Into each life a little rain must fall. Although I'm still figuring out why mine is a monsoon at times. I can still remember how excited I was to arrive in Kansas and start to move into our new quarters. Don't they look awesome?
Step one, clean everything (especially the bathrooms and kitchen). Step two, bring the stuff inside. Ideally during step two we put our things in the appropriate room although that never quite happens. Instead we get a huge pile of stuff in the middle of the living room. Step three, my personal favorite, set up the kitchen. This is where disaster struck. No crock pot. Shock, horror, devastation all converged in my kitchen. A quick call to Georgia confirmed the worst. Someone (I won't mention my husband's name) forgot to pack my precious crock pot. It now sat lonely, twelve hundred miles away in my mother's kitchen. So, like any good, forgiving wife I turned to the man I married and said, "Now you will just have to buy me a new one." I'd say I handled the situation with lots of love and forgiveness but some may disagree.
Replacing the crock pot soon became an adventure. Remember, we had no internet and the phone service was iffy at the time. Fort Riley is wonderful in a lot of ways BUT there are NOT very many stores and/or restaurants in the area. So, the options for a new crock pot were as follows: Walmart, PX, or Bed, Bath & Beyond. That is all. We later discovered that there is a Target here. Okay, no problem I thought. We should be able to find one at one of those places. I didn't want an elaborate one, just six quart with low, high and warm. Simple. No, it was not simple at all. The PX had one that had two compartments but was an eight quart. I only wanted one compartment and with no Rainbow Cafe in sight I definitely didn't need one that large. Bed, Bath & Beyond had one that was exactly what I wanted but only a four quart and at twice the price of the PX. I was beginning to feel like Goldilocks. PLEASE let Walmart be just right. Please! I couldn't face it. I sent my husband to Walmart to look. He found one, it had everything I wanted and then some. He was so excited, he called immediately. Apparently, it had all sorts of bells and whistles on it. From the picture message he sent I wondered if an engineering degree would be necessary to operate it but, it had everything I wanted. Until, that is, I saw the price in the picture message. I'm sorry, but $70 for a crock pot? Really? You HAVE to be kidding me. That was it for me. My husband returned home empty handed and we ate sandwiches for supper. We do have a second Walmart for those of you wondering. It is about a forty minute drive away so the following day we went for another drive. Fortunately, the second store has a larger selection and it had a crock pot exactly like I wanted for only $20. Except it was a five quart and not a six. Yes we bought it! Are you crazy? Sacrificing the one quart was nothing compared to the price tag.
Now, on to the good part. As soon as we brought it home and cleaned it out the new crock pot was immediately put to work with one of my old, faithful recipes, Chicken Noodle Soup. Add some homemade rolls and some salad and we call that supper around here. Wondering what happened to the crock pot left behind? Fear not! It is being well loved by a newly married couple in Georgia.
Chicken Noodle Soup
8 Cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
2 Cooked Chicken Breasts, diced
1 Stalk Celery, diced
1 Carrot, peeled and diced
4 Ounces Uncooked Noodles
Salt and Pepper to taste
Put everything except the noodles in crock pot and cook on low about 4-6 hours. Add noodles. Cook additional 1/2-1 hour until the noodles are done.
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