Feed a Cold Chicken Soup

Christmas has come and gone; I hope everyone had a great day!  Lots of food was eaten and gifts were given and sadly, I have no pictures of either.  It was very busy.


Christmas Eve we went to my grandmother's and had a lovely roast beef dinner and homemade cookies for dessert.  Too many gifts were also opened.  My grandmother's dog also enjoyed the evening.

Christmas Day we went to M's parent's home and had a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash and waffles.  Mmmm.  A wonderful family announcement was made and more gifts were given. 

Today, a blizzard is hitting our area.  As I type this, I am looking out through the sliding doors to the snow falling.  Right now, it's quite pretty.  Later, not so much.  M and I also have to venture out to the grocery store which should be interesting seeing as how the stores weren't opened yesterday and now there's a snow storm.  I avoided the store crowds as best I could but today it has become unavoidable; we need food.


Leading up to these days, I sick.  So very sick.  I am still not feeling that well today either.  This is a cold that kicks your butt and stays for a while.  It has worn out it's welcome.


The night before the cold really hit me, M and I roasted a chicken.  So good right?

It was pretty big chicken so we decided we would make a soup out of the leftovers the next night.  Well that next night turned out to be the first night of this killer cold but I sucked it up and made chicken soup.  What's better for a cold than a nice big bowl of steaming chicken soup? Feed a cold is what they say, right?  It wasn't hard to make either.  The chicken was already cooked and off the bone so all I had to do was chop some veggies and throw them in the soup pot.  It was really all I could manage that night but man did it taste good.  I ate it the next two days for lunch. 

Feed a Cold Chicken Soup
A recipe by Noelle

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 large potato, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 bay leaf
5-6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp dried marjoram
salt

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes.  Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion and cook for about 3-5 minutes.  Add the zucchni and red pepper along with the bay leaf and chicken stock.  Season with marjoram and salt to taste.  Bring the soup to a boil and then knock back the heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  Serve steaming hot in a big soup bowl.

Zucchini Bread

Christmas is less than one week away.  Is everyone ready?  I am.  All gifts have been bought; they just need to be wrapped.  I'm in good shape I think.  It's been busy around here lately but tis the season.  We all have the certain parties we go to and the family traditons that come with Christmastime.  I love those traditions.

Every year my family goes to my grandmother's house on Christmas Eve.  We have dinner and then exchange gifts with my mother's side of the family.  I have literally been doing this my entire life.  It would not be Christmas Eve without going there and eating her homemade cookies while opening gifts one by one.  Yes, we watch everyone open their gifts; it lasts longer that way.

Since M and I have been married, Christmas Day obviously has changed since I was child.  We get up and open the gifts we have for each other while still in our pajamas.  I must always sit on the floor (traditions again).  Then we get ready and go over to M's parents home to have a Christmas brunch with his side of the family.  It's awesome.  I look forward to this brunch every year.  This is a great tradition that started when we were married.  My parents and grandmother also stop by and it's a perfect way to spend Christmas morning.

Then M and I exchange gifts with his family and spend the rest of the day relaxing, eating some more, and playing games.  It's really fun.  I love board games and this is pretty much the one time all year I get to play them (M doesn't much care for them). 

That's a sneak peak into the traditions of our family for Christmas.  Some have changed but some have stayed the same.  One tradition that I have kept for myself for the past decade or so is zucchini bread.  I bake it every year at Christmastime and that's it.  I don't bake it any other time all year.  I should call it my Christmas Bread because it really is.  It is a sweet gift and I have given it out many times and it goes over quite well.  I would recommend it if you are still not sure what to get someone.  Homemade gifts are always a great way to go.

This recipe has seen many Christmas seasons and it will see many more. 

Merry Christmas!


Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour two loaf pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

In another large bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the sugar, vanilla and oil.  Blend well with the mixer.  Stir in the zucchini with a wooden spoon until combined.  Add half the flour mixture and stir with the wooden spoon until incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans.  Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool in the loaf pans.  Carefully remove the bread from the loaf pans, slice and serve!  A smear of butter doesn't hurt.

Italian Sub Soup

Where has the time gone?  It's been over a month since my last blog post.  I didn't realize I was that busy and it must not go this long again.

M and I went on our cruise and long story short, eh, not that great.  Food was terrible (major fail) and there was a boat load (get it? I'm a dork) of kids on the ship.  Not as relaxing as we hoped and we did not swim with dolphins. :(  But we jet skied and that was really fun.  We were very glad to get home.  We did see some great sunrises though.

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean

Then we were busy with work and Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Ours was busy but very nice.  Lots and lots of eating with family.  Those are great times.  And now Christmas is right around the corner and it is my favorite holiday.  My Christmas tree went up the weekend after Thanksgiving and it makes me so happy.  Isn't she pretty?

I couldn't wait to get home from our cruise and start cooking especially with the quality of the food we got on the ship.  I made some good dishes but nothing really great - until this soup.  I actually made this soup a few years ago and pulled it out again.  I think it was better this time around.  So warm on the cold days we're beginning to have here in New England.  No snow yet  but it's coming.  No doubt.  This soup is perfect on one of those days.

It calls for Italian sausage but M and I don't care for the fennel seed that's typically in that so we used andouille instead.  It also called to cook the pasta directly in the soup but knowing that we were going to have leftovers, I chose to cook the pasta separately and ladle the soup over the pasta in our bowls.  This way, the pasta didn't get mushy and absorb all the broth the next day.

I will try and try my best to post again soon.  Here's hoping for some tasty dishes.  With Christmas coming soon, there should be some good material.

Italian Sub Soup
Adapted from 365: No Repeats by Rachael Ray

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 links andouille sausage, diced
1/2 stick of pepperoni, diced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1 28 can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes, broken up with a wooden spoon
salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup short cut pasta, I used small shells
2-3 handfuls of baby arugula
grated parmesan cheese

Preheat a soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the olive oil and andouille sausage and cook until it begins to brown.  Add the pepperoni and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the green pepper and onion and cook for about 2-3 minutes more.  Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken stock and let the soup simmer.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions (or a little less since it will go into hot soup).

Stir the arugula into the soup.  Put some pasta into your soup bowl and ladle the soup over it.  Sprinkle with grated cheese.  Serve immediately.

Note: Absolutely delicious the next day.