Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. All of the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the recipient will take them. Until now.
At
the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring
this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they
used them.
I'm using: tiles ~ draw ~ Empire State Building ~ apron ~ tube ~ vapor
They were submitted by Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom. 
Not only am I challenged by my assigned words today, but I feel like I should also work in here somewhere the fact that this is my 1000th blog post. Hmmm, wonder how I'm going to do that . . .
Perhaps I'll tell you that if you printed out all of my blog posts and stacked the paper in one tall pile, it would be as high as the Empire State Building. Except I've seen it (the Empire State Building, not the pile of blog posts) and, despite the amount of writing I've been doing, know it probably (OK, most definitely) wouldn't be true.
Maybe I'll come up with something if I put on my apron and head to the kitchen to make dinner. Everyone knows chicken soup vapors are magical (especially those from my mom's chicken soup), not only do I know they cure your ills and feed your soul, but they clear your mind. Magical.
Green Chili Chicken Soup with Taco Rice
Unless I already have . . .
As I sit here looking at my last two words and vowing to neither draw nor share a picture of myself in a tube top (although I'm sure I've got some somewhere), I realize that despite having used my words, I've written about, well, nothing.
So I'm going to end with something. A great big 1000th post thank you.
I want to say to all of the online and irl friends, both bloggers and those who don't blog, all who come here twice a week to try out my recipes, to be challenged, to be amused (or all of the above), I want you to know that the very first blog post, Can I Blog?, that was for me. The rest, 999 of them, were because of you. I often say that this blog has sustained me in times of frustration, anger, fear, uncertainty, and lately boredom, and that's true. I write for a lot of reasons, but the most sustaining one is because you read. So thank you. 1000 times, thank you. ❤
Have a bowl of magical soup. It's on me.
Here are links to all the other Use Your Words posts:
3 TBSP olive oil
1 1/4# boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 TBSP taco seasoning
2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz each) medium or hot (your choice) diced green chilis, undrained
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cans cannellini beans, undrained
1 TBSP butter
1/4 cup angel hair pasta
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup jarred salsa (medium or hot, your choice)
1 1/2 cups instant white rice
Directions:
*Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and chicken. Stir, then sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Cook and stir until the chicken is completely cooked.
*Add the chicken broth, green chilis, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper and cilantro. Heat to boiling, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for 1/2 hour.
*While the soup is simmering, in a separate pot, heat the butter over medium heat. When it melts, break up the pasta into the pan and cook, stirring, until the pasta starts to brown. Add the water and salsa to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and remove from heat.
*Uncover the soup, add the beans and allow to simmer for 10 more minutes.
*To serve, place about 1/4 cup of the rice in each bowl, then fill the rest of the bowl with the soup.
