kitchen sink soup

This is one of my very best soups and I did not write down the measurements.  I will tell you how it went into the soup pot, but measurements are lost to me, unfortunately.  I never measure when I am making soups.  I looked in the refrigerator and noted several things needing using before Monica comes to clean tomorrow. She looks in the refrigerator and terrorizes me because she left it perfectly last Friday.  We unloaded everything and started over and it was spic and span. Now, not so much.

I saw a hunk of Pancetta from Carfagnas that would be great coupled with the onion that wanted using. So I sauteed them together until they were lovely and brown.  I got out the celery, carrots, potatoes, and cauliflower...oh yes, and the broccoli,  diced them up.  Filled the pot with water and two cubes of chicken bouillon.  So now we are off and running.  I threw in a handful of rice medley from Trader Joe's and got it to the right point and started adding vegetables and tasting as I went.  Something was missing so I put in a packet of dry Ranch dressing,,, mmm, better but not there yet.  I added two squirts of chili tomato stuff from a tube of goodness that Pam had given me. Tasted.  No, not yet.  I added a can of Ro-tel diced tomatoes and peppers; better, much better.  Added salt and pepper, better yet. This lovely mix cooked until the vegetables were softer and then I added the Pancetta and onions and tasted.  Yes, just right.  I ate two bowls then and now! Once the picky eaters are done with this soup, I am putting in spinach.  I think that would make it even better. It's glorious and I think it is the diced Pancetta and onions that completes it.  I scraped every scrap from the skillet into the soup, so none of the goodness was lost.

L

cream cheese brownies

   
I was teaching at the time I first met cream cheese brownies.  Maize School was having one of its frequent bake sales.  There were half a dozen brownies in a package and I ate every one of them on my way home from school. (I weighed 100 pounds back then but it would have made NO difference; had to have them all.)  Had never seen them, had never smelled them, had never tasted them but had to have them (and I am not even a fan of chocolate.) I found the recipe years ago and it was more complicated than this.  This one is a brownie mix topped with a mixture of 8 ounces of soft cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, one egg and a bit of vanilla mixed and swirled through the chocolate before going into the oven. 350 for 24 minutes.

I have an unusual soup started and I will let you know how that goes later today.
The soup is crispy Pancetta with several vegetables (soup) Note: Turns out to be one of my best inventions yet.I have a nice picture of it on my Facebook, but trying to get it on here was not in the cards today.  I may picture it tomorrow and write up the loose instructions.  My soups are never the same twice because I don't use a recipe.  I do wish, however, that I had written this one down to do again.