Cook, Clean, Laundry!

I picked up my basket of fresh produce. I hadn't bought one for about a month I think. I was busy and still hadn't used a lot of my produce. Since Thanksgiving is coming soon and my frozen dinner stash is low I thought that I need to do some cooking.  For the first time I grilled some tomatoes. Did I go online and look at a recipe or instructions on how to do this. Nope! Instructions are for people who do it wrong the first try. AHEM. I had the general idea correct. Put on a little olive oil sprinkle with some salt and throw them on the grill. I probably should have left them on a little longer but overall I think I did an okay job. I tossed them into the soup pot where they will cook some more anyway.

My first soup for today is:

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef (cooked and drained)

2 cans Pinto beans, (undrained, I substitute a can of black beans)

1 can whole kernel corn (undrained, if I can get it I prefer white corn)

2 cans stewed tomatoes,(undrained) or like today about 6 small grilled tomatoes.

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning (get the low sodium if you can)

1 pkg. Ranch Dressing Mix ( I've used both Uncle Dan's and Hidden Valley with similar results)

1 1/2 Cup water

Add cooked drained ground beef throw in large soup pot. Add all other ingredients and simmer. 

As my experiment continues today I also added some rice. I have no idea how the rice will turn out but it seemed like a good idea.  If you have problems with acidity. This isn't the soup for you. Although, you can cut it by adding sour cream when eating it. I usually throw in a little shredded cheese after I heat it to eat it. 

  I also received some mushrooms today in my pack so I will probably make a gluten free Beef Stroganoff.  It is quite a simple recipe but I really like it. It also freezes nicely. I don't buy gluten free noodles to put it on. I do as the recipe shows and eat it over white rice. This is where a rice cooker comes in quite handy. You can cook a lot of rice quickly.  Wal-mart has them quite cheap. It is worth it. I think I bought the cheapest and smallest one they had at my former local Wal-mart. I dont' think I spent over 20 dollars for it.

As I was grilling my tomatoes I could hear my doorbell ring. So I walked around to the front of the house. The Fed-ex lady confirmed I was cooking them correctly. :) Anyhow, I received my transcripts for my finished class. I am waiting for one more set to arrive then I can send off my licensure paperwork. 

I don't know yet what other cooking I will do this weekend. I can confirm I will be doing  A LOT OF laundry and housecleaning. I have some work to do at school as well. It is good to have a  long weekend.