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Yer Blues

Monday, February 23, 2004

 
I made a new soup recipe today in the crockpot, Hearty Bean and Barley Soup. I left it on low all day and the vegetables were diced on the small side but the potatoes and carrots still weren't completely done. I had Simon turn it up to high when he got home from school at 3:00 and it still wasn't quite done when I got home at 4:30. And it was thinner than I like my soup. If a spoon can't stand up by itself in the bowl, it's not thick enough for me. (And beans - soup must have beans. The beanier the better.) So to thicken the soup I added my secret ingredient - brown gravy mix. I buy it in the big shaker container at BJ's Wholesale Club so I sprinkled some of that into the pot. I've used it before and it really thickens up soup nicely, if you don't mind every soup you make tasting like brown gravy, that is!

I finally put it in a big stock pot on top of the stove and boiled the shit out of it, so to speak. Then it was soup! Of course I had to cook some noodles to put in it. Soup isn't soup to Simon unless it has noodles in it. Mom, I thought of you this morning when I was making the soup - the recipe didn't call for potatoes! What's up with that?? Not to worry - I added potatoes. Anyway, I'm not saving the recipe because I basically made Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup, and who needs a recipe for that?

I'd also defrosted the rest of the shrimp we didn't eat on New Year's Eve so the boys could eat it up yesterday before it got all freezer burn-y. Then Paul and Gershum left before it was defrosted, so get this: Simon made Shrimp Spaghetti Alfredo! I've told you that boy likes to cook. It was his idea, even. We didn't have any jarred Alfredo sauce so I looked it up on the Internet. Recipe? We don't need no stinkin' recipe! Butter, cream and Parmesan cheese. Except we used light margarine, 1% milk and fat-free Parmesan cheese aka plastic pellets. I know. Food connoisseurs are cringing! It wasn't half bad actually. The fat-free Parmesan cheese-like product didn't melt smoothly so we pureed the bejesus out of it in the food processor - and it worked! It wasn't as good as the stuff in a jar, but it was pretty darn okay. Even though I helped some, I was downright proud of that boy.

We had more of the shrimp for dinner tonight. Yes, that is a rather odd combination - shrimp cocktail and Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup.

The usual group of 4 women went to Nancy's house for lunch on Saturday. Fun was had by all - and the food was fabulous, as always. Nancy is a killer cook and the dessert knocked us out. It was a chocolate Bundt cake, drenched with sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, topped with a chopped candy bar  - forgot what kind. To die for. And sweet, yeah, it was definitely sweet!

This is the birthday card I made for Nancy, that we all signed. I didn't feel like scanning it so these are my artsy shots. I absolutely love this card so I'll be making more anyway. This is similar to one I posted here, but this time I added purple brads and those little sparkly stones. The best part is the depth - I wish you could see that. The white frame is on one layer of foam tape and the heart is attached with two layers of foam tape. Plus the colors add to the feeling of depth.

Those brads in the corners make me ridiculously happy because they match so perfectly. I'd forgotten I had them so it was a pleasant surprise when I opened my box where I keep them. Wait! I bet I never showed you my little containers. I'm a nut for little containers and compartments, always have been, right, Mom?

Can you stand it? The little containers are about 1" in diameter and the larger ones are about 2" in diameter. Love them!

This shows the texture of the paper and the little sparkly thing too.

I'll leave you with this picture and a few thoughts.

1. This photo will drive Bonnie nuts because she worries about cat hair getting into the monitor. Good point but our little Venus is so shy that I'm thrilled any time she wants to spend time with me. (She actually laid on my chest tonight twice while I was reading the paper in the recliner. Reggi was by my side and kept sticking her face up to Venus, who diligently washed it for her. I love these girls.)

2. Just before I took this picture, Venus actually had her head down, relaxing and everything, but just when I started to take the picture, Steve came home, which is why she's turned toward the door.

3. That is one of my all time favorite pictures of Nick, Simon and Paul on the corner of my monitor. They all have great looks on their faces (trust me!) and are just too cool for school.

4. That's the little Village Gifts flyer (I added the green and red borders - must layer everything I see!) that lists which items are on sale which week. I have it posted on my monitor to remind me to get my act together and make new stuff for each sale. This week, anything with beads is 20% off, in honor of Mardi Gras. Next week is anything with a star (Academy Awards) and the next week is anything that's rusty (Alamo Day). I'm thinking of making cards with beaded rusty stars to cover all three weeks! 

Dinner:   Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup, shrimp cocktail and no-sugar-added chocolate peanut butter ice cream. 

Reading:   Expression (creative arts magazine)

Listening to in the car: ...And Never Let Her Go, by Ann Rule. (It's in the middle of the trial - just 2 more tapes to go!)  

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