Yum. Yes, it’s my turn to cook today. That means that everyone has to put up with sub par food :P I have decided to be lazy and not make pizza tonight, and lunch was so late! We did get up late though, and ate breakfast late, so it doesn’t really matter I guess.

Leftover meat that has already been cooked can easily be frozen in plastic bags to put in soup at a later point. Chicken pieces can be put away whole if you’re prepared to pick off the meat afterwards, and ground beef is really easy to work with. Anyhow, since I decided to use the leftover meat today for soup, I thawed the baked chicken pieces, picked the chicken off, and dumped it and a small bag of cooked group beef into a pot. Then I poured in one can of crushed tomatoes.

I added a quart or so of water (I didn’t measure!) and cleaned up some green beans/wax beans.

Just because I like green beans so much, and this flatters them so much, here is a second picture of them :D (Doesn’t that just make all you green bean haters want to munch on green beans!??)

Then I put the green beans in, cut to an inch or two long, with a variety of spices (basil, Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, etc) and some salt. It doesn’t really matter what *grind* of salt you use when you’re making soup. On food where it doesn’t get dissolved, though, it can make a difference. Anyhow.

I didn’t get any pictures of the potatoes going in. I’ll just say if you’re running late on time, make the potatoes smaller and they’ll cook quicker.

Here’s the finished soup.

The steam was blurring the lense, so I didn’t get much of a picture!

_________________________________

On to dessert. Remember that stressed spells backwards is dessert. I’m not sure what that means - if desserts make you stressed, or if you’re to reach for the desserts when stressed ;)

I recall making menus for the “Wednesday Eatery.” Now I don’t cook on Wednesdays, so I can’t say that anymore! If this was on the menu, it’d have to be something like Grandmom’s Ridiculously Good Blueberry Cake. I don’t know if this recipe was originally from my grandmother or what, but it’s the best blueberry cake I’ve found so far. The recipe follows at the bottom.

Separate two eggs. Beat egg whites in mixer and cream egg yolks, butter, and vanilla in separate bowl. Add 1 cup (scant) sugar to the creamed mixture. Add 1/4 cup sugar to egg whites. I always add the sugar after the whites have started to peak.

Officially: Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder) and stir into creamed ingredients alternating with milk. Bonnie-Style: Dump dry ingredients on top of creamed ingredients and add the *water*. We didn’t have milk around and it turns out just fine without it.

Fold in egg whites. I don’t know why but I reeeally like sweetened egg whites. I don’t think I’m terribly fond of Fluff but for some reason I have an overwhelming urge to snitch. And I did!

I forgot to fold in the blueberries first, but it didn’t really seem to matter. My blueberries seem to have partially thawed when our freezer accidentally went out, so I rinsed them first to get the ice off the outside of them.

And the secret weapon: Sprinkle sugar generously on top.

And the cake is finished!! It didn’t last long, and I just got up to have one last, little piece, and it was all gone. Better that than go stale ;)

Blueberry Cake

2 eggs, separated
1 cup (plus 1/4 cup, plus more for topping)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening (butter works!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk/water
1 1/2 cup blueberries

Follow directions above. Or if you happen to copy and paste this to print, here are the directions:
Beat egg white. Add 1/4 cup sugar to hold peaks. Cream soft ingredients, then ad dry ingredients alternating with milk. Fold in blueberries. Fold in egg whites. Bake in greased 8×8 pan* at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

*I used a 13×9 pan and baked it for only 35 minutes. I prefer the bigger pan and shorter baking time.

Posted by Bonnie under Uncategorized, food, recipe