Chicken Noodle Soup...with a soda on the side ;)

 Chicken noodle soup is good for the soul! Also good to sing about and dance too aaannnddd with a soda on the side! HA (I am super funny). But really, I have felt so crappy the past couple days and haven't had much of an appetite. When I don't feel well I love a big bowl of something comforting. I love chicken noodle soup but last night I roasted a chicken breast & some brussels with a bunch of random spices (because I need to go to the grocery store and that's all I had to eat) and thought chicken noodle soup...with roasted chicken!! This could be how people have been making homemade chicken noodle soup for ages but I felt like I had struck gold in my thought process!! 

Here is the cast of characters that I needed for the production:
Boneless skinless chicken tenders - you could absolutely use breasts but tenders seem easier to shred
32 oz. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Whole Grain Pasta  - I used rotini but you can use whatever pasta your heart desires.
Carrots
Celery 
Water (not pictured)
1 Bay Leaf
Juice of one lemon
Onion
Garlic 
Spices for roasting the chicken (see below)

For my tenders I just threw a bunch of spices that I had in the pantry in a bowl

Garlic salt - Cayenne - Oregano - Chili Powder - Cumin - Salt & Pepper

Line a baking sheet with some parchment to make clean up a little easier and then drizzle a little olive oil & cover the tenders with your spice mixture. Roast your tenders at 375 for about 25-30 minutes and flip the tenders half way through.

Next cut up your veggies - I love carrots so I tried to keep the chunks pretty big. On the other hand I DO NOT like celery but I know it is essential in Chicken Noodle Soup so I tried to cut them as small as possible. Dice up the onion and then lots and lots of garlic. (garlic makes my heart SO happy)

Add the veggies to a large pot with a little bit of olive oil and saute for about 10 minutes.

While your veggies are getting nice and yummy soft you can go ahead and cook the pasta. You could absolutely cook the pasta in the soup. However, I am making this with the thoughts of having it for lunch for the next few days and cooking the pasta separately allow you to add it to the soup as you eat it and it wont get soggy. No one likes soggy chicken noodle soup!

After 10 or so minutes sauteing your mis en plase (Im so fancyyyyy you already know - aka onions|celery|carrots) add the garlic and let that become fragrant. It should take about 2 minutes. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Burnt garlic is gross.

Add the whole carton of chicken stock + 4 cups of water. I had some vegetable broth in the fridge that needed to be used so I used 2 cups of water + 2 cups of the veggie broth. Add in the bay leaf and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the veggies are nice and tender.

While the soup is coming together shred the chicken. Which by the way smells amazing and pulls together SO easily. Roasting the chicken with all the yummy spices really takes the soup up a notch I think because it gives a whole other layer of flavor in the soup.

Pour in the chicken with the juice of one whole lemon and a bunch of black pepper to finish the soup.

THIS SOUP GAVE ME LIFE Y'ALL!!! Really..it was so amazing!! I added a big tear of sourdough bread because you need it..right?! But really this soup has officially become my favorite Chicken Noodle Soup. It was a little spicy and hearty and light all at the same time...if that makes any sense?? All I know is you need to try this recipe!! I can definitely say that this soup is helping my nasty cold that I can't seem to shake! Chicken noodle soup on people...

[let it rain & clear it out]

XO.

Elizabeth

How to: Hostess with the Mostest

I love having house guests! There is just something so fun about hosting people for a day, weekend, or extended stay in your home. For me, it is a chance to cater to, bake, pull out my fancy plates, and feel like our home could be a swanky bed and breakfast. With no children and a hubby who works basically all day every even in the small apartment that we are in now it can feel empty at times. I have been looking forward to hosting some girlfriends for the weekend since we moved to Oklahoma City back in October. At my "going away" dinner in Virginia we got out the calendar with my friends and began to plan a visit. The time has finally come (and left :/ ) and I have to say it was an amazing weekend filled with great food, drinks, basketball watching, star gazing, unlimited laughs and sassy dance moves.
I love to think in advance about having people come stay with us and think of little things to do to make them feel at home, away from home. I created a cookie recipe last weekend for Cookie Sunday (Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt) with this stay in mind and they were such a hit. I used my freezer stash of cookie dough to have handy for some freshly baked cookies upon arrival and a then few again for some lazy couch time (or recovery time) on Friday afternoon. Basically...cookies on demand. Which could possibly be the greatest creation ever. or worst...as my pants like to remind me! 

But don't you worry that pretty little head of yours because that is not all the sweet treats that we indulged in. Who can pass up the Hot Donuts Now sign calling from the Krispy Kreme drive through??? Well not these gals! 

In addition to a homemade (or not so homemade) treat for your guests I think its nice to have some fresh flowers in the room that they will be staying in. Nothing says Hi! I'm so glad you are here like fresh flowers. 

Another little thing I like to do for my guests is spray the clean sheets|pillow cases with some Aromatherapy mist. The one I have been loving is a pillow mist from Bath and Body Works with lavender and chamomile oils. Lavender is such a soothing scent and I want my guests to feel as relaxed as they can when they lay down for the night. 

And of course a stocked bar is always a must for our grown up guests :) My girlfriends and I love a good glass of wine...or 5 so I wanted to make sure to have a couple different options from a good sauvingnon blanc, pinot grigio [my personal favorite], merlot for the red wine lover in the group & of course champs which is chilling in the fridge. 

In addition to these little treats for your guests, fresh sheets & towels as well as a variety of toiletries and extra blankets are a nice way to make them feel at home. I am a foodie at heart so in my opinion having good food in the house is a must! Whether you like a nice veggie tray, artisan cheese board, or some yummy chips and dip, food is an easy way to please and impress your guests. 

I had SO much fun this past weekend!! I miss VA and being around all of our friends and family but this little visit from a few girlfriends was so very appreciated. Here are a few pictures of our weekend.

XO.

Elizabeth

             

Here there hubs on NBA TV!!! 

Pinterest Obsessions

Browsing Pinterest can be extremely intimidating, I mean lets be real it's constantly changing with any and all things you can fall in love with. I have to take mental breaks from Pinterest sometimes..real talk. It is like OK my eyes are crossing lets take a break. I was browsing through my all things girly tab and there it was: Neutral tops, witty tees, & patterned flats....OH MY :) I know by looking through my closet that I have a problem and they say the first step in rehabilitation is admitting you have a problem so here it goes: I love a neutral/earth toned sweater, cardigan, and/or jacket. I love any type of patterned flat or loafer and I can't get enough witty tshirts that talk about coffee, chocolate & needing more sleep. 

So there it is....you all know I have some serious issues. Does anyone else feel me?? If I have any type of follower out there that is in the same boat as me then feel free to reach out. Maybe we can grab some coffee or make a trip to the mall?! ;)

It's Cookie Sunday, yall!!!

I have dubbed this day and every Sunday hereafter to be COOKIE SUNDAY! Why you ask? Well because I'm the boss of this blog thing and I do what I want! 
Sundays are by definition a day of rest but Sundays are also good for many other glorious things: brunch, naps, binge-watching your favorite TV shoes, cuddles, more naps and for me an entire day where I have the freedom to try new recipes. After the whole wheat donut got so many rave reviews I thought whole wheat huh?! Let's see how far I can take this whole wheat trend. I thought of the best way to be able to enhance the flavor of whole wheat flour in a recipe and I immediately thought COOKIES. Ok...maybe I lied. I always think cookies first but this time I was on to something!!! Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. I added the sea salt part because I live for a sweet & salty treat and it just sounded so perfect in these cookies. 

I have tried many and I mean mannnnyyyyy recipes for chocolate chip cookies. I have been known to eat a spoonful...or 334934 of the dough and I really think you can taste if the cookies are going to be good or not before you even bake them. Let me tell you this dough was GREAT! But something magical happened in that oven, y'all. The whole wheat flour gave these cookies the most incredible nutty flavor + semi-sweet chocolate + sea salt = LIFE!!! 

Ok enough rambling...First thing is first. Gather your ingredients, preheat an oven to 350 degrees & line a baking sheet with parchment paper. For these cookies you will need:
[Dry]
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
[Wet]
2 sticks unsalted butter cut into pieces (COLD)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla 
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

You could also substitute milk, dark, or even white chocolate chips or GO CRAZY and add a little of each. If that's not your style stick with dark chocolate and throw in some flax seed so you can really feel good about eating theses. All of the above will be just as delicious.

First step is to sift together the dry ingredients. If you don't have a sifter just use a wisk, it all works the same!

Once you have the dry ingredients mixed set aside and add both sticks of COLD butter (important that it is cold) and both dark and regular sugars to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. For this recipe the cold butter will allow the cookies to hold their shape. Mix these ingredients on low speed for AT LEAST 2 minutes. Creaming the butter + sugars together really well  for cookie dough is one of the if not the most important step in the baking process. 

Next add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla. Try not to break the drop the egg into the mixer while trying to be all culinary and crack the egg with the mixer going. Lets just say I had to check and recheck that I got out all the shells (EPIC FAIL). I would say to be safe turn off the mixer crack the egg then turn it back on and mix in between...but that's just me :)

The dough is looking goooooood. Spoon worthy even!! But we are almost there people, I can barely stand my excitement!!!

Throw in those lovely chocolate chips and then run the mixer for maybe 30 seconds to get them well incorporated. If you don't like to use the mixer for this part (because I know you people are particular about your cookies, too) then just mix these with a spoon by hand.

This is it..the motherload! Look at that perfectly scooped ball of cookie dough that is just waiting for my mouth, I mean to be baked. Or did I?!!! 

I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop for these cookies and it was the perfect size. From here you can do 1 of 2 things. Sprinkle these babies with a liberal amount (if that's how you roll) of sea salt and put in the oven to bake. Or you can throw the sheet pan in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to set the dough to store...pictures below!!

That technique though?!! HAHA I crack myself up! But look how yummy!! 

IF you decide to freeze the dough don't add the sea salt until after you bake them. They wont absorb the salt if you put them on top of the frozen dough and into the oven. But adding them after they bake will have the same effect, heaven!!

I always write what and when and how on the bag just in case you forget or are too lazy to find the recipe card! 

And that's all folks! 

Enjoy today and heck every Sunday because after all it is cookie Sunday!

XO.

Elizabeth