I have very mixed feelings about surprises.
The surprise of what Mr. Prevention or my sister-in-law will give as gifts, I love. They’re both great gift-givers and I always like being on the receiving end because lord knows, they’re both impossible to shop for. Truly. Impossible. Mr. Prevention has resorted to emailing me links and saying, “This is on sale, I’d like it for Christmas. Be sure you select free shipping. Love, Me.”
We’re real romantics around here, can’t you tell?
The surprise of a haunted house or what will happen next in a scary movie – pass. Being told, “it’ll be a surprise…you’ll like it!” I hate that. A lot. My mind wanders way too much over such silly things.
Last night? Lots of great surprises. It was my hospital’s annual holiday party. Being a part of the event planning, I knew what to expect. Which, quite frankly, was very much the same as last year (if it aint broke, don’t fix it, right?). Except for the Dance Heads booth. That was new and totally fun. Hilarious, really.
Last night’s surprises were complete surprises. As the CEO was announcing the handful of award recipients (“Stars of Excellence” we call them)…my name was called. I was the last recipient called. My staff clapped, I think I got a “booooyaaa” (yes, I was surprised!) and I wish I could remember half of the nice things that were said about me as I made my way to the front of the giant room to receive my award. I was truly flattered. And very, very surprised.
I weaved my way back to my seat…in the back of the room. I sat down, replaced my napkin to my lap and then I hear, “Most Improved Department Award goes to…Nutrition Services. Will Nicole and her staff please make their way up here?” Whaaaaaaa?! Too cool!!!
My boss handed me a beautiful award that weighs about 40 pounds (no, seriously). He went on to talk about my department’s accomplishments — everything from patient satisfaction to the budget. My staff glowed with pride and I felt like a proud mama duck with all my older-than-me ducklings. It was a night of great surprises. I’m still on a little bit of a high this morning.
As for other pleasant surprises? How about 15-Minute Wonton Soup? This is my kind of winter meal ready in minutes. I thought it would be good, but it far exceeded my expectations. Love those kinds of surprises, too. 😉
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- ½ Tbsp sambal oelek
- 18 oz (about 18) frozen dumplings or potstickers
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 6 oz raw baby baby spinach
- 8 oz rice noodles, prepared according to package instructions
- In a large pot over high heat, bring chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil and sambal oelek to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- One boiling, add frozen dumplings/potstickers, mushrooms, and baby spinach to the boiling broth and simmer for 3-5 minutes until dumplings are warmed through and spinach is wilted and mushrooms are tender.
- Divide noodles between four bowls and cover with equal parts of the wonton soup.
Easy cooking this week! There’s baking to do 😉
Weekly Menu: December 8th – 12th
- Sunday: Loaded Baked Potatoes with Turkey Chili
- Monday: BBQ Chicken and Pineapple Quesadilla
- Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Salad
- Wednesday: Happy Hour/dinner with my staff 🙂
- Thursday: CEO’s Holiday Party
Back-to-back hockey games tonight and I hope to FINALLY see Catching Fire today. I heard it’s amazing! Anyone else see it?
Be well,
So glad you liked my won ton soup recipe!!! It’s one of my favorites! 🙂 Hope you’re doing well!
Author
LOVED it, Liz! Thank you!!
Why didn’t I think of that?!? I always make my wontons from scratch and they are yummy, but take forever. Hmm must check the ingredient panel on frozen wontons and try this. I have never used rice noodles either.
Happy baking this week. I have had so many friends ask for your Christmas Crack recipe, I doubt I have to make it this year as I have pointed them to your blog.
Author
I can’t even imagine making them from scratch, though I’m sure they’re DELICIOUS! These were a brand called “Padgon” (or something very similar to that…). They were trans fat-free and not crazy high in sodium. SOLD! 😉
You should be so proud of what you accomplish at your job Nicole – not only do you love what you do, but it shows, and the fact that you get rewarded for it? Icing on the cake! Congrats!
Now I’ll just jump in my car for the 4 hour drive to your house for a bowl of that soup!
Author
Aww, thanks Biz! So I’m thinking we need to get together this holiday season. What do you think? 🙂
That would be awesome!!
I’m feeling the pressure to deliver on some good Christmas gifts this year 🙂 I saw Catching Fire today — really liked it!
Author
Haha, no pressure. There is absolutely, positively nothing this girl needs for Christmas! Catching Fire was good…but the book was better 🙂
I’m in the same camp with surprises. Brian got me something that will “make my head explode, it’s that good” for Christmas and it’s killing me. But the surprise of TWO different awards?! Well, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Of course, you’d win! 🙂
Also, I want this soup. It’s rainy and icy and chilly and I really don’t even want to be out of bed. But a giant bowl of this would help.
Author
Now *I* can’t wait to find out what he got out! 😉
Congrats on the award!!! You totally deserve it. I can tell from your posts just how passionate you are about your job…that is rare these days, I think.
I’ve made this soup before, and its so good, but one word to the wise, if you use the frozen wontons from costco, like Liz does, they get mushy fast in the broth…so eat quickly! 🙂 Pot stickers seem to hold up a little better, I’ve found.
Author
Thank you! I really appreciate it 🙂 I do love my job and am super passionate about helping others, especially diabetics. I’m glad it shines through in my writing 🙂 The potstickers worked beautifully! 🙂
I love how easy this is!
I Just started following your blog and I love the looks of this soup – I’m always down for anything with ginger in it…and for anything that takes less than 30 minutes! I’ll be sharing this one 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight! It was perfect for a quick weeknight meal. I used sriracha in place of the sambal oelek and gave a wonderful flavor! I’ll definitely be making this again!
Congrats!!! I’m glad you were recognized for your hard work