Chicken Noodle Soup

Here is one of the freezer meals I made.  I love the Lion House Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, but now I have another one to alternate between.  The only thing I'll probably do differently next time I make this is to add salt and pepper to the pot once the soup has heated through.  This recipe came from Our Best Bites.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 lb. cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (1/2 of a rotisserie chicken)
1 c. sliced carrots
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 bay leaf
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)
1/2 tsp. basil
6 c. water, divided
6 chicken bouillon cubes or 6 teaspoons chicken base
1 14-oz. can evaporated milk (fat free is fine)
1 small package of Kluski noodles

Combine ingredients through the dried basil in a freezer-safe container or a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Add chicken bouillon or chicken base and 2 cups of water. Freeze.

When ready to cook, place the contents of the bag in a slow cooker. Add 4 cups water. Cook on high for 6-7 hours or on low for 8-10 hours or until the carrots are tender. Add the evaporated milk and turn the slow cooker to high. Add the noodles and cook an additional 30-60 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

During the week or two before Blake was born I started baking and freezing bread.  I also put together a few freezer meals so our family wouldn't starve. :)  I love Martha Stewart's Banana Bread recipe I have but wanted to try a more traditional banana bread recipe this time.  This one did not disappoint.  Now I have two go-to banana bread recipes that I think I will alternate between.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 ripe bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bottom only of a loaf pan (or use 3 small loaf pans). In a large bowl, beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream and vanilla; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Add flour, baking soda and salt; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes (about 40 minutes for smaller loaf pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in refrigerator. Makes 1 loaf. **I was able to make one regular size loaf and two small loaves with this recipe.

Caribbean Salad with Sweet Orange Vinaigrette

We have a lot of lettuce growing in our garden right now so tonight I went looking for a new salad recipe.  And I found one at Our Best Bites!  This salad was seriously good.  I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco instead of grilling chicken and it worked great.  The dressing is sweet orange-y goodness.  Yum!

Caribbean Salad with Sweet Orange Vinaigrette

Salad:

1 large bunch Romaine Lettuce
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, grilled (or a rotisserie chicken cut into pieces)
8 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 red bell pepper, diced or sliced
4-5 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6-8 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries
Black or regular sesame seeds (I omitted.)
optional: diced fresh pineapple

Dressing:

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar.)
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (I omitted.)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup canola oil

To prepare dressing, combine orange juice, vinegar, dry mustard, sugar, sesame oil, and salt in blender.  Blend until sugar is dissolved.  With blender running on low either remove stopper in blender lid, or crack the corner and slowly drizzle in oil, mixing until just combined.  Store dressing in fridge until ready to use, can prepare a day or two ahead of time.

To prepare salads, divide lettuce between 4 plates, top with grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, and dried cherries or cranberries.   Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Serves 4 main dish, or 6-8 sides.

Lentil and Rice Casserole

I don't make too many casseroles these days but I will definitely be making this one again.  My neighbor Lauren gave me this recipe and it was delicious!  We added sour cream, tortilla chips and cilantro but it also tastes great plain.  I think Lauren sometimes adds salsa, guacamole and olives, which I'm sure is great too!

Lentil and Rice Casserole

3 C. chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
3/4 C. lentils, cleaned and picked over
1/2 C. brown rice, uncooked
3/4 C. fresh onion
1/2 t. basil
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 t. thyme
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 C. cheese

1.  Combine all ingredients except cheese in a casserole dish.

2.  Cover and bake in preheated 300 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.

3.  At the last 20-30 minutes of baking, sprinkle cheese all over.

Mom's Ice Cream Dessert

This is an ice cream dessert my mom used to make on special occasions.  I don't know why it's taken me 11 years of marriage to finally make it for the first time!  But it brought back good memories of home.  It's really pretty easy to make too.

Mom's Ice Cream Dessert

24 Oreos, crushed
1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix together and press in bottom of pan (9x13). Put in freezer.

1 carton Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream

Pull out of freezer and allow to thaw slightly. Cut into slices and lay on top of Oreo crust. Put back in freezer.

In saucepan combine:

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TB butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk

Boil until thickens. Cool until barely warm and pour over ice cream. Cover dish with foil and freeze. Take out and soften a little before serving.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies are so good, I didn't think I'd ever try another chocolate chip recipe again.  But I was perusing Mel's Kitchen Cafe where she posts her "best of" recipes and I just had to try her favorite chocolate chip recipe.  It was super!  Now I'm not sure which recipe I'll use in the future.... they are both fabulous.  I am usually a semi-sweet chocolate chip kind of girl, but I used milk chocolate chips in these cookies and man did they taste good.  (BTW, I doubled this recipe...without doing so these only would have lasted a day.) 

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until well mixed. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips at the same time. Mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Form dough into tablespoonful-sized balls and place on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and just lightly browned (keeping in mind that ovens can vary in temperature so use your best judgment). Don’t overbake or else the cookies will be tough and hard.

Beth's Flank Steak Marinade

Ben's mom bought steak for dinner on Sunday so I decided to try this marinade.  It was delicious!  I forgot to take a picture, however, so I borrowed this one from The Sisters Cafe.  I used a top sirloin and marinaded it in the fridge all day.  The recipe suggests marinating overnight but mine only had about 8-9 hours and was still very flavorful.  We grilled the steak on the barbecue and then cut it into strips. 

Beth's Flank Steak Marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 garlic clove chopped

1 tsp ginger (I used dried.)

2 TB lemon juice (Fresh-squeezed is best.)

2 TB canola oil

1 TB onion chopped (I used dried because it called for such a small amount.)

1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together and allow steaks to soak in marinade in fridge all day or overnight.