Warming Up with Chicken Soup

We have been so busy these past few weeks…my dad was up from Florida, my cousins were up from North Carolina (who we haven’t seen in years), and we are trying to fill our days with fun Fall activities like pumpkin picking, hayrides and parades!

Today we decided to take Harper to our town’s Oktoberfest at the local park.  Hayrides, games, food and Harper’s personal favorite: pumpkin painting!  She carries her pumpkins and gourds around the house like a prize! I made a yummy breakfast and knew I didn't want to cook for the rest of the day—just family fun time, so I took out my crock pot and some leftover chicken soup from the freezer.  I put the soup in my crock pot (using a liner, of course!) on high and at the last minute I added some dumplings and let them cook up.  DELISH.  My family would eat chicken pot pies until they were blue in the face, but my loyalty is to chicken and dumplings (right, dad?).  

This recipe is different than the other recipes we've used in the past.  While the other recipe is super quick and delish, it uses canned soup, broth and biscuits.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that easy convenience and it’s certainly yummy to eat, but once in a while you just need a home cooked meal from scratch.   This recipe certainly delivers there!  I made the stock from chicken and veggies from our local Amish Market and the dumplings are an easy mixture of pantry staples.   Don’t be scared of making stock…it’s time consuming for sure, but SO SIMPLE.  And really cost effective.  Plus, you get to control the ingredients and seasonings to fit your family’s needs--I go low salt for Joe’s high blood pressure.  I don’t use the chicken from my stock making in my soup.  I find that it just gets way too dry and chalky.  I prefer to bake bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts in the oven (seasoned with a little salt and pepper) and dice that when cooled.  It may seem wasteful, but no one wants to eat dry chicken! But to be a bit more frugal, I will save my chicken bones from oven roasters and make stock using two of them.

Homemade Chicken Stock

1 whole chicken

2 onions, halved

4 stalks of celery

3 carrots (or 1c small carrots)

A few cloves of garlic

2 bay leaves

Pot herbs (rosemary, parsley, thyme, sage)

1 tbsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp whole peppercorns

Salt & pepper to taste

1.       Add all ingredients into a large stock pot.  (I add the insides of the chicken, just make sure to remove them from any bags or wrapping they may be in).

2.       Cover the ingredients by 1 inch with cold water. (No more or it will dilute the flavor.)

3.       Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 6 hours.

4.       Drain stock into a large bowl or pot using cheese cloth (or a clean dish towel works, too).

5.       **Now the stock is ready to be used in a soup OR can be cooled and frozen at this point.**

      To FREEZE: Allow to cool and store in containers.

To EAT: Thaw, reheat slowly over low heat in saucepan. 

Homemade Chicken Soup

Chicken Stock (about 2 quarts*)

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 large onion, diced

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 cup pasta, uncooked

Salt and pepper to taste

1.       Heat oil in a large pot.  Add diced carrots, followed by diced celery and onion.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until tender, about 10 minutes.  

2.       Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

3.       Add pasta and cook according to package. *Add more stock if the pasta absorbs more broth than you’d like.

4.       Add diced chicken. 

5.       Serve and enjoy!

To FREEZE: Allow to cool and store in containers.

To EAT: Thaw, reheat slowly over low heat in saucepan. 

**Special note: When I make a large batch of soup and plan to use some for Chicken and Dumplings I will cook the pasta in a separate pot of water.  I will add the pasta to my bowl and then ladle the soup on top.  I prefer my chicken and dumplings to not have pasta. You can also do this to prevent the pasta from absorbing the chicken broth in the soup. **

 

 

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken Soup (without the pasta)

2 c. Flour

1 tsp parsley

Salt & pepper

¼ c Ice water + more as needed

1.       Heat the soup until simmering.

2.       In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper and parsley.  Add water a bit at a time and stir.  Should be sticky. (Add more water or don’t as needed.)

3.       Drop spoonfuls of dough into simmering soup.  Allow to simmer for 25 minutes until cooked through. 

4.       Serve warm and enjoy!

{I think it gets better on the second day after the dumplings have more time to soak up the broth!}

To FREEZE: Allow to cool and store in containers.

To EAT: Thaw, reheat slowly over low heat in saucepan. 

What keeps you warm on a cold day?

Stay full!

Pumpkinpalooza: Pumpkin Pancakes!

Pumpkin Pancakes

I would have to say that my next favorite thing other than the fall season is breakfast!! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and for good reason;  it's just delicious! So with that, I have found and perfected a pumpkin pancake recipe that will have your house smelling amazing and make you smile this pumpkin season.  Pancakes just hold a special place in my heart, they remind me of being a kid and make me happy! You can make them any size and shape, or just leave them alone and add toppings!!  Whatever you desire or however you like them, I promise you’ll clean your plate with this recipe! It is a must try and will maybe even become a Halloween or Thanksgiving morning tradition!

Cook with love,

  

Ingredients

1 ½  cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of ground cloves
1 cup milk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tbsp melted butter

Directions

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.  Mix together the milk, pumpkin puree, egg and butter.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together just until combine. (the batter may be lumpy and its ok)

  Heat a greased skillet or griddle over medium heat. (freezer friendly tip: let the griddle get hot on med heat for at least 5 min before adding your first ½ cup batter)  Once the skillet is hot, add a ½ cup scoop of batter to the pan.  Leave alone until bubbles begin to form on the top surface.  Carefully flip and cook the second side until golden brown! Continue this step until the batter is gone.  Serve with warm syrup and enjoy!!!

To Freeze: allow pancakes to cool, wrap individually with wax paper and then store in a freezer bag. Date and label

To Eat: Defrost completely, heat in the microwave on high 30 sec to 1 min for each pancake

Pumpkinpalooza!

So it's that time of year again! Yup, pumpkin season!! Yoga pants, fall bags, pumpkin spice lattes, Uggs, leaves changing and pumpkin picking!  Fall is my favorite time of year and with that I love to get in the kitchen even more and bake up some of my fall favorites for me and my husband (who never minds the taste testing)!!  During this fall season I am going to share with you some of my favorite pumpkin recipes: cakes, pies, smoothies and more!! Be sure to sign up to follow by email so you don't miss any of these recipes...who doesn't love pumpkin?!

 My first recipe is one of my all- time favorites and has become a Thanksgiving morning breakfast must have in my house! Freezer Friendly will have a Thanksgiving day go to meal plan, but I needed to bring this recipe to everyone’s attention early on in the season.  I guarantee that it will be made at least five times before turkey day!!  My first Fall Favorite pumpkin recipe is: Pumpkin Bars!!!

 I found this recipe a few years ago when I wanted an alternative to pumpkin bread and I have been in love ever since. I have made up my own topping for these bars. I got the idea from my pumpkin mousse trifle recipe which layers ginger snaps, whipped cream and pumpkin mousse, yea I know, why didn’t I start off with that but I swear this is just as yummy.  I don’t put the whipped cream topping on them unless I am making them for company or for a special occasion. I typically do not have the patience to wait for them to even cool let alone make the topping for them before I eat half the pan!! So try them both ways but make sure you make the topping because its delish! Enjoy these easy cake bars with a cup of pumpkin coffee and I promise your fall season will be started off right!!!  

Cook with love, 

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

-4 eggs

-1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

-1 cup vegetable oil

-15 oz can pumpkin

-2 cups sifted all purpose four

-2 tsp baking powder

-2 tsp ground cinnamon

-1 tsp salt

-1 tsp baking soda

(recipe adapted from www.foodnetwork.com/pauladeen)

Whipped cream topping

- 1 cup heavy cream (cold)

- 2 TBP of powdered sugar

- 20 ginger snap cookies crushed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. 

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.

I usually place the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the fridge at this time to get them nice and cold for the icing.  Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10 in baking pan. Bake for 30 min. Add both the heavy cream and powdered sugar into the mixer and whisk on low to incorporate both ingredients then whisk on high until you see peaks. After the whipped cream is ready, fold in your crushed ginger snaps. Spread evenly over the bars, cut and serve. Or you can cut the bars then pipe the whipped cream over each bar to make it pretty!!

To freeze:

I would typically not freeze this batter  I would try to make it fresh. But I have opened up cans of pumpkin puree before and not used it all and have frozen the remaining and that thawed perfectly.  You can also make the bars, cut, cool and then freeze them.  Wrap each bar tightly in plastic wrap then place in a bag or tightly sealed Tupperware container.  You could freeze the icing though, make it in large batches then freeze left overs or doubled batches for future use.  To thaw icing:  Place in the fridge only, do not place on the counter because it can spoil, allow it to be smooth enough to spread.

It's FOOTBALL SEASON!

I am so excited to type up this post while I'm watching some FOOTBALL!  I love football season... it means great weather, pumpkin spice lattes, food, friends and smack talk.  I'll admit, I used to be the "football widow" (and by widow, I mean girlfriend, because my husband and I are high school sweethearts so really we're talking like 17) and not see my man on Sundays...or Monday nights...or even have his full attention during football season.  I used to hate it!  Then, I realized...maybe it's not so bad.  I started to go with him to watch the games (specifically the Eagles--yup Philly phans in the house) and there was food and food and some more food to be enjoyed during the games.  I even started to understand and ahem, enjoy, the games. Now not only was my husband into watching football, he was into playing fantasy football.  And I don't mean he just had one team...no, no.  He would have several different teams in a season!  Well, fast forward a few years and we started a league for our friends and family and I finally got my own team!  And guess what? I'm GOOD! That's right, I won the championship my second year playing! Oh, how my husband has still never heard the end of my victory! (Although I will give him some credit, because he won the following year.) Well, football season is here and I'm so excited because really that means my house will constantly be full of our friends and good food...and smack talk.

So here is the first of many "Sunday Funday" blog posts!  I'll try to keep as many of the recipes as freezer friendly as I can.  But I am so excited to share some of my game day favorites that some might not be ready to go right from your freezer!  Today happens to be the first Eagles preseason game (against the Pats) and it's also my brother in law's 24th birthday (Happy birthday, Tony!) and he requested chili for his birthday dinner.  I never make chili the exact same way twice, but I made sure to pay attention to my ingredients and measurements today so I could share it with you.  But when it comes to chili, go with what feels right! I did add chipotle in adobo today which was new for me and I loved the results!


Game Day Chili
{serves 6}
3 lbs ground beef
2 28oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
3 bell peppers, chopped (any colors)
2 medium to large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (can omit if you'd like to lower the heat level)
1 small can, chiptole in adobo
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 6oz can tomato sauce
3 tbsp chili powder (more to taste)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat large dutch oven and add beef.  Break apart as meat browns.
2. As meat browns, roughly chop bell peppers, onions, jalapeno and garlic.

3. Remove meat from dutch oven, draining off fat.  Add chopped veggies to hot dutch oven and saute until soft, about 5-6 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle seasonings over meat mixture and stir.

5. Add tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, tomato paste and tomato sauce to peppers and onions and stir to combine.  Allow to cook for 5 minutes.

6. Add meat and seasoning mixture back into dutch oven.  Stir to combine all ingredients.  Allow to cook together for 5-10 minutes.  Once meat is completely cooked through, taste and adjust seasoning to your taste.
7. Allow to simmer for as long as possible...chili only gets better as it sits!

Serve in deep bowls with shredded cheese, diced onion, and sour cream on top.

Extra notes:
*The chipotle in adobo adds a lot of spice, so if you're someone who doesn't like a lot of heat, I'd just add some of the sauce from the can and leave the jalapeno out.*
*If your chili needs more liquid, I add beer or beef stock*
*Want to stretch this further? Cook 1/2 lb small pasta (small penne works great) and add cooked pasta to chili mixture and stir to combine!*

To make FREEZER FRIENDLY:
Cook as directed, allow to cool completely and ladle chili into Tupperware containers and freeze!  To eat microwave or heat on stove.

Go Team!