Make your own soup.  It’s easier than you might believe, and the results are sure to make you much happier and healthier than the kind of over processed soup you will find in a carton or can.  Using fresh garden ingredients is very easy.  And no, you don’t actually have to boil your own bones to make beef stock or chicken stock.  You can use prepared stocks and broths from the store.  Just select the low sodium varieties so that you ensure the flavor you are adding to your soup isn’t all salt.

Once you have selected a stock to use, start thinking about what you want to be in your soup.  Some people prefer a hearty beef soup, or one with chicken, while others enjoy the simplicity of tender, yet not overdone, vegetables of all varieties.  Whichever way you choose to go about this, always remember to start by cooking any meat thoroughly before adding it to the stock pot, especially if the vegetables you plan on using are finely chopped or grated and might overcook quickly.

One of my all time favorite soups is made of beef broth, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, green beans, tomatoes, onions, and any other vegetables I happen to have around the house with the exception of mushrooms.  Mushrooms tend to get very rubbery in a soup or stew unless chopped into fine bits, and even then they can be an untasty surprise if not well appointed, by which we here mean, cooked properly and appropriately placed.  When making this soup, you can add all the ingredients at the same time and cook over a steady medium low heat for a longer period of time or, if you are in more of a hurry than all that, simply sautee the onions and green beans separately, then add them to the soup  after the other ingredients have become tender.

Feel free to experiment and make your own soup.

                                      

Bacon has been around in some form or other since about 1500 BC, for example.  And the first package of sliced bacon you could buy in a supermarket was introduced by Oscar Mayer, way back in 1924.  That’s a long time ago, but bacon remains a favorite food for millions of people who put it on everything from battered sticks at the fairgrounds, to burgers and even vodka!  Here is an infographic with more information about bacon.

                                      

1. I think cranberry sauce is one of the most detrimental leftovers out there.  It seems like you should only be able to eat it with a holiday meal, otherwise it simply isn’t appetizing.  However, the best way to remake your cranberry sauce into a new dish is to use it as a jam on toast or even biscuits that you also have leftover.  I discovered that even though my kids refuse to eat cranberry sauce on the holiday, if I serve them a cranberry and peanut butter sandwich for lunch the next day without telling them what it is, they eat it right up.
2. If you cooked a ham for the big meal and end up with plenty of slices stacked in the fridge, try reheating the meat in a skillet with some tobasco sauce to get a whole new flavor.  You can eat your new ham plain or make a sandwich out of some leftover rolls or croissants.  Add in some of that sliced cheese you had left and you’re set!
3. Making deviled eggs is a tradition in many homes during the holiday season, but the flavored yolk doesn’t always taste great a few days later.  Instead of throwing them out, scoop out the tallow center and slice up the boiled eggs to put in your salad for lunch.
4. If your family is anything like mine, there is enough pie leftover to last for a month of Christmas’s!  Instead of having the exact same type of pie everyday for the next week, make each slice unique.  Add some chopped nuts and caramel sauce to the top of a slice of pumpkin pie to give it a unique texture and flavor.  Drizzle some chocolate sauce and whipped cream over your pecan pie for a sweet new taste you’ll love

You may seem some other great ideas or recipes in magazines or on Dish cable programs so go ahead and make those holiday leftovers new again!

                                      

What we do know is that fish and chips were not developed at the same time. The French invented chips.  As mentioned above, people in the United States refer to chips as “fries,” and, more properly, “French fries,” for that very reason.  In his 1839 novel Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens referred to one “fried fish warehouse,” which might indicate that the first shops to serve both the batter fried fish and the chips together might have gotten its start in and around London, England.

Fish and chips in England were sold in alleyways and on the streets to begin with, in much the same way as hot dogs are served from food carts in the US.  The British towns of Lancashire and London each have good reasons to claim authorship of this delicious fried street food. Chips were affordable and widely sold throughout the  industrial north, and the trademark fried fish seemed a natural pairing with the fried potatoes once they also caught on. Who doesn’t love some of the hottest hot sauce on freshly fried fish?
Regardless of where the dish was first encountered, fish and chips is a national favorite in both Britain and the US, and has been treasured and enjoyed by people of all ages.  It is commonly served with malt vinegar or tartar sauce, sometimes with cole slaw on the side, though that is mostly an American innovation, as are hush puppies.

The next time you are enjoying a plate of fish and chips, you can share the history you’ve just learned with your friends.

                                      

Here is an infographic with 14 things you should know about pizza.  They’re mostly fun factoids, and many of them are more telling about pizza eaters than pizza itself.  Click to expand the image so you can read all the zesty details.

                                      

Still, harmless as it all might seem during state fair season, there is a real chance that young people could get the wrong idea about serious matters of health and personal well being when too light hearted an attitude is displayed by the responsible adults.  The following video contains graphic images of entire sticks of butter being impaled on wooden skewers, battered, deep fried, and then — consumed by human beings.  Parental discretion is advised.