# Stewed in your own juices



## Selkie (Feb 5, 2015)

Learning from our mistakes is part of the process of becoming a cook.
 Yesterday I brought out my crock pot, and by adding remnants of  frozen vegetables (half empty bags stuck in the freezer door slots) as  well as herbs and spices, I began making a vegetable soup with noodles.  As it heated up, the flavor began to build and was wonderful. My mistake  was adding the dried egg noodles WAYYYY too soon, and before I could  save the soup, the noodles turned to mush and ruined my lunch.
 I vowed to myself that I would never add noodles again until the soup  was ready to be served, and I would cook them separately from the soup  and add them to the serving bowl apart from the soup. Any leftover soup  could be frozen without the noodles. Freshly cooked noodles are easy to  add later.
 We have all seen the canned noodle soups and have visions of making  our own. Just be aware that those noodles are specially made, contain  lots of oil and are nearly mush anyway. The basic soup can be used as a  base for other proteins such as rice or beans. Keeping the soup apart  from these proteins means you can make whatever fits your fancy later...  or even use more than one. Use your mistakes. They will make you a  better cook.


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## Aunt Bea (Feb 5, 2015)

Hey, nice to see ya!

Welcome back!

Next time put the "failure" in the blender,  hit the button and et voilà [FONT=&quot]“Potage Bonne Femme”[/FONT]!


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## Zhizara (Feb 5, 2015)

Hey, Selkie!  Welcome home!

Having made that same mistake I learned the valuable lesson of cooking the noodles on the side and keeping them there so I could put them in a bowl and pour my soup over them.

I HATE mushy noodles.  Thanks for the reminder.


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## Kayelle (Feb 5, 2015)

So good to see you again Selkie! You've been missed.

I so agree about the noodles. I've also learned the hard way that potatoes in soup or stew don't freeze well. 
This is one of my favorite soups that might interest you. 
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f56/sweet-n-sour-sausage-cabbage-soup-64489.html


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