Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Oscar Hammerstein ~ Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup ~ Joe Kirk ~ National Homemade Soup Day ~ National Thank A Mail Carrier Day

Good frozen morning. 22º ! Burrrrrrrrrr...........

A little after 9am yesterday it started snowing! It only lasted a short time and nothing stuck, as it had warmed to 34º. Here it is, coming down...

A couple hours later it snowed again, still not sticking. 

Picture of the Day... perfect timing.... :o)

Interesting.....

Lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II is the only person named Oscar to win an "Oscar" at the Academy Awards. Oscar Hammerstein was perhaps the most influential lyricist of the American theater. Major musicals for which he wrote the lyrics include Showboat, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. Hammerstein won two Oscar awards in the Best Original Song category, one for “The Last Time I Saw Paris” from Lady Be Good in 1941, and a second award for “It Might as Well Be Spring” from State Fair in 1945.

And....... since it's National Homemade Soup Day....

From The Slow Roasted Italian....

Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 ounces baby carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 9 ounces cheese tortellini, frozen or fresh
• 2 cups freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 ounces fresh baby spinach

 

1. Warm a large pot over medium-high heat. Once you can feel the heat when you hold your hand 6 inches above the pot, add the butter and let it melt. Add the onion and carrots. Cook the vegetables until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Then add the chicken, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 3 minutes, just to get a little color on the chicken, stirring occasionally. Don’t worry about the chicken being cooked through, because we are going to continue cooking it.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and veggies. Stir to coat everything and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes to cook out the floury taste. Stir in the chicken stock, half-and-half and red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until the soup thickens, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Add the tortellini to the pot and cook until al dente (has a bite to it), 5 to 7 minutes (frozen takes longer). Remove the pot from the heat. Sprinkle a handful of cheese over the soup and stir. Once it has melted into the soup, add another handful. Slowly melting the cheese will give the soup a smooth consistency. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary. Pour into
   bowls and garnish with the spinach.

DONNA'S NOTES

1. To reheat cream or cheese soup, warm it in a pot on the stove top over low heat, stirring frequently. Add milk to loosen the soup. Cheese- or milk-based soups need to be warmed slowly to prevent them from separating or having a grainy texture.

Special birthday today, Joe Kirk (LASD ret) is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE!

Historically this date.........

  

1941 – The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops

1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.

1999 – The New Carissa runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon.

2004 – Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

And births this date include...

1918 – Ida Lupino, English film actress and director (d. 1995)

1936 – David Brenner, American comedian (d.2014)

1947 – Dan Quayle, 44th Vice President of the United States

1948 – Alice Cooper, American musician

1962 – Clint Black, American musician

1973 – Oscar de la Hoya, Mexican-American boxer

And.... my snowing picture was on the 6 o'clock news last night!

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Tuesday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

February 4th heats up with National Homemade Soup Day. In every cuisine, soup provides a rich basis of flavor and history. 

Before the era of modern transportation, soup was a product of regionally available foods. For this reason, there are thousands of soup recipes available today.

Many soups also offer medicinal properties. What was once considered a wives’ tale, chicken soup now has the backing of the scientific community.  Yes, chicken soup helps relieve the symptoms of the common cold. How? Well, scientists believe that a bowl of the soup may reduce inflammation of the lungs. It is thought that chicken soup slows down the activity of white blood cells that can cause inflammation.

But that’s not all homemade soup does. Every cook knows the most important ingredient that goes into every pot of simmering soup. They keep the ingredient stored where it will do its best work, too. As they work, they season the soup from their heart giving it just the right amount of love each and every time. Whether they add it with the noodles or the vegetable, the broth or the cream, each cook knows there’s enough to go around. That’s why homemade soup heals the best. 

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Share a recipe or a memory. Gather the family to learn how to make your best recipe and share the love. Need a new recipe to add to your collection? From chowders and broths to creamy bisques, National Day Calendar® found a few recipes to give a try on National Homemade Soup Day.

Wonton Soup

Decadent Tomato Bisque

Chicken and White Corn Chowder

Today is also............. 

National Thank A Mail Carrier Day (also known as Thank a Mailman Day) on February 4th reminds us that someone makes sure the mail gets through 6 days a week 52 weeks a year. The day is a timely note of just how important mail carriers are to our daily lives. Take time out of our day to thank the mail person who is responsible for delivering our mail to us.  

The motto of the Pony Express riders, who were the most famous early American mailmen, was  “Neither rain, or snow, nor death of night, can keep us from our duty.”  This motto is believed to be taken, in part, from a motto dating back to ancient times.  The most popular variation of this motto is “Through rain or snow, or sleet or hail, we’ll carry the mail. We will not fail.”

Fun Facts:

• In 1775, the Second Continental Congress established the Constitutional Post–the first organized mail service in America.
• As the nation’s first Postmaster General, Benjamin Franklin established many of the conventions we are accustomed to today.
• Postage stamps were invented in 1847.
• On April 3, 1860, the famous Pony Express officially took off.
• In 1863, free city delivery started, and in 1896, free rural delivery began.
• In 1963, the Zip Code began.

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Give your mail carrier a big thank you. One way to celebrate is with a friendly smile or a token of appreciation. Let your mail carrier know how much you value them.