Pizza Soup!

Because if I didn't post it now, it would end up being months later and I would feel very badly.

You will need:

1 carrot, chopped
1/4 bell pepper, chopped (a rare luxury, but if you have one handy, go for it!)
1 stalk of celery, chopped (or 'stick.'  I don't know.  A couple weeks ago, Ben told me that a 'stalk' means the whole bunch...so one of those long green things, and not the whole bunch.)
1 largish tomato, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4-ish cup pepperoni, cut into quarters
3-4 cups chicken broth
1/2 chicken breast, cooked & cubed
1-2 Tbsp butter
1-2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
garlic
marjoram
oregano
macaroni or other noodles
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese

So...

Combine all of your chopped vegetables, pepperoni and chicken in a pot with chicken broth and put over medium heat on the stove.  Let it cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the carrots and celery are appropriately soft (there's little that bugs me more than my carrots and/or celery being only halfway done, but some people don't mind it).

Meanwhile: melt butter and whisk in flour and then milk to make a rue.  The measurements I listed above aren't exact because I'm not very good at taking measurements first...sorry...  You don't want it to be too thick, like clam chowder or something.  Just enough to make the soup a little bit creamy.  Add this to the vegetables, broth & meat, stirring to incorporate it.

Season the soup with garlic, marjoram, oregano and black pepper.  Once again, I didn't pay attention to how much I used, but don't overdo it.  The pepperoni adds a lot of flavor.

Add your noodles about ten minutes before serving.  This will make the soup kind of thick, so add more broth if you need to.

Add the cheeses just before serving - a generous pinch of mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan.


We love this one, hope you do too.

11 Questions and Answers

So today is a glorious day.  I woke up when Thunder told me to, I made a goal about the ridiculous amount of homework I was going to accomplish today...and I did it.  That really caught me off guard.  I'm more used to making ridiculous homework goals and getting nowhere near finished.  I guess Thunder was just being my willing helper.  

Anyway, I wasn't sure what to do with myself.  I put this little girl in the baby sling and made dinner, put away the dishes, called my husband to ask where the cheese had gone, and then put Thunder's jacket on her and walked around the house a few times to enjoy the sunshine while she blew spit bubbles for me (I would have gone on a real walk, but we left the stroller at her Grandma's house by accident.  Oops...).  When she began to fuss, I was forced inside and had to decide once again, what to do.  Since she wouldn't let me put her down, I couldn't clean, so I thought 'Oh yeah, I have a blog.  I wonder if it's still there?'  And it is!!!  So I decided to finally answer Kristin's Liebster questions.   

Kristin, I think I fail at this, but thanks for including me anyway. 

1.  What movie would you recommend to me that I probably haven't seen?

'Lagaan: Once upon a time in India.'  I'm guessing you haven't seen it.  It's Bollywood which means 1. you have to read subtitles, 2. the music and dancing are to die for (one Christmas I asked Santa for the soundtrack) and 3. it's clean! (I guess I don't know if all Bollywood movies are clean, but from what I've seen, they sure beat Hollywood).  Best foreign-historical-sports-musical film ever. ;)

2.  If you could go back to college, or just start over if you're there, what would you major in?

I think I would still major in nursing, because it's terribly practical and as soul-sucking as nursing school is, I've enjoyed every nursing job I've had so far.  What I would do differently is decide on a minor that would be fun and stimulating early on.  Maybe English.  I tried to do an English minor, but I didn't realize that I wanted to until it was too late.

3.  What's your favorite recipe that you'd like to share with me?

Pizza soup has been our latest favorite around here, but I'll post it on the next post, so I don't over-clutter this one.


4.  What's the funniest thing you've heard a child say?  Naturally, it could be your own.

Once when we were at my grandma's house, my very, very rambunctious cousin Tom, four or five years old at the time, walked up to my teenage sister, took her chin in his hand, and said, in his most suave voice, "here's something to remember me by," and just like that, she got her first kiss.  Maybe it's one of those you-would-have-to-have-been-there stories, but that's all I have for now.


5.  How much time do you spend on the computer each day?

Too much.  Way too much.  Only three weeks are left of online school, and then I will be free from the dismal internet, visiting only for an occasional facebook visit, and to read cooking blogs (which I think is a little strange, but I can't help myself). 


6.  If you had to be lactose intolerant or gluten intolerant, which would you choose?

Hard choice... maybe lactose intolerant because gluten intolerance limits you more, but oh!  How I love my milk, cheese, and yogurt.  Soy just isn't the same.  I don't think I could ever be vegan.


7.  Tell me about the funnest date you've been on.

Two years ago (has it really been that long?!), my now-husband took me to general conference and we spent two hours standing outside with a bunch of other young adults singing in the snow and rain.  Then we went in to listen to conference and all through talk after talk about marriage, I thought 'it's a good thing neither of us is seriously thinking about marriage right now, or this would feel so awkward.' (He proposed three weeks later.)  That was also the day he met my family and we had our first kiss.  I could go on and on with detail, but that's probably a story for another day.


8.  In what ways have you changed since childhood?  I'm not talking physically. . .

I suppose I'm less of a drama queen...a little...


9.  If there was one thing you'd change about yourself, what would it be?

Where do I start?  I guess I would give up my taste for sweets.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have a sugar tooth that is beyond compare.  It's one of my favorite and least favorite vices.


10.  What would you do if you were given one million dollars tomorrow?

Put it in the bank, probably.  I know, I'm boring.


11.  Did you make it clear to the end?

Yes!  After how many months?  But here we are, and I might add that I did it one-handed because Thunder is sleeping in the other.  :)

The Rules & 11 Facts About Me

A couple of months ago, just about the same time I decided that I temporarily didn't have time to read anyone's blogs, much less blog myself, my sister-in-law nominated me for the Liebster Award, for 'up and coming bloggers' (sorry, Kristin, I hope you don't mind if I basically plagiarize the description from your blog!), though in my case, I'm sure that what I need is much less an award than a wake-up call.  Either way, this might just do the trick.

The rules are as follows (and yes, I also copied and pasted these from Kristin's blog):

1. Each person awarded must post 11 facts about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions the nominator has set for them.
3. Choose five bloggers to nominate.
4. Create 11 more questions for the bloggers they will nominate.
5. Let the lucky bloggers know.

Admittedly, I have hesitated a couple of weeks to start working on this.  Quite the opposite of Kristin, I have found that I take and upload lots of pictures, but can never quite decide what to say about them. This is such a fun idea, but I haven't had time to brainstorm all thirty-six items included in the requirements, so I'm going to be a little lazy and cut it up into lots of little posts.

Without further ado:

(I hope these don't have to be in any particular order)

1. I was once frostbitten.  There's a faint scar the size and shape of a band-aid on my left ankle and I'm really quite ridiculously proud of it.  Now, of course, it's lost some of its thunder because my sister recently got frostbitten worse than I did by being a much more hardcore athlete than I ever was, and the scar is fading, and I no longer push myself to go running in -13 degree weather...but still.

2. I have a  serious book fetish.  I collect them, especially novels.  The discount book rack at the library or the ones in thrift stores rarely fail to draw me in and Ben has learned to give me five minutes or so before (literally) dragging me away.  I have the book collection in my bedroom, sorted by the ones I have read and those I haven't, and I'm pleased to say that they're pretty closely tied.  I'll work on reading more after I graduate, though.

3. When I was fourteen years old, I was pretty much convinced that I wanted to become a nun, largely because boys were about the least interesting thing in the world and seminary was the most interesting.  By and  by, I came to the realization that nuns were a Catholic thing and I was not.  It turns out that being married to a boy (man ;) and having my own baby is a lot of fun, though.  And I get to wear cute clothes.

4. I am just a tad bit O.C.D. (or maybe I ought to say that I have a tad bit of O.C.D.  Whatever.)  It used to be that there were certain tiles on my parents' kitchen floor that I made a point to avoid (every other tile, to be precise), I would count my steps on the sidewalk to make sure that I stepped on each block an even number of times and never stepped on a crack.  I'm mostly cured now, but still whenever I'm eating small, bite-sized things  like chocolate chips, raisins, M&Ms, etc. I have to eat an even number of them and if they are multicolored (like M&Ms or skittles), I can't eat a pair that are both the same color together.

5. Two things I have always wanted to do: run a marathon and write a book (and have it published).

6. A confession: I am something of a habitual nail-biter.  It has nothing to do with nervousness or anything like that.  Honestly, I find it somewhat...entertaining.  Is that a bad thing to post on the internet?  Oh well, there it is anyway.  I guess I'll try to quit.

7. Some of my favorite things: my wonderful husband, my little girl, good poetry (I'm somewhat of a snob about it), running, mountains.

8. Chocolate chip cookie dough is definitely my guilty pleasure.  I never get tired of it, except when I've had too much, in which case I get a little sick of it, but that only lasts a few hours or a couple days at most.  I know, I know - salmonella (is that right?  You would think I would know how to spell it...).  I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, but I'll save that for another fact.

9. I'm a glutton for punishment. :)

10. Some of my favorite books (at the time I read them...it's been awhile, so I can't say for certain whether I would get the same enjoyment out of them right now) are/were: 'Cry the Beloved Country' by Alan Paton (love, love, love it), 'Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy' by Gary D. Shmidt, and 'The Book Thief' by Marcus Zusak.  I also remember liking 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' (Betty Smith), 'Cold Sassy Tree' (Olive Ann Burns).  Currently I'm reading 'Anna Karenina,' but I don't think it'll make the list.

11. I typed quite a few of these one-handed, while holding little Thunder.  Woot!  I do feel accomplished!  Thanks Kristin.