Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

2-3 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1 Quart Organic Chicken Broth

1-1.5 Cups Water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 Stalks Celery, medium diced

3 Carrots, peeled and medium diced

1 Leek, diced

Dried Thyme

About 2 cups uncooked whole-wheat egg noodles

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Turn oven to 400 degrees, and roast chicken sprinkled with salt and pepper (or any desired seasoning) until fully cooked (abt 30-40 minutes for 2 breasts). When done, shred and cut up chicken to bite size pieces.

2. Put oil in pan, and saute celery, leeks, and carrots for about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, pour chicken broth and water into pot, and bring to a soft boil. Pour in egg noodles and let them start cooking. As noodles cook, add more water if necessary.

4. After sautéed vegetables are tender, put them into broth mixture. Also add the chicken to the broth.

5. Add a couple teaspoons of thyme and some salt and pepper.

Ready to eat once the egg noodles are cooked!

EASY Home Made Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of my favorites. Super easy. We eat this a lot.

Chicken Pot Pie

~One double pie crust- (you can buy this ready made next to the refrigerated biscuits if you're in a pinch and don't have time to make your own. I always have one ready made crust on had so I can pop this dinner in the oven when I'm in a hurry.)
~One can of chicken, (we buy ours at Costco)
~ one can cream of mushroom soup
~ one bag mixed frozen veggies
~a hand full grated cheese
~ sprinkle as much garlic salt as you think you would like

Line pie plate with one crust. Mix chicken, soup, veggies, cheese, and garlic salt. Fill pie crust. Cover with top crust. Cover edges of pie with foil so they don't over brown in the baking process.
Bake for 40-45 min at 425 degrees (or according to pie crust instructions) uncovering edges for the last 10 min of baking.

Hope you make it and enjoy it!

Pasta Something with Asparagus and Artichokes

Here is a pasta recipe that my mother-in-law printed from online the last time she was down to visit. The name isn't printed on the paper, so I don't know the name. You can make up your own name for it. :) I have this recipe several times with a few variations of what I want to add to it (balsamic vinegar instead of a dressing, extra bacon, add can of diced tomatoes, etc.), leaving out what I don't have(asparagus).
Ok here are the ingredients:

6 slices bacon
10 asparagus spears, ends trimmed
1/2 (16oz) package Rotini, elbow, or Penne pasta
4 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (60z) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1 cooked chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 toasted sliced almonds
salt and pepper to taste

Place bacon in large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add asparagus and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Strain asparagus out of water and immediately plunge into a bowl filled with ice water; let sit in ice water until completely cold, then cut into 1 inch pieces. Next. add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente; drain, rinse with cold water until chilled, then drain well.
Stir together mayonnaise, balsamic vinaigrette, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Fold in artichoke, chicken, cranberries, almonds, crumbled bacon, and asparagus. Season to taste with salt and peeper, then fold in cooked pasta. Refrigerate for at lest 1 hour before serving.

The times I've made it, I added the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, or balsamic vinegar to taste, without measuring. I don't know what it tastes like with those exact measurements, but I really like it. Hope you try it and like it too!

Crockpot Chicken=Dinner for 3 days!

I got this idea from my cousin and it's wonderful! So I'll just copy most of her text. I love this, because Richard is not very good at feeding himself, unless it is 'ready to go'. And because I'm not home every night, this was a great way to have an actual dinner set aside, without very much effort at all.

It all began with a crock pot, a jar of salsa and a bag full of chicken breasts. I added them all together and cooked on low for 8 hours.
NOTE: I DIDN'T ADD A WHOLE BAG--JUST 4 PIECES, AND IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT 5 1/2 HOURS TO COOK. THIS WAS THE PERFECT AMOUNT, MAYBE EVEN JUST A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH FOR JUST THE 2 OF US.

Then - I shredded the chicken and could make three different things:

Chicken Quesidillas
Cheese
green peppers/yellow/red
Onions
Tomatoes
Chicken

I like to cook the onions and peppers in butter ahead so they are a bit soft. Then I butter a tortilla and layer it in a frying pan with a combo of any of the above toppings - add another buttered tortilla on top and cook on low! Turn only once. You dont want to burn the tortilla before you melt the cheese (it is what amateurs do). If you are an amateur - try putting them on a baking sheet and baking them in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted (about 14 mins). Serve with guacamole and sour cream.

Sunset Chicken Enchiladas
3 cups shredded skinned cooked chicken
2 cups sour cream
About 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz.)
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use way less)
12 corn tortillas
1 jar (16 oz.) salsa

1. In a bowl, mix chicken, sour cream, 2 cups shredded cheese, and the salt.
2. Heat oil in an 8- to 10-inch frying pan over low heat. Dip the tortillas, one at a time, in the hot oil just until limp, about 5 seconds. Let them cool in layered between paper towels. (Or I just use flour tortillas and skip this part because I have an aversion to corn tortillas).
3. Fill tortillas equally with chicken mixture, roll up, and arrange side by side, seam down, in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Pour salsa evenly over the top (I actually mixed 1/2 salsa and 1/2 green enchilada sauce and it was pretty good too).
4. Bake in a 350° oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. If desired, sprinkle more shredded cheese over hot enchiladas before serving.



Chicken Burritos
Beans of your liking
Shredded lettuce
Tomatoes
Cheese
Chicken
Avocados
Onions
Sour cream
Salsa

Put out bowls of everything and let everyone create their own.

Yum, Michael is ready to eat! :)