Jen’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is one of our favorite soups! It takes a while to make, but is worth the effort. It makes a ton and is very good reheated after being in the refrigerator or freezer. I made this last week and I used chicken thighs instead of breasts and it turned out great, it was just a big greasier.


Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped (if I do not have any onions, I use a bag of Seasoning Blend, I always have this in my freezer)
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch rounds or 1 small bag of baby carrots, cut up if you like
1 small bag/package of frozen peas
4 chicken bouillon cubes, broken up
2-3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (same with the onions, if I do not have any celery, I use a bag of Seasoning Blend, this has onions, celery, and peppers in it)
1 - 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
3-4 medium potatoes cut into chunks
2 or 3 chicken breasts with skin and bone(the skin adds flavor) (6-7lb)
49 oz chicken broth or canned low-sodium broth
1 quart cold water, or as needed
4 sprigs of fresh parsley or 1-2T of dried parsley
3 cloves of garlic or 2 tsp if it is already minced
1-2 tsp garlic powder (optional, depends on how much garlic you like)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1-2 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6-12 oz medium egg noodles (depends on how much you want)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish



Directions:

Cut up all of your veggies in advance. Rinse and cut the chicken breasts in half leaving the skin and bones. Cut through the bones. If there are any pads of yellow fat in the tail area, do not remove them.

Heat the oil in a broth pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, potatoes, and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes.
(This step is optional, I only do this if I am in a hurry and want the soup to be done sooner. Most of the time I just throw the veggies in with the chicken right away, I am usually not in a hurry and let my soup simmer most of the day so the veggies are very soft by the time we eat.)

Add the chicken to the pot and pour in the broth. Add enough cold water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. Add the tomatoes, parsley, thyme, garlic powder, bouillon cubes, and bay leaf.

Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is very tender, about 2 hours.

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle. If using fresh springs remove and discard the parsley and thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Let stand 5 minutes and degrease the soup.

Discard the chicken skin and bones and cut the meat into bite-size pieces or shred.

Add the noodles and peas and cook until done, about 10 minutes. Stir the meat back into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot and with French bread (to soak up juice).

This soup can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.

**Just remember that the noodles will soak up juice, so if you do not want it thicker you may have to add water or chicken broth to it if it sets in the fridge for a couple days. I personally like it both ways.


Yield: 12 to 14 servings

How to End Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is my downfall, it happens to me all the time. I get stressed, mad, sad, you name it. The only time I can say I do not not really do this is when everything is going the way it should, for the most part. I saw this article on Everyday Health and thought I would share it because I know I am not the only one that does this.

How to End Emotional Eating
From The South Beach Diet

As many of you know, it isn't always hunger that causes you to reach for your favorite foods. Our moods and emotions can play a big role in how we view food and in how well we are able to stick to a healthy eating plan.

Emotional-Eating Triggers

Fatigue caused by a hectic daily schedule or being overwhelmed by responsibilities can set off emotional eating. Depression and loneliness are other causes: Many people eat to fill a void or use food to keep themselves company. Some look to food as a distraction from a traumatic experience, such as the loss of a job, a death, or a breakup. But most who resort to emotional eating find that it can't be traced to one specific cause — it's simply a well-established pattern to fall back on food when needing comfort.

However, the good news is that it is possible to change patterns of behavior. There are ways other than eating to deal with complicated emotions, and it's much healthier to process feelings than to bury them under a mountain of food. It's important to realize that ultimately we do have power over our actions. Eating is something that can be controlled and enjoyed.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, here are some helpful ways to prevent your emotions from getting in the way of your weight-loss goals:




* Write in a journal. Keeping a food journal not only helps you keep tabs on what you’re eating but also on how you’re feeling at the time. Knowing what your eating triggers are will keep you on track. To break bad habits, you should record not only what and when you ate, but also the circumstances that prompted you to overindulge and make unhealthy choices.

* Keep yourself distracted. Instead of focusing on your cravings, engross yourself in a good book, listen to music, watch a movie, call a friend, or better yet, hit the gym or head outdoors and get some exercise.

* Cook something healthy. If you take the time and make the effort to prepare a wholesome meal rather than grabbing convenience food, you’ll really enjoy eating it. Plus, cooking is a great way to take your mind off what’s bothering you.

* Reevaluate your emotions. Before you grab that doughnut, take a moment to think, “Is this going to make me feel any better?” Oftentimes, you just need to step back and have that moment of clarity.

Spaghetti Taco

One of the very popular shows in our house is iCarly. Many times in this show, Spencer makes his odd food creation, Spaghetti Tacos often. My oldest daughter decided she would like to try them. I do have to say they were quite tasty, not something I would eat often, but every once in a while. My oldest LOVED them, but my youngest, not so much. When she thinks taco, she thinks meat and hard taco shell, but she was happy with just the spaghetti!

Here is the recipe from iCarly, I had to add it because I thought it was cute! I will add mine after it.

Here it is:
Get taco shells.
Get spaghetti (with meat sauce).
Get a BIG spoon.
Use the BIG spoon to put spaghetti into taco shells.
Eat.
Burp.


Now for my recipe, I made the spaghetti and mixed the sauce and spaghetti together and added a little shredded cheese on top with some extra sauce.





Cooking Time: 30
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 box thin spaghetti

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (can use meat sauce)

1 box taco shells (I used the bigger ones that allowed me to stuff them more)

1 package of taco seasoning (if you are going to add meat)

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (optional if you use a sauce that already contains meat)

Cheddar Cheese, Taco Blend, or Mexican blend shredded cheese

Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, brown meat. Drain. Return to pan (if you are using meat).

Add sauce to meat and bring to a simmer.

Cook taco shells according to package directions.

Toss sauce with spaghetti until combined, reserve some sauce to add to top if you like a bit more.

Spoon spaghetti into taco shells. Add a bit more sauce to top as well as, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and shredded cheese, if desired.

Tips on freezing food

With everyone's everyday hectic lives I found these tips on allrecipes.com and thought I would share. I love having meals in the freezer that I can pop in the microwave and freeze on one of our busy nights!



http://allrecipes.com//HowTo/freezing-foods-a-real-time-saver/Detail.aspx