November 10, 2013

Chicken Noodle Soup and Homemade Biscuits: Soup Sunday Recipe

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Soup Sunday: Homemade Chicken and Noodles and Biscuits.  Today marks my first time EVER making biscuits from scratch and I have to admit, I was a little leery, but they turned out great!

Recipes Below.  Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 Bag Baby Carrots (cut to preferred size or leave whole)
  • 4 ribs celery (cut to preferred size)
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp. Dried Parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Basil
  • 1Tbsp. Butter
  • Rotisserie Chicken (quick method) or 3 chicken breasts (extended method)
  • 16 oz. Frozen Egg Noodles
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Quick Method Prep:

Cut carrots, celery and onions to desired size.

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Sunglasses.  Saving eyes from deadly onion vapors since 2013.

In a large pot over medium heat add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, carrots, celery, basil and parsley and cook till the veggies soften.  Roughly 10 minutes.

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While veggies are cooking, shred rotisserie chicken.  Discard any skin and fat.

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Once the veggies are softened add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and add chicken and frozen noodles.

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Allow to cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.  Season with salt and pepper according to taste.

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** For the extended method, throw everything into a pot (except noodles) to cook on medium-high for several hours.  Shred chicken after cooked through, add back to pot, add noodles and cook for an additional 30 minutes to allow noodles to soften and soak up the multiple flavors.

Homemade Biscuits
 Ingredients
  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Garlic Salt
  • 1/3 Cup Salted Butter
  • 3/4 Cup Milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°.
Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the butter and mix with a fork. Add milk and stir to form dough into a soft ball. If too dry add extra milk 1 Tbsp. at a time if needed
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Press dough out onto floured surface.  Use a circle cookie cutter or a small cup to cut biscuits.  I used a coffee mug.
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Bake on greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. Brush melted butter on top of biscuits immediately after removing from oven.
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Serve with Chicken Noodle Soup for a perfect home cooked comfort meal.
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Other then making soup and biscuits, our Sunday has been pretty lazy.    Our security team spent a little time scanning the neighborhood.
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but quickly succumbed to nap time…
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November 10, 2013

Girls Night Out – P!nk Concert!!!

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Went to THE.BEST.CONCERT.EVER last night!!

Seriously, P!nk is amazing.   Her energy, uniqueness, originality, quirkiness, artistic outlook, vocals, style, edge.  The fact that she is her own person and encourages non-conformity just ups her likeability by miles.  

It was a fun Saturday night of dinner, drinks and music with 7 great friends.  I’d say that the majority of people attending the concert were females, also out for a fun Girl’s Night.

My crew met up for pre-game dinner and drinks at Brewsky’s.   It took us about 30 minutes to even find a place to eat as everyone else had the exact same idea.  I am positive that not a single one of us actually tasted our food once it was placed in front of us.  Inhaled it!  ha

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P!nk’s opener, The Kin, were really good!  Have never heard of them, but will definitely be looking up a few tunes to put in my iPod!  They had a little U2 flair to them, in my opinion.  Very unique style.  Kinda Cute, too. 😉

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And then the wait, for P!nk!  

 

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Tyree, Me and Kayla

 

P!NK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She didn’t hold anything back.  Her Acrobatics… Holy SH!T.  The girl is fit and fierce. 

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I absolutely loved her performance of “Try”.  She started out in her silks, singing her heart out, all the while gracefully and beautifully putting on a performance that takes guts, skill and strength. 

 

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She ended the song, Try, with her dance partner, which again, showcased her artistic ability, strength and stamina.  I love how she puts sexuality into her performances by way of grace, beauty and art.  Not one part of it is inappropriate or tacky.  Some artists need to take a few pointers… ahem.

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Check out this video to see her performance of Try.  This wasn’t taken at the concert we were at last night, but from another city tour.  Courtesy of YouTube. 🙂 

 

She played Piano, drums, the whole bit.  She also made a point to remind us that she does NOT lip sync, and gave us a few pointers on how to catch people who are lip-syncing. =D

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Her closing performance of “SO WHAT” was un-freaking-believable!   Flying across the entire Arena singing and flipping… the whole works!  She is so bad ass.

 

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You must watch the video.  Do it.  Now.

 

I can’t even begin to explain how much fun that concert was.  I have been to so many concerts and this, hands down, was the absolute best.  If you have a chance to see her in concert, do yourself a favor, and GO! 

 

Hope you all had a FANTASTIC weekend!!!

 

November 6, 2013

Seasonal Clif flavors? Yes, please

For the record, I LOVE Clif Bars. The original, builders protein and Luna for women are my faves.

This morning I was running later to work than usual (consistently 10 minutes late. Every. Damn. Day. Seriously…) and I was unable to make my typical egg white, provolone on wheat sandwich so I picked up a Clif Bar. New flavor!!!! Spiced Pumpkin Pie. I die. So, so good. I hate pumpkin pie itself (it’s a texture thing) but give me anything pumpkin flavor and I’m sold.

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Of course I also have to have a fountain Diet Pepsi. Habit. I’ve fully admitted it.

Another fella who was filling up his soda cup this morning said he gets one every morning and therefore nicknamed his morning soda his “Daily”. I agreed whole heartedly that I too need my morning soda, smiled and wished him a great morning and to enjoy his “Daily”. Has a nice ring to it, ya?

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I taught TurboKick tonight. Killed it! My class had around 9 in attendance which is up from the 4 that attended the afternoon classes last week. Woot woot!! I set my HRM. 620 calories, my friends.

Ya, I’m enjoying a little extra peanut butter on my bed time apple snack, thank you very much. 🙂

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Time for CMA’s!!!! Love this night. And Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are genius as hosts. Hilarious.

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Hope you all had a great Wednesday! Weekend is soooo close! Hang in there!

November 5, 2013

Losing a Pet

For those of us dog mom’s (and dad’s), we understand how losing a pet is one of the hardest emotions to work through. To us, they aren’t just pets, livestock or animals; but our children, best friends, and the one constant living thing that would never let us down.

When we lose our pets, the overwhelming sadness and anger that we feel is just as real and present as if it were a relative or friend.

One of my best friends lost her beloved Bella early this morning.

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My heart hurts for her knowing the overwhelming emotions she has gone through over the course of the day. Jess is probably the best dog mom any dog could ever have. Seriously, the girl treats them as if they were her own flesh and blood. In a way, they are.

I stopped by to see her after work tonight fully loaded with Starbucks, a giant frosted cookie and a listening ear. We sat for a few hours and just talked. About Bella, about how losing a pet just sucks, about how to cope, and about how we aren’t crazy to cry over their loss.

When we make the decision to adopt pets, we also acknowledge the fact that they won’t always be with us, but it doesn’t make it any easier when they do pass on.

What we can hold onto are the memories and the unconditional love that they gave us every second that they were ours.

Bella, you will be missed.

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