Chicken Soup to Soothe the Soul

Since I'm taking a small break from planning meals (since I would be the only one eating them and I still have three meals purchase for the cooking from last week's menu), I thought I would post the thing that I am (and just did) cooking for this week's menu....Chicken Noodle Soup for my husband and Chicken Noodles for my daughter.

I started making chicken noodle soup after college for sick roommates, friends, boyfriends and occasionally for myself (isn't that funny how that works out).  I don't know of the medical facts that say what it cures or wards off, but I know that I feel better when eating homemade chicken noodle soup, and I'm really big on trying to make other people feel better when they aren't feeling their best; I don't like to see people not feeling well and there's really not too much I can do....other than cooking or baking them something.  So, with my husband under the weather and not wanting to eat a lot (forever is how long he's thinking he's not going to eat), I decided to soup it up! 

I thought I would explain my "recipe" in case there are any of you out there that haven't made soup enough that you just wing it (like I do now). 

(You don't need everything here....I usually use what I have in the house and pick up minimal things from the store)

Chicken Noodle Soup:

1/2 stick of Butter
2-3 cans/cartons of Chicken Stock or Broth  (If someone is really sick, I go for the stock---I don't know why...I'm crazy and think it will bring them back to life). 
2-4 Cloves of Garlic
1 White or Yellow Onion
Celery
Carrots
Salt
Pepper
*Optional:  Celery Seed, Dried Rosemary, Dried Oregano
1 Rotisserie Chicken (the ones waiting for you at the checkout at the grocery store)
Noodles *Any kind really, but I like the little Stars and Ditalini since they are small (they are usually sold in bags in the noodle aisle. 
*Optional Green Beans, Spinach, other veggies

-Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a pan.  Throw in 1 chopped onion, garlic, chopped celery, carrots, salt and pepper.  Cook for about 5-10mins on medium heat.  Add other seasons if desires (I add probably about a 1 tsp of celery seed, and 1 tbs of rosemary and oregano). 

-Add Chicken Stock/Broth.  (depending on how much you use and the noodle/liquid ratio you desire, you may want to add a couple of cups of water.  You can also do this at the end to get the desired soupy-ness.)

-While the soup is coming to a boil, chop up the meat on the rotisserie chicken and add it to the soup.  (I also use the drippings from the bag/container that had the chicken.)

-Once it reaches a boil, add in the noodles.  Like everything else, I use the amount the occasion or illness calls for (or what I have on hand)

-You only have to cook it for about 10-20 minutes depending on your noodle choices. 

NOW YOU HAVE DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY SOUP!!!


When making soup today, I also made a batch of chicken and veggie noodles for my daughter since it's healthy and I was going to have everything on hand for cooking.  Here is what I did....

Altering the above recipe for TODDLER CHICKEN NOODLES (and a batch of soup, too!):

-I made the butter, onion, garlic, veggie mixture in one deep pan.  Once I finished that step, I transfer about half of it to a stock pot for the soup and left some for the noodles. 

-I added about 2 cups of broth/stock to the pan. 

-I chopped up the chicken and divided it up about even (The soup had about 4 cups of broth/stock and I added water, so it was significantly soup-ier). 

-I added frozen green beans and finely chopped spinach.

-I added noodles (probably about 1/2 cup Stars and 1 cup Ditalini). 

-Simmer on medium heat until all liquid is absorbed.  (if there is too much liquid and you know the noodles are done cooking, just add in some cornstarch to thicken)

*I freeze this healthy noodle deliciousness in ice cube trays (or in silicon muffin cups), then place them in plastic bags in the freezer.  That way I can just throw a couple of chicken noodle cubes in the microwave and we're ready to eat.  My daughter really loves this dish and it is SUPER easy.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.  I'm sure you can see why I don't write more of my own recipes on my blog....I "talk" way too much through them. 

Hope everyone is healthy and well....if not, soup up!

4th Bed's the Charm...

Yes, we got our daughter another bed.  And yes, this is the 4th bed she's had in her whopping 18 month lifetime.  Bed 1 was her crib....bed 2 was the toddler bed that we stumbled into owning for $10...bed 3 was our guest full-size bed that we used when she hated the toddler bed....and bed 4 is a twin bed that we got for $25 from a friend (bedding and all) so that we can reclaim our guest bed. 
The good news with all of this moving and bed-changing is that we have finally had 3 successful nights of sleep, something we hadn't had for a couple of months now.  Caroline has slept the past 3 nights from 8:30/9pm until anywhere from 7am-8:30am.  Now, I must also say that the past 3 nights she has been pooped out and crashed pretty hard from playing at parties and get-togethers.  Hopefully it's not only a sign of being super stinkin tired, but rather the next step in growing up. 
It's amazing how time flies.  I know everyone always says that (especially after you have a kid).  And I know how totally consuming some of those moments are with a newborn/infant where you feel so overwhelmed and can only focus on that thing--whether it's lack of sleep, the baby's crying, the dwindling energy or motivation.  It's so strange that once those moments pass, time has flown by, and your little one is changing right before your eyes. 

Sleeping Success!!

As some of you know from Facebook, we have been struggling to get our 18 month old daughter to sleep.  We moved about 3 months ago and finally got her into the groove when all of a sudden something switched.  She was a bear to get down...literally growling, smacking, and screaming.  Our once 10 minute routine was taking 2 hours and was unsuccessful.  Along with other personal craziness, this was tipping me off of the not-so-deep end.

Our attempt to resolve the situation was to move her to her big-girl room even if it was earlier than we had planned.  Through luck we had obtained a toddler bed for $10, so I reconfigured the guest room--moving the toddler bed to the corner, pushing the guest double bed off to the side, leaving the recliner in there (because I had no idea what it was going to take at this point---if she told me she wanted to sleep in the leather recliner, so help me, we would have let her), and moved the nightstand next to the toddler bed.  We made sure we closed all of the upstairs doors except for hers (which we left cracked) and ours (which we left a little more open), and of course we put up a child gate at the top of the stairs--geesh, there was a lot to do!  We even bought a $9 Dora LED nightlight that projects on the ceiling...we were at THAT point.  The first night when asked if she was ready for bed, Caroline jumped off of my lap and said, "Dora?".  She ran to the steps and was ready to go.  My heart skipped a beat. 

Well, it wasn't that easy.  We still had ups and downs.  Some nights she went down without a struggle after 15 minutes, others it was more like an hour and a half and 5 books to the face.  I think I only cried once, and from what I remember, Caroline didn't cry at all (we can clearly see who is stronger here).  We bought bed rails for the guest double bed which was beginning to look like Caroline's new bed since she didn't sleep but a couple of hours in the toddler bed, and I even bought a $60 white noise machine....oh, and also a $7 hippy lavender spray for her room (once again, desperate).  Our cheap switcheroo had now cost us over $100.  But I know that I can't put a price tag on it....and by "it" I am meaning my sleep and sanity. 

So long story not-so-short, last night Caroline slept from 9:15pm until 7am this morning!!  Of course my husband and I still complained about getting up early (I don't think that will ever change), but we were elated!  I think that we may be crossing into knew territory.  Here's hoping that we continue to see more long nights in our own bed and less nights sleeping in the recliner downstairs. 

Now, if I could just get over being freaked out when I wake up to seeing an 18 month old standing in the dark hallway outside of my bedroom in the middle of the night! 

"I look like this because of your daughter."

I know that many things go "down hill" after you have a child--sleep, weight, looks, complexion, sex drive, etc....I've heard it.  I never knew that I'd lose my hair...

My daughter is amazing.  She is creative, talented, funny, and a GREAT hair puller.  It's a fact that Caroline finds comfort in my hair.  Since birth, she's enjoyed twirling my hair when she sits on my lap, when she's tired, and when she's falling asleep.  It's a constant form of comfort for her. 

Tonight, while I was putting her to bed (aka: literally pinning her down to keep her from hopping off of the bed and playing with her toys), she relaxed as I sung to her and she twisted her fingers in the hair around my face.  She twirled and pulled my hair out of my ponytail and I continued to sing and unintelligible lullaby to her until she fell asleep.  Time and time again, my notes were made sharp by a tug and snap of my hair.  I honestly heard 10+ hairs snap from my head. 

In all of the parenting comments, notes, blogs, etc, that I've read, I've heard many comments about childhood behavior, but I've never been told about the hair pulling.  I've asked friends, and yes, other mothers are suffering from the same balding behaviors that trouble me.  So new or expecting mothers, be warned!!  Your little bundle of joy may be after your locks.   

I love my daughter dearly, but when she becomes a mother, I might just have to pull a few hairs out for good measure.  

Nothing but love for my life and my little one,
Jessie