Chicken Noodle Soup

Today was definitely a chicken soup day. The wind was blowing, it's been colder than heck, my son ended up staying home from school with 'the fever' again, my DH was feeling crummy as well and requested some chicken noodle soup. So I did what I normally do on days like today and whipped up some homemade soup. There are a ton of short cuts for making soup that includes using store bought broth. This is something I just can't bring myself to do when making this soup, only because homemade stock is so easy to make.

When it came time to throw the soup together, I had the luxury of heading out to my garden and to pull some of the carrots that are still in the ground. There is nothing like fresh carrots in chicken noodle soup.

So here's the recipe from start to finish the truly homemade way.

Chicken Stock
1 3-4 lb Whole Chicken
5-6 Cups water
1 Onion coarsely chopped
1 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon ground pepper

Place whole chicken in a stock pot and add water. Add onions, salt and pepper. Place on stove over high heat, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Strain broth and set in refrigerator for 6-8 hours. Once chicken is cool, remove meat from bones and refrigerate meat until ready to use in soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup
3 Medium Carrots, diced
3 Stalk celery, diced
1 Medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon butter
Chicken stock
Cooked chicken, diced
6-8 Oz. wide egg noodles
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, carrots, onions and celery. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add chicken, cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. (You can add a few cups of water if needed.) Add egg noodles and cook until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Hot Apple Cider

A few (maybe ten) years ago, Bob and I went to a little town called Oregon Illinois during their Fall Festival. I had HOT apple cider for the first time, and just couldn't get enough. Since then, I like to make hot mulled cider in the crock pot this time of year.


Hot Apple Cider

1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 quarts of cider
1 teaspoon of whole allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
Orange slices

Place whole allspice and whole cloves into a tea strainer. Put all ingredients into the crock pot. Cover. Cook on LOW for 2 to 8 hours. Use a ladle to serve cider directly from the crock pot.


@PamperingBecki on twitter gives a recommendation for making Pumpkin Pie Spice coffee on her blog here along with ten random things. Don't pat her on the but if you like it. Trust me...

Lentils With Chicken and Kielbasa

It appears that we went straight from summer to winter as it is snowing like crazy outside and it was 80 degrees just a week ago. Hopefully we'll see some nice fall days and the snow isn't a sign of what kind of winter we will have.

The cooler temperatures call for some heartier meals and so last night I decided to make up a pot of lentils. I baked a few chicken breast that I had seasoned and added that to the lentils, but left over rotisserie chicken would work just as well. The sausage gives it just a little extra flavor and the home grown carrots, of which I have an abundance, provided a little sweetness to the mix.

Lentils With Chicken and Kielbasa
1 lb lentils
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large carrots, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large celery stocks, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 chicken breasts, baked,diced and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 package cooked kielbasa cut in half, sliced and sauteed until slightly browned
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
Salt and pepper

Rinse lentils, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes and drain. Set aside.

In a large stock pot heat oil and add carrots, onion, celery, red pepper and garlic. Saute vegetables until they are slightly tender, about 10 minutes. Add lentils, broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered (with the lid not completely closed) until lentils are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Add cumin, paprika, chicken and sausage. Stir well and simmer another 10 minutes (most of the liquid will be absorbed). Salt and pepper to taste and serve with sourdough bread.

Proper Use of Paprika: Think of the Children!

On Friday Bob and I took my uncle to Dunkin Donuts, where I saw the cutest t-shirt.



Little did I know that I'd be reminded of it on Saturday....

Saturday I went to the Supermarket, and while I was there, I was looking for paprika. You will not believe what they did! They hid the Pride of Szezed brand Paprika! I know! What a dasterdly deed! The domestic brands of paprika were in plain site, but I had to move stock around on the TOP SHELF to find the good stuff.

That's when I realized that friends don't let friends buy inferior paprika, either! And you, our blog readers, are our friends. The title of our blog suggests our love for paprika...really, you could add it to anything except dessert and coffee! My daddy used to add paprika to my baby food!

Folks, I don't care what coffee your drink. Really. I used to feel that Starbucks was only slightly better, but cost a heckuva lot more, but since then, the price of coffee at Dunkin Donuts went up. So really, do what you want there. I personally prefer to make my own pot. Of coffee...

But you must take care in the brand of Paprika you buy. It's for the good of the children...




My friend Wendy has a blog carnival called Life is Funny that she posts every Monday. Come check it out, and join the fun. Weeeeeeee!

Lemon Basil Pasta

Unless it is this.

This is something I make when it is too hot to cook (which it has been) and while a stove is required, it's ready in about 15 minutes so I hardly consider that slaving over a hot stove.

My zucchini and squash aren't quite ready yet so I had to buy some, but yes, that is my home grown basil and it is pretty darn fantastic. (With the leftover pasta, I whipped up some homemade pesto and mixed that in the next day. Good stuff.)

Lemon Basil Pasta
1 Medium Zucchini, Sliced
1 Medium Yellow Squash, Sliced
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves, Chopped
1 Lemon, Zested and Cut In Half
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Plus 2 Tablespoons
1 13 oz Box of Multigrain Penne Rigate Pasta
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated

Cook pasta according to directions (until al dente), drain and set aside.

In a bowl, combine lemon zest and the juice of the lemon. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Add to pasta and toss to coat.

In a skillet, heat the two tablespoons of olive oil and add garlic. Heat for about 30 seconds and add zucchini and squash. Saute until vegetables are slightly crisp. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Add to pasta and stir. Top with fresh Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.

Beer Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

Okay people, a recipe blog is not the right place for a life is funny post? Tough toenails! I had TWO glasses of scotch with honey, and I will post where I darn well please. Or at least where I have access!

Today mom wasn't feeling well, so I called Bob at work, and told him to come home with something simple to cook. I was supposed to go grocery shopping, but wasn't going to leave mom alone when she is sick. I had nothing in the house to cook. Nada. Zilch. Nunzig. Get the picture. I told him to bring home anything he wants that take less than thirty minutes to cook. The man of the house brought home bratwurst. An excellent choice. But did he bring home any side dishes to go with that. NO! HE DIDN't! He just figured we'd eat brats and bread. HELLOOOOOOOO! I'm on Atkins! I don't do bread! So I went to my cupboard, and found an emergency stash of sauerkraut. Who keeps an emergency stash of sauerkraut? Apparently I do, because there it was!
I made my famous (or infamous, depending the source) Microwave Beer Brats!
The recipe is:


Beer Brats with Sauerkraut
1 pound (or more, who cares so long as they fit in the container) fresh bratwurst
1 bottle of beer (the cheaper the better. Who wants to cook with expensive beer?)
1 can of sauerkraut.


Put brats in a microwave container. Pour beer over brats. Cover. Microwave on high for 10 minutes. Stir brats. Microwave on high, covered for another 10 minutes. Add sauerkraut and cover without heating for another 5 minutes. Serve. If your microwave is does not have a turntable, rotate the container about three times during the cooking time.

Why did I post this on life is funny? The fact that I have an emergency stash of sauerkraut is giving me the giggles...since my second glass of scotch and honey...

Potato Salad

OK, today's recipe is brought to you by my Captain Obvious persona.

You see, during the summer, I NEVER buy Potato Salad. I don't trust the stores to have properly refrigerated it upon delivery. If mayonaisse is left out for a couple of hours during the summer, say goodbye pool, hello salmonella.

My family, however, likes potato salad. They especially like my aunt's who was kind enough to give me her recipe. I trust me and my own kitchen, so I make my own potato salad during the summer.

Potato Salad.
Ingredients
*Six large Idaho Potatos (My aunt boils them. I prefer to bake them. It is easier, and the salad tastes more potatoey.)
Three hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1 cup of mayonaise (Captain Obvious suggests less if you prefer it drier, and more if you prefer it creamier)
1 Tablespoon of Paprika
*Red potatoes are also good. They give an entirely different flavor, as do Yukon Gold. These are smaller potatoes, so Captain Obvious suggests you use more..
Peal the skin from the cooked potato. Cut it into small pieces. Mix in the chopped hard boiled eggs. Add the mayonaisse, and mix. Place the sliced hard boiled eggs over the potato salad. Sprinkle the paprika over it. Refrigerate until serving.


I hope you enjoy this family recipe. As is true of most of my family recipes, you have to use your own judgement to determine your own family's preferences. But then, isn't that what we all do with any of our recipes?