Tickle Your Taste Buds Tuesday

Chicken Noodle Soup

Since fall is beginning and for most people the weather is starting to cool off. The change of Seasons. AHHHH What a beautiful time of year and my favorite time! You get to open all the windows in the house and the leaves are changing, the evening become longer and a little more time for evening fires outside, it's a time for comfort food, and the beginning of the holiday season. You get to pull out fun sweaters and cute long sleeve shirts, that in Florida you can wear for a few years since they only see about 3 months out of the year. Ahh Fall what a wonderful time of year. However the change of seasons can also bring on the cold season. BOOO not so fun! I have the cure and I mean the real cure for the common cold.

Chicken Noodle soup! It is so yummy and a favorite in my house. ( I have to admit I make this all year long and could eat it everyday)! I love soup but my chicken noodle soup is the best Try it and see I dare you!

Broth

1 whole chicken or 2-3 chicken thighs and breast with the bone!

1 med-large onion

salt

Water

Put the rinsed chicken in a pot with the onion roughly chopped

cover the chicken with water or just fill the pot

add some salt about a small palm. (you know by now I don't measure)

Bring to a boil and let simmer-boil for a couple of hours or until the chicken is falling apart

After the chicken is cooked but still boiling taste the broth to see if you need a little more salt or if you need to add a little water if it is to salty.

Once the chicken is cooked drain the broth throw out the onions and all the nasty stuff from the chicken. Pull apart all the meat from the bones of the chicken and save the meat.

If you are going to freeze some of the broth let it cool and put it in freezer containers and freeze up to 3-4 months. I always have homemade chicken broth in my freezer or fridge.

The soup

3-4 carrots

4-5 celery stalks

1 onion

The meat from the chicken

Homemade broth

Noodles

2-3 Potatoes (optional)

In the same pot you just made your broth add the broth back to the pot if it is salty you can add more water and what you have left over you can freeze as stock for next time or other recipes that call for broth/stock.

Dice the carrots, celery, and onion to desired size and potatoes if you are adding them

Add all but potatoes to the broth bring to a boil and let cook for 30 minutes or until mostly tender add in the potatoes (if they cook to long they will fall apart) cook for another 15 minutes or so (or until potatoes are cooked if you used them)

Add in the chicken and let simmer for a bit to heat and shred the chicken. (the longer it cooks the more the meat will fall apart.

Boil water for the noodles and cook according to the package.

I like to add some of the broth from the soup to cook my noodles. It just gives them more flavor. My Grandmother used to make this soup for me and she used a tiny noodle like a star or alphabet, as I got older I started to use egg noodles. Now that I make this for Makayla I use the tiny noodles again and ahhh it's so much better that way. But use whatever noodle you like.

When everything is cooked scoop the noodles into your favorite bowl and ladle your soup on top and eat with a few crackers. YUMMMM this soup is so good it will soon become a staple your house too, especially when you see that it cures all! You have to make this I promise you will love it! Ask anyone that has tried it.

Do you have a recipe you want to share? Email me at slbower(at)gmail(dot)com, or leave me a comment below. I am always looking for new recipe ideas. Let me know if you try this one or you have a suggestion.
Did you miss out on a past recipes? Just click on the picture at the top of this post or in the right side bar and you can see them all. Give one a try tonight there are some good ones! Make sure to check back every Tuesday for a new recipe and don't forget to let me know if you try one and what spin you put on to make it your own!

Happy Cooking

I know I have been away but I am Back and ready to blog!

Hello all my fabulous followers. How are you? I know I have been away for a while again. Our computer was over heating and shutting down every 10 minutes and acting crazy after not be able to fix it Steve and I decided it was time for a new one. We have a 3 year wedding anniversary coming up and for our gift to each other we bought a much need new computer. I finally have a MAC! I have been drooling over over this beautiful new addition for over a year now. I couldn't be more excited to be typing to you from it now.

So we are back in business and I am ready to blog.

We have a lot to catch up on. ***WARNING PICTURE OVER LOAD***

Makayla and I have been winding down summer with friends and doing lots of fun stuff. Makayla is very hard to get pictures of these days as she refuses to look at the camera. I do the best I can, but it is very hard.

A few weeks ago we went to the zoo with some friends, they have a pass so we got in free (bonus). We got to see all kinds of animals and even feed a giraffe. SEE!
Makayla liked him at first until he stuck out his tongue and then she was a little afraid, I however thought is was very cool.
I brought Makayla's suit for her to play in the splash pad but she does not enjoy these very much and kept her distance, she was however fun to watch run from the water.

Last week we went to the place all parents dread. You guessed it Chuck E. Cheese. ahhhh

Why did I let myself become subject to this? My sister had a cup of left over tokens and a bunch of our friends were going.(4 free hours of play you can't beat that) We went on a weekday morning so it wasn't that crowed. Makayla had tons of fun and got to push every button in the place.

She is so independent now and has to do everything herself. (I wonder where she gets that from?)

She was telling me to get away from the car she could do it.

Riding the Teletubbies ride. She really liked this one.

Yes she still has crazy hair!

Playing with Cooper her Boyfriend! These 2 can't get enough of each other.

Hi MAMA!

With the cooler months coming I figured we would be spending more time inside. I was also very tired of our living room being covered in toys ALL the time. Solution? I made Makayla a beautiful playroom. I emptied the office one Saturday while Steve was at work and turned it into this!

A space Makayla can call her own! This room is totally safe for her to play alone or with friends. She has all of her toys laid out and can get to them all. She can make all the mess she wants and we don't have to see it. The room is very large and needed a little warming up but I couldn't spend much. We made a trip to IKEA. Wow what a place. We got her this rug and table and stools and picture frames and Art hangers and a mirror all for under $80. I bought the circle wall decals at Target. So with a little creativity Our office turned into an amazing playroom even I am jealous of. (Ohh and I know the frames are empty. They are waiting for art and a few black and white pictures of family and friends) Sorry for the bad picture quality I took these with Steve's phone!

Rug and Table and chairs

This is to hang art when it is drying.

The Mirror is Makayla's favorite part.

Makayla is now 14 months! I know can you believe it? She has changed so much. She says over 30 words and talks ALL the time.She is even putting 2 words together. Like "Thank you Mama" She has learned please and thank you and when to say yes and no. She loves to dance and listen to music. She knows all of her body parts and where they are on her self and on other people. She can recognise people in photos and on videos. She is loving puzzles and books right now. Art is something she is just starting to get into but she seems to like it.

She has almost got eating by herself down. (using a fork and spoon is not as easy as it looks) She tells you what she wants for snacks and when she doesn't want to do something. I am amazed everyday at how smart she is and how much she understands. She is an amazing little person and #1 on our lives. I truly cannot remember life without her.

Here are a few random pictures from the last few weeks.

Finger Painting in the bathtub! No mess to clean up.

Our daily fight of her being on the couch.

Just being Goofy

But always cute

Snuggling with Halie.

OK this post is almost over. I am sure you are like "come on get on with it".

So now that I have our new computer I promise to update more and Tickle Your Taste buds Tuesday will be back this Tuesday and I even have a picture for it. If you have a recipe idea please send it my way, I need ideas!!!!! Thank you all for coming back after such a long break. Thank you for checking in on us and reading this forever long post. Let me know what you think of the playroom and if you have any recipe Ideas. Leave a comment below or email me.

Playing at the Park

First can I just say this is my new favorite picture.

As summer comes to an end and hopefully cooler days are near we are spending more time outside and enjoying the beautiful Florida sunshine. This past Sunday we took a drive down to Clearwater beach to walk around and play in the sand for a little bit. They have a really nice covered playground and fun activities for kids.

Have I mentioned Makayla is a climber? She climbs on everything! So we try to do things to let her use all her new skills. She really enjoys a place where she gets to run free and climb and slide all on her own without me telling her to "get down" or "No running on the couch" (our daily fights).

So to the playground we went.

Sliding with Nenny.

Check out her face. She loves it.

She is still not sure if she likes the sand.

Looking through the hole.

I see you Daddy.

Mom I don't have time for pictures I am busy.

Time to go home!

"Fish are friends not food"

Every Sunday we try to have a family day just the 3 of us. With me working Steve stays home with Makayla on Thursdays so Sunday is the only say all 3 of us have together. We have been trying to find fun and exciting things to do.

A few Sundays ago we took a trip to the Florida Aquarium. Makayla had a wonderful time and got so excited to see everything. She is saying so many words but one that she loves to say (and we love to hear) is "ish" fish. Needless to say at the aquarium we got to hear it a lot along with duck and "quack quack".

Getting ready to go!

Looking at the gators!

"Mama did you see those Gators?"

"ish" "ish"

"quack" "quack"

Looking the BIG fish with Daddy

Overwhelmed

Mommy and M

Look Daddy "ish"

Hanging out after lunch

Thanks for checking in. Do you have any ideas for a good family day? We like cheap! I have a few other updates coming in the next few days. This last Sunday we went down to Clearwater beach to play on the playground and in the sand. Yesterday we went with some of our playgroup friends to the zoo, and I have a few pictures from this summer that didn't make it but are worth seeing. I will also give more updates on M in the next few post.

Tickle Your Taste Buds Tuesday

Black Beans, Chicken, and Yellow Rice

This recipe is so easy, cheap and super good. I have to thank my friend Melissa who got this recipe from our friend Bridget and they shared it with me. I of course put my own little twist on it.Why? Well because that's what I do. It's my blog my recipe and my cooking so I can. You can put your own twist on anything I do also. You will want to keep this one is your recipe box it is for sure a go to meal.

1 Whole chicken (or chicken breast or thighs whatever you have/like)

1 bad of yellow rice

1 can of black beans do not drain

1 can of pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 onion

1/2 bell pepper

seasonings

You can make a 30 Minute chicken and use the meat from that or you can....

Make a crock pot chicken which is what I did. (I actually cooked my chicken on Saturday and we didn't get the chance to use it until Monday night)

To make the crock pot chicken you put the whole chicken in the crock pot with broth or water a little salt and seasoning of your choice. I used chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. Sprinkle over top and let cook on high until the chicken is falling apart. Once it is cooked shred the chicken and save. If you make the chicken before you make the rest just store in the fridge.

Saute chopped onion and bell pepper once they are cooked down add pinto and black beans and cook until soft and a little mushy.

Cook rice according to package.

Heat chicken I added chicken broth to reheat and make it more moist you can also add more seasoning if the chicken needs it.

That's it. We layered it in the bowl Rice, Chicken, Beans. Steve topped his with sour cream I do not like sour cream so I didn't. You can also garnish with green onions, or cilantro, or salsa. I would have also added a jalapeno to the beans or chicken but Makayla was eating it so I didn't.

Here is a picture of it in the pot! It might be the most photogenic food but it was really good and really easy.

Do you have a recipe you want to share? Email me at slbower(at)gmail(dot)com, or leave me a comment below. I am always looking for new recipe ideas. Let me know if you try this one or you have a suggestion.
Did you miss out on a past recipes? Just click on the picture at the top of this post or in the right side bar and you can see them all. Give one a try tonight there are some good ones! Make sure to check back every Tuesday for a new recipe and don't forget to let me know if you try one and what spin you put on to make it your own!