Chicken soup, good for the soul

The snow is falling outside and I have two sickies in my house so, when it comes time to figure out what's for dinner, my first thought is Chicken and Noodle Soup. Now I have tried so many different recipes for this but have ultimately come up with my own concoction that I love. The broth is so flavorful that I could honestly just drink that rather than eat the veggies and chicken. Hope you love it as much as I.

Chicken and Noodle Soup

• 3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 8 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup chopped squash
• 8oz. Diatali pasta

In a large pot cook chicken breasts, chicken broth, onion, garlic, and seasonings on medium-low heat for 40min until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

 

Remove chicken and shred. Return to the pot and add carrots, celery and yellow squash. Allow to simmer for an additional 30 min.

While the vegetables are cooking, in a separate pot cook pasta according to box and then drain.

Right before serving dump the pasta into the chicken soup and stir. Dish up and serve with some warm crusty bread.

The smell alone could cure the common cold, so savory!

 

Changing up the typical Spaghetti Night

Like I said in my previous post, this week is just super crazy so I have been in a major time crunch to produce some healthy quick dinners. This one is a great change up from the traditional spaghetti night.

Quick and Easy Baguette

recipe from (www.thesisterscafe.com)

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp. salt

Start by mixing the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to sit for 5 min until it becomes frothy.

 

Next mix in salt and flour. When well mixed, roll out the dough onto floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle and then roll lengthwise and pinch the ends under. I slit the dough with a serrated knife to make it look pretty.

 

 

Let rise for 30 min and honestly, keep an eye on it because it really does rise quickly. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 min. Around the 8 min mark pull the bread out and brush melted butter on the top, then allow to bake for the last 7 min.

 Place on cooling rack and get ready to enjoy!

Now for the main course, this has become my new favorite pasta dish. It's the perfect combination of creamy, saucy and cheesy pasta.

Two Timing Pasta

adapted from (www.pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.com)

• 1 box whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 (15 oz.) jar Alfredo sauce
• 1 (24oz.) jar Marinara sauce * I make my own marinara while the pasta cooks
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

This is a super easy recipe, it's hard to mess it up. Cook the pasta according to the box. Drain pasta and place into a large bowl. Next dump in Alfredo sauce, marinara, and mozzarella. Mix well so that each noodle is covered in saucy goodness.

 Next place into a greased 9x13 casserole dish and top with Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until nice and bubbly. Dish it up with a slice of fresh baked bread, a little salad and your set for a yummy, comforting, quick dinner.

Busy week equals comfort food

I am only 2 days into the week and already feel like I have been going non-stop. I think that is going to be the norm for me though when you choose to do once a month grocery shopping and meal planning. So with all that being said it meant comfort foods for dinner, which to me translates to my grandma's Swedish meatballs. They are one of my favorite meals.

 

Swedish Meatballs

 recipe from my Grandma Battson

• 1lb of ground turkey meat
• 1 pkg onion soup mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1 cup brown minute rice
• splash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can of Tomato soup
• 1/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13 casserole dish. In a medium bowl mix the onion soup mix, ketchup, mustard, eggs and Worcestershire sauce. Mix it well and dump in the rice and turkey meat.

 Once that is mixed up well grab a large cookie scoop to make the meatballs.

 Now take the tomato soup and spoon some over each meatball until they are completely covered. Then add the water to the casserole dish in between the meatballs.

 Place in the preheated oven for 40-45 min. Dish up a few meatballs, top with some ketchup and a side of your favorite veggies. Enjoy the warm, comforting yumminess.

Ooey Gooey German Chocolate Brownies

I have a horrible sweet tooth, so when it comes to making something to bring to a party my first choice is some sort of dessert. My most recent party treat were these super yummy ooey gooey German Chocolate Brownies. When you need a bit of a chocolate fix and don't want to experience the death by chocolate affects from most brownie mixes this is a great option, just enough sweet frosting to mellow out the rich chocolate brownie.

Brownie Mix

adapted from (www.goodlifeeats.com)

• 12 tablespoons Salted Butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Start by melting the butter and sugar together on medium heat, do not bring to a boil. Next add the vanilla.

 

Remove from heat and stir in the cocoa powder and mix well.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well so that everything is fully incorporated. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan.

Pour batter into pan and place in the oven for ~ 35 min. Depending on your oven you can check if they are done by placing a toothpick in the middle, if done it will come out clean. Be careful not to overcook as you don't want chocolate bricks.

Coconut and Pecan Frosting

adapted from ( nancycreative.com)

 

3 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Mix the sugar, egg yolks, butter, vanilla, and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes until the mixture has reached a thick and bubbly state.

Then mix in the coconut flakes and chopped pecans. Once mixed thoroughly, place in another container that can be placed into the refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Once cooled, pour on top of the cooled brownies. Now for the important part, make sure to get a square for yourself because once you put these treats out to share they don't last long.

Seriously the best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!!!

After trying literally hundreds of Chocolate Chip cookie recipes I think I have finally found my go to recipe. So you know how most Chocolate Chip cookies are either super crunchy or overly gooey. This recipe is the perfect combination; It starts out with a slight crunch and then you get to the yummy soft middle, it's cookie heaven!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from (savorysweetlife.com)

makes ~ 48 cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F and get your cookie sheet out and ready.

 

Start by creaming the butter and sugars together. Then add the eggs one at a time until the batter is nice and fluffy.

fluffy batter

Next, mix in everything else but the flour and chocolate chips. When that is well combined mix in the flour one cup at a time and then add the chocolate chips.

try not to eat all the dough before baking

Now drop 1 tablespoon of dough or use a small cookie scoop on your ungreased cookie sheet.

Place in the oven for 13 min until golden brown. Allow to sit for a few minutes and then move cookies to a cooling rack unless you just can't wait to consume them. Enjoy!

 

Repost of my 32 meals in 3 days

So after being hopelessly addicted to Pinterest for recipe ideas I was inspired to bite the bullet and do some freezer meals. I have always wanted to do a months worth of cooking in one day, so on those days that I really don't feel like cooking I could just grab something yummy and homemade out of my freezer. I gathered as many family favorite recipes that I thought would be good to freeze and made a huge grocery list. Initially I sort of had a heart attack about the mass amounts of food I was needing to buy, but honestly its a months worth so it should be a lot for a family of 6. The day before shopping I checked out the store adds to make sure I was getting the most for my money and the few weeks before Thanksgiving is a great time to do this. I ended up buying the majority of my produce and meat at Sam's Club because their prices were as good if not better than the stores sale prices. All in all the groceries ran about $400-$450 which includes all the items needed to complete the meals (i.e. hamburger buns, sour cream, cheese, etc...).The second day was prep day. I cooked all 7lbs of hamburger and placed each pound into a freezer gallon bag. Then I cooked the 6lbs of chicken in my crockpot then shredded and divided into bags. I had planned to get the pancakes and muffins baked this day also but it was just to crazy so I actually did it another day.

The third day was the longest day by far but has been so worth it thus far. I tried to organize my groceries as to make the process smoother (i.e. canned beans, other canned items, seasonings, veggies, etc...). When all the other girls arrived to my house we got started. We started off with the ground meat recipes and moved through the lists. One by one bag were filled with yummy food and my counter was filling up with finished meals. The whole process seemed to take forever but we were stopping to pick up kids from school and eat lunch. I think minus those activities it would have taken 4-4.5 hours straight to finish.

So now for anyone who wants to try out my recipes here they are along with the grocery list above. The highlighted ingredients are not to be put in the freezer bag but are to be added when you are preparing the meal to eat. So far I have used a handful of meals and they've turned out great. Feel free to modify the recipes such as used minced dried onion instead of real chopped onion or pre-minced garlic instead of hand mincing garlic. Let me tell you my house smelled of onions and garlic for a few days :)

Ground Hamburger Recipes

Shredded Chicken Recipes

Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast Recipes

Flank Steak/Stew Meat Recipes

Chuck Roast Recipes

Other Meat Recipes

A New Twist on Taco Night

This is one of my favorite ways to spice up the boring and bland taco night. The smell of the meat cooking all day in the crock pot is divine. Not to mention the fact that I love throwing it all together in the morning and not give it another thought until right before I dish up plates. Hope your family enjoys it too!

Beef Carnitas

Spice Rub: * honestly I just sprinkle away on my meat and don't measure, but here is what I would use if I measured

• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

 

• 2 lbs Flank Steak
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 1 green pepper diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

Cover both sides of the steak with the spice rub.

No jalapenos in the pic as I didn't have any on hand.... still yummy just a bit more mild.

 Place into the crock pot and place the rest of the ingredients on top of the meat. Just a little plug here for those busy cooks who don't like to use the crock pot because it is a pain to clean after cooking all day - crock pot liners, they are great time savers, just dump the juice and toss when its time to clean up.

smells so yummy!

Cook at least 6 hrs on low and then shred the meat.

 

Then serve on salad, in tortillas or on chips as nacho meat. Now our typical taco night has sides of black beans and rice. However, recently our little family has been trying really hard to eat a bit healthier so, we've been trying to substitute white rice for brown but in all honesty Mexican rice just doesn't taste right with brown rice. This led me to the thought of trying quinoa as a substitute. It turned out great.

Mexican Quinoa

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1Tbsp butter
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin

So this is super simple recipe. Place the quinoa in the chicken broth and butter.

 

 Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 mins. When the liquid is all absorbed dump in the salsa, garlic salt, and cumin. Continue cooking another 3-5 mins until the salsa liquid is absorbed also.

Doesn't look like much in the picture but it is so filling.

Now its time to dish up your plate and enjoy a new take on traditional taco night.