Soup, soup, soup

Today I'm making soup. It's the Lenten season again and every Wednesday our church does a Lenten Soup supper. I sign up every year. I like to make soup, I like to feed people. It all works out good for everybody. So today I'm going to share my recipe with you. Actually truth be told I have no real recipe for this soup. I just throw things together and it tastes good. I needed to food blog the recipe so I could remember how to make it in the future.

So we begin by doing the prep work, Chop up some celery, some carrots and an onion.




Set them aside, in a large pot melt some butter, add in the onions, celery and carrots and saute them.



While that is happily cooking away chop up some potatoes. I use the little bagged one simply because I'm too lazy to peel big potatoes and chop them up. Add the potatoes to the pot.


Again cause I'm lazy I buy a grocery store pre-cooked chicken. I take all the meat off of it and shred it. I like it shredded but you can chop it if that makes your day. Add it to the big pot.



Then I add 4 cartons of Chicken stock. Yes I know this one only shows three, but this is where I decided 3 wasn't enough and had to run back to the co-op for another chicken stock and the right cream.


Add in a bag of frozen corn.



Bring it all to a boil. Then turn it down to a simmer. When the potatoes are soft add in two packages of instant mashed potatoes. You'll just have to imagine what they look cause I forgot I was food blogging today and forgot to take the picture. I use the Betty Crocker Homestyle. Sprinkle them over the soup while stirring, then add half a carton of a big coffee cream. You'll end up with yummy goodness.



Serve with some homemade buns or some good old store bought fresh French Bread. Your taste buds will thank you, and I'll have some form of remembering how to make this soup in the future.

Ahhh blogging, I've missed you

So for some reason last year I lost my enthusiasm for blogging and let it sit for a while. I've decided I missed blogging and so I've returned to my long abandoned blog. Lots has changed in the last year.

We sort of finished the kitchen reno. We had Jer paint and it still looks good and now i've decided to change the kitchen flooring.

I had surgery in January, a big one. I had a gastric bypass. Not many know cause I'm sort of secretive about it, but about 5 years ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I was ashamed of this because I knew it was weight related. So I asked my doc for a referral to Dr. Nohr for a gastric bypass. It is one of the "cures" for 80% of type 2 diabetes. If you aren't cured most people see an 80% improvement in their condition. It was a chance I was willing to take. I've seen too many complications in my line of work that it was enough for me to decide enough's, enough. Took me three years to get the consult with the doc, he approved me and I got the call right before Christmas. What a great gift. A new life.

It has not been all sunshine and roses. It is a hard way to lose weight. Very hard. It's hard to drink enough, hard to eat when nothing tastes good, or when you are never hungry. The plus side is my diabetes has vastly improved. I'm no longer on insulin or metformin and I expect to come off my last med before too long. I've also lost 45lbs so far.

I went public so to speak about my surgery very early on. I'm not ashamed I had the surgery, I'm ashamed I needed it in the first place. I fight the stigma of being overweight by sharing my experience with gastric bypass. Any and all questions are welcomed.

It's great to be back!

Men and the way they roll

Men crack me up. They are the funniest of creatures. We were over at Melissa and Jer's house today. They built a deck a few weeks ago and got a free hot tub from a co-worker of ours. So to facilitate where they are gonna put said hot tub they decided they needed a drainage system. So basically our whole purpose in going over there was for Steve to check out the size of these two holes Jeremy had dug for their drainage system. Rather than help the poor bugger dig the holes, my loving hubby gave him the tools to do the job himself. And dig holes Jer did. I don't recall ever seeing to bigger frigging holes in my life. (Unless you count the time we were throwing pennies at those two hookers in Calgary. hahA

So they borrow our truck to go and get some gravel to fill the holes Jer dug half way to China. No problem.. SO we ge there and Jer is hauling gravel one piddly wheel barrow at a time, through the garage and up a few steps before making his way to the holes. Does my husband help??? Hell No! He alternately stood there, sat there, smoked, pawerd through Melissa's garage sale treasures and was of no general use whatsoever.

Naturally Melissa and I are watching all this from the comfort of her kitchen table diet Pepsi's in hand. As the fellers are walking throught he garage I see Steve has his hand extended. I say to Melissa " bet ya five bucks he's saying to Jer 'what is all this crap and why does she have it all out here on a table?' Knowing him as I do, it was darn near exactly what he said.

Then they had a walk over to the fence, where a discussion about the leaning fence was had. Called that one too! Ambled over to the hot tub to check on the status of an alleged crack, commented on the dogrun and looked at the bunnies in their cage. Well naturally then it was smoke time. Invitations were extended on both male bahalves to "stay for supper". Neither of them checking with their respective spouses to see if any plans were in the making for the evening.

So then the filling of the whole began. Melissa unearthed the dirt from it's protective tarp and Jer started swinging the shovel. Steve on the other hand sat down on a bench, smoked and offered his oppinion yet again.

So we come home. There is a chilly wind blowing, good night for a soak in the hot tub. Does the man join me??? Oh yes eventaully he did.....after the overtime period was over in the hockey game he was watching. Me, I had a soak in the tub, got a phone call to go out with a few girlfriends, went to a local "watering hole" where we proceeded to talk about.....you guessed it..... MEN! ROFL

An old Allie funny

So we love to quote movies around here. It's a favourite pass time of all of us. So one day back in 2002 we had been enjoying a run of quoting the Blazing Saddles movie. Steve and I had recently watched the show again and were having a blast with using a particular line from the show.

It's the part where Taggert is hiring a mexican Bandito to be part of his gang of thugs and someone asks for their badges and the Mexican replies "Badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges" Well before you know it we didn't need no stinking whatever it was.

So we're driving home from somewhere one night and I thought it would be a nice treat to grab an ice cream. So I say " You wanna go and grab some ice cream?"

To which Steve naturally replies " Ice cream! We don't need no stinking ice cream" As him and I are giggling in the front seat we hear this little voice from the back pipe up and say....

"But dad, I want some stinkin' ice cream"

So after we stopped laughing we got the kid her stinkin ice cream and went home.

As one chapter closes....

So after a noticeable absence I feel compelled to blog again. My sense of internet safety among friends was recently shaken with accusations of people posting work related statuses on facebook and how it was a big nono. It felt like big brother was there watching just waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting so I stopped sharing for a while.

We've had a busy month since I blogged last but what I want to chat about today is how proud I am of my kid. Two years ago I got a call one day from the pastor of our church. He was new to our congregation and had noticed there was a few kids of confirmation age among his flock. So he decides it's as good of a time as any to start confirmation classes and lead the youth to full church privileges.

So he asks if Allie is interested in taking the classes, knowing full well her answer I went right ahead and signed the kid up. After all she should have the religious education to make her own informed decisions about organised religion. So little to my knowledge I didn't just sign her up, I ended up having to go too!

So the first year she made it through the memory work, learning Bible verses and the books and stories of the bible. She struggled with some of the work as she was a little young to be in confirmation class. We figured 3 years she should have the gist of it all by then. The highlight of her year was a youth retreat at Sylvan Lake with her class.

So the next year begins and year two is all about the Catechism and what we believe in. Allie, from somewhere suddenly gains an amazing aptitude for religious studies, does her homework without being reminded, learns the memory work and is acing the tests and encouraging us to go to church a little more regularly.

So a few months ago Pastor Curtis gives her the option of going through confirmation early. She thought about it, we talked it through with her and she decided to go for it. So her final assignment was to write a "Testament of faith" about her religious faith and what being confirmed means to her. So she struggled to do the essay but managed to get it done. She had to read it in front of the congregation and she did so.

I had invited my dad and his wife to come up for the event. He isn't religious at all, but he was there when she was baptised I thought he'd at least appreciate an invitation to the event. It's seldom any of Allie's grandparents attend anything she does. They have all been absent grandparents so I didn't really expect him to come. Well lo and behold they came. They came a few days early and I was really pleased we got to spend a few days together. Since my parents got divorced years ago, I have felt like we have had a strained relationship. I love the guy but he just chooses a different path in life than us and it's a path I don't wanna go down.

I had invited my local relatives, including the bachelor Uncle (who couldn't come as he was schmoozing two chicks that day) Both of my grandma's who live in town. One religious the other not so much. I had also on the off chance they wanted to come and officially be relieved of their religious obligations, invited both of her Godparents. We didn't expect that her Godfather would be able to come as he lives up north two provinces away and it would have been fairly cost prohibitive to come for a weekend. Her Godmother on the other hand was able to come up over night and share the day with us. It had been almost 12 years since she had last been to our town and we were all excited she came. She brought her mother with her which was just an added blessing as she's a second mother to me and has always treated me like one of hers. Last on the list to come was my friend Suzanne. Sadly she's moving away and it would have been one of the last times we saw her in a long while so she was able to attend as well.

Zan, Lisa and Aggie


So we all went to church, watched Allie and the rest of the confirmands take their first communion.



We took some pictures of the day following the service and everyone headed out soon after. As tired as we were once it was all said and done, it really made me a little sad to see all those I hold nearest and dearest leave after a visit that was far too short. There was much, much laughter in that short time and much love as well and I really miss sharing that with that group of people. So the whole Easter season was a season of blessings to us this year. Allie achieved a huge milestone and we were blessed with sharing it with family and friends. Thanks to you all. I love having you as guests in my home and I was so glad you all came to share the day with us.

Allie and our Pastor



Allie with great grandma



I saved the best for last. The church ladies always buy a cake so the congregation can share cake and coffee with the kids following the service. It was a beautiful cake that I am sure they paid a lot for. It was just a shame whomever decorated it was illiterate and couldn't spell confirmation. I have submitted this sucker to cakewrecks.com for their perusal.

Shopping!

So my friend Melissa and I went shoping the other day. We thought it would be neat to head to a little town called Stettler about an hour north of here. The bonus of going to Stettler being a Tim Horton's coffee above all. It'a also roll up the rim to win time. I won a donut for what that's worth. So we were checking out their little junk stores and I came across some treasures. If there one thing I am a sucker for it's glass. But it has to be certain glass. I first found a little orange bowl. I absolutely love these kind of dishes. Growing up some friends of the family had a collection of the stuff and I've loved it since. I love the color and how it's incandescent, it just makes me happy. I eventally found the matching plate to my bowl. I was happy with that.



Then I came across these little beauties.





They have no practical implications for my life, but I had to have them. I'm thinking they would be lovely dessert cups. Now I'm going to be forced to make a dessert to go in them. Aww darn! LOL

My piece de resistance though was found in the kitchen wares store. If I had unlimited dollars to spend...oh boy... I could have done it in there. I did buy a new paring knife and some pop can lid saver thing, cause Steve is always leaving 1/2 full cans of pop in the fridge. The thing I love, love , love though is nothing other than a soup Tureen. For those going "what and the hell is a soup Tureen?" It's just a serving dish for soup so you don't have to have a big ungodly pot of soup sitting on the table. You can have a lovely Tureen instead.


One of the things I particularily love about this set is the color. The tureen itself is a chili red, the bowls are all differnt colors, blue, yello, green and orange, with matching spoons to boot!


So as one would expect we had to make soup for lunch yesterday. Cauliflower cheddar was on the menu and one day I'll post the recipe. Just not today. I never took pics. *gasp*



This was when it was nearly full. By the end of the day Allie and Rebecca had almost cleaned the whole pot out. But it's nice to know one's cooking is appreciated.




Finally, because I love that kid of mine so darn much I was nice and bought her some funky new makeup today.



Anyways I the whole point of the trip was to get away and experience something new. So that we managed to accomplish. Next time I'll bring the camera!

Some recent eats out of my kitchen

Since having a kitchen again I have been in the mood to cook again, and take pictures! Some of my recent foods include an Amaretto pork Tenderloin, Barbequed hamburgers and a light dessert of Pain du Chocolate. Recipes and pictures to follow.

Hamburgers:

The Ingredients:
2 lbs hamburger
1 pkg Liptons Onion soup mix
Seasoning Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs or cracker crumbs



Mix it all up in a bowl.


Form your little patties on some wax paper.
and barbeque on a hot grill until done.


Enjoy the yummy goodness. Mmmmmmm



Pain du Chocolate: A fabulous little dessert that is easy, takes little time and you will wow them with your cullinary prowess.

Take a package of frozen puff pasty from the freezer (all grocery stores sell it near the frozen pie shells) Let it thaw for a few hours until you can unroll it easily. Save the paper it's on.



You will need a few chocolate bars. I like the cadbury thins, they are perfect for this dessert but you can use any kind of chocolate you prefer. Unwrap them and resist the urge to eat one, or buy enough to cover your shortfalls. :)



Slice the puff pastry into 8 equal rectangles.


Place a slice of chocolate on one end of each of the rectangles.


Fold over one end and pinch the seams closed. PLace on a cookie sheet. Paper uner them and all. It's parchement paper and prevents sticking. It's fabulous. Bake in a preheated oven until done. About 12 minutes at 350 degress in a convection oven and about 15 minutes in a regular oven at 400 degree. Watch these little suckers there is a fine line between done and burned. The bottom can burn easily.


Drizzle with a bit of melted chocolate, heat chocolate in microwave watching that it doesn't burn. Drizzle with a teaspoon over each slice. Dust with Icing sugar and Voila! They are ready to eat. Good served warm or cold.




Amaretto Pork tenderloin:

I used 2 pork loins and added:
1 cup of amaretto (the booze burns off leaving a fabulous flavor)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
the Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 cup of fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped garlic

Mix it all up, pour over the pork and let it cook in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour or until done. Being careful not to over cook as it will dry out.




Garlic and Butter Asparagus
We had the pork with some fresh Asparagus

I took a bunch cleaned it and snapped off the ends cause I'm a freak like that.
Threw it in the fry pan with a good glob of butter
a teaspoon of fresh garlic
a bunch of pepper
seasalt
and a little garlic salt
Sautee for a few minutes until warm, you really only want to heat up the Asparagus, it's best still crispy and fresh. Me no likey mushy asparagus.


So that's that for now. Look for more good things to follow!