The Wisdom of My College Kid and my Beef Stew Recipe

Campbell’s soup recently asked me to share some of the “wisdom” my kids have shared with me as part of their “Wisdom from the Wisest Kid Campaign”…here’s the latest from our house.

Our youngest, Kalissa, went off to college a month or so ago and I have enjoyed a little bit of her “wisdom” now that she is out on her own.

One of the first things she said was, “Wow, I really can save a lot of money my using a clothes drying rack”. I was ready to scream in frustration when she said that. For years and years I have been trying to encourage her to use our clothes drying rack…would she? No. She didn’t like stiff clothes.

Now at college when she sees that she’ll need to put $1.25 into the dryer to make it run (and even then her clothes aren’t completely dry), she realizes that yes…it does save money to use a drying rack vs a clothes dryer.

One of the second things she said was….”Gee, groceries really do cost a lot of money.”…my thought, “oh really?” She said this after she asked if there were any groceries in my pantry that I didn’t want anymore. She’d take them and eat them….oh the wisdom of my college kid.

I started sorting through the pantry passing along the things that I considered kids food….that’s when I came to my Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. Nope. I was keeping that. I always keep several cans of that on hand for casseroles, hot dishes and our all time family favorite Green Bean Casserole. Nope…the Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup was mine.

That’s when I came to the Campbell’s Tomato Soup. She wanted that..even kind of begged for that and I said, “Nope, I am keeping that.”

For one, even though all my kids have LOVED grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup…I still love it too. And two, Campbell’s Tomato Soup is the secret ingredient in our family’s favorite beef stew. With fall and beef stew season coming, I wasn’t parting with my Campbell’s Tomato Soup.

I know someone will ask for it so here’s my recipe:

2 Pounds Stew Meat
4 Potatoes
4 Carrots
1/2 can Green Beans
1/2 can Corn
2 cans Campmbell’s Tomato Soup
1 can Campbell’s French Onion Soup
3/4 cup Tapioca (minute type)
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put all in crock pot. Stir. Set on high for 4 hours.

With Hubby in the field and us working in the house, having a tasty batch of Beef Stew ready and waiting for us is perfect. It’s a recipe that has always worked great for our kids too. Kelli always hated carrots but the chunks were big and she could pick them out.

For those of you fighting picky eaters..I’ve been there and done that. My own kids were always pretty good eaters but my childcare kids…that was a nightmare finding something they all would like. I sure wish I wold have had the resource of Campbell’s Kitchen where Campbell’s gives you a fresh way to delight your family (new, kid-friendly recipes like Mini Chicken Pot Pies, and fun ways for your kids to eat tomato soup or chicken noodle soup).

We all love sharing things about our kids—from pictures to funny things they do. It’s super easy and fun and you can share it with your family and friends by following this link to “The Wisedom from the Wisest Kid”.

I’m sure that I’ll hear more wisdom from my wise college kid. How about you…what words of wisdom are your kids sharing? I’d love for you share something in the comments that your “Wisest Kid in the World” has shared with you.