The morning snow on the ground gave way to brown grass by dinner time (at 1:30.) But the air is still chilly so I prepared to cook some soup while I was home.

But first I gave the dogs a little extra food, put some more bird seed out for my cardinal and other bird friends then zipped some tea into the microwave. How do I cook tea in the microwave? Well, to two cups of water I add four small lipton tea bags. I cook this for six minutes (I have a 900 watt microwave.) When it finishes cooking I let it set for a couple or three minutes in the little oven then pour it into the pitcher and add two more cups of water. PERFECT tea. Hot or cold. 

Back to cooking soup. I am going to cheat with this batch because CardinalSon has drama practice.

I put a bit of oil in the bottom of my soup pan and thin sliced about a cup of cabbage, washed and diced three medium potatoes and cut up a medium sized onion. I generously sprinkled some chicken seasoning on these veggies while the oil was on them so it would stick. I let this cook in the pan while I stirred it often, sipping on my tea and watching my birds eat.  I briefly turned the eye on high and let the pan of veggies get even hotter and then poured just enough water in the bottom so it will steam, then put the lid on the pan and turned the eye off. These will continue to cook even when I leave home.

This afternoon CardinalSon will add one can tomato paste, one can tomates that already has organeo, garlic and onion in it, a beef bullion cube, a can of mixed vegetables, and two cans of vegetable beef stew. This makes a canned soup taste more homemade. A hot pan of cornbread sticks will help to make this soup even more hearty on a cold snowy night.