The Ugly Years and a Bowl of Soup

Wednesday I perused Allrecipes.com for some new recipes.  We are having trouble getting to eat at home, as some child decided to play school ball, and they have close to 50 games in a 7 week period.  Our dining budget is blown, I've learned that if you skip the "A" game, knowing your child is not playing before the "B" game, you can get in free, and poor Bookworm has probably eaten more Taco Mayo and Sonic in the last five weeks than her whole life combined.

The coaches have them walk the half mile to these two establishments after checking in at the locker rooms.  And just when did my child get old enough to walk with her friends to these places and buy herself some food?

Probably about the time she started looking like this:

She's on the right.  And she has makeup on.  And I think she's really pretty, in a completely unbiased sort of way.  Dang it.

Not "dang it" because she's pretty.  But "dang it" she's in 7th grade, and that is just down right annoying and somehow impossible, but obviously totally possible, considering this is her back to school picture for this year.  And yes, that's 7th grade.  

Raise your hand if 7th grade was your "ugliest year ever."

Pfpfpfpf

Anyway, I found several recipes to try, but this one is a real keeper.  I put all of the ingredients in the crock pot this morning at about 6:30 and Brent simply added the cream cheese about 5:30 and then served it up to the kids about 6pm.  You see, Bookworm had a friend come home from school with her to get ready for the dance.  They were here by 3:30 and were still not ready when I got home at 6:20.  Popcorn was in charge of hair.  However, the waver took so much time with Bookworm, that Grace's friend decided to forgo any wild new styles and went with her simple normal 'do.

Anyway, OF COURSE I was cleaning up the kitchen before I realized I should photograph this recipe and blog it.

Because I've been so short of blog material lately...Well, more lacking any real desire to sit down and look at the computer, much less write a blog.

I thought about putting it in a pretty bowl and sprinkling some shredded cheese on it, and perhaps a dollop of sour cream. Then I got bored and impatient just thinking about it, so I shrugged and decided to just snap a picture of it in the Tupperware bowl , and call it good.  And while my photography skills leave something to be desired, this dish will in no way disappoint.  In fact, Bookworm's friend cleaned her bowl (other than a few tomato chunks) and her parents keep claiming she's a finicky eater...

Spicy Latin Chicken Soup

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I actually used 3, because mine were so huge)
3 cans diced tomatoes (I actually used 1 can diced, 1 can Mexican style, and 1 can of tomatoes with chipotle peppers)
16oz jar salsa verde
1 can pinto beans rinsed and drained
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
frozen corn (it called for one can, but I used probably 2 cups frozen)
2 tsp chili powder
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tsp cumin
cilantro, if desired (and believe me, I don't) 
1/2 c of cream cheese


Place chicken (whole, they will fall apart when you go to scoop it out) in bottom of crock pot.  Add remaining ingredients, except cream cheese and stir.  Cook on low 8-10 hours, or until chicken is very tender.  About 15 minutes before dinner time, soften cream cheese, scoop out a bit of liquid from your soup and then stir in to cream cheese to create a creamy mixture, then pour this into your soup.

Top with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips as desired.

This soup was a huge hit, and my family was quite pleased to have a real home cooked meal, and not something that was thrown together in 5 minutes or less.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Softball is Here: Which Means We're Hungry

Thursday officially kicked off softball practice.  Being the super organized person that I am, I forgot to move Popcorn's gymnastics, so we missed the first thirty minutes of softball practice...

Guess what?  Brent gets to coach their team.  Here's how that went down:  Two weeks before practices were set to begin, the director of the league called and asked him if our kids planned to play.  When he answered in the affirmative (the deadline to register was two days away), she replied, "Great!  You can coach the twelve and under team!"

And thus he was Bookworm's coach.

And then I began to whine and complain that having two girls on two different teams was just impossible, and therefore I MUST stop working IMMEDIATELY!

And then one of my coworkers had the audacity it ask how quitting work would help the situation since softball practice and games are all in the evenings or Saturdays.

Needless to say, I threw my coffee in his face and walked off....

(Okay, that last part didn't really happen)

Alas, I'm still gainfully employed.   But God answered my prayer in the sense that Popcorn absolutely refused to play if her dad couldn't coach her too...Even if it meant playing with girls two years older than her.

So I gave a big "HOORAY!"  And I'm officially not responsible for one single portion of softball, other than attending games!  Go ahead, congratulate me on my sheer luck in such matters.

ANYHOO, the point is that Thursday I had to pick the girls up from school, run Popcorn to gymnastics, then to softball, and I knew from past experience that they would come home weeping with hunger.  Especially considering Popcorn finished her school day with a very intense PE class where they did a boot camp type of workout, then did a forty minute bike ride with me before jumping in the car to head to gymnastics where she goes nonstop for an hour, then went to softball...

So, on my way home from work I was chatting with my Grandma Irene, and we were discussing what I could throw in the crock pot to cook until we walked in the door who knows when...

Grandma is good at many, many things, but crock pots are a foreign idea for her.  Therefore, I get to claim total credit for this bit of loveliness.  I haven't decided what to call it.

Cut up cooked chicken breast (Brent had grilled some bourbon chicken earlier in the week)
1 can Ranch Style beans, with most of liquid drained
1 can chopped green chiles
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup of wild rice
1 cup of water
Generously sprinkle with pinto bean seasoning (or taco, or fajita, whatever you want)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Stir all together and turn crock pot to low for 3 hours.   Bookworm sprinkled it with cheddar cheese about an hour before we ate it...

I ended up leaving practice as soon as it was over, but Brent and the girls stayed behind to do the social meet and greet.  Since I knew I had at least ten minutes, I whipped up some salsa to be served with it.

 
I may or may not have eaten entirely TOO MUCH of that before they got home.

So, what shall I call my newest crock pot creation?  And when do you plan to try it?  I promise you will love it.  Bookworm doesn't like rice.  However, on her FOURTH serving, I pointed out that it had rice in it...She was surprised, but still loved it.  Let me know how it works for you!

Bookworm-isms

We had an awards banquet for the end of basketball season. It was fun. They had a juggler for entertainment. He shared the story of man's fall into sin while he juggled, and then told the story of Jesus's birth, death and resurrection. It was really neat to watch him integrate different objects and methods of juggling to illustrate his story. At the end he had a pitch fork, and 2 giant knives he was juggling. He had one of the coaches come to the front. He had him lie on the floor then placed a blindfold over him. He said he was going to juggle the knives over the guy, and that the coach trusting him reflected our faith in Christ. We may not always see what's going to happen, but we have to trust it will be okay. Well, the juggler switched the knives out for toilet plungers. It was funny and thought provoking.

On the way home, Popcorn was talking about that mean trick the juggler played. I said I wasn't even sure if the knives were real. Bookworm said "Yeah, he should have sliced a tomato to show us they were real. He could have sliced thousands of tomatoes, and we could have given them to the poor. We would say 'Here you go, poor.'" I guess the poor would just show up, plates in hand ready to get fresh juggler-sliced tomatoes. Or maybe we would have to post a sign at the church: FREE sliced tomatoes for the poor. I don't know, but "Here you go, poor."

Last night Bookworm registered for softball. Don't tell Popcorn, but I did a happy dance inside when she said she didn't want to do softball. Well, Studmuffin picked Bookworm up at piano, took her to register for softball, and headed straight to Acadamy to get all of the paraphernalia she will need. She has never played softball, and truthfully, she's a wimp. I'm not sure how she's going to handle a ball flying at her. Or sliding into base. Or anything that risks injury. But, Studmuffin was a baseball player, so I know he can help her.

FYI, my kids both have crazy skinny feet, but Bookworm's are worst. It was a challenge finding a baseball cleat that was long enough, but wouldn't fall off of her heal. She had to have cleats, a helmet and face guard, a bat, glove, balls, a tee to learn to bat correctly, and some sort of thing that you practice batting with that involves tying something to the basketball goal, and it will swing around. I don't get it, but then it's sports....I typically don't get sports "stuff" and that's fine with me.

At the check out Bookworm expressed concern over the amount. She asked how much everything cost. Studmuffin told her the total of registration and the equipment. She was quiet for a minute and then...."Do you need me to help you pay for that?"

Isn't that sweet? She has some money in a savings account, and she keeps asking when she gets to use it. We keep telling her it's for college and maybe a car when she's older. She asked me how much college will cost. I said about $20,000/year. I know that's a big number, but I know it's not getting any cheaper, and I want her to realize that it's important to save for it. I also want her to realize that she will have to make good grades and work hard to go to school. She said "Ummm, Mom? That's a lot of money. You may have to help me pay for that. I don't know if I can save that much by then." I laughed. Of course she won't have enough money! And, she'll go to college no matter what. But, I'm glad she's thinking about it. Poor Bookworm. She's so earnest, and she usually has no clue why I burst out laughing at her deep thoughts. But, she's learned to be a good sport and laugh with me.

Oh! One more thing. My brother's kids stayed the weekend with us. They are 13 & 14. We were talking about being weird. Me, specifically, being weird. I told Kris that I have no problem with my weirdness-I've come to embrace it. Popcorn piped up, "Yeah, my mom's really weird. But I don't care. I like it!" Good to know.....Good to know. I may need to remind her of that in a few years......