Cheesy Ham Soup (my edited version)
1/4 c butter, onion, 1/4 c flour, simmer, add 4 c milk 2 c half and half, bring to boil, add potatoes, add ham, simmer until cooked, add cheese
I went into the kitchen, pulled all the ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry, and set them on the counter by the stove. I added 1 stick of butter to a warming pot on the stove, and then decided that was probably too much, so I used a wooden spoon to break about half of it off and pull it out again.
I washed my hands with soap (#1), and began dicing an onion. Kelly (turning 3 next month) runs through the kitchen yelling "I have to poop." Oh, joy. I tell her that my hands are covered in onion so she needs to do it by herself. Then I ask her almost 5 year old sister Alyna to go check on her and help her.
But no, Kellyn doesn't want her sister, she wants Mommy.
So I finish dicing the onion and add it to the simmering butter. I wash my hands well with soap (#2) to get the onion off, wash my eyes because the onion is causing me to tear up, and go into the bathroom to help her wipe and get dressed.
I then wash my hands well with soap (#3) before returning to the kitchen. I resume the soup process by stirring the onions, and adding flour to the pot to make the base of the soup. I begin peeling red potatoes for the soup, when Kellyn runs through the kitchen once again yelling, "I need to poop." Aaaahhhh!
I reach over to stir the simmering ingredients once before following her into the bathroom again. I help her, and then I wash my hands with soap (#4).
Returning to the kitchen I add the milk ingredients to the soup and turn the burner up to med-high to bring it to a boil. Then I continue peeling the potatoes. Hearing playful screaming and loud banging sounds coming from the living room I call out, "Please don't do anything that would hurt some one."
I hear back, "Okay Mom."
The pot is boiling, so I add the potatoes and stirring occasionally while I chop the ham steak into little cubes.
It's at this point I realize I should have just used chicken broth instead of milk, because it would be lower fat overall and the half and half would still make it creamy. But it's too late to change that now. So I add the ham, and reduce the temperature on the burner so it will simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Then I add the cheese and stir it while it melts.
Here's the end product: Cheesy Ham Soup
As I retrieve bowls from the cabinet I hear banging followed by screaming, crying, and Kellyn yelling that she can't get down from where she was because Ryan had moved a big box right in front of her. So I go in to help her down, and then go back into the kitchen and ladle the yummy, creamy soup into bowls.
Alyna starts screaming and crying in the other room because Ryan pushed her off her perch on top of one of the boxes. She walks in, followed by Ryan, and when I tell them the soup is ready both start to complain about not liking soup. What? Soups of all kinds have always been part of their mealtime favorites list.
I put the bowls on the table and tell them it's a new soup and they should try it. Alyna, my cheese loving girl, takes one bite and says she doesn't like it. Ryan won't even approach the table. So Kellyn and I sat down to enjoy our soups together. She asked me about where soup comes from, where muffins come from, and what every chunk in her soup was. I cherish these moments of quality time with just one of my children.
So now, an hour later, Ryan and Alyna still haven't eaten anything. I guess they just aren't hungry today.
