Testing new product: Progresso Bistro Cup Soups

This product comes in two parts, an envelope
of soup mix and a K-Cup of broth

I joined a program at Shaws Market called MyMixx which sends me an email every Saturday with a coupon offering 2 for 1 items or freebies, etc.  and last weekend it was a coupon for a free box of these Progresso Bistro Cups Soups. They come in 3 flavors, Southwestern Style Creamy White Bean and Corn, Broccoli and Cheese and Creamy Tomato and Parmesan. The soups come in 2 parts; an envelope of soup mix and a Keurig K-Cup of (I think) broth. You dump the contents of the envelope into a mug, place the K-Cup into your Keurig machine and before you can say "Haute Cuisine" you have soup!  Now I normally do my shopping at Market Basket but as Shaws had eggs at 2 dozen for $3 and since the soup was free I thought that I'd shop a little at Shaws and give one these a try, fully expecting it to be too salty and probably a little weird. I gave the Southwestern Style Creamy White Bean and Corn flavor a try yesterday at work. 

What I discovered was that the soup was very thick and not at all salty as I had expected. It had a nice "southwestern" flavor from cumin, some sort of chili pepper and a little sweetness from the corn. I'd rate it as "not bad" on the FHP Processed Food Scale. It was very easy to make and although it says to use the 8oz setting on your Keurig I might add a little more water to it just to thin it out a little. All in all, if you occasionally like soup for lunch and you cannot get away from the office for lunch, these are a good thing to keep in your desk for a soup emergency. I will probably give the other varieties a try as well, however at 3 cups of soup for $3.99 they do seem like I probably wouldn't buy them on a regular basis. 

(Full Disclosure: I did experience a case of "wind" about an hour after eating this soup, so you may want to try this at home first to see if you experience the same effect, especially if you work in close quarters. This may be endemic only to the white bean flavor. If you have your own office and/or a good vent system at your workplace, then go for it!)

Dump the contents of the envelope into a large mug (they recommend a 16oz mug)

Pop the K-Cup into the Keurig machine and set the dispenser for 8 ounces,  although for the Southwestern Bean Soup you could probably use the 10oz for a less thick soup. 

After the machine finishes "brewing", give the soup a vigorous stir and then let it sit for at least a minute before eating

As you can see the soup gets really thick. It could be thinned out by using the 10oz setting on the machine or if you have a water cooler in your office that dispenses boiling water, add a little from there. It's a good product, in a pinch, when you want some soup and can't get away from the office to enjoy some. 

Is there really anything left that needs saying??

Your basic Trump supporter

#Trump supporters dressed as KKK outside #NVCaucus location. pic.twitter.com/iPfPcEghqW

— Krystal Heath (@TheFriddle) February 24, 2016

In addition to Chuck Grassley and Steven King, this is the kind of sheer stupidity coming from Iowa these days...

Cover your keyboards...

From RawStory.com:

Iowa Dem rips Republicans for bill that would let children carry guns: ‘We do not need a militia of toddlers’

Iowa legislators passed legislation that would allow small children to possess firearms. The bill passed the Iowa House and is now headed to the state Senate with strong opposition from minority Democrats, according to Iowa Public Radio.

“You’re missing the whole point of the bill,” Republican Jake Highfill told an uneasy Democrat. “I think this is one of the best bills we’ve done for second amendment rights.”

The bill would allow anyone under the age of 14 to handle handguns under adult supervision, with no age limit.

“We do not need a militia of toddlers,” Democrat Kirsten Running-Marquardt said of the bill. “We do not have handguns that I am aware of that fit the hands of a 1-or-2-year-old.” ...

Hypocrisy on parade

This guy is a fucking disgrace!

Mitch McConnell, R-Douchebag

Really?? This again? No wedding cake for fags? Texas, of course

From Towleroad.com:

Bigoted pig

The owners of a bakery in East Texas refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple last week, citing their religious beliefs. Ben Valencia and Luis Marmolejo, who plan to marry March 27, went to Kerns Bake Shop in Longview to get a quote for their wedding cake.

After they presented a photo of the cake they wanted, co-owner Edie Delorme asked what it was for, then told them the business doesn’t prepare cakes for “homosexual marriages.” “It just kind of makes you feel dehumanized,” Valencia told The Longview News-Journal. “People shouldn’t have to worry about going into a business, especially a public business that serves the public, and have to worry about being turned away for something, for who you are.”

Valencia told The Kilgore News Herald that Delorme’s tone was similar to the “disgusted” one someone would use after seeing a cockroach.

This bitch seems to have forgotten "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Nasty Christianist twat. 

GOP "Establishment" freaking out about Trump's ascendancy...

For all of you idiots that wonder how it is that Trump is leading the GOP field, look no further than these douchebags... They spend their days telling half truths, prevaricating, outright lying and giving voice to the extremists in the lunatic fringes. They are no better or worse than Josef Goebbels. Disgusting!

Ed Lambert, WXTK radio. Hapless right-wing media whore

Glenn Beck, deranged Christianist end-times asshole

Howie Carr, Boston Herald columnist, radio "personality", media whore

Rush Limbaugh, drug addled, right-wing blowhard radio "personality"

Sean Hannity, Fox News liar, bigot, racist asshole. 

Stinkin' GOP Racist Obstructionists!

This Weekend's Recipe: Queen Pudding

Yummy cake. Get recipe here

I know just what some of you are going to say so don't bother. What do you do if you've made a delicious cake and you have some left over going stale very quickly? You make Queen Pudding. We used to do this in cooking school. While working in the pastry shop, if there were any leftover danish, croissants, or cake, we would dry them a little and then chop them up, add a custard to them and bake it off. You can also add some defrosted frozen cherries, nuts,  or blueberries to the mix. Use your imagination. Here's what I did with some leftover French Yogurt Cherry Cake, made last weekend. There is no recipe here, this is a "technique" post.

I had about 1/3 of this cake left, so I trimmed off the "crust", the browned edges of the cake, cut it into cubes and tossed it into a well-buttered baking dish

For this size dish and that amount of cake, I figured six whole eggs would do the trick. I added a little more than 1/2 cup of granulated sugar (to your taste, that is), a couple of teaspoons of my homemade vanilla extract and about 1 3/4 cups of whole milk. Add a pinch of salt as well. Whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk together until well blended

Pour the egg mixture over the cake, dot with butter and bake in a 325 degree oven about 40 minutes.

Test by sticking a knife into the middle and it should come out clean

I served it warm with a little drizzle of some delicious Vermont maple syrup given to me by our Vermont political reporter, MaryKaye. Try whipped cream, or just a little heavy cream. Yum!