Pizza Soup

Craving for some soup in this cold weather?

One can always heat up the stove and load up on MSG with instant noodles with egg (an all time favorite of mine, btw!), go something fancy with Campbell's mushroom soup from a can or try to consume the Salami in the ref and cook some fancy soup.

Check out Person A's Pizza Soup. 

Tomato, bell pepper, mushroom, basil, ground beef and the leftover salami.

It's very filling and tasty. Tomato with the herb-y taste of bell pepper and basil. It's a fancier and meatier  minestrone! 

Don't forget to add the mozzarella to add pizzaz!

Good with wheat pan de sal 

And loads of fruits. 

Fancy for the rainy day. Comfort food, too.

I asked the fiance to send me the recipe but he's kinda busy earning a living (read: to pay for our wedding and future house and the cost to raise our kids) so I looked up the recipe from Taste of Home.

You can just buy tomato sauce from the grocery instead of preparing it from scratch. 

Ingredients

• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 1 package (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni, quartered
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 10 slices French bread, toasted
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

• In a Dutch oven, bring the tomatoes, soup and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Mash with a potato masher. Add the pepperoni, red and green peppers, mushrooms, garlic, sage, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Ladle into ovenproof bowls. Top each with a slice of bread and sprinkle with cheese. Broil 4 in. from the heat until cheese is melted and bubbly. Yield: 10 servings (about 2-1/2 quarts).

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (1 cup) equals 303 calories, 9 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 884 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 13 g protein.

It's safe to say I chose well and I am very blessed.  I am talking about the cooking bit and all the awesome things he do.

Sponge Bob (aka Paronychia post Ungiectomy)

Meet Sponge Bob, also known, as my left big toe after it has been dressed. Photo taken today at 17:58, Asian Hospital.

Don't ask, I just came up with that name after the Operating Room nurse asked me if I feel dizzy - for the 3rd time post operation. The local anesthesia, perhaps? Or as always, I am plain crazy. 

While the entire Metro Manila is battling the torrential rain (I hope everyone is safe!), I was looking forward to treating my 9-day old paronychia - aka as ate-manicurista,-you-totally-botched-my-nail-and-i-am-never-having-it-done-by-you-nor-your-salon-ever-again.  

As explained by the doctor, it's in-grown toenail that has been pushed in the nail-bed hence the infection. A day after my pedicure, the redness and swelling began, on the second day, I was limping and by the 3rd day, I was crying in pain that I want to rush to the ER and have cut off my toe. Not to mention that pus (eeewwww!) that drains itself off - super nakakawala poise!

Not kidding, it was so painful and it developed it's own heartbeat! 

After consultation with a Doctor, I was told to treat the infection with antibiotics but if the swelling does not subside, it may be ingrown and have to be referred to a Surgeon for Incision and Drainage (I&D).

As defined by Wikipedia, a paronychia, is a nail disease that is an often-tender bacterial or fungal infection of the foot where the nail and skin meet at the side or base of a toenail. It is treated by ungiectomy - toenail removal when a patient is suffering from an ingrown toenail.

I was unable to exercise for a week, my left big toe was swollen, red and very painful. Hassle.

So what really happens if you go for a nail operation the one na hindi sa iyong friendly-neigborhood-manicurista, you'll be treated as a regular patient.

Wait at the OR's holding area - at this point - visitors are not allowed. 

I was asked to dress in the hospital's gown and lay down on the gurney. Then my mind went, oooopppsss... I thought, we'll just go through this operation sitting down. I got scared and started texting my mom and Person A (who was waiting for me at the OR lounge). Haha!

After a series of interviews by everyone (doctor, nurse, doctor, nurse, nurse, nurse... seriously?) I was wheeled in to the Operating Room and my awesome surgeon was waiting for me. And his greeting was "Akala mo i-Indianin kita, no?" He was referring to a number of phone calls I made to confirm if he's coming in for our appointment - walang pasok ngayon, ayt?

Then he started doing his thing, the painful bit was injecting the local anesthesia on the swollen portion and he was very kind trying to relax me. He played music on his iPhone during the procedure :) He even talked me through what he's doing on the would-be Sponge Bob: drainage, removal of the nail, dressing the wound and voila - done in 15 minutes!

He also prepared my Philhealth form, the after-care needed and asked me to show up at his clinic tomorrow for him to dress the wound.

Thank you, Dr. Shirard Adiviso. If you're looking for a General Surgeon at Asian Hospital, try to look him up. 

I'd like to wrap up this post with lessons learned: 

1. Be extra careful when you have a pedicure - make sure that wounds don't get infected nor nails don't get pushed to your skin. 

2. Once infected, always go to the doctor. 

It may be a long time before I post another nail polish entry - I will have to learn to co-exist with my cuticles. 

Better that way.

Update

Hello! Hello!

I apologize for the erratic blogging schedule but I assure you I am still here and I am very much enjoying life in spite of the number of things that need my attention. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to regular blogging schedule... sooner rather than later. In the mean time, allow me to share a few updates.

Starting with a wedding update. Taaadaaaa!!! This is what I did Thursday night. Reviewing our would-be invite. Did some proof-reading, printing on paper.. and I still need to get back to it. 

Happiness!

Then Friday morning this greeted me on my desk. Thank you Cheryll and Glenn, until the next time we outsmart each other.

Remember I told you I am enjoying life, well, some days it's in the form of Indian food.

However earlier, after marveling at Mt. Arayat along SCTEX

Person A and I craved for Korean food. This hole in the wall restaurant in QC is the real deal. Great food.

Last night, we went around Greenbelt and had late night tea at this fab place.

We liked it so much that we ordered an additional pot after a hearty Japanese meal.

Note the happiness on my face. Yeah, this relationship is still centered on food. 

Lastly, there's an attempt to plant Nino, the onion. It was initially intended to go with food but it sprouted a leaf so it was planted in a pot and is now sitting by my window fighting for its dear life.

That's it for now, I'll sit down longer next time and make kwento about anything and everything.

Can't Resist

I like!



... the arrangement. U2 and David Guetta!

Kidding!

Not bad, not bad at all. Anne looks more adorable doing her thing while Martin, though not my favorite singer is pwede na.

First Born, Middle Kids, Last Born and Only Kids

A friend shared this blog post on Facebook. It explains why middle kids are more interesting than their siblings and more importantly the traits of each child in the family.

The description of the "only kids" had me cracking up. So close to home. 

Guilty as charged:

a. Perfectionists

b. Bossy

c. Strong need for approval from people in charge

d. Highly motivated to achieve success

e. Get along better with older people - I have FRIENDS ranging from 8 y.o. up to 60! 

f. Self-centered

g. Not so good with criticism - especially outside of work

h. Comfortable being the center of attention - in short, KSP.

Good thing, the middle kid (who happens to be the fiance) is a complement to the spoiled brat.

If you skipped reading the blog, Fabafter40 shared this illustration.

What do you think?