Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Tuesday Tidbits - Vegetable Beef Soup, Winter Food Challenge Update, and More

The vegetable beef soup that I made yesterday turned out great and it gave me a chance to use up some things that have needed using for a long time!

Vegetabele Beef (Bison) Soup

For instance...(I say 'vegetable beef soup', but it was actually vegetable bison)...I had two small pieces of already cooked bison steak leftover in the freezer from a previous meal and a whole bowl of tiny onions harvested from my garden last fall. I thawed and cubed the bison steak, and chopped up every one of those tiny onions, to go in the soup. 

Along with the meat and onions, I added fresh carrots, green beans and potatoes (a quart of home-canned; and a can each of store-bought), peas, corn, diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, a quart of good beef bone broth, and 4 beef bouillon cubes.

I let the soup come to a boil, then simmer for a while to combine the flavors. When it was done, I kept back a pint to enjoy now, and jarred the rest up hot to seal and put in the fridge for meals later on. (I'm thinking that surely we're going to get some cold winter weather at some point and these warm soups will taste especially good then!)

In the process of making the vegetable soup, I ended up pulling out all of the canned goods. I wiped the cabinet down and put the canned goods back, rearranging and organizing them as I went. I pulled the older stuff to the front, and took out three flats of canned fruits and vegetables to share with others. 

I also eliminated the stack of partially filled flats of canned goods that had been stacked in the hallway, and the corner of the kitchen, for quite some time. Now, all the canned goods are housed in their proper place.

It was quite a simple thing, really, but so much progress seemed to have stemmed from that one act of deciding to make homemade vegetable beef (bison) soup! YEAH!!! 

I've been working like a mad woman in the Van Gogh room (a.k.a. my office). I have all but emptied it of its loose contents and have been busily sorting through pile after pile of papers, books, correspondence, and more. I've got tables set up in the livingroom where I am sorting and making piles. When I am done I will go through each stack and decide what to do with each item. 

There are recipes, letters, postcards, pictures, program materials for work, old calendars, magazines, DVDs, CDs, ministry letters, unused notebooks and paper of all kinds, craft supplies, and, oh goodness! The list goes on and on!

Shoebox Full of Non-Working Pens and Markers
That Went Into The Trash Can Last Night

I am determined to make a clean sweep of it this time, no matter how long it takes. As long as the room itself is clean and organized by the end of the month I'll be happy, but I very much want to go through every tote, every drawer, every bookshelf, every EVERYTHING and do a complete and thorough deep clean before year's end! And not just in the Van Gogh room (although it's the worst), but of every room in the house. I've got a long way to go, of course, but I think I'm off to a good start. Now, if I can just keep my focus and keep up the momentum! 

Amber called earlier and has invited me for supper tonight. I've got a goal in mind that I'd like to reach today, so I suppose I should get back to work and keep pressing on. 

I hope your Tuesday is going great and I'll talk to you all again soon! 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are making amazing progress on your Van Gogh room. I had a collection of pens/pencils like that a couple of years ago, where do all those unused pens come from?

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    1. I am! I bought a file cabinet yesterday. I am going to use it to organize all those program files I've got and stuff. Should be a huge help in organizing and decluttering! And, where do all those unused pens come from? I have no idea!!!

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