They love to try new foods and do so without a fuss. There's no sniffing, poking or dissecting. Just open the pie hole, jam it in and, yum yum, it's gone.
I used to be able to buy the odd tray of sushi and know that it was my special treat. Until one of them asked for a taste. Yeah, you guessed it...they even love sushi. I couldn't sneak a California roll in this house if my life depended on it!
They have come to appreciate a finer dinner menu as a result, and not that I'm complaining, but it can be sort of pricey! One of my neighbors is always buying fancy stuff at Wegmans...crab stuffed sole, cedar plank steaks, king crabs legs the size of my forearm...budget-breakers to be sure. But she only has to buy for her and her husband because her kids won't touch that stuff with a 10 foot pole. She generally prepares something separate for them...and every one's happy.
Me, on the hand...not so much. I can only imagine the look on my kid's faces if Steve and I bellied up to the dining room table with a plate full of shrimp scampi and all they had was spaghetti with butter. There'd be mutiny for sure!
Anyway, back to the weirdness. The girls were helping me make Ten Can Soup yesterday (very budget friendly) and I couldn't turn my back on them for a second. Their job was to open the cans...and every time they got one open, they scooped out a handful of the contents and crammed it in their mouths before I could stop them.
They were eating chopped spinach from a can, for God's sake!
It's like my own little kitchen freak show!
And before any of you foodies turn your nose up at the thought of a soup made almost entirely from canned vegetables, you have to try it first. It's a recipe given to me by Brighid and God knows who gave it to her, but it's a keeper. It has been a staple in my parent's house since Dad's diagnosis, as it is on a very short list of dishes that he can tolerate.
The recipe usually gets a lukewarm response when I give it out, but everyone is always pleasantly surprised with the end result.
Ten Can Soup
1 lb ground beef or turkey (can be omitted if desired)1 large yellow onion, diced
(DO NOT DRAIN LIQUID FROM CANS)
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel (or diced tomatoes with mild green chilli's)
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can sliced carrots
1 can diced potatoes
1 can condensed minestrone soup (or veggie soup)
2 cans chicken broth
In a large soup pot, saute onion in a little olive oil until tender, then add meat until browned. Add all ten cans of vegetables WITHOUT draining them. Heat through and serve with a nice red pepper hot sauce!
The number of cans has increased to fourteen as we like to add a can of chopped spinach, 2 cans of black beans and an extra can of corn (I've thrown a can of condensed tomato soup in, too).
Jack walked in from school yesterday and the first thing he said was "Awesome, Ten Can Soup for dinner!".
How can I not be proud of my weirdos?
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