Learning from our mistakes is part of the process of becoming a cook.
Yesterday I brought out my crock pot, and by adding remnants of frozen vegetables (half empty bags stuck in the freezer door slots) as well as herbs and spices, I began making a vegetable soup with noodles. As it heated up, the flavor began to build and was wonderful. My mistake was adding the dried egg noodles WAYYYY too soon, and before I could save the soup, the noodles turned to mush and ruined my lunch.
I vowed to myself that I would never add noodles again until the soup was ready to be served, and I would cook them separately from the soup and add them to the serving bowl apart from the soup. Any leftover soup could be frozen without the noodles. Freshly cooked noodles are easy to add later.
We have all seen the canned noodle soups and have visions of making our own. Just be aware that those noodles are specially made, contain lots of oil and are nearly mush anyway. The basic soup can be used as a base for other proteins such as rice or beans. Keeping the soup apart from these proteins means you can make whatever fits your fancy later... or even use more than one. Use your mistakes. They will make you a better cook.
Yesterday I brought out my crock pot, and by adding remnants of frozen vegetables (half empty bags stuck in the freezer door slots) as well as herbs and spices, I began making a vegetable soup with noodles. As it heated up, the flavor began to build and was wonderful. My mistake was adding the dried egg noodles WAYYYY too soon, and before I could save the soup, the noodles turned to mush and ruined my lunch.
I vowed to myself that I would never add noodles again until the soup was ready to be served, and I would cook them separately from the soup and add them to the serving bowl apart from the soup. Any leftover soup could be frozen without the noodles. Freshly cooked noodles are easy to add later.
We have all seen the canned noodle soups and have visions of making our own. Just be aware that those noodles are specially made, contain lots of oil and are nearly mush anyway. The basic soup can be used as a base for other proteins such as rice or beans. Keeping the soup apart from these proteins means you can make whatever fits your fancy later... or even use more than one. Use your mistakes. They will make you a better cook.
