Mexican Black Beans with Carrots

Soups are the staple to any low budget meal. Currently, soups are the staples to any pandemic meals. With a wide variety of legumes and rice on had, a Black Bean Soup with a side of Spanish Rice was attempted.

Modifications Made:
Lime juice replaced red wine vinegar, hot sauce was omitted, stock was two cups chicken broth and two cups pollo do tomate.

Scaled for Likeness: Good
Way back in college, in my last semester of Senior year I had a class taught by the Dean of my field who was known for her very challenging yet stimulating class. On the day before the final, a pop quiz was given. The quiz will forever stand out in my memory. It went something along the lines of this:

Name:
Date:
Instructions: blah, blah, blah, blah, read all the questions before starting the quiz, blah blah, blah.

The number of questions nor the content mattered. What mattered was reading the instructions. As in READING the instructions. Cause had I, like so many other students, had read the instructions the quiz would have been over before it started. The last question on the last page all by itself said to read all the questions, circle A for the answer, and an A will be received for the grade. If the student had not read all the questions first and had answered them as they went, they received the grade they earned. Luckily for me, I earned an A but I did not follow the instructions and had to endure the stress of not getting an A. Lessons learned.

And while I think of that lesson often, I still make the same mistake often. Just like in this recipe. It very clearly states "six cups of cooked black beans". Had I followed the instructions and made the beans first and then cooked accordingly with the new ingredients, the recipe would have been great. Instead, all the ingredients were cooked at the same time the dried black beans were cooked resulting in a soggy carrots and completely cooked down petitie diced tomatoes. My final result was a thick mess only saved by the addition of rice, salsa, and chips. Soup this was not, even if it was tasty.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

Way Too Rich, Extra Heavy Cheesecake

Pictures are deceptive. What this picture of this recipe does not show is how old and faded the print out paper is, how many stains are smudged across various spots, and the numerous notes written in the top right corner with the first one dating back to college days in 2001. Yikes, twenty years ago makes this paper print out old, no wait, that makes me old. Eek. Sadly, my current living quarters do not allow for cooking of this cheesecake. In fact the last time this recipe has been made have been close to six or seven years. That is just too long. Too long. Luckily, we are spending Spring Break at family with a real oven. A family who will help eat this oh so rich, very decadent, supremely yummy cheesecake. Modifications Made: There are four keys to a successful cheesecake. ONE: all ingredients must be room temperature. If your house is ice chest cold, then warm the ingredients on the stovetop. TWO: do not over mix. Excessive mixing creates air pockets resulting in split mi

The Great Freeze 2021 Vegetable Broth

Good grief, this cold snap. Every year I wish and wish for cold weather so this table can eat soups without melting. Well this year winter came and came with a vengeance. Two days below freezing with no water, no power, no internet/cell service. It's the dark ages. If you need more info just search for Texas Grid Failure 2021 . Yes, this tragic affair has its own wiki page. Good grief. Did you know that if temperatures drop below freezing for too long, refrigerators will not keep your cold stuff from freezing? Well, they don't. And with 17℉ temps, this tables fridge contents froze. What to do with a fridge full of frozen fresh veggies? Veggie stock. No recipe was used, it was just all the veggies in the fridge (white and yellow onions, garlic, jalapeno, green onions, three roma tomatoes, celery, two russet potatoes, seven carrots, and a red and green bell pepper) salt and pepper, and enough water to just touch the top layer of veggies. I did not want the veggies floa

Eating Waffles

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