Miracles Do Happen

I would just like to announce that I, Jill J., won--let me repeat--WON a cooking contest. Our ward had a soup & chili cookoff last night. I had no intentions of entering. If you know me at all, you know that I do not--let me repeat--DO NOT enjoy cooking. I kind of just think it's a waste of time. You spend hours and hours in the kitchen slaving over a great meal. Fifteen minutes later, it's all been eaten with nothing left to show for your hard work, except maybe a few leftovers in the fridge or a few more pounds around the midsection. Needless to say, cooking has not been something I've spent a lot of time perfecting. I try to find recipes that are fast, easy, and as healthy as possible. So when the Activities Chair from my ward asked me to sign up to bring something, I didn't need to think very hard about my answer. The same went for the second time she asked me. But the third time she asked, I caved in. What could I do? She also happens to be my Visiting Teacher. I just couldn't take the guilt of saying 'no' three times. I did make sure to clarify one important point, however: Did the recipe have to be an original recipe or could I just use a really good recipe from anywhere? I think she was just so happy to finally hear me say yes that she told me to use any recipe I wanted. Enter The Lion House. I made their Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup. You can get the recipe here.

Now, being the honest person that I am, just let me take a little minute to say that first of all, although I think this soup is fabulous, I personally didn't think it was the best soup there last night. Our ward really knows how to cook! Secondly, there were three judges. They all made three choices. My soup was the only one that was repeated--and it was only voted for twice---Ummm, I'm not really sure you can count that as a solid victory. But, hey, I'll take it! I'm always looking for those random moments of life that I can use whenever I happen to play the game Two Truths and a Lie. Now, I can truthfully add that I have WON a cooking contest! Like I said, miracles really do happen!