Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Sorry to all of you who read our blog more for the stories. I am pretty much storyless tonight. It just dawned on me that I told Mama I would post a recipe today and as I was winding down, getting ready for bed, I all of sudden remembered my promise.

Well, I suppose I can give a brief story about this recipe...

This soup was first made by my mother-in-law shortly after Brandon and I got married. We went to Thomaston to visit one cold, rainy, and, if my memory serves me correctly, snowy/icy weekend. My sister-in-law was sick as a dog and no one wanted to get out of the house, which made for a very lazy weekend. I can remember my MIL saying that she was going to make chicken noodle soup since Hallie was ill and the weather was cold and dreary. Admittedly, my first thought was "Chicken noodle soup--can you really beat Campbells'?!" Although I would never have said that out loud I now can admit that that's the opinion I formed before I even tried it.

After the soup was cooked and it came time to eat, I looked into the pot and had a second, very different thought. "Hmm, this doesn't look much like the canned chicken noodle soup I'm used to eating." Well, folks, my MIL proved wrong! In fact, it wasn't anything like Campbell's chicken noodle soup. It was ten times heartier and richer and mmm, mmm good!

Last night, another cold December night, I made and served this same soup to our Bible study group. It was just as delicious as the first time I ate it. Please try this recipe and I promise you won't be disappointed. And don't omit the lemon zest because you think it's weird...it adds a wonderful flavor and compliments the chicken and vegetables very nicely.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Kathy Berryhill

1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 large onion
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (~3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
3 (14 1/2 oz) cans chicken broth
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 oz) pkg spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces (I used Garden Delight fettuccine as that's what I had on hand)
7 celery ribs, diced
6 medium carrots, diced
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp grated lemon rind
2 cups milk
2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat (I used a large pot.); add onion, and saute` until tender. Stir in chicken and next 9 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in milk; return to simmer. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.
Yield:  12 cups

Enjoy!

Marie

A Dish a Day: Macaroni and Cheese

I have no doubt whatsoever that macaroni and cheese is a dish that will appear on many tables Thanksgiving Day. I grew up eating mac and cheese prepared on top of the stove. Not the boxed kind...that was never allowed in the house. My mother-in-law's macaroni and cheese is baked and, since that is the way hubby likes it, it is the one I prepare today. Imagine my pleasure, when as a young bride and cook, hubby declared my macaroni and cheese as good as his mother's!

I, also, have no doubt that everyone has their own favorite mac and cheese dish. But try a different way sometime and you just might be surprised!

Macaroni and Cheese
1 & 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
at least 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I add a little more..you can't have too much cheese!)
1/4 cup butter, sliced into pats
3 eggs
2 cups evaporated milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika for top (optional)
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, grate cheese. Beat eggs with fork and mix with milk. Drain macaroni. Spray 8x8x2 casserole dish with cooking spray. Place 1/2 of macaroni in dish and sprinkle half of cheese over it. repeat layers once more. Pour egg and milk mixture and sprinkle with paprika if desired. Dot Top with pats of butter. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.
Happy Cooking!
Nan

Of Projects and Passions

Gosh, I have been so busy lately! I have been involved with a couple of painting projects for friends. One project is complete, the other one, almost. It happens to be a mural on the outside wall of a garage and I am racing to stay ahead of the cold weather.

I did take a day off Friday from painting and went to "Christmas Made in the South" in  Augusta, GA with Marie. This is a large craft, gift, Christmas-themed type festival. We had a good time looking around and purchased a few Christmas gifts. But can you guess what we were always immediately drawn to? That's right...the food items! All of them had samples, of course, which we partaked of. One of the best things we tasted was Red Velvet fudge. The gentleman in the booth said it was his own creation and it tasted just like Red Velvet cake! Marie could not pass that up. I purchased hot drink mixes and pie and dip mixes from a huge variety of flavors and choices. After test tasting, we were almost too full to eat lunch. But we did anyway!

After lunch, we shopped a little before meeting John and Pat Curry for a tour of their business, Buona Caffe. Marie had purchased the tour on livingsocial and neither one of us had any idea what it would be about but it sounded like fun.

Buona Caffe is a husband and wife team who are artisan coffee roasters. Their operation is small by most standards but has seen considerable growth since they started in 2009. John showed us huge bags of coffee beans he had purchased from around the world...Sumatra, Brazil, Haiti, and Indonesia. He turned on the commercial roaster to heat to 400F then poured in about 8 lbs of beans. It takes 11 to 14 minutes to roast them. Then, they are misted with water and allowed to cool before they are ground. John showed us a couple of different ways to brew the coffee, one of which used a french press. (I told Marie to get one for me for Christmas!)
John says that your coffee will only be as good as the water you use to make it so always use filtered water. He and Pat are so passionate about it they donate 50 cents from every 12oz bag of coffee they sell to a program that helps provide safe drinking water to children around the world. Indeed, we enjoyed a couple of truly delicious cups of coffee with two very interesting people.
Marie and I came away a greater appreciation for the process of roasting coffee and bags of Buona Caffe's own unique blend.

You can find out more about Buona Caffe at www.buonacaffe.com. You can purchase coffee from their website and they do gift baskets. Also, check out the restaurants that serve their coffees. Some of them have their own special blend meaning it will be unique to their establishment. Oh, and they do blends for fund raisers. The Augusta Symphony sells a blend done especially for them to raise money.
I think I have caught you up so time to get down to business with the recipe I have today. One is from a cook book done by Wadley Baptist Church which has some fine cooks among its membership. The recipe for Ranch Pasta and Potato Salad was submitted by Willoise Brett, a great cook and a dear friend. Love you, "Miss Willi!"

Ranch Pasta and Potato Salad
  From "Taste and See that the Lord Is Good" Wadley Baptist Church.....Willoise Brett

6 small new red potatoes
6 oz rainbow spiral rotini pasta
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onion
8 slices bacon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing
 Cut unpeeled potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. In 4-qt saucepan bring 10 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add potatoes and cook 3 minutes. Add rotini pasta and return to a boil. Cook potatoes and pasta an additional 10-12 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well. In large bowl combine cooked potatoes, pasta, bell pepper, and onions. Fry bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels. Break into 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle over salad when ready to serve. In a small bowl combine mayonnaise and Ranch dressing, blending well.  Add to salad, tossing to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour or until serving time.

*Nan's notes...I really like to make up the packaged dry Ranch dressing and use it in this recipe. It seems to have less of a preservative taste than the bottled dressing.

Happy cooking!
 
Nan

Pizza Pasta Salad

Ahhhhhhh, the cooler days of autumn. What is it about the mild weather, bright blue skies, and turning leaves that would make a very UNsports NONfan like me think of football? Okay, I did my duty when the kids were in school and Marie was a cheerleader. I never missed a game. And I have never tailgated but it sounds like such fun!

Today I am sharing a pasta salad recipe that I think would be perfect for tailgating. That is, if I was of a mind to do it. The salad can be made in about 30 minutes. And because you make it ahead of time, it's ready to pack up and take along. Or you can serve it to your favorite football fans/couch potatoes.

This recipe was in one of the very first "Taste of Home" magazines to come out years ago. It makes a big bowl and I've rarely taken it anywhere that I didn't get requests for the recipe. I think it can be easily halved if you don't need that much salad.

This, friends, is "spiral" macaroni. Wonder how it got its name? Hey, wouldn't it be pretty to use tri-color spiral macaroni instead of the white? Go for it!

Now, isn't this pretty and colorful? Tasty, too.

Here it is all put together.Yummm! I'm going to divy up this salad into plastic containers and take it to the ladies at work. It will make their day!


Pizza Pasta Salad
1 pound spiral macaroni, cooked and drained
1 container grape tomatoes
16 oz. cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
3 or 4 green onions, sliced
3 ounces sliced pepperoni (I cut the slices in half because I don't like such large pieces of pepperoni, but, guess what? Hormel now has pepperoni in tiny slices! Cute and the perfect size!)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (the kind you find in the cheese section of the dairy. NOT the kind in the shaker can)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
In a large bowl comine macaroni, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, green onions, and pepperoni. In a small bowl combine oil, Parmesan cheese, vinegar, and seasonings. Pour over macaroni mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Yield: 16 servings

Happy cooking,
Nan