Chicken Noodle Soup

I hope you're still in the mood for soup.

Because I am.

And that's what I'm making these days.

Soup.

Because part of me has always wanted to own a little restaurant.  One that would serve breakfast.

I have no idea what that has to do with chicken noodle soup either.

But you're going to want to make this recipe.  Since this is not your ordinary chicken noodle soup.

It has cream and Parmesan cheese in it.

Thank you, Paula Deen.

When Matthew and I lived in Colorado, we were young.  I mean really.  So I saw Paula make this soup on her show.  And I looked outside and saw that it was snowing.  (It was probably April or May, just for reference.)  And so I made this soup.  And over the eight years that I've been making this soup, I have perfected the recipe.  (No offense, Pauler.  You know I love you.)

And so you must make this perfect pot of soup now.

You have to make the stock first.  Put a whole chicken in a big pot and add 3 1/2 quarts of water.

Put it on the stove and while it's coming up to a boil, chop up an onion and add it

And garlic

and lots of salt and pepper and Italian seasoning.

Let it go for awhile.  You want the chicken to be cooked through and falling off the bone.  It should be super tender.

While the chicken cooks, chop up some celery and carrots.

Take out the chicken and let it rest.  I used bone-in chicken breasts.  They were in the freezer.  But you'll want to use a whole chicken.  More flavor, better stock, better soup.  For sure.

Cook the carrots and celery for awhile.  When the chicken is cool, pull it apart.

When the chicken is pulled and the carrots and celery are cooked, get out your noodles.

This is what makes this soup so delicious.  They're in the freezer section and you must try them.

They seriously taste like homemade noodles.

Add the chicken and noodles to the pot and let the noodles go for 10-15 minutes or so.  You just want the noodles to be tender.

Remember the cream and Parmesan I mentioned earlier?  It's time.

Chicken Noodle Soup


3 1/2 quarts water
Whole chicken, about 3 pounds, giblets removed
2 T salt
2 tsp pepper
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 lb celery, ends trimmed and sliced thin
12 oz. frozen homestyle egg noodles (like Reames brand)
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 T Italian parsley, minced

Place the chicken in a large sauce pan.  Add the water, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil on the stove and simmer until the chicken falls off the bone (about 1 1/2 hours).

Remove the chicken from the stock.  Return the stock to a boil and add the carrots and celery.  Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

While the vegetables cook, shred the chicken into large bite-size pieces.  When the vegetables are ready, return the chicken to the pot and add the noodles.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the noodles are tender.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, cheese and parsley.

Serve immediately.  This is also really delicious leftover.

Sweet Spots

Because it's Friday and practically the weekend already...

And because we had two good soups this week...

Allow me to introduce you to Sweet Spots.

A fabulously chewy peanut butter cookie with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup plunked in the middle of it as soon as it comes out of the oven.


I put Hershey's Kisses in a few of them because that's what the traditional recipe calls for.


But in my world, you can never have too much peanut butter and too much chocolate.  Together.  Forever.

This is the easiest cookie in the world.

It has five ingredients for the cookie itself (not counting the sweet spot that goes on top).

Baking mix (Bisquick or Jiffy are good), sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla.

Sugar is the fifth ingredient, and you'll need that to roll the peanut butter dough balls in before you bake them.

And you'll want a little tiny scoop this size to make sure that your proportion of cookie to peanut butter cup is appropriate.  I mean, it would be tragic to have a giant cookie and a little tiny peanut butter cup perched on top.  That would be simply ridiculous.


Once you mix up the dough, just use your scoop to put the dough balls directly into the sugar.














Roll 'em around and put them on the baking sheet.

They're not going to spread out much (like, not at all), so you can put them close together.

This recipe makes about 36 cookies, so while they're baking, quickly unwrap 36 peanut butter cups or kisses or a combo of both.  I did a combo this time.  But next time I'm going straight up peanut butter cups.  All the way.

Better unwrap fast, though.  Because these cookies are so tiny, they only take 5 minutes to bake.

As soon as they come out, press the candy down in the middle of the cookie.

The heat from the cookie melts the chocolate, and this is my favorite way to eat them: ooey gooey and melty chocolatey.

Or you can let them sit and the chocolate will harden as they cool.  Personally, I like to try them both ways.  I just never can remember which way is my favorite.

Notice the ratio of cookie to peanut butter cup.  That's all I'm going to say.  Besides make these today.

Sweet Spots


14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups baking mix (like Bisquick or Jiffy)
1 cup white sugar
36-40 peanut butter cups or chocolate kisses (or a combo), unwrapped

In a mixer, blend together the first three ingredients.  When they are combined, add the baking mix and mix briefly until just combined.  Do not overmix.

Use a small scoop to scoop the dough into small balls, roll them in sugar and place them on a baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.

As soon as you take the cookies from the oven, lightly press a candy into the top of the cookie.  Allow the cookies to cool for several hours for the chocolate to harden again.

Vegetable Soup

You know when you go to a restaurant, and they tell you the soup of the day?

Well, I'm the kind of person that is happy when the soup of the day is loaded baked potato.

And I am so disappointed when the waiter reports that the soup of the day is vegetable soup.

I mean, come on!

Most vegetable soups are too brothy and anemic when it comes to vegetables.  I want something thick with chunky vegetables.

There's only one vegetable soup that I get excited about.



And this is it.  It's my mom's vegetable soup.  And it's the best vegetable soup I've ever had.

It has virtually no fat but so much flavor that you won't believe it.  You've got to make this.  I'm serious.




Start with a tablespoon of olive oil and saute an onion.

After a few minutes, dump in the vegetables - carrots, baby lima beans, petite peas, corn, green beans and tomatoes.

It's important to use baby Limas because the regular ones are just gross.  And for the record, this is the only situation in which I will eat any type of Lima bean.

I like to use these seasoned green beans because they add a lot of flavor to the soup.  Plus they're called "Kentucky Wonder Style."  Whatever that is.

Add some tomato sauce.

Stir it up.

Add some salt and pepper.

Let it simmer for about an hour.

Serve.

Yum.

Vegetable Soup

1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
12 oz. bag frozen carrots
12 oz. bag frozen peas
16 oz. bag frozen corn
12 oz. bag frozen Lima beans (about 1 1/2 cups)
28 oz. can green beans (recommended: Allens Seasoned Cut Italian Green Beans Kentucky Wonder Style)
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper

Saute the onion in the olive oil in a large soup pot for about 8 minutes.  Add the frozen vegetables, the diced tomatoes with the juice and the tomato sauce.  Stir and add the salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

You'll need to sit down for this.

I have two healthy soups for you.

Two.  Healthy.  Soups.

As in, not a lot of calories or fat and they contain ingredients that are good for you.


I'm ruining my reputation here.

But that's okay because these soups have flavor, ya'll.


And the good news is that healthy soup = cookies on Friday.  I'm looking out for you.

This soup is called Spicy Black Bean Soup for a good reason: it's spicy.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

I'm getting more clever every day with naming my recipes.

Okay, so start with a little bit of olive oil and saute TWO onions.  Seems like a lot, but the sweet onion balances the spicy peppers.

When that gets nice and soft, add the jalapenos and green chiles.

We'll add the rest of this stuff in a minute.

And if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen.  (What is that from???)

Next is the garlic and bell pepper.  Chop it up.  And feel free to use your 1-year-old's sunglasses while you're at it.  Because she's probably wearing yours about now.

Add the red pepper to the soup and saute it for a few minutes.



Then drain and rinse two of the three cans of black beans.

Dump 'em in.






The third can gets the special treatment.

Drain off most of the juice.

Then stick a fork down in there and mash up those beans.  This gives the soup a thicker texture.  And if there's one thing I don't like, it's runny soup.

Okay, dump those into the soup too.  And add the seasonings and let it cook for a few minutes.  The heat really lets the spices develop.

Whatever that means.

Now add the two cans of tomatoes with all of their juice and the chicken stock.

Let it simmer for 30 minutes.  Turn off the heat and squeeze in the juice of two limes.  Stir it up.  Ladel it into bowls.

Top with a small scoop of sour cream (you need it to cool those hot jalapenos) and a little bit of shredded jack cheese.

This soup is killer.  And it just gets better with time - I've been eating it leftover all week and it's even better than the first day I made it.

Oh!  And it would be amazing spooned over cilantro-lime rice.


Spicy Black Bean Soup
1 T olive oil
2 sweet onions, chopped
4 oz. can chopped jalapenos
7 oz. can chopped green chiles
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can black beans, most of the liquid poured off and the beans mashed in the can with a fork
1 tsp salt
2 T cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
15 oz. diced tomatoes
10 oz. can Rotel
2 cups chicken stock
Juice of 2 limes
Toppings: sour cream, grated Monterey Jack cheese and chopped cilantro

Saute the onions in the olive oil in a soup pot for about 8-10 minutes.  Add the jalapenos, green chiles, red bell pepper and garlic and saute for another 5 minutes, stirring often.

Pour in the two cans of rinsed black beans and the third can of mashed black beans and stir well.  Add the salt, cumin, coriander, chili powder and cook together for five minutes.

Pour in the tomatoes with their juice and the chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add the lime juice.  Stir well and serve with a dollop of sour cream, cheese and a little cilantro sprinkled on top.  Or serve it over cilantro lime rice with the sour cream and cheese on top.

Sausage in Puff Pastry

This is like pigs in a blanket.  Except you don't have to be a kid to like it.  And you can have it for dinner.

Paula Deen calls it hogs in a sleeping bag.  Sort of gross and sort of funny.

This is a cinch.  And you're going to love it.

You'll need to thaw a box of frozen puff pastry sheets.  You'll need one sheet per pound of turkey kielbasa.




Cut the sheet into four squares.


And then cut the pound of kielbasa into four pieces.











Now wrap them up!

And put them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

And you can brush them with egg wash if you would like.  But the puff pastry browns quite nicely without it, so it's up to you.

Now bake them!

They're just delicious.  Serve 'em with some fruit and something green.

Your family will thank you.

Sausage in Puff Pastry

1 lb. turkey kielbasa, cut into four even pieces
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed (from a 17-oz. box), cut into four squares

Wrap the kielbasa in the puff pastry.  Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400 for 18-22 minutes.

Layer Salad

This recipe is just like chocolate sheet cake.

Except for the fact that chocolate sheet cake is, well...dessert, and layer salad is, well...a salad.

Other than that, it's exactly the same.

Here's why it's the same: because everyone grew up eating it and each family's version is slightly different than the next.

Can I get a witness here?

On the subject of sheet cake, I'll have to share that one with you some day.  It's ridiculous.

But this is layer salad.

It has lettuce.  But not too much.  Because salad is so not about the lettuce.

Oh, and be warned: this makes a lot of salad.  Don't say I didn't warn you when you have to transfer it to a bigger bowl.

It has peas.  Which I love.

It has green onions.  So fresh.  They're under the peas.  At least I think they are.

It has turkey bacon.  A full pound.  Need I say more?

It has tomatoes.  So red.

It has eggs.  If you don't like eggs, you should seek counseling because that's simply not normal to not like eggs.

It has cheese.  Not quite a pound.  In this case, a full pound of cheese would've simply been too much.  Yes, even I think it's possible to have too much cheese.  Rarely, though.

And as for the dressing, I just can't do the straight-up mayonnaise thing.  Even though that's traditional in some parts.  Even though I do love me some mayo.

I like to cut it with a little sour cream, vinegar, and sugar.

Only in my world is it even possible to even "cut" mayonnaise with sugar.

My world is fun!  Come on in and join me.

The dressing ends up not exactly tasting sweet, just perfectly delicious.  And just a little sweet.

I like sweet, okay?  That's why I'm getting on the treadmill as soon as I post this recipe.  Because in my world, I have to run even after eating salad.

I made this in the morning and then just tossed it all together right before dinner.  It's even good left over the next day.

Lexington Layer Salad
Adapted from Pioneer Woman and my family's version of Layer Salad

1 head iceberg lettuce, sliced very thin
12 oz. bag frozen peas, defrosted and kept cold
2 bunches green onions, sliced thin
8 oz. container of grape tomatoes, cut in half
8 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and smashed with a fork
1 pound turkey bacon, cooked until crisp and drained on a paper towel, and crumbled
12 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

Dressing:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 T white vinegar

In a bowl, layer the lettuce, peas, green onions, tomatoes, eggs, turkey bacon and cheese.  Whisk the dressing ingredients together and spread it on top.

This keeps well in the refrigerator.  Can be made up to 12 hours ahead and then tossed together right before ready to serve.  Or you can toss and serve immediately.