I’ve decided to enter my recipe for Hobo Stew in a contest

I'm entering my recipe for Hobo Stew in a contest. I have to write the recipe down, with instructions on how to make it. My only problem is that I don't have a written recipe for Hobo Stew. The reason for this is that each time I make it, I make it with different ingredients.

I make Hobo Stew out of leftovers. I just get whatever is leftover from the past week, put it in a slow cooker and let it cook. I'm going to have to write down the ingredients I remember using and work from them. The seasoning isn't a problem because I use the packaged seasoning mixes. When I want to make Hobo Stew I go to the store and get the package of seasoning that will complement the meat I have leftover in the fridge.

I think I'll begin by writing down the common items I normally have leftover. I can start with the meat because we usually make it with chicken. I buy the deli chicken that's already cooked for one meal. I use that as the meat base, there are exceptions because sometimes we use beef we have left over or out of a can. I need to get started on it because the deadline is September 30.

Recipe for Hob Stew

Beef or chick broth
canned or leftover meat
canned, frozen or fresh carrots
canned, frozen or fresh tomatoes (diced)
canned, frozen or fresh peas
canned, frozen or fresh green beans
pasta of some type
package of seasoning mix

Since I make this in a slow cooker, I'm going to discuss using one of these instead of any other type of cookware.

Pour the broth in a slow cooker and add water if you think there isn't enough broth to cook the pasta. Using this recipe you don't drain the pasta after it's cooked. Add a package of seasoning to the broth in the slow cooker. It doesn't matter what type of seasonings you use, so whatever package of seasoning mix you have is all right.

Bring the broth, seasoning mixture to a boil or at least hot enough to start cooking the pasta. You have to realize that I'm sometime very impatient when it comes to cooking in a slow cooker, so if the water looks and taste hot enough then I put in the pasta. Stir the pasta at appropriate intervals to prevent it from sticking together. You don't want your pasta stuck together or to the bottom of the slow cooker when making Hobo Stew.

After the pasta is done, then you can add the meat. I suggest breaking up or cutting up the meat into bite sized portions. Let the meat, pasta mixture become hot and then add the veggies. I normally use a mixture of canned, frozen or leftover fresh vegetables. Put uncooked fresh veggies in first and let them cook until they are almost done (this is according to your own idea of what a cooked veggie looks like). Next add any frozen veggies you are putting in the cooker. After the stuff in the cooker becomes hot, then you can add the canned veggies.

When this is cooked to your taste, then turn the slow cooker off or down to simmer. Since this is summer and I am planning to eat the Hobo Stew cold I turn the cooker off. Hobo Stew can be eaten either hot or cold.

I made Hobo Stew yesterday using chicken broth; beef stew seasoning, frozen green beans, canned beef, tomatoes, carrots and peas. I will eat the Stew cold over the next couple of days, the reason for this is that my central air is out and I want something cold to eat rather then something hot.

Writing about the cold

I am tired of being cold. Never mind that I live in Las Vegas and we have no snow in the valley. It maybe snowing in the mountains surrounding Las Vegas, but there no snow is falling in the Las Vegas valley. I am still cold, the air feels chilly and I am drinking a cup of Hobo soup.

Snow or not I am still cold. I cannot turn the central air unit up enough to keep the house warm because we are lucky to pay the power bill now. I have a sweatshirt on and I am going to put a sweater on under it if the soup does not warm me up.

I am tired of being cold. I want to be warm again. My mother is tired of being cold and she is tired wearing layers of clothing to keep warm. She put three or four blankets on her bed at night. I added two blankets to her bed last night and she removed one. Tonight I am putting that blanket on my bed. Not that it will keep me any warmer.

I turn the central air unit down at night, so that it does not run all night to keep us warm. and run the power bill up. This power bill (due February 6) we can pay, as for the one coming up; I have no idea and I am not going to worry about it. I am tired of being cold. I want to be warm again.

I know that the eastern part of the country has snow and power lines out. I am thankful we do not have snow. I am thankful we still have power. I am thankful that we had leftovers to make Hobo soup. Tomorrow we will have Hobo stew because I found some leftover chicken in the freezer to make the soup into a stew.

This Week I am Writing a Monotetra

Kamál (Perfection), 16 ‘Alá (Loftiness), 164 B.E. – Sunday, March 16, 2008 about 7:23 PM PDT

This week I am writing a Monotetra. The problem is I cannot come up with a theme or a subject. One would think that with so many holidays and Holy Days occurring between March 16 and March 23, I could find an interesting subject to cover. In addition, to those there is the two flat tires I had on Tuesday, March 11. The deadline for the Monotetra is Thursday at 11:59 PM EDT that is 7:59 PM PDT

This past week my life is full of interesting and weird events. I should be able to come up with something. If nothing else I could write about having only Hobo Stew to eat. I like Hobo Stew and its a dish that is different every time I make it, so I am not going to get tired of it. I am using only a slow cooker to fix meals with right now. There is not a lot of different types of food you can make in a slow cooker.

I'm going to make Hobo Stew

14 Qudrat 164 B.E. - November 16, 2007 about 10:05 PM PST

I don't think I've mentioned before that besides being a creative writer I'm also a creative cook. Thanksgiving is about a week away. We pick up the turkey on Tuesday, November 20 at 2:30 PM. This means I have to clean out my freezer to make room for the bird. I'm not cooking the turkey because we're going to my nieces for Thanksgiving and she already has the meal planned.

My freezer contains two loaves of bread, a large container of ice cream, eight ice cube trays, a container holding loose ice cubes, several freezer bags of leftovers and two containers of oats for oatmeal. I'll have room for the turkey if I remove all the bags of leftovers. This means that either Tuesday or Wednesday we have Hobo Stew.

Today when I went to the store, I got hamburger, salsa, Alfredo sauce and ice cream. I'm going to make Spanish rice tomorrow with the hamburger and salsa. That should last us Saturday anyway. We don't have a lot of leftovers, that's why there are so many little bags in the freezer. Normally we eat the meal up either at one setting or two.

I also have some chicken in the fridge I have to boil off the bone. It isn't a lot of chicken so I think I'll us it for the Hobo Stew. We eat most of the leftover chicken today with mashed potatoes made with the chicken drippings. I said I was a creative cook.

I'm going to write my recipe for Hobo Stew down this time. I'm planning a family cookbook, with stories about each recipe in it. That's going to be a fun writing project.