JM finished 28th. The other Rochester schools (Century and Mayo) were not listed.

Here is the full story from the Austin Post Bulletin online, where the headline is really the “sub-headline “Packers 1600 meter relay finishes fourth”

ST. PAUL — The fastest time in the Class AA state track and field preliminaries didn’t stand up for Austin’s 1600 relay team in Saturday’s finals at Hamline University.

The Austin Packers had a chance to bring home a state title after the relay team of juniors Will Darling, Jacob Bentley, Tim Erickson and Henry Darling had the top time in Friday’s preliminaries. But the race in the finals was a different story and the team finished fourth with a time of 3:25.07.

“I think a lot of it was because some of the teams relaxed in the preliminaries to get better times (today),” Bentley said of the fourth-place finish in the relay. “We went out really hard in the semis. They just had more left.”

The Darling brothers also did well individually on the final day of the state meet. Henry got seventh in the 400 meter dash, coming in at 50.56 seconds.

Will Darling braved the slick track conditions in the 300 meter hurdles and had a strong race. He came in with a time of 40.47 seconds, and a fifth-place finish.

“Fifth is really good for me,” Will Darling said of his finish in the hurdles. “I was seeded eighth, and I’m just happy to be up at the podium at all.”

There was one more event for the Packers in the state finals.

The Austin 3200meter team of juniors Jacob Larson, Christian Folken, Tim Erickson, and senior Kyle Dammen finished in sixth-place on the day. The Packers 3,200 relay came in with a time of 8:02.61.