Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

09/08/2010

Lately Jason and I have been buying whole chickens from the grocery store. They’re pretty inexpensive and we end up getting several meals out of one. We cook the whole thing in the crockpot with seasonings and fresh herbs sprinkled on top. After 6-8 hours the cooked chicken is tender and tasty and there is a bit of broth left in the bottom of the pot. After we’ve had 1 or 2 meals with chicken, I like to use the broth and the small bits of leftover chicken to make soup.

For Chicken Noodle Soup you need:

carrots (2) chopped
celery (3 stalks) chopped
broth/boullion
chicken (cooked & chopped up)
noodles
salt, pepper, bay leaf and/or other seasoning to taste

First I like to peel the carrots.

Then I prep the celery for chopping. I decided to cook the leafy parts of the stalks for flavor but left them whole so I could fish them out later.

Chop the carrots and celery up into small chunks.

Cut the chicken into bit-size pieces.

I added a bay leaf, 5-6 balls of all spice, a boullion cube and some water.

Then I added the carrots, celery, chicken, and about 1 cup of noodles. I recommend using bigger noodles than this. These fine egg noodles get so soft and don’t really hold their own in this soup.

Cook for a couple of hours and then fish out the bay leaf, all spice and leafy celery parts.

Done! I made this soup on the same day as the tomato basil soup so I decided to freeze all of it. In other words, I forgot to take a picture of the finished soup in a nice bowl.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

09/03/2010

The first fruits from our key lime (Mexican lime) tree! They’re so little and cute.

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Bathroom Renovation Stage 14: FINISHED!

09/01/2010

I just looked up my first post about our bathroom renovation and was shocked that it was almost exactly 1 year ago! Wow! I doesn’t feel like it’s been a year. I guess that’s partly because we had a usable toilet almost the whole time, a usable shower after 5 months (the most labor intensive part of the project) and a usable sink and vanity after 8 months.

Before I go on to show pictures of the finished bathroom, I need to reminisce a little. Here’s a look at where we started:

Remember that this room was originally a bedroom and was turned into a master bathroom and laundry room at last minute and when the house flippers ran out of money. (We’re assuming anyway.) Before layout and our plans for the renovation:

We pretty much stuck to that plan except some of the scale seems to be off here. The shower is 4′ x 5′ as it says but we decided not to do a door or a built in bench. Also, we decided we only wanted one sink on the vanity. (Marriage Advice: Have 1 sink in the bathroom. Learn to take turns!)

OK, HERE ARE THE PICTURES OF THE FINISHED BATHROOM!! (Yes, I’m yelling!)

New door installed between the bathroom and laundry room.

Baseboards on, caulked and painted.

Our hope for this room was that it would be a totally relaxing spa-like space.

See all of my bathroom renovation posts here.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Tomato Basil Soup – Garden Fresh!

08/30/2010

I love soup and I love to make soup. Tomato Basil Soup is one of my summer time favorites, especially when I can use fresh tomatoes from the garden!

Ingredients:
tomatoes, any kind. I used about 10 beef steak
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium baking potato, finely chopped
1.25 cup broth
12 or so basil leaves. I prefer sweet basil
1 clove of garlic
heavy cream or sour cream (optional)
splash of extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Start out by pouring a splash of olive oil into a big soup pot.

Chop up the potato and onion and throw them in the pot once the oil is hot. The potato is the unsung hero in this soup – don’t leave it out; it’s essential for the right texture/thickness.

Cook the onion and potato for 10-15 minutes but don’t let it brown.

Meanwhile cut up the tomatoes. Cut the tops off and then cut the rest into quarters.

My favorite thing about this recipe – no need to remove the skin or seeds!

Dump the tomatoes in with the onion and potato in the pot.

Add 1 clove of chopped garlic.

Pour the broth over top. (I use chicken boullion cubes & water.)

Cover and let simmer for about 25 minutes.

At this point, let the soup cool a little and then carefully blend it in small batches. Or … if you have the greatest kitchen invention ever (no, not a Kitchenaid Mixer …) a Braun multi-purpose blender … use the handheld blender to blend the soup up right in the pot. Wear an oven mitt and you don’t even need to let it cool!

Pick and wash 12 or so fresh basil leaves. I started with 6 and realized that wasn’t enough for my taste.

Chop them up and set aside a few pinches for garnish. Mix the rest into the soup.

Depending on the flavor strength of your broth and the sweetness of your tomatoes, add salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve with a dallop of cream (or a drizzle of half & half if it’s all you have …) and a bit of chopped basil. A piece of toast is nice compliment.

If you make this, let me know how it goes!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

08/27/2010

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Treats from Scandinavia & the Faroes

08/26/2010

Because he is a thoughtful sweet husband, Jason brought back some presents from his travels! In Sweden he went to H&M and bought me this lovely dress:

Sidenote: Whose husband buys her dresses? Mine does! Jason has a great eye for fashion and he always picks out really pretty things for me that I’m not brave enough to choose for myself – but I always end up getting lots of compliments on his selections! (Skirts, dresses, shirts, sweaters … even a bikini, once!)

I love hats, especially warm hats in the winter. This one Jason got me is more of an ear-warmer or headband I guess but it’s really wide, almost like a topless stocking cap. It’s hand knit with local wool from the Faroe Islands, where sheep out number people 4 to 1.

And CHOCOLATE! I loooove European chocolate. (I only eat Hersheys chocolate under desperate circumstances. I think it tastes waxy.)

Hazelnut chocolate bars are my favorite and I was informed that this one from Sweden is all for me. 🙂

Jason also got himself a few things. Several shirts from H&M, not pictured, and some new kicks from the Faroes.

Hooray for functional souvenirs!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

I made a hat!

08/23/2010

One of my favorite kiddos just turned 1 a few weeks ago and I decided to dust off my sewing skills and make this little cap with the pattern from Leila & Ben.

It came out pretty well. I haven’t sewn with a pattern in years and I had a few boo-boos but that’s what the seam ripper was made for!

The first time I turned this right side out the brim was on the inside, between the liner and outer fabric. Oops! Next time it’ll be a lot easier.

And that’s the great thing about buying a pattern – I can remake this as many times as I want with different fabrics. For $6 that seems like a pretty good deal.

I just realized as I was posting this that I bought myself a similar shaped hat a few months ago at Target. I wonder if I could adapt this pattern for adult size …

(Top photo is from Leila & Ben. The rest are mine.)

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

08/20/2010

Calculating the time difference between me and my heart. (Now, we’re back in the same time zone, thank God!)

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Posted by mahlbrandt

No Bake Oatmeal Cookies

08/16/2010

Some people call them No Bakes. I always called them Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. Whatever you call them, they’re quick and easy and tasty and I’m not sure why in my adult life I have never made them. Jason had a few made by my mom a few months ago and has since requested that I make them.

Last night I finally went hunting for the recipe card over at mom’s. Here they’re called No Bake Oatmeal Cookies. I love old handwritten recipe cards, don’t you? I love how it’s all dirty and worn and has penciled-in notes for halfing the recipe.

I pulled together all the ingredients. Thankfully, I had everything on hand except oatmeal. Dang, what’s a lot of sugar. These are basically candy … Also, I had to ask a friend what oleo is. (Butter) I use salted butter so I skip the pinch of salt in the recipe.

I made these as a surprise for Jason so hopefully he’s not reading this. (Are you, babe?) They came out pretty freaking good. I hope he likes! 🙂

Here’s the recipe/directions if you want to make some of your own:

Pour 2 cups sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, 1/2 cup milk and 1 stick of butter into a saucepan. Heat to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 4 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla and 3-3.5 cups of oatmeal. Drop spoonfuls onto a wax paper or foil and allow to cool. Enjoy!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

08/13/2010

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Posted by mahlbrandt

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