My Random Week

Well...I'm still buried in paperwork at work. I think April is going to be a better month, which is good because if all goes according to plan I'm going to be really busy with a huge project in April. For now I'm just trying to keep my head above water.

Started this week by BBQ'ing on Sunday. Now that doesn't seem something important enough to blog about, but I've actually never BBQ'd by myself EVER! BBQ'ing is kind of a "man thing" in our family and my dad would BBQ every single Sunday for everyone and you always knew no matter what you would get an excellent meal on Sunday.

One thing that my dad always BBQ'd that was a real treat for us was corn on the cob.. in the husk. And I'm proud to say I'm following in my dad's footsteps by BBQ'ing some. Don't they look pretty? I also BBQ'd hamburgers and hotdogs which came out great. Next I'm going to try Chicken. My brother Fred BBQ's the best Chicken!

Also this weekend I went to J.C. Penneys. You know they changed their whole pricing plan? I was really scared that since they were going to be lowering their prices in order to be more competitive that the quality of their clothing was going to suffer...and I was right. I was not happy with anything that they had and even less with items that I tried on. But I did end up finding this beautiful black ring! I had been wanting one forever! I've worn it to work almost every day this week. It's hard to type with it, but doesn't it look good? Sorry for the blurry cell phone picture.

Oh yeah...and also this past weekend I hit the Big Lots 20% sale, and am I glad I did because I found the most beautiful patio table. I know you're probably thinking...well ummm, but it's in your kitchen. Yes...I know. But see, I gave my pretty little country kitchen table to my dad for his new apartment and we had been using my ugly round white plastic patio table and one chair in the kitchen. We only had one chair because the only one who ever sits at the table is my mom. Soon I'll be putting the table outside and I know it's going to be beautiful out on the patio!

And did you know that this week the news sweeping the world is that brooms are standing on end...by themselves? This phenomenon or hoax, depending on how gullible you are is attributed to the spring equinox and the axial alignment as a result of the equinox. Well I heard about it this morning from my local weatherman, Kevin Charette who posted a picture of his broom at home standing straight up unassisted. So I had to try it and lo and behold!!! Voila! See... I did it! I actually left it standing up just like that and later checked with my son and he said it was still standing up! Cool Beans huh?

And this week I've gone back to my low-carb diet in an attempt to lose at least 10 pounds in a couple of weeks because I'm going to a conference with my sister later in the month. So I thought that since it was a little chilly outside, I would try a new recipe that I found on a new favorite blog my sister Lisa recommended called Blue Skies and Yellow Dogs. The creator and author of this super funny blog is "The Zadge" and she posted a recipe she calls White Chicken Chili. It seemed even simple enough for me as not only am I not a big BBQ'er I'm also not a big SOUP'er. The talent for whipping up a soup just eludes me, but this recipe from The Zadge was just the ticket as I was able to make it with a minimum of trouble and it was delicious. I didn't photograph it as well as The Zadge did because by the time I remember to photograph it I already had it in a plastic container for storage, but still it doesn't look too bad...and trust me it was delicious, although I wish I had noticed that she said 2 cans of white beans...I only put one in and it could have used more.

I topped my soup with way too much Monterey Jack Cheese, but trust me...it was delicious and fairly low-carb except for the beans, but since I was short a can that wasn't too bad. My son even liked it and he doesn't like many soups. He had two helpings and I managed to get a picture of his second bowl. He loaded it up with Garlic and Butter flavored Ritz Crackers.

So that's a wrap up of my week. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. It's going to be a long, busy day, but at least it's Friday and I have the weekend to look forward to!

So how's your week been? Balance any brooms?

Turkey and Rice Soup

Earlier today I was talking to one of my favorite underwriters about how our holiday went and so on and she mentioned she was going to go home and make some soup out of her leftover turkey. And I decided to play along and said, "Hey, that's just what I was planning to do!" Then I told her I might just make a turkey potpie instead as I had some pie crusts left from the pumpkin pies and she said, "Oh yum, that sounds good too! I might do that instead."

Then on the drive home I thought, well why not? Why not make some soup?

Well, for started, because I don't have a single vegetable in my house! No wait, I lie, I do have a couple of jalapenos and a bag o'salad, those can be considered veggies right?

So I thought, ok, I'll just go to the store and pickup some carrots and celery and maybe a zucchini squash, but first I called my mom to see if she had some celery because I didn't want to buy the whole big stalk of it. I was in luck! She said she had a whole bunch of celery and bell pepper and onions already diced left over from the stuffing!

So I went and picked it up and figured, I don't need carrots, I'll just use potatoes. And this is what I created!

And I gotta tell ya, it was soooooooo good! Just what I was craving. I added some rice as well and some chili pepper flakes so it was a bit spicy, but not too much. Some carrots would have added some lovely color, but other than that it was perfect!

Turkey Rice Soup *estimated ingredients since I really didn't measure

1/2 onion diced small (I used a yellow onion)

1 cup chopped bell pepper

1 cup celery

1 cup white uncooked rice

1 small can chicken broth

2 cups diced up cooked turkey

1 cup chopped potato

salt and pepper to taste and about 1/4 tsp of chili pepper flakes

2 tsp oil

Pour the 2tsp oil into your pot and add the onion and celery and stir for about 2 minutes then add the bell pepper and the uncooked rice and stir again for another 3 minutes, then add the chicken broth, the chopped potato, salt and pepper and the chili pepper flakes, stir and let come to a boil and toss in the turkey, then just simmer until the veggies and the rice are softened to your personal taste, about 20 minutes or so.

Cauliflower Soup

“Explaining something sensible to Lord Killanin is akin to explaining something to a cauliflower. The advantage of the cauliflower is that if all else fails, you can always cover it with melted cheese and eat it.” – William E. Simon

I have not a clue who Lord Killanin is, or why he’s so hard-headed. All I know is that I’m making Cauliflower soup and at least I know that you can always cover it with melted cheese. Anything is better with melted cheese, just like any day with BACON is a good day!

Since I’ve been home recuperating from my surgery I’ve been reading food blogs nonstop! I wish the things I read would stick, but they don’t. Thanks to the magic of bookmarking though, I’ve saved a whole folder of special recipes to try. I especially want to try soups even though I know it’s still 85 degrees outside right now. Let’s just pretend it’s cold and foggy and misty!

This recipe is from here. And it seems so super simple. Actually it looks upon further reading that the writer wants me to try making the soup with butter and with olive oil…oops! I only did butter. Sorry Becks & Posh, next time if it turns out well this time, I’ll try it with olive oil.

The cast of characters, 1 lb. of cauliflower florets, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 small onion chopped, 3 cups water, 2 tsp. salt, pepper as desired


I went pretty much just by the recipe as shown on their website:

In a heavy pan with a lid, I melted butter over a low heat. (Next time I will use much more butter, I think like 4 tbsp because I love it real buttery.) Then I added the onion and cooked gently, it did get a little brown on me but I think that gave the soup a richer, nutty sweet taste.


Then I added the cauliflower florets, the salt (next time more salt, maybe another tsp.) and I put in a whole cup of water because it seemed like too much cauliflower to me. I then covered and cooked it for 20 minutes, exactly.


After 20 minutes, I removed the lid and added 2 ½ cups water and simmered on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring gently every once in a while. I got so excited after the 20 minutes that I forgot to take pictures of it during this time and during the cooling process (just let it slightly cool). I also didn't take pictures during the blending process, but puree in the blender (next time, I will not puree as I like it chunky, it kinda had the consistency of Cream of Wheat).

But at least I took a picture of it before I ate it all. That's it in the little red bowl, sprinkled with pepper, next time I would cook the pepper with it for flavor as well. But all in all, it was pretty good. I would serve it in a bread bowl with shredded cheese and some paprika.