Feelin' It (or not?)

Took the boys to shop in Saskatoon on Friday for mostly fun - browsing-type shopping. The one necessity, though, that we had to come home with, was a pair of dress pants for Ben.  So, as the day slipped away and the opportunities for lots of clothes browsing disappeared, I decided to take him to Old Navy and hope for some casual khakis that he'd be happy with.  Now, you have to know Ben.  He wears skinny jeans.  ONLY skinny jeans.  That's it.  Nothing else.  And so, when I shoved a pair of straight legged clean front navy blue cotton khaki's in front of him and advised him to try them on, he obediently did that, but stated repeatedly, "I don't know, Mom, I'm just not feelin' it."

I came home from work last night and was thinking about the rest of the chip dip in the fridge and asked the boys if there were any chips left downstairs.  Of course, silly me, the answer was "no" so I substituted some "Pita Crisps" and, while I sat there crunching on pitas instead of chips, trying to tell myself that it was every bit as good, I thought to myself - "I don't know, I'm just not feelin' it". 

Today, while attempting to read the concluding book in a series of one of my favorite authors (Lynn Austin), the whole book seems to be full of alarmingly blatant violence and misery, and while I'm trying to read, I'm thinking to myself..."I'm just not feelin' this either."

Ever have one of those days when it comes to cooking? 

Um, yeah, that's where I'm at today in regards to cooking supper!  I mentally flicked through the file of supper possibilities.  Chicken, nope, did that; pork - did that, too; beef - don't have much; order pizza?  No, not feelin' that either.

And so, I have concluded that this day will not be a day of exciting new meals that will be made with my favorite apron on, music playing, dishes washed as they get dirtied.  Nope.  Today is a day of comfort food; cooking that is necessary to feed the body, and that ends up feeding the soul, too.

Surprisingly, when I told Dean what we were having, he was rather delighted.  He's tired and feeling ickish in his sinuses, probably "not feelin' it" on a multitude of levels.  Funny how comfort food comforts.

And so, may I present to you, SOUP.

SOUP

1 lb hamburger
1/2 - 1 onion (I used whatever I had in the fridge)
1 cup chopped celery
1 jar canned tomatoes (approx. 700 mls, and boy, I can't wait for tomatoes from the garden this far)
4 cups beef broth
leftover vegetables (today I used the rest of the bag of coleslaw mix)
1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the hamburger and onion in dutch oven.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add celery and saute a bit longer.  Add tomatoes, broth, vegetables and bring to a boil.  While at a rapid boil, add macaroni.  Turn down to simmer and cook until macaroni is cooked through.  Check for seasoning and add S and P if needed.  I also added a pinch of dried basil.  Whatever floats your boat.

This is so simple it's embarrassing.  I have a lot of nerve to share this recipe on this space.  But I do have to say that, while I love new recipes and variety, sometimes the most tried and true recipes do something for the tired soul.  They simply nourish us and they relieve us of the need to be spectacular and give us permission to just provide a hot meal for the ones we love.

And, I'm all over that.

Comments

  1. Gosh, I love you.

    I only had a wee bit of this before my last batch of students. Now I hope there's enough left.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Or, should I say, "I AM feelin' it!" :D

    ReplyDelete

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