Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup!

I love making homemade soup! It is so satisfying, comforting, and delicious! It is especially great when you make it from scratch! It is so easy and versatile. You can throw just about anything you have in your fridge and pantry into it and it will come out great! Today, I am simmering a pot of Chicken Noodle Soup! It is a basic recipe that I grew up on. Every time I make it I think of my Uncle Dick who passed away 4 years ago. It brings back great memories of cooking and spending time with him.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Carcasses (We buy the $4.99 Costco ones enjoy two meals on it then freeze the carcass till I'm ready to make soup. It stretches a buck and is so good.) If you don't have a whole cooked chicken you can substitute chicken stock and cooked chicken breast shredded.

4 large carrots peeled and chopped

3 stalks of celery (leaves too) chopped

2 small-medium onions chopped

3 garlic cloves minced

1-1/2 cups whole wheat egg noodles, brown rice, or any other short cut pasta

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp thyme

1 tsp dried marjoram

salt and pepper

Throw frozen or thawed chicken carcass into a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 1 hour. Heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil in another pot. Put onion, celery, and carrot into the pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until just about tender then add the minced garlic and sauté another 3 minutes. Strain all chicken pieces out of water/stock. Put the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic into the chicken stock. Pick through the chicken carcass pieces and pick out all chicken and put back into chicken stock with vegetables. Add all seasonings.. Bay leaves, oregano, thyme, and marjoram. Bring back to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes to blend flavors. Add uncooked noodles and lightly boil until noodles are done. If using rice cook according to package before adding. You can add any extra vegetables of your choice.. I have used broccoli, edamame, corn, peas, zucchini and green beans!

This soup freezes great and lasts up to a week in the refrigerator! Once you make this soup you will never buy canned soup again!

Easy English Muffin Bread!

Whenever I think of "homemade bread" I think about the time commitment to make it! I am the the woman in the grocery store looking at the bread labels trying to get the best nutritional value for my family without having to set aside most of the morning to bake my own bread. I was looking around my favorite food websites for an easy bread to try and I found a great one! It is not only easy, but I have changed and added a couple ingredients to make it healthier! Thought I would share it because not only did I enjoy it but the girls asked for seconds and even thirds!

English Muffin Bread

2 cups of milk (I used Horizon Organic Fat-Free Milk)

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp cornmeal

6 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour

2 packages active dry yeast

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Brown Rice Syrup (my favorite is Lundberg Sweet Dreams Organic) If you don't have brown rice syrup you can use 1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

Warm the milk and the water in a saucepan until the temperature reaches 125 degrees. Lightly grease two loaf pans with Organic Pam and sprinkle cornmeal evenly on the bottom and sides. In a large bowl mix together 3 cups of flour, yeast, salt and soda. If you are using sugar add that into bowl as well. If using the brown rice syrup add it into the milk and water mixture once it reaches 125 degrees, stir to combine. Stir milk mixture into the flour mixture and beat well. Stir in the remaining 3 cups of flour one cup at a time and beat until a stiff batter/dough ball forms. Spoon dough evenly into the two loaf pans cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place about 45 minutes or until at least double in size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until brown on top. Remove from pans immediately and place on cooling racks!

Healthy and Easy Jam

A staple in our house is Jam! When the girls started eating it all the time we switched from the high fructose corn syrup loaded jelly to the Smuckers Reduced Sugar Spread.. I looked at the label and realize there is still 5 grams of sugar per Tablespoon! Yikes! So my search was on to find a good homemade jam! After trying a couple I have found an amazing recipe!

5 cups berries (I used Organic Mixed Berries)

1 Package "No Sugar Needed" Fruit Pectin (Sure-Jell 1.75 ounces)

3/4 cup water

Place frozen berries into a pot and simmer until they start to break down and defrost. Pour the berries into a blender and pulse until you get your desired consistency. Return the berries to the pot and add the water and pectin. Bring mixture to a boil. Boil for one minute stirring constantly. Skim the foam off the top. Pour into prepared jars. Let cool before adding lids. This jam can be left in refrigerator for about a month or frozen until ready to use.

Pizza Sauce in a Pinch

I promised the girls I would make pizza tonight before I checked to make sure I had all the necessary ingredients. I had no crushed tomatoes to make my pizza sauce! I decided I would work with what I had and this is what I came up with! It was enjoyed by all!

Easy Pizza Sauce

1 can Hunts diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1-2 tsp Agave Syrup
1/2 cup Pureed carrots
Pinch of onion powder
Pinch of pepper

Blend diced tomatoes in Magic Bullet/blender until the consistency of crushed tomatoes. Put tomato puree into small pot on medium heat. Season to taste with onion powder and pepper. Add Carrot puree. Taste and if too acidic add 1-2 teaspoons of Agave. Cook 5 minutes to blend flavors and smear on your favorite pizza crust,

I loved this sauce because I am not a big fan of tomato paste. The carrot puree really thickened the tomatoes and gave it great texture!

A Spin on Pizza

These are fun little pizza's and so easy to make! The kids will have a blast making them, and there are so many variations the kids will never get bored with it! We make these about once a week at our house!

Whole Wheat Pizza's

Makes 1 Serving

2 Whole Wheat/Multigrain Soft Shell Tortillas (see *side note on bottom

1/2 cup Marinara Sauce (see *side note on bottom)

1/2 cup Fresh Mozzarella cubes

1/4 Cup Meat of your choice (If using Pepperoni try Turkey Pepperoni)

1/4 Cup Veggies of your choice

Place one tortilla on a plate. Spoon and spread sauce until completely covered. Add meat and veggies. Place mozzarella cubes on toppings. Place second tortilla on top and microwave on 50% power until warm and bubbly. Cut in triangles and enjoy!

Change up the ingredients to make these new and special!

*Side Note*

Marinara Sauce

Makes 2 Quarts

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Medium-Large Onion, finely chopped

2 Stalks of Celery, finely chopped

2 Carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1 Cup Spinach Puree

2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

2- 32oz. Cans Crushed Tomatoes

2-Dried Bay Leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 min. Add the celery, carrots, and salt and pepper. Saute again until the celery and carrots are tender, about 1o min. Add tomatoes, Spinach puree, and bay leaves. Simmer uncovered for about an hour until the sauce thickens. Remove bay leaves.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Makes 18

3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 Cup Wheat Germ or Flax

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 Cups Boiling Water

In a larget bowl, stir together 3/4 cup all- purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, wheat germ/flax, and salt. Work in the olive oil by hand until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal. Make a well in the center, and pour in the boiling water. Mix with a fork until all of the water is evenly incorporated. You may need to add 1-2 tablespoons more of water to get the dough to come together. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth.

Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces eat. Place them on a try, and cover with a cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour.

Heat a large frying pan or griddle to high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for the previous one to cook. Repeat until all of the balls have been cooked. Cover edges of the tortillas after they come off griddle if they seem to be drying out.

You can refrigerate or freeze these tortillas!

My Newest Adventure

Recently, I have been looking into making bread from scratch. We always seem to go through a ton of bread, and at times race to the store in a panic because we don't have any. We always purchase a high quality, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors or flavors, whole grain, with fiber bread. The healthier the bread the more it costs, so I have decided to start making it at home. I am able to control the quality of ingredients, and even add extra layers of nutrition which is a win! Everything I have read says if you are new to baking bread, to start off easy to get the technique and then work up to more complicated recipes. That is exactly what I did today. I made an English Muffin Bread! The recipe came from my Grandmother and it is easy and delicious, here it is!

English Muffin Bread

Makes 2 Loaves

1 Cup Milk (scalded)

2 tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

3 tbsp. Butter

1 Cup Lukewarm Water

1 pkg. Active Dry Yeast

5-6 Cups Flour

Cornmeal for dusting

Start off by scalding the milk. I used a saucepan, turned my stove on medium high and stirred continuously until bubbles formed around the edges and it looked frothy. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, salt and sugar. Let that sit until it is lukewarm (100-110 degrees). Once the milk mixture is lukewarm get the water lukewarm (100-110 degrees) and put into mixer. Sprinkle the yeast and stir until completely dissolved in the water. Add the milk mixture to the water and combine.

Add 3 cups of flour and start the mixer. Mix until completely smooth. The dough will still be sticky. Now slowly start adding flour little by little and mixing until dough can be formed into ball, and its manageable. Grease a bowl and place dough ball into the bowl. Cover with a towel or two and put in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. The dough should double in size.

With your fist, punch a hole in the center of the dough, and pull dough from sides into the hole you punched. Next, roll out onto a floured surface. Get your two loaf pans and grease them. Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is an inch longer than your pan. Fold the left and right side of dough into center, pressing firmly. Now pull ends in to fit the size of loaf pan, and pinch seams together. Roll in cornmeal and place in loaf pan. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place. Let rise another hour.

When dough has about doubled in size again place in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Bread will be done when its brown on top and when you knock on the sides or bottom it sounds hallow.

Breakfast Foods Continued....

Since I wrote the last blog on Waffles, I thought I would share a couple more breakfast recipes we make frequently in our house!

Sweet Potato French Toast

4 Organic Eggs

3 Splashes of Vanilla Almond Milk (sorry I never measure, also you can use regular milk)

2 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp. Nutmeg

2 TBSP Wheat Germ

1/2 Cup Sweet Potato Puree

Bread (I save all the end pieces of our loaves of bread- just place them in the freezer until your ready to make a batch- Great way to use up those end crusts no one wants to eat!)

Whisk all the ingredients together until combined. Preheat skillet. Dip bread into mixture and cook until done! I make large batches of these and pop them in the freezer. So simple to just pop one into the toaster frozen, and they come out just like they were just made!

Acorn Squash Waffles

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Organic Egg

2 Organic Egg Whites

4 tbsp Canola Oil

1/4 cup Acorn Squash

1 1/2-2 Cups Milk - we use vanilla almond milk

1 tsp Vanilla - if you didn't use vanilla milk

Steps:

Place the flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium bowl and whisk with a wire whisk to combine well. Add the eggs, butter, oil, acorn squash puree and 1-1/2 cups of the milk; beat with the whisk just until smooth. Add more milk as needed to thin the batter to a pouring consistency, make sure to keep it thick. Pour into preheated waffle iron and cook until crisp. I also make a double/triple batch of these and put them in the freezer. Put frozen into the toaster and they come out just like they were freshly made!