Broccoli Cheese Soup & a Little Rambling

I last posted on Monday and feel a little guilty about not posting since then but I have a fairly good reason or two. One, work has kept me pretty busy and when I get off I've been busy trying to help get the new office organized. Two, I'm having dental issues again.

It turns out the dentist didn't do root canals on those two back teeth recently. Instead, he just "cleaned out the decay" and when I went in to have the crowns put on, he put them on temporarily since I was still having some minor pain in one of the teeth. He thought it would settle down after the crown was installed (or whatever they do with crowns) but it hasn't. Instead, it's gotten worse and now he wants to do a root canal on the back tooth. To the tune of $745. I don't think so! I paid him $1766 for the work and crowns on those two teeth and to spend another $745 on one of them is just ridiculous. So I'll go in Monday and have that tooth extracted. The thought of doing that after spending $833 on it just irks me to no end but I don't want to spend more money on it only to have it hurt me later down the road. So, I'm going to end up spending over $1000 on just one tooth and have it removed. Does this sound like a racket to any one but me? Ugh...

Anyway, I've been in a lot of pain (it woke me at 3 AM today) and when I take the Vicodin he prescribed I'm just worthless and when I don't take it I'm just worthless. So basically I've been worthless and not up to cooking, writing, or even reading much email. I have to get back on track with things, though. We've spent a small fortune on eating out and take away this week and that has to stop, exhaustion and pain or not.

I go in to work at 4 PM today and am going to make chili before I go. Presuming I can function long enough to do that. Cross your fingers for me!

While at my mother's house on Wednesday, the cool and rainy weather flung a craving on us both for Broccoli Cheese Soup. It just so happened that that's what I'd planned to make her and pop for dinner so we made some. It was excellent and there was plenty left for me to bring home so I'll have that tomorrow for lunch, probably.

The recipe, if you can call it that, is so very simple and easy and here it is:

Broccoli Cheese Soup

frozen chopped broccoli
about 1/4 cup chopped onion
water
flour
2 to 4 cups milk
salt, pepper, garlic, and other desired seasonings (a small amount of Rosemary is good)
4 to 5 ounces Velveeta type cheese, cut into small cubes (I like the mild mexican for soups)
2 to 3 ounces Colby or Cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

Cook the broccoli in a small amount of water. Do not drain the broccoli when it's cooked.

In a cup or bowl make a paste with two to three large spoons of flour and water. The thickness depends on how much soup you'll make and how thick you like it. Stir the paste into the broccoli and hot water, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. As the mixture heats it will thicken. Add milk, salt, pepper, garlic and other desired seasonings and continue to stir. If it gets too thick add more milk or water. If it's too thin, add more paste. Once the mixture is close to the right consistency add the cubed cheeses and stir well. When the cheese has melted and the soup is the desired consistency, remove from heat and serve.

Try this soup with buttered crackers for a real treat.