Is It Bigger Than A Breadbox?

Did you ever play that game? When we would take long road trips my mom would come up with games for us to play. A Halsey family favorite was the game '20 Questions', although we never counted questions. The first question is always : "Is it a person, place, or thing?" If the answer was 'thing', invariably the next question was : "Is it bigger than a breadbox?" For the life of me, I don't know why. Is this something other families say when playing this game??

Anyway...why this talk about breadboxes?? Because I bought one today! I've been looking for a great vintage bread box for about six months or so. We have a hard time keeping track of our bread. It's home has been on top of the fridge but since neither of us is 8 feet tall we can't see up there. So bread and buns have been found long past edible and into the 'science project' category. So it seemed to me that a designated bread box might help with this problem.

But they can be a bit pricey, even on ebay, so I was very pleased to find one today in good condition at the BG community garage sale. It was marked $10, and Curtis, my darling haggler, got it for $5. I cleaned it up at home--first using vinegar (wouldn't recommend, didn't do a great job) and then baking soda with water and a smidge of dish soap. The baking soda did a great job removing smudges, sticky spots, and some rust.


Our drive home from the garage sale turned out to be a winter adventure. The snow was falling so thickly that it caused the dreaded 'white out'. This is unsettling for anyone but especially a driver out here in the Black Swamp. To drain the swamp to make it suitable for farming large ditches (and by large I mean large enough for a car to sink down entirely) have been dug out, sometimes on both sides of the road. We took it slow and made it home safely...but it seemed to be the perfect day for one of my favorite recipes. Potato soup.


This soup is so fast to make and it's delicious! I'll share the doubled recipe becuase you will want leftovers (and kids will love this yummy soup so it's a great, cheap, fast meal for families!).

6 cups milk
2 cans cream of potato soup
4 cups southern style hashbrowns
thyme, parsley, salt & pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients in a large pot, over medium heat. Takes about 7-10 minutes to become 'soup'. Serve with cheese and bacon bits on top

Optional Ingredients:
1-2 cups shredded hashbrowns (thickens it up a bit, Curtis and I think it's too 'liquidy' otherwise)
Minced onion (my mom put its in, I don't like it myself but others do)
Goldfish crackers (haven't tried yet, but I think could be a fun topper)

Simple, fast, and soooo good. Let me know if you try and if you come up with any other variations!


Now...I think I'm going to admire my breadbox for awhile. Thanks for reading!