Why did Panera change their chicken noodle soup…

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, THOUGHTS38 Comments

UPDATE: 2015 I tried their chicken noodle soup, it’s been years. It was very good! 

I lied. Not on purpose, but I did. I said I wasn’t going to post anymore about Panera Bread changing their chicken noodle soup recipe. BUT. I need to. I have gotten a tremendous amount of traffic on this site because of one thing. My fantastic writing skills PANERA CHANGED THEIR CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP RECIPE and (in my opinion) it’s not the best. I’m here to encourage those of you who haven’t, to let Panera know how you feel. You have reached my blog not because you enjoyed the new soup but because you were shocked at the new “improvement”. So go ahead, contact Panera (info from their website)…

👉You can email Panera Customer Support or give us a call at 855-3-PANERA (855-372-6372). Phone support is available every day from 7 A.M. – 7 P.M. CDT.

It’s a good company, so they would want to know why we aren’t buying the chicken noodle soup any longer.

Until tomorrow!

Image via www.panerabread.com

Take me AS I AM…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
Image via http://www.aliciakeys.com

Ok, if you were going to be stranded on a desert island and could take only one music album with you, which one would it be? That is the WordPress topic of the day. Kind of fun, so I thought I would play along… I like to listen to Alicia Keys – AS I AM. It starts out with the Intro that is slow and sultry, you have to turn up the volume to be sure it’s even on… then it segues into more of a beat, perfect for walking… I love to listen to it when I’m cooking or painting… So I think I’ll go ahead and turn it on now and get dinner rolling… How about you? What ONE album would you take with you if you were to be stranded…? I guess we should all take that one album with us since between the wild weather and the traffic we most certainly can be “stranded” in our cars! You can listen to these songs at www.aliciakeys.com !

Remember to check out my photoblog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – Until tomorrow…

Sugar Bakeshop – Charleston, SC

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, HOMELeave a comment
Image via http://www.sugarbake.com

Sugar. Not sure why, but I’m craving something sweet right now in the biggest way. I’m trying to re-route my thinking, but I’m not too successful so far… banana for the resistant starch to make me skinny (ha ha), ok… now some oatmeal with walnuts and raisins, more resistant starch… ok, I think i’ve worked my way up to something tasty! Maybe some homemade brownies or that darn apple crisp that was so good I can’t get off my mind… Poey… I had visions of Sugar Bakeshop in downtown Charleston pop into my head… oh what I wouldn’t do for a lemon cupcake, or a caramel cupcake, or just about any other cupcake, not being piggy… just wanting  a cupcake, not a big cake… I. DON’T. THINK. Hmmmm… If you get a chance, check it out, we’ve had most of their cakes (except chocolate, for that we always go to the Chocolate Cake Charleston, the best chocolate cake in the world, and a future post!)… Sugar Bakeshop shows their cake images as a slideshow, so I couldn’t include here, but check them out at www.sugarbake.com ! If you haven’t been before it’s worth the drive FROM ANYWHERE! They even make dog cookies, and let me tell you, Charlie gets just as excited about his cookie as we do with our cupcake! Have a sweet day, until tomorrow…!

YO BIRDIE, IT’S ME… CHARLIE!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

What’s one thing you like to do on a Sunday? One thing we like to do is take Charlie (JRT) to the James Island County Dog Park. We had heard so much about this specific dog park, then we decided to check it out… The dog park is separated for small dogs under 25 pounds, which is where we started with Charlie… He finally graduated to the “big dog” side where there is a LOT of land to run, there is water to stand in to cool (he’s not a swimmer yet, but he will go stand in the water and maybe do a few paddles, even when it’s brutally cold!). If you have a dog do you take it to the dog park? if not, give it a try some time, you meet (mostly) nice people and the dogs are awesome to watch!
Charlie and his PBGB friend, Birdie…


See the water in the distance… This is where ALL the dogs are in the summer… In the winter everyone is really hoping they DON’T, but they always do…


This was his running buddy this past week… This dog was hilarious, would jump over smaller dogs while he was running…


This is what he looks like after soaking in the nice cold water then running and rolling in sand… The sun in his hair, he’s having the time of his life!

A router to rock your world!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
Image via http://homestore.cisco.com

I am someone who loves gadgets. I love computers and all the fun stuff that comes along with them… until it gets super technical… I am creative. I learn quickly. But I draw the line at super complicated code talk… I might as well be in Siberia… We have an iPad, but couldn’t watch the videos… seemed like a shame. After taking it to the Apple store and trying their network, I determined it wasn’t the iPad itself, next I thought it might be our cable service, maybe I wasn’t paying for high speed Internet, a call to Comcast said I was paying for it… hmmm, then WHY did everything take so long to load, why could I not watch a short uTube clip? Hmmm, only thing I could think of would be the router, so I called Linksys. They couldn’t determine a problem with our router. So back to Apple, tried again, and the iPad was fine… I could watch video at my parents and they have Comcast and a Valet router… SO… maybe it IS the router! Off to Staples we went, armed with a 15% coupon and we are now proud owners of a Valet Plus. They say it’s easy. Whattttt? It’s so easy we did it in NO TIME! This is brilliant for those of us who don’t need the complicated settings that many of the other routers provide. I can watch painting videos again! Woohoo! If you’re in the market for a router and are dreading setting it up… LOOK NO FURTHER! This thing is awesome! Until tomorrow…

Remember to visit my photoblog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com

Did you know about this? The Starbuck’s card…

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
Image via http://www.starbucks.com

Do you know about this? Does everyone know about this? My husband and I received a Starbuck’s gift card for Christmas (thank you Lindsey and Drew!) – I saw something printed on the card that mentioned registering the card… hmmm. Curious I checked it out… Turns out if you register it, each time you use it you get a point (also known as a star), after so many points (5?) you get FREE REFILLS on coffee or tea (hot or iced, nice to know in the summer!) a free birthday beverage, a free beverage with a whole bean purchase AND some trial offers!… but when you jump to the GOLD level (30 stars) you get all of those benefits PLUS a free beverage with every 15 stars (transactions), coupons for free stuff and they send you a gold card… all for using (and reloading) your gift card! If you’re a regular visitor to Starbuck’s it might save you a buck or two! Check it out, information is on their website… hmmm… a cup of joe sounds good right now! Until tomorrow…

Apple crisp recipe… heat your house and your innards at the same time!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, Recipe4 Comments
My version of APPLE CRISP

You know how it is when you’re chilly… the house feels chilly… it’s hibernating time and you want something sweet, but semi-healthy (ha ha)… well I’ve got the recipe for you! APPLE CRISP! I used almost a full 3# bag of granny smith apples AND there is oatmeal involved… therefore… HEALTHY’ish… Enjoy, it’s best topped with a little vanilla ice cream! Remember it’s a recipe, which is simply a guide, use more of what you like and less of what you don’t… the apples however are essential!

This recipe does more than make your house smell divine… it helps heat it up, and when you eat it… ahhhhh, finally warm! It’s better than vacuuming to get warm, hee hee…

APPLE CRISP (recipe adapted from Novia Scotia Apple Crisp that appeared in the Post & Courier newspaper years ago!)

Apple portion:

1- 3# bag of granny smith apples – PEELED AND SLICED

cinnamon, nutmeg and a little sugar – if you use sweet apples you may not need sugar!

Topping:

1/3 cup flour

2/3 cup rolled oats (use the regular oats, not the 1-minute kind)

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter (or whatever you have that resembles it)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel and slice apples. Arrange apples in a buttered baking dish (lasagna size pan or large casserole if you don’t have lasagna pan). Although I used 11×17 and it worked fine!

Sprinkle apples with cinnamon (I use quite a bit, use how much you like) and just a light sprinkle of nutmeg (it’s stronger). Then sprinkle a tablespoon or two of sugar over top of the apples.

In a medium bowl mix the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar together. Cut in the butter (can use two knives and cut it up in small pieces while mixing in with flour, etc.), until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs (it was cold when i made it last so they were bigger hunks, it’s OK).

Spread this mixture over the apples.

Bake at 375 F until apples are tender (poke with fork) and topping is lightly browned (35-40 minutes).

Serve with ice cream…. ooohhh la la!

Laugh until you cry!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
MODERN FAMILY - Image via http://www.abc.com

Have you ever laughed so hard you cry? I LOVE when that happens! You can’t plan for it, something just strikes you as hilarious and you lose all control… It has happened to me many times and they say it’s GOOD FOR YOU! I just read something about this, WHY do we cry when we’re really laughing? They’ve been studying this (ugh, please study more important things!!) and they just don’t know… I can remember my mom and I stopping at this little roadside diner. Very small place. We were seated near the window… I think its after we worked at a boatshow all day in Detroit and were over tired… we got the giggles that turned into full blown I-just-can’t-stop laughter… It’s like doing hundreds of sit-ups once you’re done, ha ha… Everyone was looking at us like we weren’t right or perhaps had too much to drink, but neither was the case… It. Just. Happens. There are countless times my sister Bridget and I would either see something funny or the funny bone is just tickled for some reason and we just lose it… same with Fred. I can’t wait until the next time this happens.

Do you need a laugh? Well if you haven’t seen Modern Family (on ABC) the ‘Caught in the Act’ preview, it cracked me up, especially the very end… can’t wait to watch the show! I wish you a weekend full of laughter!!! Get out there and laugh, laugh hard, laugh with someone, laugh alone and most of all… LAUGH OFTEN!

Video link via U Tube (it’s only 1 minute 23 seconds long…):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY5YjRGpNPI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Remember to visit my photoblog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com!

I’ve been putting this off and I need to stop!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
Winsor & Newton oil paint, image via http://www.dickblick.com

I’ve been putting something off and I need to stop… Well actually I don’t need to STOP I need to START… start what? Painting… Not painting a wall, shoot, if that’s all I had to do THAT kind of painting would get done in a hurry! It’s the other kind, the kind that requires skill and creativity… Oil painting… You know when you have something you should be doing, but for some (sometimes unexplained) reason you just don’t get to it? Well, that’s me. I was on a good roll several years ago… then I think a series of paintings I wasn’t happy with just got to me… What am I doing? Do I even know? Then it was too hot… now it’s too cold… hmmm, actually TODAY is a perfect day, but I’ve got other things to get done. See what I mean? But I have it back on my mind daily.

I need to start painting again… SOON! Or else I’m going to turn the sunroom/studio back into a nice sunroom/reading area! When I look back at some of my paintings I’m thrilled, I actually am HAPPY with them… so what was my problem then? My guess is that I was comparing myself to “good” experienced artists, and in my mind I just wasn’t measuring up. Well this is the year to turn things around. Wish me luck… I’ll need it, ha!

Check out my photoblog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – until tomorrow!

Bravery and Bless You!

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTSLeave a comment
Image via http://www.patagonia.com

BRAVERY… That’s the WordPress topic of the day. Are you brave? What constitutes being brave to you? Is it the firemen (& women!) who run into burning buildings to save people? Is it the police officers who go into buildings possible inhabited with an armed person? Is it the men and women serving our country as well as their families who are doing without their loved ones? Possibly the doctors and nurses who “make things better”… OR the patients who are going through trying times? To all of you brave people… BLESS YOU!

Now, on another note… if you need to brave the cold, especially the wind, here’s  the jacket for you! The Patagonia Retro-X. My husband bought me one for Christmas last year (mine is brown) and I LOVE IT, it’s so warm, you don’t feel the wind blowing… yay!  It’s made by Patagonia… check it out!

Remember to visit my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com! Until tomorrow…

Before and after pics… whoa!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOMELeave a comment

I love seeing before and after pictures of rooms that have been given new life! The before pictures always seem cluttered and dark, full of unnecessary things everywhere. The after pictures seem crisp and clean, no extra stuff sitting around taking up space and collecting dust… Here are a few great before and after pics from www.coastallivng.com! If you have a room that might resembe one of these before pictures… just know there IS HOPE! Paint is probably the cheapest transformer of a room and it can have such an impact! See if you agree… of course their view sure doesn’t hurt, wouldn’t you love to look out at that each day?

"BEFORE" - image via http://www.coastalliving.com
"AFTER" Image via http://www.coastalliving.com Photographer: Lisa Romerein
"BEFORE" Image via http://www.coastalliving.com
"AFTER" Image via http://www.coastalliving.com Photographer: Lisa Romerein
Remember to visit my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com! Until tomorrow…

SIMPLE. COTTON. THROW. Wowie!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOMELeave a comment
Image via http://www.utilitycanvas.com

Once upon a time there was a neat little design store in Charleston, SC. They sold funky cool things but at a higher price point than most. It was fun to go in and get good ideas… and then… we spotted this cotton canvas throw. I’m not talking about a rough stiff canvas I’m talking about a nice worn cotton canvas… but ohhhh the price tag… I went back to buy it for my husband for his birthday, hee hee. After spending too much time inside the store fighting with myself (not out loud, no worries!) I just couldn’t part with $185 for a COTTON throw… So I didn’t get it… not sure what he ended up with that year… hmmm, hope it was good! Fast forward a few years. We’re in Maine, in this small fishing village with a cool shop full of neat things. We walked in and spotted TWO. The owner said it was the end of the season so she gave us a discount if we bought both… IT WAS MEANT. TO. BE. Woohoo… we packed up those throws, along with a few other goodies she had and went on our merry way. We bought BOTH throws for less than ONE at the little shop in Charleston. The company didn’t used to have a website or sell online, but they do now. We have acquired a few more as well as a coverlet and some pillows that we absolutely love! So if you’re ever in the market for a wonderful, worn, soft-to-the-touch throw, this is the one for you! It’s delightful! Check it out at www.utilitycanvas.com. They now have patterned throws as well as solids (click on the symbol of the house to get to the home type goods). Another plus… you just toss it in the washer and dryer and it only gets better!

Until tomorrow!
Remember to check out my other blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com!

Splurge… It’s the weekend!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOODLeave a comment

 

Image via http://www.brueggers.com

SPLURGE… It’s the weekend! I think the wackiest advice anyone could receive would be to eat diet food… Go on a diet… Boo… No fun! I DO think moderation is key. We all need to move more and eat less. When you use that philosophy you have the option to splurge on occasion… Just eat a little less at other times… Maybe I’m just trying to justify eating my Bruegger’s bagel right now, hee hee… Hope you enjoy your splurge today! Until tomorrow…

Remember to visit my photo blog at http://almomstdailypic.wordpress.com, see you there!

Feedback from Panera on their Chicken Noodle Soup

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, THOUGHTS106 Comments
The “new” Panera chicken noodle soup

2015 update: This October my husband and I were at Panera, it was a cool day, perfect for soup, so I thought I would give it another try, I think they’ve been through many variations since I last posted… it was good! It was nothing like what is pictured above. It was delicious!!

I mentioned to you on an earlier post about Panera changing their chicken noodle soup recipe… ugh, disappointing. I’m all for change, but only for the better. Let me know what you think! Do you like the new soup? If so I will be quiet, hee hee. Actually, I don’t want to appear crazed, so this is the last Panera Post, but wanted to get the word out!

If you are disappointed that the “good” chicken noodle soup (that was also low fat and only 80 calories) is now gone, please contact Panera at: contactus@panerabread.com

My letter to Panera… (and their response below)…

I am a fan of your chicken noodle soup with the noodles that taste so homemade! Today I ordered my usual chicken noodle soup and received a cup as well as a small serving in a to-go container. I opened it up and tasted it because it looked different. IT WAS AWFUL. It had a horrible aftertaste. PLEASE tell me that you aren’t changing the recipe to what I had sampled today… I know I won’t be the only one who isn’t pleased… I had my husband taste it and he said it tasted like a cheap version of Campbell’s. Truly, it wasn’t even that good. Sincerely, a big fan of your chicken noodle with the homemade noodles!

THE RESPONSE

Dear Barbara,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Panera Bread.

We are always trying to improve our menu and to keep it fresh and inviting. Our new All-Natural Low Fat Chicken Noodle Soup is a more contemporary and wholesome recipe. It’s an all-natural soup made with chunks of all-white chicken, firm fresh vegetables and traditional egg noodles in a light and flavorful broth.

Although we are disappointed to hear that you do not enjoy this new addition to our menu, we certainly appreciate the feedback.  I will be sure to note your comments for review by our Product Development Department.

Again, thank you for contacting us.  We appreciate your business and value your comments.

Sincerely,
Casey
Customer Comments Coordinator

WHAT MADE ME DO THIS?

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
CHARLIE – 7 months

What made me start writing a blog? Hmmm, first i believe I challenged myself to see if I could figure it out. I had time on my hands and a new puppy (Charlie) that would sleep if I was sitting at the desk, so that was a motivating factor! Ha ha! I created a blog LIFE WITH CHARLIE http://lifewithcharlie-barbara.blogspot.com/, it chronicled his first year and at times was hilarious. It received great support which amazed me, I really couldn’t believe anyone would read anything that I had written, I mean really, who cares that my dog just pulled all the toilet paper off the roll and had it spread from one end of the house to another, ha ha… But people did, other people with dogs I would imagine. I stopped that blog once Charlie turned one year old… I had plans… I wanted to figure out how to create a WordPress blog, another challenge, yay! I had no idea that I would keep it up, I wanted to see if I could set it up, but then I was hooked. In hindsight I wish I would have picked a better name for that blog… Http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – I thought what better way to share some of my photos than a photo blog? As the year went on I had other ideas, sometimes I want to share a great recipe or design element, travel tip or just a thought without having one of my photos to back it up. I launched https://barbarastroud.wordpress.com blog on 1/1/2011 and I am trying to keep it up daily. I hope you find something challenging (in a good way) in your everyday life… it keeps you young! Glad you stopped by for a vist! Have a great weekend!  Until tomorrow…