Souper Saturday: Classic Chicken Noodle

Chicken noodle soup is iconic in American gastronomy, and I usually have no desire to depart from its classic taste.  The recipe that follows is really nothing special, but I'll include some tips to make this recipe almost effortless to make and share.  This is my go-to when I'm taking a meal to family with a new baby.

Classic Chicken Noodle (or Rice) Soup
Ingredients
1 fully cooked rotisserie chicken or four chicken breasts or one whole roasting chicken whole or cut up
seasoning rub: salt, pepper, paprika, and granulated garlic
4 qt chicken broth or stock
1/2 vidalia onion, diced
2 large or 4 small carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 C dry egg noodles or one cup rice
4 sprigs fresh rosemary (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1.  If you are using chicken breasts or a whole chicken, sprinkle with salt, pepper, granulated garlic and paprika.  Roast in the oven at 375 until juices run clear (The time really varies depending on your cuts of meat.) If you are using a rotisserie chicken, skip this step altogether.*
2.  Heat broth** to boiling and add onion, carrots, celery, and rosemary.  Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender but not mushy.  Remove woody rosemary stems if needed.
3.  Add chicken and noodles or rice and simmer until noodles or rice are tender.
4.  Serve immediately with warm bread and salad for a complete and tasty meal.

Image credit ***

Notes:
*The rotisserie chicken has made this recipe so easy!  However, if you have a chicken to cook up or you are just trying to save money, get the same seasoned taste of rotisserie chicken by roasting chicken with skin on and rubbing with ample amounts of the seasonings above.

**I have made my own stock in the past, but I guess I have a taste for salt so I always end up adding some bouillon cubes to give the broth more flavor.  I have cooked some of the chicken bones with the broth, even when I use commercial broth, and I think it gives the base a richer flavor.  You could also cook a whole chicken or whole chicken parts by poaching (boiling) and use that as your stock.  It does require quite a bit of extra seasoning, though, in my opinion.  So, if you're going for ease and speed, commercial broth or bouillon is the way to go.

***I tried to take my own pics but my camera is not conducive to making indoor pictures look very appetizing.  When Kevin saw me trying to style up a bowl of chicken noodle soup he said, "Eeee...that's looks gross."  And it really did.  So, this picture is pretty close to a bowl of the soup made from my recipe and a whole lot more appetizing than my pictures!

Souper Saturday: Game Day Turkey Chili

Since fall and the inevitable beginnings of cooler weather are setting in, I'm starting a little recipe series: Souper Saturdays.  So, for an indeterminate number of Saturdays, I'll post my favori,e and perhaps experimental, soup recipes.  I can taste the spoonfuls of steamy goodness now...

As much as I love summer and sun and warm weather, I love fall for all of the tasty soups that come back to our family's menu.  One of our favorites is Turkey Chili.  I really wasn't much for cooking until Kevin and I were married and this recipe for Terrific Turkey Chili is one of the very first recipes I bothered to file in the recipe box my aunt gave me at a wedding shower.  Over the past 7+ years, I've tweeked the recipe several times and now it is savory-spicy perfection. 

This recipe is really easy to adapt for vegetarian tastes.  Just eliminate the turkey, add a can or two of beans and substitute vegetable broth or stock for the beef broth, but I would still add the taco seasoning to give it that kick.  As a side note, I recently started making my own taco seasoning and it is fabulous: tastier, cheaper and no artificial ingredients.

Pair this chili with some cornbread or tortilla chips and beer and you have a sure winner for Football Saturdays.

Game Day Turkey Chili (adapted from Terrific Turkey Chili at All Recipes)

Ingredients
1-2 lb. ground turkey
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 jar of your favorite salsa
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

2 14 ounce cans black, pinto, kidney or cannellini beans, undrained

1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

 

Directions

1.  Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble turkey into the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break apart as much as possible. Season with taco seasoning mix and mix until meat is evenly coated with seasonings. Continue cooking, reducing heat if necessary, until turkey is well browned.
2.  Pour in beef broth, and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, beans and green chilies, and continue cooking at a moderate simmer for ten minutes. Adjust the thickness at any time you feel necessary by adding water.
3.  While chili is still cooking, heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and green bell pepper, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent and bell pepper is lightly browned. Add onion and bell pepper to the chili, and continue cooking at a very low simmer.  Again, adjust the consistency with water as needed.
5.  Ladle chili into serving bowls. Top with sour cream, green onion, and cheddar cheese, and serve.

Crispy Chewy Goodness

Up until recently, I was baking the same chocolate chip cookie recipe I baked in middle school.  The recipe usually got good reviews: soft, cake-like, and melt in your mouth...as long as they were fresh.  If the cookies stayed around more than two days, even in an airtight container, they became really stale and crunchy.  The other beef I had with them is the entire cup of butter and 3/4 cup of oil.  Is that really necessary??  So, the search for a new recipe was on.

I found the winner on my fave baking blog, Smitten Kitchen.  She has a few chocolate cookie recipes, but this is exactly what I was looking for: crispy edges, chewy middles and lotsa chocolate!  At Smitten Kitchen, a lot of the recipes come from other sites, like Allrecipes or Martha Stewart, but she reviews and alters them and gives great tips and posts appealing photos. 

I made a couple changes to the recipe by using 1/2 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of shortening instead of 3/4 cup of butter and I also added 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar to the dry ingredients, to give the cookies that appealing crackly appearance.  Give 'em a try! It's hard to eat just one...

Me Want Pie!

We heart summer...and blueberry pie!

Indulge

I've been stealing some of James's tasty full-fat yogurt, and I'm loving it! In the past few years, I've really latched on to full fat dairy in yogurts, cheeses, and creams for coffee and desserts. Not just because it tastes good, but there was something in me saying that all of the processed, chemically altered food we Americans consume in mass quantities cannot be good for our bodies. I mean, some of the ingredient lists on snack foods takes up half of the side of the box and most of what is on there can hardly be categorized as real food. After finding this little gem of a blog post about full-fat dairy, I will definitely be consuming the fat (in moderated quantities) and trying to hunt down some non-homogenized milk...mmmmm.

And on another note, James is eating dairy without any digestive rebellion whatsoever. So, our nearly three year streak of someone being dairy free in our family has come to an end. We are all lovin' the pizza and ice cream now!

Soon to come, my thoughts on E-mealz...

Woohoo!

Today is surprisingly fabulous!

I won a contest at one of my favorite blogs, Testosterhome.

The grand prize is one free month of E-mealz. I'm excited to have less fuss and more variety in our family fare. I'll keep you posted on my experience.

Eeee! Very excited.

Update: Kevin's reaction to the E-mealz prize (keep in mind that he eats PB&J for lunch five days out of the week): "Congrats. But don't make me eat weird things."

Happy Easter!

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Triduum! We were able to spend the weekend with family, which was great.

Now that Monica is older and excited about helping in the kitchen, I decided to put together some yummy treats to celebrate the easter season. This Bird's Nest isn't the most traditional of desserts, but it is springy and sugary. I just made a batch of Rice Krispie treats, molded them into nest shapes and put Peeps and jelly beans on top. Monica thinks they're great! She told me that the birds would eat the eggs and that they were looking around the kitchen. I love how little kids think stuffed animals and dolls, and really anything shaped like a living thing, is alive.






I think Kevin and his notorious sweet tooth will appreciate this more than Monica!

My Fat Tuesday

I won't be eating those famed paczki, but this dairy free indulgence is no less than fab.u.lous. Mmmmmm...

This Dairy Free Life - Thanksgiving Edition

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I hope you have a fabulous turkey, potato, cranberry and pumpkin filled day.

Since I am still on a strict no-dairy diet, this holiday season should prove to be challenging, and to be perfectly honest, not as tasty. This became even more clear when James reacted to cinnamon that I had been eating. Perfect timing for cinnamon season...pumpkin pie, cookies, spiced cider,etc.

Now for the silver lining. I found this website: www.godairyfree.org. It has hundreds of recipes, product reviews, restaurant recommendations and the like for dairy free folks. A lot of the recipes are free of other allergens (soy, egg, gluten etc) as well. So, I will be eating dessert this Thanksgiving: Crumbly Apple Crisp with a Maple Finish. I might skip the maple, since I'm not a huge fan, and the cinnamon will be minimal to nil. However, I'm just looking forward to a little sweet to end my meal!

This Dairy Free Life

James has already taken us on some domestic adventures, one of them being a huge lifestyle change for me: living completely dairy free. When I say completely, I mean it. James, like Monica, has a dairy intolerance, meaning that he cannot digest casein (the protein in milk) properly. So, anytime he gets casein in his system (via breastmilk) he gets abrasions in his colon and blood in his diapers. Oy.

I cut down on dairy about two weeks before his due date in preparation for such a situation. Monica was also dairy intolerant as an infant, and once you have one child with that condition, it is more likely that you will have another. Even the little bit of dairy I was getting right before and after James was born (via occasional cheese and small amounts of dairy in dressings and prepared foods) was too much. By three weeks, he had colitis symptoms. So, I have been completely dairy free for over three months. Milk is in so many things...cake, cookies, brownies, nougat, cereals, granola bars, pretzels, chocolate, sherbet, some deli meats and sausage, bread, salad dressings and the list goes on.

Many people may ask why I am even doing this. Why not just switch to formula? Believe me, it's a tempting option. However, James is a really good nurser. He is growing very rapidly (as evidenced by recently posted pictures) and he is happy. Monica had the same issue as he did but she was NOT a good nurser. She was fussy and miserable and therefore, I was pretty miserable. There's no morale buster like a baby screaming at your chest 8+ times per day. We also found out that she was having a hard time eating and getting enough food for proper weight gain. For Monica, switching to bottles was a stab at achieving sanity once again.

Dealing with Monica's dairy free life helped prepare me for my dairy free life. I learned a lot of shortcuts for getting the calories I need without relying on milk, cheese and ice cream. Using rice protein powder, adding extra oil, feasting on potato chips and treating myself to coconut milk yogurt and coconut milk ice cream have been essential. I also did a lot of web research for Monica's dairy free diet and found MSPI Mama. She has a great blog with tons of recipes for people dealing with Milk and Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI).

Though I totally miss pizza, and that will be the first thing I eat when I can have dairy again, I am at peace with my current way of life. James will not be nursing forever, nor is it likely that he will be dairy intolerant forever. Monica has grown out of her intolerance and enjoys cheese, cookies, cake and the like with the best of them.

I've decided that living dairy free is a sacrifice I'm willing to make for James. Yeah, it means skipping out on dessert (most of the time), pizza, and eating out at restaurants as much as I would like. But, living dairy free will not be forever. There will be a time, once again, when I'll get my cheese and eat it too!

Mmmm...Tasty

Food Drama Rama

Monica has always had her share of feeding drama, and the past week has been no exception. Here's the latest on Monica and her nutritional drama. I found some blogs of moms dealing with this particular issue to be very helpful, so I thought I'd share a bit of our story.

A few weeks ago, Monica broke out in some wicked evening rashes. I hadn't seen anything like it before, and was a bit concerned. For a week, I thought it might be heat rash due to teething. As the rash grew worse and spread to her legs, looking more and more eczema-ish, I knew deep down it was something dietary. Since we hadn't really added anything new in a while, my first suspicion was soy.

I was a little dubious at first since Monica was drinking soy formula without a problem for months, but kids develop allergies/intolerances so it was not out of the question. We went to the pediatrician for her one year check up and the rash was in full force. It wasn't hive-ish and hadn't really flared with one specific instance or food, so there was not much to do but start eliminating things. I pulled the soy from her diet and within 24 hours, the rash started to improve and has continued to improve with each day. So, here we are with what I am pretty sure is an MSPI toddler.

We've known that Monica has been milk intolerant since she was 4 months old, and the soy intolerance is not a total surprise, though I really thought she'd miss out on that since the soy formula was good to go for so long. But, regardless of the past, here we are.

The most challenging thing in eliminating soy was finding protein and fat sources. A lot of the failure to thrive suggestions are dairy based, heavy cream, cheese, whole milk, butter etc, and not an option for Monica. So, after some internet research, I started giving her rice yogurt with rice protein powder and canola oil mixed in. Not the most appetizing thing, but she likes it. The rice yogurt has a whole lot of sugar, so I think that's what keeps her happy. I also put the mix ins in applesauce. I tried enriched vanilla rice milk with the mix ins but she was less than pleased with that in the bottle. After three tries, she screamed when she saw the bottle at all. So, bottle weaning was rather abrupt in our house!

Monica has never been good with a sippy cup (more of a toy than a drinking tool) so we tried the regular cup. To our surprise, she picked it up and started gulping watered-down juice. I tried the rice milk in the cup but she just shoved it away in disgust. At this point, we're just looking for any fluid intake, so juice it is. There has been a learning curve with the cup (i.e. no shoving food in the cup, keep your hands out of the cup, don't dump the cup), but all in all, I was really surprised at how fast she picked it up.

I'm also going to give Monica a multi-vitamin, but I have yet to find a good source for calcium, since I'm not sure she's ready for a lot of citrus (calcium fortified OJ) and gobs of leafy greens do not make their way into her diet. Keeping Monica soy and dairy free is not easy. We have to bring food wherever we go, and I read labels like a hawk. I'm just remembering that for her to grow out of these intolerances, she needs to be free of the offending foods.

I had been preparing two meals much of the time since Monica can't have dairy, but with this new development, I decided to do some research for meals that we can all eat. I found this great blog, MSPI Mama. She has an MSPI little guy and has TONS of recipes for families with this dietary issue. She even has a dairy, soy free recipe for S'More cookie bars!

So, a no-dairy no-soy life is possible. I must admit that when I faced this at first, I thought it would be the biggest pain. However, now that we're in a routine, it's just part of life. Here's hoping that Monica will be able to eat ice cream on her next birthday!

Dinner in KobeTown

Here's a little narrative about Kevin's latest evening meal:

So I had my first eel experience. For appetizers, there were what I might call “eel chips”. Basically, it was just dried eel bones. There was also eel liver for an appetizer. Dinner included meso soup, which had some kind of eel part in it. Then the main dish was grilled (or blackened, I’m not sure) eel on top of rice. The flavor was mostly soy sauce based, so not too bad. The flavor and texture were not too much different from fish. However, the thought was what killed me. I kept picturing the eels slithering around in my head and my brain kept telling my stomach to reject it.

I forgot to mention that it was a lot of eel too. A couple pieces would have been no big deal, but it was a lot. Like maybe twice the size of [a] tilapia [filet]...I survived, thank God for beer. Afterwards, we stopped at a coffee shop for dessert. I was very glad to eat some pastries to get the eel flavor out of my mouth. I am also chewing lots of gum. I would say this was my biggest challenge yet. But I feel good about it because halfway through, they offered to eat the rest of my eel, but I finished it all.

Way to go, Kev. If someone would have told me when we got married that my donut/pb sandwich/pringle eating husband would be feasting on various eel dishes in a few years, I would have wet myself for laughing too hard. Miracles do happen.

Oh, Chicken Soup

I'm bringing dinner to a friend who just had a wee one, and chicken soup seemed like just the thing. I used this recipe (plus veggie bouillon, random seasonings, and egg noodles), which is by far the best because you boil the whole chicken which makes rockin' broth. Naturally, I did not have a whole roasting chicken on hand, so I had to go to the store. Monica and I braved Kroger at 8am. It was awesome. No lines, no carts to weave around. We were in and out.

As soon as we got home, I threw my whole chicken into the pot of water and put Monica down for a nap. The pot took foreva to boil, so I thought I would have time for a quick shower before any boilage would occur. When I went to check on the bird after my shower, 1/4 of the pot's water was all over the floor and the stove. Fabulous. Salmonella water all over my kitchen where my baby crawls and licks everyday. So I got some bleach water and washed everything down, in a fluffy robe with wet hair, and added more water to the emptying pot. I don't know if that floor will ever be that sanitary again. I also took another shower because I got all sweaty during the cleaning process.

The rest of the venture was uneventful, except for the grumpy baby who just wanted to be held while I pulled meat off a chicken carcass, the dog under my feet begging for scraps, and the fact that I had to go back to the store during my outing to pick this up from the library since I neglected to check my list during the previous trip and so forgot the bread and salad for my friend. Now, I'm at home with a huge pot of soup and a kitchen full of dishes. So goes another cooking excursion with Andrea. It never is a simple endeavor.

Since the baby is playing with sharpened pencils, this post is over. At least she's safe from salmonella.

More Potential Sanity

Here's a great idea...

Make ahead freezer meals! A couple hours can give you days' worth of meals just waiting in the freezer. Yes, please!


30 day cooking freezer meal recipes

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Other Other recipes Meal

Cheap Date

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day. Granted, the baby is not out in the world yet, but let's face it. A person is a person, no matter how small. (Dr. Seuss) And, my life has changed a lot although the little one has not taken his/her first breath. So, it was a milestone for me.

Kevin offered to take me out to eat, wherever I wanted to go. Did I choose the tasty brunch at the Olde Shaker Inn? No. What about the fabulous family-owned Italian place, Scotti's? Nope. I decided on pineapple pizza from Pizza Hut. Mmmmmm... As Kevin would say, that's my belly talking.

Belly is rather boisterous about food these days. My sister just got engaged a few weeks ago (Congrats Martin and Beth!). While we were on the phone dishing about the wedding plans, she told me she was considering an Italian stir-fry bar for the reception meal. So, naturally, I suggested gelato for dessert. It's better than ice cream and it coordinates with the Italian food theme, right?

Kevin, who was in earshot, gave a hardy laugh and suggested that was a Belly intervention, if he'd ever heard one. My sister said that she was going to hold off taking food advice from me until after the baby is born. "Who knows? You'll start suggesting salami-wrapped pickles as an appetizer."

Thanks for the votes of confidence, family. Though I must admit I bought salami the day before that conversation and that very afternoon I caught a whiff of dill pickle from a deli and thought it seemed mighty good. Perhaps they weren't too far off.

Kevin and Buck...They're tight.

So most people know that chocolate is not good for dogs. Kevin is one of the "most people," but decided to let Buck lick fudgy chocolate frosting off his spoon anyway. I told him not to let the dog lick the nasty doggy poison, but Kevin's a softy and replied, "He likes it!"

Kevin didn't give Buck the chance to lick all of the frosting off the spoon, and you can't leave perfectly tasty chocolate frosting on a spoon, right? I know I would if it was covered in Buck slime. But Kevin, being the sweet-tooth that he is, couldn't resist the delectable frosting still stuck to the spoon. With almost no hesitation, he too licked the spoon--slime, chocolate and all.

His only comment post-chocolate-slime? "Ha ha...that was kinda gross."

Kinda??

Kevin's Pre-Easter Rampage

Today I asked Kevin to pick up some sausage on the way home from work. He came home with sausage and this:

Yes, there are three varities of jelly beans; not to mention two others we have in the candy stash. Total jelly bean varieties in our home: 5 And just a reminder, we don't have kids. Apparently, this is all intended for the two of us.

I can feel my teeth rotting already.

You're one in a million, Valentine

What says "I love you" more than sweets and flowers on Valentine's Day?

Well, I'm sure there are other things that say I love you, but hey, is Valentine's Day for sugar and beautiful blooms, or what?

Not so "fast"

Yesterday was only more evidence that I am a terrible faster. Seriously. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are a struggle, and I relish that one "normal" meal. Yesterday I made a fish dinner, like many Catholics, but some of my lenten zeal was crushed when Kevin commented on the superfluous amounts of food I made. At first, I was really offended! I spent time cooking this tasty meal and he's giving me grief! Well, after surveying my plate and the serving dishes, I realized I had gone a bit ape. I could barely finish my ginormous plate of food.

The Menu
8 oz. Margarita Salmon Filets
Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
Organic Multigrain Rolls
Fresh Green Salad

Oh well. I'll try harder next time! To the desert...(I really do mean the sandy hot place, and not the sweet treat...I swear...)