Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

(This was one of the soups at Turin's birthday party)

1 whole chicken

1 whole celery bunch, diced

2-3lbs large carrots, diced

1 small onion, diced

Seasonings (add the following seasonings to 12 cups of water):

2 tsp. Garlic pepper

½ tsp. basil

1 tsp. celery flakes

1 tsp. Lawry’s salt

¼ tsp. Tyme

¼ tsp. Poultry seasoning

¼ tsp. Rosemary

3 bay leaves

12 chicken bouillon cubes

Optional: 4 drops of hot sauce

Optional: Rice or Noodles- I've used homemade noodles and I've used egg noodles and both have tasted great.

Dissolve cubes in water. Add chicken. Boil (a gentle boil) chicken until tender. Remove chicken, set aside and cool. Add diced carrots, celery and onion to broth. Add seasonings. Simmer until tender. While vegetables are simmering, remove chicken from bones. Add meat to broth. Simmer 30min or more. I usually let it simmer for a couple of hours. Add pre-cooked rice or noodles.

Yummy Salad Recipe That I Am Addicted To!

I love this salad recipe, especially the dressing. I've been meaning to post it on here for a while because I kept forgetting the exact recipe for the dressing and would just throw in the ingredients until I thought it tasted good. Well last Sunday we had company for dinner and I thought I would make the recipe. I thought I new how much red onion to put in but apparently my guess of 1 cup instead of 1/2 a cup was way off. Needless to say, after everyone's eyes watered up after the first bite I was able to fix the dressing and it was back to its delicious self again. Enjoy!


1 head of green leaf lettuce (maybe add some other lettuce to it for texture if you want) chopped into bit size pieces
Toasted almonds (as many as looks good to you—not the whole package)
Shredded mozzarella (not the whole bag)
Bacon bits (you can buy real bacon pieces—get the Hormel type that has to be refrigerated after opening)

(If you make a huge party batch you can use 2 heads of lettuce, and ALL of the toppings. Otherwise, you should have enough toppings for a second salad later)

Dressing:
In a blender mix:
½ C red onion
2t dry mustard
½ C red wine vinegar
1c sugar
1 ½ t salt
As blending as 1 c oil gradually

In my opinion this is enough dressing for two salads. If you put it on, only use half. Otherwise, serve it on the side.

I have also had similar salad using craisins, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, or whatever else. But that is the type that uses Briana poppyseed dressing.

Tomato Basil Soup

I originally posted a recipe similar to this but with much more yucky (well, fattening) ingredients. I have since played with the recipe and feel much better about its contents, so, I will post my NEWER version here but also leave the more fattening one below it if you are still interested in the calories. The fam and I ALL decided the healthier version tastes better, but you decide...

HEALTHIER VERSION
8 cups tomatoes (chopped)
4 cups tomato juice
1/4-1/2 cup white cooking wine
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
14 leaves of FRESH basil
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream for garnish *We are not even a sour cream fans but it totally adds to the soup!*

Bring tomatoes, onion, tomato soup, and garlic to a boil and let simmer for about half an hour. Puree the soup in a blender with the basil leaves until soup is smooth.
Return soup to the pot and add butter, milk, and salt & pepper.
Heat for another 10 minutes or so or until the table is set and serve with bread or crackers.

FIRST VERSION
4 cups tomatoes (chopped)
4 cups tomato juice
1 cup heavy cream (or half & half to ease the calories)
14 leaves of FRESH basil
1/2 cup butter (1/3 cup still does justice)
Salt and Pepper to taste + a little garlic if you like it

Bring chopped tomatoes and tomato soup to a boil and then simmer for about a half an hour. Puree the heated tomato mixture with the basil leaves and return them to the pot.
Add cream and butter, salt and pepper, and a pinch of garlic if you want.
Heat it all together and serve hot with nice bread or crackers.
*You might want to add one or two teaspoons of sugar at the very end, too depending on the taste you're looking for.

Enjoy!