Tortellini Soup

I love anything Italian - well, the food to be precise. I can eat pizza, spaghetti, lasagna just about every night of the week. One reason in particular, it's just so easy to whip up. Throw some pasta in boiling water, drain, mix with sauce, and wahla. Make yourself some garlic bread and you got yourself a great meal.

I know my family loves pasta as well, just not to the extreme that I do. Unfortunately, having to work late 3 nights a week, I need a quick meal for those nights and usually all I have time to make quick is pasta. I hate trying to figure out what to have for dinner and if I don't plan in advance, pasta is one thing you don't have to thaw out.

So I have been experimenting with other types of pasta meals and one in particular is this tortellini soup. Super easy to make as well, made from stuff I usually have around the house, and is different enough that I can keep my family happy. So here it is, a new staple in my house for those need to fix something quick so I can continue to finish my work meal. My next endeavor, try to get my husband to cook on those nights, but I won't hold my breath. I will have to say though, he does cook pretty good - when he wants to (and I know he would if I asked him too, but I would definitely want it to be something he does voluntarily - and he just might now if he reads this - he's good like that).

I have never been a big soup person, but every time (most of the time anyway) I make soup, I say to myself - wow, that was good. Something about soup I seem to get right, and it was such a big hit with the husband that he suggested we have it for leftovers, and if you knew him, that's a big deal.

TORTELLINI SOUP

Ingredients:  

1 onion cut

3 garlic or more if you like

1 Polish sausage - or any sausage of your choosing

1-3/4 C chicken stock

1 C water

1 can, 14.5 oz, diced tomatoes

1 package of tortellini  

6-9 oz of spinach 

not all ingredients in picture

Saute onion and garlic in a little bit of butter. Cut up sausage in pieces and throw in the mix. I used Polish sausage as I had that in my fridge.

Add chicken stock, water, and tomatoes and bring to boil.

Add tortellini and cook for 5 minutes. Lower temperature, throw in spinach until softens.

I top my off with Parmesan cheese and accompany with garlic bread.  

Yummy right?

That's right, and enough left over for tomorrow night. Simple, quick, and tasty.

Enjoy my friends.

What ever happened to being a nice human being?

This is my vicious dog:

My dog unfortunately bit the mail lady a couple of weeks ago. We were not home to witness the event thank the Lord, but ambulance arrived, dog officer on scene, and state police were called.

I can't tell you how bad I felt about the whole situation. I called her, I talked to her, I sent her flowers, and I told her that I would pay for anything that insurance, etc. does not pay. She had to have her rings cut off her finger and I told her to send me the bill so we can take care of it.

A week after the incident and talking to her multiple times, the letter came. You know the one from the attorney stating that the "victim" is now going after us for compensation.

Well today, the insurance company came and "assessed" the dog situation. I am happy to say that Digger made a very good impression, but unfortunately I was told that the "victim" usually will get the money and that they tend to "milk" the situation. The good news, they are aware of this scenario and take that into consideration.

I really feel so bad that my dog hurt someone, and was willing to do whatever I needed to do. Why does everyone have to resort in suing? - and yes, I do know the answer to that question - (because they can) Love society. To me (not to minimize the situation)- a mail person not getting bit by a dog is like saying a chef will never get burned. It comes with the territory.

I still hope she does well and that no lasting effects of the dog bite come of it, but it just makes me really question the human race. She seemed like such a "nice" lady, not one that would possibly put another family in financial ruin. But like they say, you can't judge a book by its cover.

So people, really, when you see a BEWARE OF DOG sign in the yard - don't go in the yard - or then again go - you can sue, and get lots of money.

Over and out and I am so trying to do it in peace!!! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming

Try, Try Again

Here it is March 6, 2014, and school (homeschooling that is) is halfway over. I am sure I wouldn't call our first year a failure - yet, NO - not a failure, but a learning experience, a work in progress.

I don't know about you, but I think I have changed curriculums at least 3 times. I had a mishmash of curriculum from the homeschool curriculum sale, Ebay, etc. I started using the books, decided I didn't like them, tried something else, decided I didn't like them, and finally I picked up what I originally started with, and maybe not really liking it, but going to stick with it for the rest of the year. Probably more to say that I actually did it. The bad part, is that it is March, and I am only 1/3of the way through history and science. Science I do actually like, Apologia - wish I stuck with it from the beginning. I just thought it was a little over my little 6 year old's head, but .... onward march we go with it. I am in search of a new program for next year, something that is a little more structured. Being new to this, I really need to follow a schedule, or will go off in tangents that really don't end up anywhere. See, I am a book fanatic, and believe becoming what I know a lot of you are too (yes, I read your blogs) curriculum junkies. :) So, I see something, especially through the homeschool sales on FB, or on Ebay, and I just buy. I need to stop because I probably won't use most of it as I haven't quite decided on what to do for next year.

I have decided that I like the Charlotte Mason/Classical approach and many have said My Father's World which is a combination of both. I was hoping to find one program that would work best for both, unfortunately with my daughter going into 1st and my son going into 4th - it really isn't going to work until the following year with many of them the "all-in-one curriculums" I have been looking at. I am sure I can tweak it to fit, but this year I feel most of what I am teaching is over her head, I really want to be at her level next year. It is hard to keep her focused and engaged, and again, just like all of us, we really want to instill the "love" of learning and not just the "learning".

Another issue this year has posed is the eyeballs from people you see from "the school", or from family members. and them all inquisitively asking, "How is it going? - Do you like it?" At first, I would hesitate for a minute and just smile and say yes, trying to find our groove that is all. I guess it was really too early to answer that questions. Well, truth be told, I have not found our groove yet. I know my kids like being homeschooled, and YES - I do like it. We are having our struggles, trying to find that "groove", but overall, yes, I like it. Now to just get my kids to "love" to learn is the next part.

God be with all you new homeschooling moms out there. They say it does get easier. I guess we can say it does, or doesn't after the years go by, but for now - keep on keeping on moms.

Peace Out YO