Today I was a little under the weather; so after napping on the couch for the afternoon I went upstairs to cut coupons and came across a recipe to try for dinner. We had on hand everything to make the recipe, so I thought it would be perfect. Perfect except for one thing. It was for Pumpkin soup. My husband does not like pumpkin and will tell anyone that will listen. I solved this problem by comprimise. I decided to make something I know he loves and something I know he is not too keen on. Pretty good idea, eh?
Let me set the stage. I have never had pumpkin soup. I do enjoy almost all things sweet and pumpkiny, but I was not so certain myself on things pumpkin savory. So the solution to my problem didn't just serve Drew.
So I, still trying to work from what I have on hand, decided upon Macaroni and Cheese. Yes, readers the Macaroni and Cheese that has been mentioned at least a handful of times on this very blog - Granny's Macaroni and Cheese. This was a no fail plan. If the soup was horrible, we would just fill ourselves up on what we know we enjoy.
Time to prepare dinner came and I started on the Mac and Cheese first. Here's the method (it is more a method than a recipe).
1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Butter a casserole dish.
3. When noodles are ready and drained, layer noodles and cheese (shredded sharp cheddar is best, tonight I used a combo of sharp cheddar and mozzarella - I thought I would try something new) to the top, ending with cheese.
4. Place pats of butter on top. Sprinkle pepper on top to taste.
5. Pour milk in the side of the casserole dish to halfway up the dish. (see why it is a method?)
6. Place in preheated 350F oven for as long as it takes for the milk to bubble up (this can be tested by slightly turning the dish to the side to see if milk is still milk, if it is still milk, it is not done)
7. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Once the Mac and Cheese was in the oven, I read a couple chapters of my book and then got started on the soup. It was a pretty easy process and, as I said, included items from the pantry. The recipe is from a Ralph's book of coupons, so if you have that laying around the house, give this soup a try.
Drew started asking questions about the soup very early on in the process. The first one: "What all is in this soup?" Answer: "These are just onions I am cutting right now." Second (as I hand it to him to take to the table): "Is this a cheese soup?" Answer: "No." Third (as he takes the soup and is about to eat the first bite): "Is this squash?" Answer: "No." Fourth (after eating two bites): "What is this?" This last one was in that tone of voice that implied, "you better tell me what this is." So, I relented because he had already tasted it. I told him it was pumpkin. He gave me a look and then....he ate more! We had a discussion that it did not tasted like pumpkin, but it smelled like it. I wanted to scream, "SUCCESS!" I did not and we continued to eat. I really enjoyed the fall comfort food meal from the pantry.
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