Creamy Chicken Soup for the Soul and Rolls

Have you ever had a friend that was sick and wanted to rush over some yummy homemade chicken noodle soup? Well I have and quite frankly I didn't have a good recipe until now. Thanks Beth. I heard that my friend Beth had an awesome soup recipe that was the best ever! Well it was. It does make enough to feed your whole neighborhood so if you are making it for your family half it. Right after I made it my friend called and was in tears about her poor sick kids. I ran it over and they loved it. She actually texted me later and said her daughter wanted to make sure they got the recipe.













Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

by Beth Goodman

6 carrots-peeled and diced
6 potatoes-peeled and diced
1 onion-diced
4 celery stalks-diced
12 c. water
12 chicken bouillon cubes
1-2 c. diced chicken-Beth shreds hers. ( I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco. I was just that lazy today )
2 sticks of butter-she said remember it makes A LOT
1 c. flour
8 oz jar cheez whiz- her secret weapon:)
2 c. egg noodles-cooked

Bring water and bouillon to boil. Add vegetables, partially cook them. In separate pan melt butter and flour on medium heat. When smooth, add to vegetables. Turn heat to medium low. Add cheez whiz and chicken. Simmer 30 min or until vegetables are cooked. Add egg noodles and serve.

Easy Homemade Rolls

These rolls were perfect with this soup. My niece-in-law Janece made these while we were in Arizona and I ate about 20. I loved them for so many reasons. The most important reason is that they don't have Crisco in them. Crisco freaks me out! They are so soft and stay soft even after they have cooled.

Easy Homemade Rolls

by Janece Perkins

Makes 2-3 dozen (She makes these before bed and lets them rise overnight- then again during church. I like them better when they are made all in the same day though)

Combine in a small bowl: 1 package of active dry yeast

1 Tb sugar

1 ½ Tb warm water

Stir and set aside.

Heat 1 cup milk to almost scalding- (Microwave about 1- 1 1/2 minutes)

Pour milk into a big bowl- add ½ cup melted butter and ½ cup sugar- stir till dissolved.When milk mixture is not too hot (warm to touch) add the yeast mix.

Beat three eggs with a fork and add to the mix.

Add ¾ tsp. salt.

Stir Add 2 cups sifted flour- Stir well.

Add another 2 cups sifted flour- stir well. ( By this point just use a spoon to stir and do your best to blend the flour).Dough will look sticky, bumpy and a little wet at this point! Don't worry- Place in a large bowl. Cover with saran wrap or a towel and leave 5-6 hours to rise till double.

Once dough has doubled in size divide into 3 sections and roll out dough into a circle 1/4 to 1/8 inches thick with flour. *I think the key to moist rolls is to try to use as little flour as you can get away with when rolling them out. I also rub soft butter on the circle before I cut it into triangles. Cut into triangles and roll into crescent shape.Place rolls on cookie sheet. Cover with a light towel and let rise 3-4 hours or until double.

Bake at 350 for 8-12 min. Keep a good eye on them- once they are done, they will brown quickly. Take out when they are just golden and beginning to brown- rub on melted butter.

Not Your Ordinary Banana Bread

Banana bread has a reputation of being so dry that your mouth is begging for some milk. Not this banana bread. This has some secret ingredients that make the bread so moist. Check it out.

Banana Bread

by Laura Denney

Cream:

¾ c. butter

2 eggs

1 ½ c. brown sugar

7 medium mashed bananas ( or about 3 cups)
*Here's the secret. Substitute one of the cups of bananas with 1/2 c. crushed pineapple and 1/2 c. applesauce

Add:

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. cinammon

2 ½ c. flour

Pour into 3 medium bread pans and sprinkle with 1 bag of milk chocolate chips. Bake at 325 for 55 minutes to 1 hour.

Kimi's Parmesan Chicken

Back in college my sister-in-law Kim made this for me and it has been a staple in my house ever since. I may have altered it a little over the years without knowing. Last Sunday we were challenged to not go to the store for a week. The idea was to see how prepared you actually were without notice to survive on what is in your house right now in case of a real emergency where you couldn't run to the store. It's now Thursday night and we have still made it without going to the store. This is what I made last night. It is so easy and most likely you have everything needed in your pantry.

Kimi's Parmesan Chicken

by Kim Denney

4 chicken breasts (I like to butterfly them or pound them with a meat mallet so they are thinner.)

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

jar of Spaghetti sauce

mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Mix the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and garlic powder in a shallow dish. It really doesn't matter how much Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs you have. Just make sure it's equal parts. Melt butter in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken in the melted butter, then the bread crumb mixture then place on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Spoon spaghetti sauce over the middle of the chicken and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top for the last 5-10 minutes of baking. Serve over spaghetti with extra warm spaghetti sauce.

I'm back...Homemade Oreos

For those of you who don't follow my family blog, I'm pregnant! Which means I have been hating sweets, especially chocolate and haven't had much of appetite for anything. But...I'm back! My food aversions are gone so I am back to the old Christy who eats everything! This is one of my Paula Deen favorites. She calls these Chocolate Sandwich cookies but I call them Homemade Oreos. I like her version of these because there isn't any Crisco in the recipe. The version with Crisco makes me gag because all I can taste is the Crisco. Enjoy!

Homemade Oreos

Source: Paula Deen

2 boxes Devil's food cake mix

4 eggs

2/3 cups vegetable oil

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup ( 1 stick ) butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the cake mix, eggs, and oil with a mixer. The batter will be very stiff. Pinch of pieces of batter and roll into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets and flatten slightly with fingertips. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Remove immediately from the cookie sheets with a spatula and cool on a wire rack.

In a small glass bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter until completely blended. Gradually add in the sugar and vanilla and mix until the icing is smooth. Spread half of the cookies with icing and top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container or resealable plastic bags. Makes 2 dozen oreos.

Breakfast for my Valentines - Coconut Syrup

I saw this syrup on the Sister's Cafe and had to try it for Valentine's breakfast. You can't really see the syrup in the picture but I think it would even be amazing on cardboard it tastes that good.

Coconut Syrup

by http://www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com/
7-8 T. butter
¾ c. buttermilk

1 c. sugar

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp coconut extract

Place butter, buttermilk and sugar in a pot. Then turn stove on medium and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add soda and flavoring. It will bubble up; just continue to stir and give it a few minutes for the 'fizz' to reduce before serving.

Ebilskivers

Ebilskivers are as as much fun to eat as they are to say their crazy name. My sister gave me this Ebilskiver pan from Williams-Sonoma and I love it. I think this is a great gift to give to your friends!








You can either buy their pancake mix for $10 or make your own with WS's recipe. We've done both and they are both yummy.
Ebilskivers
by Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
4 T. melted butter

Fillings of your choice:
jam, peanut butter, Nutella, fruit, chocolate chips, apple pie filling. *Our favorite is strawberry jam with a little cream cheese.

Syrup, whipped cream, or powdered sugar for serving

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the 4 T. melted butter. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the whites into the batter in 2 additions.

Put 1/4 butter in egg well of the Ebilskiver pan. Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 T. batter into each well. Put 1 tsp. filling of your choice in the center of each pancake and top with 1 T. of batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 wooden skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden. Transfer to a plate. Serve immediately. Makes about 40.

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

We have been on vacation for 2 weeks...eating out for 2 weeks. So basically we feel like a big pile of garbage. Now that we are back we are committed to eating healthy. This is one of our staples that we eat all the time. Replacing your noodles with spaghetti squash is a great way to cut calories and to sneak some veggies for your kids. Every since the first time we made this we rarely made the noodle version spaghetti.
Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Spaghetti Squash

Ground turkey (Jenni-o)
Spaghetti Sauce

Squash:Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Pierce with a fork. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings and garlic salt to your personal liking. Cover with foil and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours cut side up. You don't want it to be crunchy or soggy when you scrape it out. Once cooked, let cool for a couple minutes then scraped out the squash with a fork.

Sauce:

I sprinkle a little worchestire, garlic salt, steak seasoning, and salt and pepper on the ground turkey to make it taste more like beef and then brown it in a saucepan on the stove. Once it's cooked add your choice of spaghetti sauce and warm in pan.

Serve sauce over spaghetti squash with Parmesan cheese on top. I like to serve it with a light garlic bread.