Canned Soup Plus

How many of you have opened a can of soup recently and burst out laughing?  And I am not talking basic Campbells, here, I am talking fancy soups, such as Wolfgang Puck, Pacific, Progresso, etc, etc.

I refer to the laughter because there just is not much in that can but broth anymore.  The flavors are there, though.  So......I dump the can in the pot and then look at the picture on the label or read the ingredients.  Then I add more of everything.  And maybe things that I think would taste good in the soup.  Or stuff in my fridge that needs to be loved.  And of course more broth.

Take today.  I opened a can of Wolfgang Puck's potato soup.  It smelled really good.  It says "about" 2 servings.  The word "about" is the giveaway.....I have a small appetite and that can would not fill me up.

So I started chopping.  Hmmmm.....add some cooked chicken.  Chop up some celery and carrots in teeny little cubes.  Dice up part of a russet potato.  And, hey, what about some of the poblano pepper I finally got up the nerve to roast?   Add some broth.  And then some diced green onions.  It is simmering away right this minute.

I'll serve it with Sister Schubert's rolls.  Oh. Yeah.

I stirred in some chopped green onion tops and topped with some grated cheddar.  It was delicious.

From Transistor Radio to Iphone

I had fun with these two pages.  It is a freebie quick page from a blog train.  I cut out the radio in the pic and replaced it with an iphone.

The photo is of me, many many years ago.

A Real Job

I did have a real, full-time job a few times in my life. While Larry was in the Navy during the Vietnam War, we lived in Miami for a year. Since he made a grand total of $75 a month, I had to get a job. We arrived in Miami, rented an apartment, and had enough to live on for about 30 days. If I couldn't find something, I had to move back with Momma and Daddy. Oh my.

I checked the Want Ads and found an opening for a secretary in the Boy Scout Office in Coral Gables. I drove up for an interview and knew I would not get the job. Driving home on the interstate, I spotted the exit for University of Miami. I took the exit. Found the personnel office, was sent to the Bursar's Office and was hired as a Restricted Loans Clerk. Before I got in the car to drive home I stopped in the campus bookstore and bought the Cliff Notes (no Dummies books yet) for Accounting.

I found out later my boss had gone through about 5 clerks in 5 months. They decided since I was a Navy wife I had to have the money and would not quit. They knew up front I was only there for a year; guess they figured 12 months with one clerk was a good thing.

He was not such a bad boss.  He was an older gentleman and I think I reminded him of his daughter.  He did throw pencils and pens at people, but not at me.  I was pretty much given free rein to organize my job as I wished.  Computers were just starting up and we had a mainframe that I spent a year trying to reconcile that monthly readout with the account cards in my file.  Fun times.  I finally did it by the end of the year and they decided to merge my loans with the Student Loans and all that work went for nothing!

I dealt with a lot of Spanish speaking students from Cuba who were behind in their loan repayments.  They would come to the window and pretend to not be able to speak English.  Ha.  Two of the girls in the office were from Cuba...I would just signal one of them and the Spanish would start flying.  I loved it!!!

(Note:  I did later get a job offer from the Boy Scout Office; it was for another position there)

A Whole Lotta Beans

I read a long time ago that starchy beans are best when cooked from dried.  I was never successful with all the quickie methods of doing the dried beans, so I defaulted to canned.  All the time.  I love black beans and one day decided to just do the soak overnight and cook for hours on low the next day.  It worked.  I cook them, cool them, and freeze them in small portions.  Yum.

I cooked these today and for lunch put some in a bowl with sliced green onions, diced fresh tomato, and sour cream.  oh my.

In fact this pan of beans is awaiting the bags and freezer.  Try the old fashioned method sometime and then enjoy really yummy dried beans.  I have red beans to cook next.  Red beans and rice, anyone?