“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!”
~ Hamilton Wright Mabie
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Category Archives: Camberley
Last week, I stopped by The Menu Mama blog and saw that she had recently made Pasta e Fagioli. As soon as I saw pictures of her vegetable and pasta filled soup, I developed a craving. So, I went on a hunt for the perfect Pasta e Fagioli. Within minutes I learned that most Pasta e Fagioli recipes have meat in them. Drat! On to Plan B – Minestrone! This recipe was delicious and easily customizable. I used Cannellini Beans instead of Kidney Beans. Mushrooms instead of green beans. Fresh Parsley instead of fresh Oregano & Basil. You get the point.
Here is my version of Minestrone.
HOMEMADE MINESTRONE
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cups chopped celery
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 3-4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 1-2 cups water
- 3-4 cups tomato sauce
- 1/2-1 cup red wine (optional)
- 1 cup canned Cannellini (or kidney beans), drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can green beans (or 1 cup sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms)
- 2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
- 2 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoons dried basil
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup uncooked small seashell pasta
- 3-4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute onion for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth (or vegetable broth), water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add green beans (or mushroom), zucchini, parsley, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add spinach leaves, and Cannellini (or kidney) beans and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes.
- Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of uncooked seashell pasta and cook until tender. Drain water.
- Add pasta noodles to your soup. Season soup with 2-3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. (Reserve 1-2 tablespoons for topping bowls)
- Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
Makes 6 Servings.
P.S. If you have a ton of Minestrone left over, you may freeze it in your freezer for 6-12 months.
P.S.S. If the pasta noodles soak up a lot of the soup broth, just add more chicken/vegetable broth, water or red wine.
–Camberley–
{Queue Gillian’s Island Theme Song Instrumental}
Cruise – the second hour:
Around the time we finished running through the cruise ship evacuation simulation (You know, the one where you waddle around the deck with life jackets on?) Kiersten turned to me and said ”Cam, Keighley and I came up with the cutest nickname for you.”
CUT! Before I go any further, let me give you a run down on Keighley and Kiersten’s nicknames.
As you can see, these two have a plethora of nicknames to choose from (and I’m pretty sure I’m missing 3 or 4 nicknames). I, on the other hand, am lacking in this area.
Where were we? Oh yeah, Kiersten had just announced that her and Ky had a new nickname for me. Take Two!
“You did?”, I abruptly asked. (Naturally, I was THRILLED with the idea of another nickname. I was on my way to being a member of their “club”. {Cha-Ching!})
“Yeah, we heard this name the other day and thought it was so pretty,” Keighley declared.
“What is it?”
“Bajanga,” Dee & Dum replied in unison.
I rubbed my ears. They seemed to have been clogged with sea water. “Come again?”.
“Bajanga.”
“Are you serious?” I looked at Keighley, then I looked at Kiersten. They didn’t crack a smile. (Ohhhhh, they’re good.)
“We’re serious. Isn’t it cute?”
“No. It sounds like a name for female parts.”, I stated.
“What?”, Keighley retorted. ”You’re sick. My mind didn’t even go there.”
“Whatever.”, I snipped back. ”You two probably heard the word ‘Bajanga’ on Oprah. Is that what she calls her Woo-hoo?”
Kiersten rolled her eyes, “Oh my gosh. No. That’s a ‘Va-jay-jay’.”
“Yeah, Cam.”, Keighley (aka Niko Splat) said. “Get it right.”
“Well, I still think it sounds like a word for lady bits. I hate it.”
“Whatever you say, Bajanga.”
For the next 4-5 days, I was stuck on a cruise ship with Agent Banan-o and Shampoo calling me {queue deep voice} “Bajanga”. They did what they set out to accomplish. First, they annoyed me. Second, every time I brought up the fact that “Bajanga” sounded like a name for one’s “Nether-regions” I was ridiculed for being “disgusting”. Third, I became so tired of their little game that eventually I let them call me “Bajanga”.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who has to put up with crap like this.
Eventually, the cruise ended and we went back to life (where I could once again access useless information online). Within days of being home, I began my “bajanga” google quest and within minutes I learned.
- It’s a word that is used to describe a myriad of objects, one of them being a Female’s “Cha-cha”.
MORAL of the story: I’m perfectly content with three nicknames and my sister’s are the dirty ones (i.e. Pickle Ornament).
–Camberley–
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Why? Because I’m head over heels for sweet potatoes, rolls, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, green beans, stuffing, pumpkin pie… this list could go on for a good paragraph or two… Therefore, I find it rather ironic that life decided to hand me lemons around 5 am Thanksgiving morning.
You see, I woke up with some of the worst stomach pains this side of the Mississippi. The stabbing, burning sensations were so bad I thought – “I have a stomach ulcer like Keighley. Whhhhhhy us?!?” and “I may need to go to Urgent Care, something’s not right”. I had no idea what was going on with my body because, up to this point, my only symptom was knife-like pains in my stomach (Not my intestines, my stomach).
5 hours later, nausea came knocking at my door and for the next 4 1/2 hours I spent a majority of the time with my head over the toilet. I assumed I had been stricken with the dreaded stomach flu (since it seems to be spreading like wildfire); but, my severe stabbing pains lingered throughout the day on Thursday. This lingering pain made me take a step back and reflect on my ailments. I have self diagnosed myself with…
.
.
.
.
.
.
SIDENOTE: According to “The Amazing Days Alive Calculator“, I have been on this earth for 9,740 days. Until last week, I had gone 9,736 days without…dum…dum…dum…
.
.
.
.
.
.
FOOD POISONING
As Debs would say, “Seriously?!?”. There are 365 days in the year and I developed food poisoning on a day centered around food.
Luckily, this little girl took those lemons and made lemonade. I curled up on the couch with a heating pad (and my Boston Terrier), turned on the Wii, downloaded Super Nintendo’s Donkey Kong and developed an addiction. Classic Nintendo games are my weakness. Dallan and I put life on hold. Every free minute of Thanksgiving break was dedicated to Donkey Kong. Within 72 hours of downloading the game, we had conquered it
I know, I know. We probably should have spent our vacation painting the office and folding laundry. However, sometimes you need to close the office door, let the clean laundry pile up on an empty chair and get down with your Donkey Kong self.
Epilogue – This morning, I ran to Walmart and purchased the newest version of Donkey Kong.
Dallan’s thoughts: “We are never going to get anything done. Cancel all remaining plans for the rest of the month.”
My thoughts: “It’s November 29th. Don’t you think trying to beat Donkey Kong Country Returns in 1 day is a little ambitious?”
If I’m not online, you know where to find me.
–Camberley–











