Mini Me Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Baby food is really fun to make... For the first couple of weeks.  Then it becomes one of those, "Um, what is Emma going to have for dinner tonight... pureed pears it is.  Again!"  I would make big batches of pureed fruits and vegetables (ok, basically just pears and sweet potatoes) and freeze them in ice cube trays.  We'd be good for a couple of weeks, then I'd run out.  

The truth is, making your own baby food can be really easy if you are organized and have a little extra time.  Which I was and did.  Until we moved.  During the transition, we resorted to store-bought baby food.  I found myself only wanting to buy the fruits, knowing that she would like those and not being sure how good the vegetables would taste to her... or me. 

Now that Emma is a little older, it is now my goal to be able to feed her from what I've fixed for our own dinner.  Modified of course.  I think this will help her to be an adventurous eater, and so I'm not cooking macaroni and cheese or chicken strips along with every meal in the future.

She had a little cold over the weekend - we all have.  So this week I made us chicken noodle soup.  I found it to be the perfect combination for her - vegetables she can eat (cooked carrots and peas, cut up), tiny bits of chicken and noodles.  I made her her own version with diluted chicken broth, as I though our broth would be too seasoned.  I cut her vegetables up extra small and over cooked them.  I even used smaller egg noodles that I cut up to make it easier for her to chew.  While I did actually make two separate batches of soup for us, it was easy and done at the same time.  I made a big batch for her (and us) and put them in individual freezer containers to get out next time we have something not so Emma friendly for dinner.

In this recipe, I start by making the broth from scratch, but if you'd prefer, you can just use store-bought chicken stock.  Starting from scratch is a lot easier and quicker than you might think - it is just boiling chicken in water with a bunch of vegetables for about 20 minutes.  The entire thing can be made in 30 minutes.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

3 split chicken breast halves, bone-in (about 3 pounds)
....

For the stock :
8 cups of water
1 small white onion, quartered
1 carrot cut into chunks
1 head of garlic, cut in half exposing the cloves
1 small bunch of fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of sea salt (more or less, per your taste)
1/2 teaspoon of pepper (more or less, per your taste)
.....

4 carrots, diced
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley
1 cup of frozen peas
1/2 bag of egg noodles
salt and pepper to taste

Begin by placing the bone-in chicken breasts in a large stock pot with 8 cups of water.  Add onion, 1 carrot cut into large chunks, garlic head, parsley, salt and pepper.  Cook for 20 minutes on medium until the chicken breasts are fully cooked.  

Remove the chicken breasts and put them in a bowl while the stock continues to simmer.  

Let the chicken set until they are cool enough to handle, then remove the chicken meat from the bone and skin, then shred it with a fork.  Put the chicken bones and skin back into the stock and let it continue to simmer for 15-30 more minutes, or until you're ready to make the soup. 

If you're making the stock in advance, strain and discard the bones, skin, vegetables and herbs, then put the stock in freezer containers. 

The mini version and the big version cooking away at the same time.

If you are ready to make the soup, strain and discard the bones, skin, vegetables and herbs.  Add in diced carrots and bring the soup to a boil.  Then add noodles and cook for 5-8 minutes until the noodles are tender.  Reduce the heat and add in chicken, peas and fresh parsley.  Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. 

House Tour | A Work in Progress, Progressing

Welcome to our house!

Here are some of the latest and greatest photos of our house progress.  Slowly but surely we're putting our touch on everything. Here is a link to the tour from about three weeks ago, if you'd like to see more.

In the living room, we have a new area rug that was a steal and a half that I'm obsessed with.  Another great find is the chunky turned leg end tables.  We have one that we took home from the showroom and have the other one on order... I hate having to wait for furniture. 

As you know from my post about the living room design inspiration, we are also waiting on two grey wingback chairs and a linen tufted ottoman.

We're starting to get some artwork on the walls... or at least frames.   Or at least trying to decide where to put what frames.  I'm refinishing most of my frames to give them a new look based on the artwork we saw hanging in the hotel we stayed at in Florence on our honeymoon.   There is a lot of antique gold spray paint involved...

I'm really liking how this nook in the living room is coming together - cable knit throw, cashmere grey pillow, and cozy leather chair... now I need a table of sorts and maybe a little needlepoint top foot stool?  I also want to order new legs for the chair... something less shiny.

Some frames going up in the dining room.  



We're in the process of doing a little DIY kitchen update.  We plan to do an addition in the next year or two, adding a big brand new kitchen and hearth room.  So, in the meantime, we're doing a DIY, budget creative update on the current kitchen.

So far we've removed the upper cabinets and stone tile on the main wall and replaced it with wooden paneling.  We plan to cover the countertops (in fact I'm working on it today!) with white subway tile and add open shelving and a range hood.  I'm debating on whether or not to go ahead and order the new range that we'll use in the big, brand new kitchen... or if I can live with this one for the moment.

We've also replaced the light fixtures with these antique brushed brass pendents from Home Depot.  Another steal at just $54!   I LOVE them.   We have one over the sink, and one over the kitchen table.

This is the little table in the kitchen - it has a great feel and really good light for my food photography.  I am starting to warm up to the cozy (small) little kitchen.

 

Continuing the antique brass theme (that matches the house's original brass and glass door knobs), we've hung drapes in our bedroom.

And working on hanging artwork... don't you like the frames?!  I did a DIY finish on them with gold paint and wood stain.  A comeplete post about my method is coming later this week.




Emma's room is coming together - polka-dot drapes, her lamb mobile and vintage prints are hanging.

Chorizo & Vegetable Cream Soup & Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Grilled Cheese

My most popular post of all time is "The Best Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup."  I get serious traffic from it all year long.  But I've noticed a big upswing in traffic going to that post this past week... it must be soup season!  I decided to revisit my Best Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup recipes and (as the Barefoot Contessa would say) "turn up the volume."

To the soup, I started with spicy chorizo and added carrots, onions and spinach along with canned whole peeled tomatoes to give it a little more nutritional value.  Did I mention the chorizo?

For the sandwich, I stuck with simple and fresh flavors - a fresh tomato, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil.  All grilled together then, just as I do with toasted bread for bruschetta, I rubbed the toasted sandwich with a clove of garlic.  It does all the right things for a really simple and classic sandwich.  When you dip the grilled cheese in the hot soup, the mozzarella melts just a little more, making it gooey and delicious.  

Chorizo & Vegetable Cream Soup | Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Grilled Cheese



1 pound of chorizo sausage
3 carrots, diced
1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
1/2 small white onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes, hand crushed with juice
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of cream
4 cups of fresh spinach

fresh mozzarella
tomato, sliced
fresh basil
baguette, sliced
olive oil
1 clove of garlic, whole








Remove the sausage from its casing and break it up into small/medium pieces.  Cook it in a saute pan on a medium/high heat, rendering some of the fat.  Add the carrot, mushrooms and onion and cook until soft, approx 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes by squeezing them in one at a time.  Continue to break them into bite size pieces with the spoon.  Add the juice from the can of tomatoes.



Add the chicken broth and cream.  Add spinach.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes.





Slice the baguette, pile with mozzarella, tomato and basil and top with a second piece of bread.  In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook sandwiches for 3-4 minutes just until they start to brown.  Flip and repeat.  Rub a raw clove of garlic on the crusty sides of bread.  

Sunroom Update (& more!)

Guess what finally arrived....?



This thing:

We kind of love it.

Guess who loves it the most?

That is her excited face. She's been joined at the hip to this rug since we rolled it out yesterday. I had to shoo her out of the room multiple times just to get the new sunroom shots.

To my surprise, the rug is actually a lot bluer than anticipated. If you look closely, the threads are a dark slate blue mix.

Luckily I have a blue theme going on so it fits, but this is just a fair warning to those of you who are interested in the rug.

Updated sunroom photo time...

I think that covers it!

Here's another quick update: our landscaping.

I never really made an official "After" post after our yard landscaping blitz earlier this summer. There wasn't much else to do, but last weekend Brad spruced up another tree bed so I snapped a few photos and figured I'd share.


How about some before's first?

Here's the left side of the house earlier this year:

And after our intial landscaping:

 

And here it is today:

 

The mailbox plants grew like crazy!

Next up are the two large trees in the main front yard area.

 Before:

After intial landscaping:

And now:

Ahh... much better. Huge thanks to Brad who spends many sweaty hours every week making the yard look the way it does. <3


And finally... our master bathroom has been published!

Better Homes & Gardens contacted me way back after I had posted our master bathroom reveal and wanted to include me in their "Best Blogger Tips" spread. Of course, I happily obliged.

Pretty cool, right?!

That's all I've got for now. But I have a nice freebie from yours truly coming in the next post... if you like being organized, you'll want to check back next week!