“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.” ~ Ludwig van Beethoven

February 23, 2014February 23, 20143 Comments

Ahh, chicken noodle soup.

A classic.

I must admit – I have never craved or really wanted chicken noodle soup.

I’m not sure I have even had it when I was sick.

I mean, I’ve had Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, but nothing beyond that.

So what drew me to this recipe? I’m not sure.

Maybe it was the ease of it.

But I’m sure glad something did because now I am a huge fan and now I have a soup to take someone when they are under the weather.

I hope you find it as easy and enjoyable as I did.

Chicken Noodle Soup

(adapted from Yummy Mummy Club)

1.5 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 ½ cups chopped or sliced carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
3 sticks of fresh rosemary
2 slices of fresh ginger (¼ inch thick)
1 box chicken broth
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon Crazy Jane Seasoning Salt
1 tablespoon Zoe’s seasoning (you could use an Italian or Greek blend seasoning)
2-3 cups egg noodles

Place celery, carrots, onions, rosemary and ginger in bottom of crockpot. Top with seasoning. Pour in broth and wine and stir to mix.

Place chicken on top and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Remove Chicken, shred and return to crock pot.

Add in noodles and cook for another 30 minutes.

Serve with hot cornbread. 🙂

1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium cooking onion, peeled and sliced (in large pieces so picky eaters can easily pick them out)
2 slices ginger (approx. 1/4 inch thick each), peeled

2-3 stocks fresh rosemary

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used a few more because the club-sized package was on sale)

1 container low sodium chicken broth (approx: 900mL—if not using wine add additional broth)

1 cup white wine (Optional but highly recommended)

Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste

2 cups egg noodles

– See more at: http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/blogs/maija-moments-canned-soup-mom/20121119/crockpot-chicken-noodle-soup#sthash.VYgYXNS9.dpuf

2-3 stocks fresh rosemary

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used a few more because the club-sized package was on sale)

1 container low sodium chicken broth (approx: 900mL—if not using wine add additional broth)

1 cup white wine (Optional but highly recommended)

Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste

2 cups egg noodles

– See more at: http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/blogs/maija-moments-canned-soup-mom/20121119/crockpot-chicken-noodle-soup#sthash.VYgYXNS9.dpuf

“A hug is like a boomerang – you get it back right away.” ~ Bil Keane

February 13, 2014February 13, 2014Leave a comment

Here is day 2 of my Sweetheart’s Italian food inspired Valentine’s Day Week.
This one is so simple, I actually feel bad saying “it’s part of a special week menu” – but not too bad. 😉

Had it not been so simple he may have had only 2 special meals instead of 3 because Friday, I’m going all out!

Well, all out for my standards.
Anywho, here’s the scoop on the simplest meal ever.

Hug-Your-Hubby
Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 red potatoes, halved or quartered
1/2 bag small carrots
16 oz Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Add all ingredients to your crockpot, vegetables on the bottom. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove chicken to a bowl and shred. Remove vegetables to separate bowl. Take juice from crockpot and pour over the shredded chicken.

Add garlic bread and it’s perfect!

-abp

“Babies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God.” ~ Barretto

December 30, 2013Leave a comment

I am in LOVE with my baby girl!!!

Everyone said I would be but gosh she has to be the cutest thing i have ever seen!!! I could just sit and stare at her all day – and a lot of the time that’s what I do!!

Because of this, there has not been a whole lot of cooking going on in my house (much to my husbands dismay – although he’s too sweet to say anything!). But every now and then, I’ve surprised him and thrown something together like this crockpot meal.

Cashew Chicken

(adapted from Sally Cooks)

2 chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces
1-2 cups frozen broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water or chicken broth
1/2 cup cashews

Place chicken and vegetables in crockpot. Mix together other ingredients except for water/chicken broth and cashews, pour over chicken and vegetables. Pour in water/chicken broth until covered. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

Before serving, toast your cashews and stir into crockpot. Serve over rice.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

New recipes from the Holidays coming soon!

-abp

“When not eating, I like shopping; although I’m afraid I’ve become a bit of a cliche.” ~ Arabella Weir

August 12, 2013August 9, 20132 Comments

For a girl who really loves to shop – I thought I was going to love registering for baby items. After all, I had a blast working on my wedding registry.

Wrong.

It was so stressful! Do you have any clue how many choices of baby stuff they have out nowadays???

3 hours and one stress headache later I left Babies “R” Us.

And I still have to do Target.

Now Lily Pads/Baby Bundles – a local baby boutique, will be a different story. That’s for the fun, cute, frilly items. I could do that all day long.

After all that stress I need comfort food. Which usually consists of some kind of pasta. This meal is no exception.

Beef Ragu (adapted from SlenderKitchen.com)

2.5 pounds lean beef chuck, trimmed of fat
1 ribs celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1.5 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 tbsp fresh oregano or thyme, chopped
Wide noodle pasta

Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the bottom of the crock pot.
Season your beef liberally with salt and pepper and add it to the crock pot.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 6-8 hours until beef is fork tender. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Hope all is well!

-abp

“Spring is nature’s way of saying – Let’s Party!” ~ Robin Williams

March 11, 20138 Comments

Ahhh……The beautiful sunshine and warmth!! I can feel it coming – SPRING!

I can also feel the pollen coming too……

But that’s ok! I love spring.

Had a great day that started with church and a quick lunch at Zoe’s – I’m very excited about their new app that lets you scan in your receipts and sends you goodies as you build up points. I highly recommend downloading it if you live around a Zoe’s. I practically have one in my front yard – so it works great for me.

Even though it seems to be warming up, I’m still craving warm comfort food you usually have during the colder months. My BFF made this last weekend and told me it was a must try.

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole (adapted from The Shady Porch)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
2 cups chicken stock (from boiling the breasts above)
small bag of frozen vegetables
½ stick butter
2 cups Bisquick
2 cups 2% milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 t. dried sage
1 t. black pepper & salt

Preheat oven to 350º

Melt butter in 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Layer shredded chicken and season with salt/pepper and sage. Top with veggies.

(I forgot to take a picture of the veggies)

In a small bowl, mix together milk and bisquick and evenly pour over chicken and veggies.

In another bowl whisk together chicken stock, cubes, and soup.

Pour this mixture over milk mixture. DO NOT MIX any of the layers.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until set and browned on top.

This one pan dish is a super simple way to make chicken pot pie and it was super delicious too!

-abp

“I just wanna live while I’m alive.” ~ Bon Jovi

March 2, 2013March 2, 2013Leave a comment

I marked an item off my Bucket List!

I went to see Bon Jovi in concert!! YIPPEE!!

Oh! It was awesome! This dream has been 20+ years in the making!

But because I had to go to Atlanta mid week to see them it kind of knocked out a couple of days which meant I had plenty I needed to get done on Tuesday.

I needed a meal that would cook itself.

Thank goodness for the trusty old crockpot!

(as you can see, I was really off my schedule considering it’s Saturday before this was posted)

Balsamic Pot Roast (adapted from Little B Cooks)

3 lb beef chuck roast
garlic salt and pepper for seasoning
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, sliced
3-4 potatoes, cut into quarters
1 cup baby carrots
1/2 Tbs dried rosemary
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth

Season roast with garlic salt and pepper and sear both sides in olive oil.

Place in crockpot, top with onions, potatoes and carrots.

Mix remaining ingredients in bowl and pour over meat and veggies in the crock pot.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

I must add – I know my photos are not the super impressive works of art that a lot of blogs have but regardless – pot roast just does not photograph well. 🙂

Easy Peasy!

-abp

“Society is like a stew. If you don’t stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top.” ~ Edward Abbey

January 28, 2013January 29, 20136 Comments

Even though it is unseasonably warm here for January (right around 70º – which I love by the way) I still have a hankering for a nice warm beef stew.

I know I have made beef stew at some point in my life but I don’t remember how I made it nor do I have a go to recipe for it but after some Pinterest surfing I came across one on the blog Joyously Domestic. It seemed to have all the flavors I liked and it was one that could be cooked in just a couple hours instead of all day. This worked out perfect, since I knew I would not make it to the grocery store until mid-afternoon because of an eye doctor appointment earlier in the day.

BTW – the peepers were in good shape and I have a new pair of very cute glasses on the way. I’ll post a pic when they come in. Maybe now I will not be squinting quite as much!

Ok – on to the stew.

Homemade Beef Stew

2 pounds beef stew meat
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 – 4 cups beef stock/broth (or water with a few beef bouillon cubes)
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 – 2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Crazy Jane’s Seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cloves or allspice
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 ribs celery, chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
Handful of frozen peas (optional)
2 tablespoons cornstarch (if needed to thicken “gravy”)

Season meat with salt and pepper then sear meat in hot oil on all sides in a dutch oven.

Add 3 cups of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, crazy jane’s, garlic, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika and cloves. Simmer on low for 1.5 hours.

Check seasoning. Now add in carrots, celery, potatoes and peas. If it seems to need more liquid – add more beef stock.

Cook for 30 more minutes or until vegetables are softened. 15 minutes in make a slurry with your cornstarch and a little left over stock and add to stew.