Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

I loved this recipe! Especially when you make your own noodles.

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
1/2 pound chopped cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 cups egg noodles (or make your own)
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in chicken and vegetable broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.

Next time I make it I will use low sodium broth. I also had some fresh parsley on hand so I tossed in some of that as well.

Carne Guisada

Mexican beef stew. Another winner. This one was so easy to make and very good! I served it over some red potatoes that I had, but next time I will use warm tortillas. Also a little sour cream on top is nice.

I thought the 2 serrano peppers would make it really spicy, but it didn't. It was just right.

2 T. cooking oil
1 lb. beef stew meat
1/2 (6 oz.) can tomato paste. (I used the whole can)
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. black pepper
salt to taste
2 serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped
2 T. cornstarch

Dredge meat in flour. Heat oil and sear outside of beef. Put in crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook for 8-12 hours. You can shorten the cooking time, but the meat won't be as tender. At the end dissolve cornstarch in a little bit of water and add to the stew to thicken.

My New Beef Stew

This is the Beef Stew that I made the other night. I have made stew numerous times, but was ready for a new recipe. This one was really good. All the boys loved it and the only thing they picked out of it was the mushrooms. I wish I had doubled the recipe.

1 1/2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 can beef consumme

1 bay leaf
2 cups cubed potatoes
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
1. In a bowl, toss cubed beef with flour to coat.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place flour in a bag or bowl, and add beef cubes. Toss to coat with flour. Place coated cubes in the skillet and fry until well-browned on all sides; remove from pan and set aside.
3. Cook onion and garlic in same pan until tender. Return meat to pan with water, parsley, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed. Stir in potatoes, carrots, celery, and green pepper, and continue cooking another 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, and stir in mushrooms.
4. In a small bowl, mix together baking mix, 3 tablespoons melted butter, and milk until just blended. Drop dough by the tablespoonful into stew. Simmer, uncovered, approximately 10 minutes. Cover, and simmer 10 minutes more, or until dumplings are cooked through, but not dry.

**I did not try the dumpling part, just threw it in the crock pot. That will be next time.

Pizza Pasta

O.K. I don't have a picture for this one, but just imagine noodles covered in red sauce with mozzarella cheese melted on top. This recipe was so easy to make and was a hit with everyone! It is my new favorite!

2 c. Rotini pasta, cooked until slightly firm
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
16 oz. pizza sauce
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 c. pepperoni
4 T. milk
green pepper/olives/mushrooms or anything else you like on pizza

Preheat oven to 350
Cook noodles until slightly firm, drain
In skillet brown sausage with onion and garlic. Drain fat. Stir in noodles, pepperoni, pizza sauce and milk. Mix well. Pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish. Cover. Bake 25 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook another 5 minutes.

Chicken Spaghetti

Another recipe from PW. Scott and I really liked it. The boys were not so thrilled because of the green and red things in it. Too bad for them.



1 cut up chicken (or 3 chicken breasts)
1 lb. thin spaghetti, broken into 2 in. pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
1 small onion, finely diced
1/4 c. finely diced green bell pepper
1 jar (4 oz.) diced pimientos
1 tsp. seasoned salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350. Add chicken to a stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 25 minutes.

Remove the chicken from water and set is aside on a plate to cool. Remove 2 cups of broth from the pot and set aside. Bring the remaining broth back to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Shred or cut chicken into bite-size chunks.

Place the cooked spaghetti in a large bowl. Add the cream of mushroom soup and 2 cups of the shredded cheddar. Then add the onion, green pepper and pimiento. Add the seasoned salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Take it easy on the cayenne if you can't handle the heat. When I made this I added 1/8 tsp and it wasn't hot at all.

Add the chicken and broth. Stir together well, then taste to check the seasonings.
Pour the mixture into a large baking dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar. Bake for 35-45 minutes until bubbly.