Teachlady

Ham & Cheese Soup This is a hearty and delicious soup. If you prefer use grated Cheddar or Jack cheese in place of the Velveeta. Taste before salting. 2 Tablespoons butter 1/2 cup carrots, chopped 1/4 cup onion, chopped 2 Tablespoons flour 1 tsp. paprika 1 teaspoon dry mustard 6 cups chicken broth 12 ounces Velveeta Light, shredded 8 ounces lite firm silken tofu, diced 10 ounces deviled ham (2 cans) 1 cup sour cream, light salt and pepper, to taste 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese parsley, for garnish In a large Dutch Oven over medium heat butter. Add carrots and onion and saute until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, paprika and dry mustard using a whisk. Cook for 2 minutes then slowly add the chicken broth whisking to prevent lumps. When soup is thickened add shredded Velveeta, the diced tofu and ham. Cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve garnished with a sprinkle of Parmesean cheese and a sprig of parsley. Servings: 10 Notes: Per 1-cup serving: 264 calories. 19 grams protein, 15 grams fat (8 saturated) and 12 grams carbohydrate. Rich in Vitamin A and one serving has 53mg of calcium. .

174 Days till the Violet Reunion Bandiversary Bash and 1st ever Violet Baby Shower! :tongue2:

TracyK... SEE.. you ARE the role model! -6# WOW!!! So far today I've had 1 liter of water, 4 cups of ham and cheese soup and 1 tomato soup at hand. I feel good, not hungry and the Bobster is doing well too. We're going to have a yogurt in about an hour and then that and at least another liter of water will be it for the day. TracyinKS.. the Bobster says if the soup isn't any good, it's because you didn't put the dry mustard in.. :tongue2:

Just read that John Travolta's 16 year old son died following a seizure. He hit his head on the bathtub and they couldn't recuscitate him. So sad. Jenn... great to hear from you. Glad you are doing well. Take care of yourself and rest up!!!

Terry... I followed the recipe exactly except for using leftover ham instead of the deviled ham. I don't like things really spicy so I wouldn't doctor it up. Bob would love it with the hot pepper in it, I'm sure, but then I wouldn't eat it.

Yes, you need the flour for thickening. It's only 2 Tbs. and there is enough soup to serve 10. I did the carrots in the bullet. I also didn't use deviled ham since I had ham left over from Christmas. I stuck some chunks in the bullet also and it all came out minced fine. I'm so looking forward to having it again for dinner. I've never had tofu before. It's tasteless and just adds protein to the soup. It's just a texture that you will have to accept in the soup. The soup really is good!!

I was hoping that is what it said!!! I'm ready for another cup of soup. As for the cleansing tonic.. ewwwwwwww no way for me. But that's just me. Suzie.. great job today. You CAN do the same everyday. Just remember how you felt with all the extra weight on. Doesn't it feel much better now?? Let that be your incentive.

Terry...how much of that soup can we have in a day??? TracyinKS....WOW!! 200#.. that's phenomenal!! Give her a big shout out from the Shrinkin' Violets. Gotta go take my water pill. I forgot to this morning. It's snowing again.. big, big snowflakes. It's really pretty, but seriously I've had enough snow for this winter. Ethan is sleeping now. His daddy had to go do some car stuff and hasn't made it back to pick him up yet. I'm pooped, but need to do some more on cleaning up the mess the Bobster made when he emptied his office and dumped it in the breezeway. BBL...

Unfortunately, when you buy a car with 140,000 miles on it there is no warranty. We'll get part of the work done Monday and the rest later on and make payments. Such is life.

Good afternoon, Violets. I just finished making and having some of the ham and cheese soup. It's DELICIOUS!! How much of that stuff can we have the next two days?? I could eat it for every meal. So far today I've had 1 liter of water and 2 cups of ham and cheese soup. I'm not hungry and threw out all the grazing food so I'm not tempted. I have not slipped back into old habits except for eating sugar. I don't drink with meals. I don't drink anything carbonated and I eat only a cup of food at meals. It's in between when I get the sugar munchies. They have ruled my life for the last 6 months and I'm ready to give them the boot. Ethan has made a step forward today. I'm now, Gramma instead of Mommom!! I'm loving it! Off to play a little more with him before his daddy comes to get him. Everyone have a great afternoon. How are the 5 pouchers doing???

Good morning, soon to be afternoon, Violets. I've been up for a long time, but have been UN decorating the house. All the Christmas stuff is now put away till next year. Ethan is here and we've been coloring as well as reading his new books. The Bobster is out getting the ingredients for the ham & cheese soup. He's also getting some yogurt and soup at hand and broth for us for the next two days. So far today I've had 2 glasses of white cran/peach diet Ocean Spray, frozen,not stirred. It's yummy and the activity of getting the house back in order has kept me from being hungry. All of Bob's errands are helping him not eat either. DIL Jenn picked up their new used car Wednesday and now we find out it needs $700 worth of repairs. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..Needless to say we are not happy campers, but we know Joe and Jenn don't have the money to pay for the repairs so I'll bet you can guess the outcome. sighhhhhh Our grandbaby is due Feb.25. TracyK... you GO, girl!!!!!! We take turns being role models and right now, YOU'RE IT!!! Enjoy!!:biggrin: Laura.. beautiful car. Carson will be riding in style. Prayers to Jenn and her surgery. Welcome SueSue. We are always happy to have new Violets... as long as they post each and every day!! (We oldtimers post every hour!) Ethan is very quiet so I better go check on him. BBL...

175 Days till the Violet Reunion Bandiversary Bash and 1st ever Violet Baby Shower! :confused:

Good evening, Violets. I'm back home and sitting in my comfy chair with the laptop again. We shopped all day today. Lots of places had 70% off. We got a couple of Santa's for our collection and lots of sweaters at Bass Pro Shop. I'm good to go for the rest of the winter! The Bobster and I are ready for the pouch test starting tomorrow. TracyK.. I said you were our role model right now because you're the one losing weight!! -4# according to your ticker. I won't know until Sunday what mine will say, but I'm betting it's not -4#!!! Kris looked like she smuggled a basketball under her jersey when we were at the Piston's game. Bob took a pic and I'll post it tomorrow when I get back to my desktop puter. I'm going to head to bed and get some sleep. Ethan comes tomorrow morning at 8 and will be here all day. Gramma hasn't had him here for a week, so I'm looking forward to having him here. Everyone rest well.

Good morning, Violets!! It's a new year, a new day, and a new resolve. We can DO this, this year. TracyK is our role model so far! DD Kris and I went to sleep about 10 last night and the Bobster and DSIL Nathan woke us up at midnight for a kiss and a Happy New Year, then we zonked for the rest of the night. Had a great nights sleep and am ready to hit the breakfast buffet and then shopping, then home. Prayers for ALL of us to have a happy, healthy new year with lots of great things ahead for ALL of us. Everyone have a great day. Tomorrow is the beginning of the "test" and I'm looking forward to doing it with you and the Bobster.

176 Days till the Violet Reunion Bandiversary Bash and 1st ever Violet Baby Shower! :Yawn:

TracyK!!! Down 4# already. Good for you, girl!!!!

Good evening, Violets.. It's been a great day so far. We got all the paper products for the baby shower except the place mats, got the stuff to make the table decorations and made it to the Piston's game on time. They won and that's a very good thing. They've now won 5 in a row. We had good seats and afterwards went to Mongolian bbq for supper. Unfortunately the food wouldn't go down at all. I had a few bites and pb'd it all. We stopped at a store and got cheese and summer sausage and crackers so I would have some protein. So far it's going down aright. We're spending the night at a hotel and then shopping a little at the mall tomorrow before we head home. I'm so excited to have the laptop and be able to use it at the hotel. I feel like one of those uppity business people who can't be without their computer... even overnight. Well, three hours til midnight and a brand new year. I'm ready to do the 5 day routine. Hopefully that will kickstart the year the right way. I have my wiifit back and will start that up again. Thursdays we'll be trikking and I know that will really help. We are camped out in the hotel room now and I'm going to shut this down and watch some tv with the family while we wait for the new year. Everyone have a very Happy New Year.. the countdown to Alabama and the new baby continues. (actually three new babies!! wooo hooo!!!)

I'm looking to buy one this spring. Does anyone here own one? Any reviews??

Good morning, Violets.. We're off on our shopping, basketball game adventure. Cross your fingers the Piston's win!!! Everyone have a great day. I'll check in from the laptop at the hotel if I can figure it out!!

177 Days till the Violet Reunion Bandiversary Bash and 1st ever Violet Baby Shower!

Just back from the Trikke Track. The good news is hubby did awesome. The bad news is, I don't have the hang of it yet. I took my Trikke T8, but it wasn't as good as the ones with air tires, so they guy is going to see if mine can be upgraded. The other good news is, he is going to bring the terratrike with him a week from Thrusday so I can tool around on it while hubby is trikking. Sould be fun. And I haven't given up on the trikke yet! I WILL get the hang of it eventually...or collapse trying!!

Ok.. the Bobster and I are in starting on the 2nd! Just back from the Trikke track. The good news is the Bobster kicked butt. The bad news is, I couldn't get the hang of it!! BUT the other good news is the guy is going to bring out a terratrikke a week from Thursday so while Bob is Trikking, I'll be tooling around in the recumbent bike. I'm headed to bed really early tonight cause I have to get up at 5 to head downstate for the basketball game. Kris went to her OB today and they did an ultrasound and said the baby is very active. She is just one of the special people who can't feel the baby move. They told her to put a spoon where she feels the baby's head and then hit it with another spoon. If the baby moves, then everything is fine. They did it at the clinic, and she said the baby quivered all over. She also said the tech said "I know what the baby is". But she still didn't want to know so now Grandma STILL doesn't know!! Everyone have a good evening. I'll have my laptop with me so I can check in at the hotel tomorrow night. Nighters!!!

I'm game, but can't start until Jan. 2 Will be on the road on the 1st.

Good Morning, Violets.. Jenn... we're all excited about your date!! That will be a nice new beginning for you. Jane.. sorry about the evil doc. You DO need to find one with a better bedside manner. Kat...congrats, Gramma!! You and I will be tied for grandkids... for the time being! Kris is getting nervous. She was in tears last night because she said the baby was not moving a lot. She asked her doctor that she works for if she could still have a healthy baby even if it didn't move much. The doctor hesitated and that's all Kris needed to start worrying big time. I keep telling her everything will be fine and I'm sure it will be, but she is a worrier like her dad. We got everything finalized for the shower. We'll be looking for all the paper products when we go downstate tomorrow. Haydee and Laura were both going to be out of town for a bit. Tracy.. what a sweet Grandpa! Sounds like something the Bobster would do. Congrats on beating the food demons last night. I see it's paying off on your ticker!! The Bobster was much better with food and didn't have any reflux issues last night. I hope he learned his lesson. Suzie... you need to keep focusing on how much you have accomplished and see the positives in that instead of looking at what you perceive to be negatives right now. Yes, it's a battle everyday, but you've won many battles so far. Just keep looking ahead, not at 75-100# more, but break it down into little goals. They are much easier to attain. You've done an awesome job so far and will continue to do well with all of us watching each other. Time to scoot and get ready for my hospital shift. Everyone have a great day. Make wise choices and drink that water!!!

178 Days till the Violet Reunion Bandiversary Bash and 1st ever Violet Baby Shower! :party: