(Easy) Homemade Tomato Soup (from your pantry)

Here's a story for you:

I'm trying to gather the proof that I completed graduate credits 15 years ago from random universities in Alaska. I mean, they're not random because they're reputable schools but my method of taking courses was random and, back then, most documentation was paper and there's no way I have paperwork from 15 years ago at the ready. I can't even remember what schools I used for the courses. University of Alaska- Fairbanks, yes. Alaska Pacific University, yes. University of Alaska Southeast, yes (completely different school than UAA-Fairbanks). I legitimately think there was one more. And I don't know what school I took a course about teaching writing through... 

That has nothing to do with tomato soup, but would I be posting a recipe unless I told you a random story that made no sense and had no connection before showing you an ingredient list? No, I wouldn't. 

Homemade Tomato Soup

2 T. olive oil

1/2 shallot (or 1/4 cup diced onion)

2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced, not minced)

3 T. chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil

3 oz (half a small can) tomato paste

2 cans of crushed tomatoes (28 oz. each)

1 t. dried oregano (or 1 T. fresh)

1 t. dried basil (or chopped fresh basil to add at the end)

1 cup chicken stock/broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

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Add the oil, shallot, and garlic to a large pot. Cook on low until lightly browned.

Add the sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, and dried herbs (or fresh oregano). 

Add the cans of crushed tomatoes and chicken stock or broth. 

Let simmer for 30 minutes or so. 

*If you want to blend it here to make it extra smooth, you can. I don't mind a textured soup. And since the garlic is thinly sliced, not chopped, it doesn't have a strong flavor.*

Stir in the heavy cream. You can add salt to taste but I found it didn't really need any. I did top with parmesan cheese.

I made this over the weekend because I, surprise surprise, couldn't find the recipe I've used in the past. So, this is a hybrid of all the different types of tomato soup I've made and it comes together quickly with what you probably already have in the pantry. It also freezes well to save leftovers for a busy night. 

The secret is the sun-dried tomatoes. Don't skip them!

Friday Things, 1/30

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

This week I wrote about dogs and kids and why it's good and then a recipe for buffalo chicken dip and why we have 6 crockpots. 

1. With giving up Twitter, I've needed something to mindlessly scroll lately so I've turned to Reddit. Not much better, right? Usually I can learn something interesting, though. What's funny is that there's always posts about "who to follow for _______" and who to not follow based on whatever the arbitrary measure happens to be. And since it's anonymous posters are always like "_________ is a good one!" and you know it's probably them posting themselves. I can't stop chuckling over the idea of this. I also get a kick out of reading AITA posts, mostly because I am an avid reader of Dear Abby and Dear Prudence and their advice is so bad a lot of the time. I like to see what the masses have to offer in the form of advice instead. 

2. I saw a reel awhile back about how if you want to wake up energized you set your alarm extra early, have coffee brewed by your bedside, chug it, go back to sleep. 

I concur on this. I have always been able to sleep after drinking coffee and I did this on Monday. Drank two cups of coffee at 6am, went back to sleep at 7, woke up at 8 feeling on top of it all. 

I've been trying to stop shopping at Walmart again. It's been 2 weeks! I've been buying coffee at Aldi, Target, and online for a few months though. I don't like the coffee selection at Walmart anyway. These organic beans at Aldi are so much cheaper than anything at the other stores. My grocery spending for January was $785, which is the lowest since I started tracking in September. I didn't even get super specific so that includes cleaning products, dog treats, and personal hygiene like soap and toothpaste.

3. Let's talk about government overreach and why I hate everything: 

There's a local park with a playground, some soccer fields, some baseball fields, some trails, some fishing...every time it snows, the whole place is closed. They literally close a gate for a week. This is what happens when you live in an overly-governed area. One would call where we live "rural", even. It doesn't matter. The local government here is absolutely awful. 

Ron Swanson was right concerning the government. 

4. We've been trucking along with the homeschooling through these snow days. Most schools here were closed Monday and Tuesday, due to the cold temps, not necessarily ice or the few inches of snow. 

Next week, Wells will finish the cursive book and the math workbook. <<< those two books are what I would recommend to ANY parent who wants to do ANYTHING at home with their child. The cursive can be introduced at any time and the IXL brand has a workbook for every grade level. I am a huge fan of the Learning Without Tears series so I got the My First Schoolbook for Sutton to start next week, since we've introduced (at the most basic surface letter formation level) each letter. 

5. 

But remember: if you're over 30, you have to say hunker down instead of lock in. 

^^^ If you understand this, we can be best friends. 

I am still really trying to make it to this exhibit in Kansas City. 

Wells asked what snakes were supposed to look like, before God curse them to crawl in the dirt. I didn't really know what to say to that one. 

So this isn't quite accurate, but it's funny. 

Again, we can be friends ^^^

Another conversation I'm tired of having:

The dog vs. the baby. This is usually on Twitter but there's a lot of dog-hating on Facebook too. Holier than thou moms don't discriminate on which social media they take to with their complaints. 

There are a lot of women out there who insist that having a dog while you have young children is the worst, most overstimulating mistake you can make. 

This discussion pops up every 3-4 weeks like rage bait on the socials. 

My advice:

If you are getting married and are wanting to have a baby right away, maybe don't get a dog. 

If you are pregnant, maybe don't get a dog. 

If you have 4 kids you struggle to handle, maybe don't get a dog. 

But IF you already have a dog before you have a baby, knock it off, suck it up, and welcome to being an adult. I'm so tired of women shaming other women for liking dogs (talk about gross: cats poop in the house, but we're not ready for that conversation I guess because cats are seen as more low-key...)

Our dogs were 4 and 5 when we had Wells. Scout the dog has always been indifferent to children (but he's also indifferent to me) but Jett loved Wells like his own. Same with Sutton. Jett could not get enough. 

My dogs were not more or less work after Wells was born. WELLS was a lot of work. But no one is telling moms not to have kids. We're missing the point here. The kid is the work, the dog is mostly self-sufficient. 

And let me tell you: the fact that I HAD to run my dogs through the fields every day and walk them and get out of bed to feed them, kept me going when I didn't want to leave the house. Do you know how good it was for me and Wells to get out and walk Jett and Scout on trails in Wyoming every day? The fresh air? The exercise? Same in Pittsburgh. People in the northeast generally don't go outside in the winter. The reason everyone is sick and miserable in the winter is because they don't go outside. Dogs get you outside.

It is exactly the same thing here. My kids walk a trail every day so the dogs can run. Find me another 3 year old (with a mom like me who generally hates outside) who is out walking a mile through the fields and woods every day. 

So yeah, if you adopt a pitbull while you're pregnant, maybe you just make perpetually bad decisions anyway, but it never ceases to amaze me that it's always the Christian moms online who shame people for, God forbid, loving having a dog. 

Sutton in a princess dress and wand in hand, if you zoom in there. 

This was 15 degrees on Monday.

My original Conversations I'm Tired of Having was about Halloween, last fall. 

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip

A few years ago, I posted a baked buffalo chicken dip.  I do prefer it in the Crockpot though so I'm going to post an easy recipe and then I'll tell you a Crockpot story after that... so you don't have to scroll and scroll and scroll to get to the point. 

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 block of cream cheese*

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buffalo sauce

1/2 cup ranch dressing (this is what we had... it's not spicy at all, actually)

1 cup of shredded cooked chicken

Turn the crock on high if you want it quickly, low if you have more time. Mine took about 2 hours on high to get where I wanted it. 

Add in all the ingredients. Stir after an hour. 

Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or veggies. 

For the shredded chicken, you can use rotisserie or leftover or even canned chicken. I baked a chicken breast in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. I seasoned it with Montreal Chicken Seasoning because that is a one-stop shop for seasoning chicken. It has all the ingredients in the spice cupboard. 

*A lady in Aldi saw me pick up the neufchatel cheese and asked if it was really better than the Philadelphia cream cheese she was holding in her hand. I don't know if I sold her on it and hope she doesn't regret her decision to get it instead. I told her that I switched to neufchatel about 10 years ago and never looked back. I, personally, cannot tell a difference. I think it's just the European version of cream cheese?  My army wife friend from Sweden always used it and that's where I picked up the habit back in Colorado. 

Last week, I realized we have 6+ crockpots (all are not pictured). See, we accidentally bought a house and settled in too much in our last military location 5 years ago and then my father-in-law passed away and we had a ton of storage space available so we took everything that had been his and hauled it back to Missouri and stowed it away in our barn.

Over the last year, we've sorted through a lot of it. I was super excited to see a smaller crockpot last week when we were going through boxes. I've never had one this size and it's perfect for dip. <---quite the transition there

But really: 

Scott had a crockpot when we first met and it's been with us ever since. 

I wanted a larger one for soup, so we got that in 2010 for Christmas and then the heating element broke in 2023 and we replaced it with this one, which I really like. 

I have one of those tiny crocks that only hold two cups (great for simmer pots or fondue!) and I think it's in a box packed away right now. It's about 15 years old. 

We're up to 3.

Then, when Scott cleaned out his dad's house, he found a big 6 quart crockpot and a smaller 2-quart for dips.

5 crockpots.

Finally, Scott needed a crockpot for some potluck function months ago and our crockpots were packed away or in another house or something and it was literally easier to buy a new one. So now we have an extra floating around.

So that's 6 crockpots, currently. 7 if you count the one that broke. I feel like that's a lot.

Friday Things, 1/23

Er, maybe Saturday things. I don't know. The cold weather has thrown me off. Struggling to remember what day it is without Monday night and Thursday night football to keep me on track. 

1. I tried to make this my phone wallpaper last week and it won't fit. Either way, I woke up with this verse in my head every morning last week, completely unprompted. 

2. ICYMI: I wrote this the other day, inspired by the fact that a friend of mine is transitioning from SAHM with kids in school to homeschool mom. It wasn't until I was talking to her about it that I realized how different the two are! 

Also, I saw this on Facebook and it's so true: there are different versions of motherhood and my version is entirely different than my own mom's. I'm not just "bad at it" some days.  

The first two years with Wells were absolute survival mode. He left my sight maybe 20 times in 2 years. The first year with baby Sutton wasn't bad at all because I had preschool drop-off for Wells to give me a break. The next two years I worked were survival mode. 

I will say I have had time lately to reset and be by myself simply because they're 7 and 3 and don't need minute-by-minute supervision. Also, Scott will tote them along now when he goes places because they're independent and that can be done easily (no packing up supplies or diaper bags or bottles). But in the case of a military wife who has a baby every couple of years for a decade or more, there is no respite there. 

But my kids absolutely came to the dentist with me on Tuesday. We have a lot of talks about how children should be seen and not heard and they can answer questions but they can't start yelling and interrupting adults. 

It went well until the floodgates opened when they were asked "how was your Christmas?" (which wass an example I had given them about when they could talk as much as they wanted) and Sutton started talking about "our dog that died" and then educating the hygienist on demogorgons.

There's something about taking your kids everywhere to not-fun places with you though: they absolutely learn how to behave in public. It just takes a few tries. 

3. This is my Roman Empire true crime case. I've listened before but the youtube videos are enlightening. I have my theories. I re-listened over this last week. I can't believe more people don't talk about it.

4. Landman is over for another season. I spent the last two months hating it and then, all of a sudden, the season finale was GOOD and that annoys me. Was it their plan to redeem 9 crappy episodes with the last half of a 10th episode?.... probably. 

5. 

I told Scott we're done going to football games together. Many years ago, we went to a Penn State game and Joe Paterno lost his job two weeks later. 

Why are they like this? I don't understand. It's a sensory nightmare for a parent, in a bathroom that echoes, too. 

The 2016 thing is super annoying just because we were literally all here in 2016. (It was 3 years ago, right?)

Either way, if you're on the internet now, you were on the internet in 2016. 

Linking up with Friday Favorites

SAHM with young kids vs SAHM vs Homeschool Mom vs. Working Mom

These are all entirely different versions of motherhood. I've done 3 of 4.

Let me explain.

SAHM with young kids <--- 2018-2020, 2022-2023

These are the baby and toddler years. Whether you have one (like I did at home for 2 years) or some in school and one or more at home,  you are tethered to a small child or baby 24/7. They are always with you and you are also tethered to nap time. I'm not using tethered in a derogatory way; that's just what it is. I was home exclusively with Wells for 2+ years. Just me and him. Then, after some transitions, he went to preschool at 4 for half a day and I was still with baby Sutton all day long. She didn't leave my side for a year and a half, basically. 

This is the version of motherhood that is the most time-intensive and where you have to be the easiest on yourself. Sleep every chance you get (just my advice). It's not the time for "getting up before the kids". 

SAHM 

A stay-at-home-mom sends her kids to school. She then has the day to do whatever she needs to do. Generally, she's busy, if she's naturally industrious. Cleaning, appointments, errands, running the house and managing the family. This is the traditional view of motherhood. If she works part-time, that's this category because she makes her own hours (your MLM is not full-time work). She's not held to a time-clock or schedule, working full-time from home. Working full-time from home is still working full-time. 

Getting up before your kids is a good idea if you want them to get to school on time. 

Homeschool mom <--- in this exact stage of life, I am here. 

This is not a SAHM. This is an entirely different thing. I was not aware of the difference until I tried it. This is a mom who is doing everything all at once all day long. The kids don't leave, so it's like taking the SAHM with young kids and just making the kids independent. They're still around. Your house will be a disaster at times because the kids are there; baseboards aren't dirty from neglect, they're full of crumbs because kids are eating snacks all day long. There's no dust, only crumbs (everywhere). There is generally no quiet, no peace, lots of cajoling and explaining and bargaining because You Are Trying To Teach Them Something. Like the SAHM w/ YK, you have kids with you when you go places, but they can walk in stores by themselves and can also buckle themselves into their own seatbelts. 

This is the version of motherhood where it makes sense to get up before your kids. You're not as exhausted and you can create the day's schedule. 

Working mom <---- 2020-2022, 2023-2025

This is usually survival mode. It takes a lot of forethought and planning to thrive, but I also found it pretty rewarding. I don't know about you, but I grew up with a working mom and never thought I'd do it differently. This is for the planners and the do-ers and the overachievers. It's also necessary in most households. In this category, the kids go to daycare or school and the mom goes to work. Your baseboards are dirty from neglect, not crumbs. 

The single worst part about this version of motherhood is getting phone calls that your kid is sick and making arrangements for staying home from work. 

It makes 100% sense to get up before your kids if you are a working mom. I think you have to in order to accomplish anything. 

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The two points I'll make to round this out:

1. I don't actually think it matters what you do. I think it's up to you and your family. I'm no feminist but this is a case of "you do you". I literally change up our life every year or two, depending on the best fit for us. I do think you should try to stay home if you have a baby. I don't think any child under age 1 has any business being in daycare but that's my preference. I don't recover, mentally, from childbirth easily so I needed like a full 8 months to feel like a person again after Wells was born (maybe the two moves in 6 months had something to do with it) and it was probably 3 months after Sutton was born until I felt normal again. I could not have imagined going straight back to work and adding daycare into the mix. 

2. From the time we got engaged, Scott has told me, in the nicest way possible, that he doesn't care what I do. His only real opinion on it, at this point, is that it's good to stay home if you have babies or toddlers, if you don't have to work. I don't think I appreciated that point of view enough at the time because, when we were dating, I was ironically the one with steady work. He was finishing school when we met. 

So when I reflect back, the working, the staying home, the years off, it was all pretty much my choice (again, I'm no feminist). Now, it's more complicated so I have to think about what's best for the kids, year by year. That's how I landed on homeschooling for this year. While where's like seven possible scenarios for what the army can tell us to do next, I can definitely say that I literally have no idea what next year will hold, so that keeps things interesting I guess. 

Content I'm Consuming

I'm all for sharing recommendations. It's why I've kept up with blogs over the years. So much of my entertainment choices come from others telling me about it online. I also often forget to share these one at a time in other posts or the timeliness is off, so I'm putting all this in one place. This is from the last few days.

Watching: This weekend was all the football which was disappointing and annoying but anyway.

I watched all 6 episodes of His & Hers on Netflix this weekend, too. I loved the book a few years ago and I'm glad I read it awhile ago because I didn't remember much! This show is set in Georgia instead of in the UK and I'm okay with that. I am a huge fan of Jon Bernthal, if you remember The Walking Dead days on this blog (first 2 seasons great...all downhill after that). He was the perfect choice to play a detective in Georgia. 

Very much recommend if you need something to binge! And, again, I have NO IDEA how well it matched up to the book because I read the book many thrillers ago but I do remember how much I liked it. I called it one of my best reads of 2022. 

Listening: Hear me out. I'm not a stan for Lila Rose. I agree with her on many things but I actually am not a fan of her personally because I think she (and many other conservative influencers) can be hypocritical. 

However, I love watching or listening to debates. I listened to this while I did some cleaning on Saturday and, my God, does it pull you in....the comments alone are worth a read. Lila represents a normie and Stephanie represents a broken record. Every single American woman should listen to the debate and decide which wagon train they'd prefer to be hitched to because they are going in opposite directions.

Reading: Okay, well, I'm not exactly off to a running start with 2026's reading but that's mostly because I'm a serial do-not-finisher and leave a lot behind me and never think about it again. 

Last week, I read College Girl, Missing by Shawn Cohen and cannot recommend it enough. There's a few true crime cases I cannot get past and desperately want to be solved; Lauren Spierer is one of them. I love that the book gives more information than the podcasts I've heard so far. I'm really hoping The Prosecutors deep-dive into her case, at least with a two or three-parter, because I want to know their opinions. 

Friday Things, 1/16

For my birthday this week, I kind of wanted to share 40 random things and thoughts but I'm pretty lazy and honestly don't have the vanity (currently anyway) or spare time to think on coming up with a list that long. 

Here's what I got to before I gave up:

+The only acceptable topping for a hot dog is mustard. 

+I don't trust people who don't go to the dentist for cleanings at least once a year.

+Friends and How I Met Your Mother are pointless TV shows.

+The only wrong way to educate your child is if you have no idea what they're learning or aren't aware of their academic abilities. Public school isn't inherently good or bad. Private school isn't always the best value. Homeschooling doesn't work for everyone. As long as you understand where your child is, academically, and you're advocating for them, it's all fine. Literally, the only wrong way to do it is to stick your head in the sand. (In the same vein, enrolling your kids in an online program that has virtual teachers and the kids are learning via computer is NOT homeschooling.)

+I have never played Wordle. 

+ Never in my life have I threatened to quit a job. I ride it out and hand in my resignation with proper notice like a responsible adult. I actually see a lot of people I've worked with posting online about how much they love their jobs and they are the same ones threatening to quit every two months and crying in their classrooms. I don't get it.

+I would always rather be cold than hot, but being *out*in*the*cold* is never my preference. 

+I've figured out that you don't need $$$ skincare. I went back to cheap skincare this fall: my skin has never looked better. **If you have a particular issue to solve, that's different. But generally, I think we over-do it.** I went by ingredient instead of brand names. The same ingredients are in e.l.f. compared to the high-end brands. 

+I legitimately do not believe the chem trails theory. Whenever I see someone be extra-crunchy and talk about how the government is poisoning us from above, I unfollow. 

+I do think the moon landing is pretty questionable though.

+I loathe the color "periwinkle".

+I've considered myself an introvert for my entire adult life. Scott told me recently that, actually, I'm an extrovert so I have no idea what I'm talking about. I really had to think about it...I think I may be an extrovert? The evidence for this, honestly, is that I was working as a bartender when I met him and no 22 year old introvert works as a bartender. Also, I hate going places but I do feel a buzz after being with people? Like, that's how I get my energy? Lots of question marks here. I was absolutely an extrovert as a young person. I hated being at home and not out with others. I was a leave-the-house-at-9pm-person for quite awhile there.  

+I will never turn down a massage. It's by far the bougiest thing about me; I've had a massage place I'd frequent in every state we've lived in so far, except Alaska. I would go every couple of months in Colorado. 

+My favorite way to make coffee at home will always be the Keurig. Fool. proof.

+I am anti-ChatGPT. 

+I have unfollowed every cOnTeNt CrEaToR who is also a military spouse. I don't want them in my algorithm. In fact, unless you're a military spouse who I personally have had a friendship with, I'm not following you anymore. I don't want the comparison trap. Same reason I also haven't followed a lot of teachers over the year. I cracked the code on what I want my social media to look like at this point, and honestly it's just niche memes.

I bought one sweater from Shein, one time, for like $9 because a blog friend turned influencer swore by them. It smelled like plastic through multiple washes and then I threw it away. 

Very niche: If you get this, we can be friends. ^^^

If I have to wake them up, someone is either sick or they were already up (and kept me up) all night. 

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

In case you missed it, I did some Amazon buys and a birthday post this week.