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In-home training with my new guide dog begins Monday morning. I’m pretending to be calm, but inside I’m as excited as a little kid waiting for Santa Claus. I’m also busy clearing my work schedule and getting my house dog-ready this weekend. I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I’m falling back on a trusty family recipe that has always pleased even the pickiest eaters at my table–shipwreck.

I’m not sure where shipwreck got its name or who taught me to make it. The recipe might have come from one of my mom’s younger sisters, Nancy Ottem, who decided one summer when I was eleven or twelve that I, along with my siblings and cousins, needed to learn how to cook. Or maybe I got the idea during my college days, when strapped-for-cash students exchanged tips for switching up the Ramen noodles which, at ten cents a package, were such a regular part of our diet. The dish could have been a staple in the family of my first husband, whose mom had fed six hungry kids on a shoestring budget for years. In any case, shipwreck is simple to make and filling to eat.

Ingredients:
2 packages Ramen noodles, both the same flavor (chicken is our favorite)
1 cup cooked meat (I’m using shredded turkey this time, but I’ve used hamburger, diced chicken, tuna, even scrambled eggs)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons minced onion
1 cup frozen or canned vegetables (broccoli, peas, carrots are good choices)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup milk
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Boil the Ramen noodles in just enough water to cover them. Add only one of the seasoning packets to the water. Save the second one for another recipe.

2. When the noodles are boiled, add the meat, seasonings, and vegetables to the pot without draining the noodles.

3. Stir the soup and milk together till smooth and add the mixture to the pot. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!

About the Author

Jo Elizabeth Pinto was among the first blind students to integrate the public schools in the 1970’s. In 1992, she received a degree in Human Services from the University of Northern Colorado. While teaching students how to use adaptive technology, she earned a second degree in 2004 from the Metropolitan State College of Denver in Nonprofit Management. She freelances as an editor and a braille proofreader and is a contributor of The Writer’s Grapevine Magazine where more such articles as this may be found.

As an author, Pinto entertains her readers while giving them food for thought. In her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, she draws on personal experience to illustrate that hope is always an action away.

Pinto lives in Colorado with her husband, her preteen daughter, and their pets.
Her website is: http://www.brightsideauthor.com.