Today’s question is:  How is it possible that something can be left in the refrigerator well past the expired date?

Background:  A couple of weeks ago I posted about how I had left a can of orange juice in the freezer for about 6 years past it’s expiration date.  It’s almost absurd that I could leave something in there so long.

Yesterday, I was getting something out of the refrigerator and I noticed this jar of icing in the back.  I thought for a moment, wondering how long it had been in there.  I couldn’t for the life of me remember when I had used it.

So I grabbed it and here’s what I found:

Yep that’s right, it expired 18 months ago and I just took it out of the refrigerator yesterday.  Why on earth does this happen?

Note to self, check jars in refrigerator more often.

Today’s question is:  why is split pea soup so comforting?

Background: Today is meatless Monday, which means I pick something meatless to make for dinner.  I’d be lying if I said everyone was on board in my family with this idea, because my meat eating husband is so not (he heated himself up a plate of leftover beast to eat along with his split pea soup!).

Anyway, in all my years of eating split pea soup it had always been flavored with a ham hock and had some really buttery croutons.   Because we no long eat wheat, the croutons were out and because it’s meatless Monday so was the ham.  I wasn’t sure it would be as good.  But let me tell you, it was.  It hit the spot and it was simple to make.

Quick and Easy Meatless Split Pea Soup

1/2 of one onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoon butter
2 Cups split peas
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon Worcheshire sauce
pepper to taste

Saute onion, garlic and carrots in butter until onion is translucent and carrot is tender.  Add vegetable broth, water and peas and bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat to simmer.  Add salt, worcheshire and pepper to taste.  Simmer about an hour until peas are mushy and falling apart.  Serves 4 as main course and 6-8 as a side.

Today’s question is:  Who falls asleep while reading to their child?

Background:  Where is the crazy waving hand icon when you need it?

Me, I am the one.

I fell asleep when I read to my girl last night and I think it was the first time I have ever done it.  The crazy thing is, I didn’t do it once, no, not even twice.   I fell asleep four times in the span of 20 minutes while I was reading to my girl last night.  Four times.

The first time, my girl told me that she wasn’t sure what happened, she sat next to me and waited, waited for me to start reading again.  Of course when I started breathing heavy, she knew.  She says she sat there for about 5 minutes before she woke me.

The second time, she said she sat there again and finally figured out I fell asleep again and woke me.

By the third time she was on to me.  She quickly repeated the sentence I just read, waking me right away.

I read about 2 more sentences and was out cold yet again.

The forth time she repeated the sentence again and when I woke I think I started laughing and told her I think it was time to put me to bed.

Needless to say, I was out cold by 9pm.

I think I was asleep before at least a couple of the kids.

Today’s question is: why is this sauteed vegetable pizza so good?

Background:  Would you believe me if I told you my girls begged me to make them another sauteed vegetable pizza the day after I made one for my friend and I?   My girls ended up eating half of our pizza because they love it so much and then they begged me the next day to make it again.

They really did.  And to tell you the truth, this pizza is better than regular pizza, it really is.  And it’s better for you. And it’s easy! Try it, you won’t believe it.

Just look at this picture…..

Sauteed Vegetable Pizza

2 cups kale, stemmed and chopped
1/2 of an onion, chopped
3 cups zucchini, sliced
2 T butter
1 12 inch prepared pizza crust (I used Udi’s gluten free pizza crusts)
1 T olive oil
3 oz Boursin cheese

Begin by melting the butter in a skillet.  Add the kale, onion and zucchini and saute until the onion is tender and the zucchini is translucent.  Brush the olive oil onto the pizza crust and then add the sauteed vegetables.  Crumble the boursin best you can and spread it out over the vegetables.  Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes until the crust is lightly brown and the boursin is melty.  Serve warm.  Serves 4.

Enjoy this, it really is better than regular pizza and it’s so much better for you.  Kale, in my opinion is one of the best crops you can grow.  I just keeps on giving and giving.  Plant a few varieties too, variety is the spice of life!

Today’s question is:  Why would anyone buy something they aren’t going to use?

Background:  I read something over at The Pioneer Woman today that made me remember this story.

I could ask this about several things I have in this house, it’s a little embarrassing.  Paul says we have to be careful not to get ‘one foota disease’ (that’s when you have one foot out the door on your way to get something better than what you already have, something you don’t need).  I pay attention to my one foota urges, except when it comes to shoes, because seriously?  Can you have too many shoes?  I think not.

Anyway, this is hardly about shoes.  It’s about food.  Food I buy and don’t use.  It’s something I struggle with.  Something my mom used to do and something I swore I would never do.

In 1997 or 1998 I bought a couple of cans of frozen concentrate orange juice.  My mom always bought them and since I’d been married a couple of years and hadn’t bought any I decided to get some for when I wanted some orange juice.  No consideration was given to the fact that I hadn’t had a cup of orange juice in God knows how long.

So I bought it and put it into my freezer.

In 1998 we built a new house and we moved in in 1999.  I moved my frozen concentrate with me, because that’s what you do when you move.

I had some babies and never paid attention to my cans of frozen concentrate in the freezer (because, I don’t really drink the stuff).

Then a couple of years ago, my sister was over and she opened my freezer and saw my cans of frozen concentrate in there and asked me about them.  I said something like, oh, right, I bought those a  long time ago, I wonder if they are any good?  Guess what?  They expired in 2002 and it was 2008!  I had moved them from my old house to this house, 9 years ago and had never touched them again.

We all laughed so hard we were crying.  And I decided right then I would never buy another can of frozen concentrate anything, because I’m pretty sure I’d never use it!