Chicken Noodle Soup (Just like the Can)

For about three years, I have been making chicken noodle soup from semi-scratch. It is very delicious and easy to make. And inexpensive to boot!

Since it is Fall and many people like to cook up soups to freeze during this time, I thought I would share this recipe. Before I start, I need to give credit where credit is due. I didn't invent this recipe. The great Paula H. Dean did and the original is in her cookbook titled: The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. I will be sharing my version of this awesome soup. The original makes a creamy chicken noodle soup. I don't care for creamy soups, so I leave out the ingredients that make it a creamy soup.


Here it goes . . .

Chicken Noodle Soup (Just like the Can)

serves 8 to 10

 

Step 1



Ingredients:

One 2 1/2 to 3lb fryer chicken
3 1/2 quarts water
1 onion, peeled
1 1/2  to 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 chicken bouillon cubes
salt and pepper to taste.

***Note: I use whatever chicken is on sale. I have made this with fryer chicken, boneless chicken breast, split chicken breast, and chicken thighs. Turns out great every time.


Add all ingredients to a big pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard onion. Keep the stock in the pot. De bone the chicken when it is cool to touch.

Step 2

Ingredients:

2 c. sliced carrots
2 c. sliced celery
2 1/2 c. uncooked egg noodles (regular or whole wheat)
3 Tbs. dried or fresh parsley
1/3 c. cooking sherry (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring stock back to boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add celery and cook 5 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to package directions. When the noodles are done, add the chicken and sherry. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I hope you like this version of the Chicken Noodle Soup. It freezes great!

Savy Christmas Savings on Kids Gifts

 

A couple of years ago a friend told me that she was going to buy Halloween Costumes after Halloween for the next year. As soon as she said it, I thought, what a great idea! The costumes are very cheap after Halloween. Honestly one can save up to 90% on any costume. So for the past two years, I have gotten my kids costumes for the next year for next to nothing.

I know what you are thinking. How do I know what my kids will want to be the next year? The answer is, I don't. I buy two costumes for each child and then as Halloween draws near, I pull them out and ask them which they want to be. If they don't want either of them, I tell them that is fine, but I am not buying another. So they have to choose one of the ones I have bought or go to the dress up bin and  make a costume. This has worked out well for my family and for my friend's family.

This year I am planning on taking this savings even further. Over the past couple of years, I have down sized Christmas. My husband and I set a budget and only pay cash for the gifts we buy. We sat down the other day to plan out our Christmas budget, and I started thinking most kids love dress up. Boys and girls alike enjoy putting on costumes, clothes, and accessories while playing. So this year, I am buying Halloween Costumes after Halloween to give as Christmas gifts.

Today we stopped in Menards to buy dog food and honey. The kids wanted to check out the Halloween isle. I saw that they had Batman masks for $1.99! These are not the cheap thin plastic ones either. They are the nice heavy duty ones. So I picked one up for all the little boys on my Christmas list. Then I got Bubba two Marvel Comic costumes for $3.99 each. One he will get for Christmas, and the other I will save for next Halloween. The costumes were originally marked at $29.99. This was a great savings trip to the store.

Some people may think that this strategy is cheap especially after they read the following. When I budget for Christmas, I decide on a total dollar amount to spend. Then I break that amount down between the people on my list. However, I bargain shop, so if I find a gift on sale for $5.00 but it original cost $20.00 and my budget for that person is $20.00 my shopping for that person is complete. I don't continue to find more gifts to make it to the $20.00 limit. I then take the difference and save it.

I hope this helps all who read it find a way to buy great useful gifts for the children in their lives without breaking the bank. Not to mention the costume you buy for dress up may end up being a Halloween Costume too! Happy Holidays everyone. There will more money saving posts throughout the season, so check back. Also, If you have a great cost saving gift giving method . . . please share.

 

Glade Expressions Collection

Here's the Bzz!



Glade Expressions Collection is a new line of Glade products. As a Bzz Agent, I was selected to try these new products in my home and spread the word by giving my opinion on them.

When I received my Bzz Kit, I opened it to find coupons to go to the store and purchase the two products you see in the picture above. I chose the pineapple and mongosteen for the oil diffuser, because that was the only scent my local store carried. For the fragrance mist, I chose the cotton and Italian mandarin scent, because I love the smell for fresh linens.

I returned home with my goodies and quickly got them set up. At first I was really pleased with the strength of the oil diffuser scent. Also, I liked that the container matched my decor very well. It was a plus that it would not spill if knocked over. Since I have small children, a dog, and a cat this is important to me. However, the next day, I couldn't smell the diffuser at all. Every now and again, if I were right next to the diffusion I could smell it.

The fragrance mist has a great smell and is very easy to use. Pretty much it is just and aerosol can in a prettier case. There is a one time purchase of a starter kit that contains on can of mist and the pretty case to put it in. The case is nice a looks good sitting on the counter or on the back of the toilet. In my house no one will see it, because with small children, I will not put anything out that they could get a hold of and possible poison themselves.

In the end, I am glad I was chosen to try these products. They do make my home smell nice for awhile without the use of electricity. However, I wish the smell would encompass the entire room with the diffuser. In the coming years, the appealing canister for the mist will be a nice addition to my bathroom, but until my children are older, I won't be spending the extra money on it to put it under the counter.

**Note** As a Bzz Agent I was given these products to review. All opinions are mine and no
                 compensation was given.

Cookie Press . . . Oh How I Wish I Knew You Sooner.

Today I used the coolest kitchen gadget ever! It is the Pampered Chef Cookie Press. I have to say in advance, I am not reviewing the product. I am just sharing my experience and awe at how much easier it will make my cookie baking days. Since it was pretty chilly today, Misses and I decided to bake some sugar cookies from semi-scratch.

A big thanks to Kelly for picking this up for me at a garage sale for $2.00!

Let me explain the semi scratch . . .
Some time ago, I stumbled across this incredibly informative blog written by a woman who's family was transferred overseas. She quickly found that many of our U.S. "quick and easy" mixes and cleaning products were not available in her new home. So she found a way to make them. In doing so, she also found that making them saved her some $$. One of the things she makes is the bagged Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes. You know the ones that look like this . . .



So Misses and I made about four batches two sugar and two chocolate chip. They store for up to six months in storage bags in a pantry and up to a year in the freezer. If you want to check this out here is the blog, http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/02/fake-betty-crocker-cookie-mixes.html.

My little cookie artist.

 

The finished product.

Lets get back to the coolest kitchen gadget. All you have to do is make the dough and fill the cookie press. Then put the cookie shape disk you want in the cap. Pull the trigger while the press is pressed against the pan. Lift up and viola! Pretty cookies! Bake and decorate! Enjoy!