I've been into soup lately and have made this recipe a few times now. Dave and I have decided it's a keeper so I've decided to add it to the "Recipes" collection. I'm going to be posting family favorites on the blog so it's easy to access no matter where we are.
Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup
2 – 3 boneless and skinless Chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
4 stalks Celery, sliced on diagonal
1 medium Onion, roughly chopped
4 Carrots, cut in thin slices
1 package sliced Mushrooms, chopped
1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
½ teaspoon freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup Orzo (wheat preferred)
64 ounces Chicken Broth (low-sodium, fat free)
Heat olive oil (or use spray oil) in sauté pan and add chicken, cooking until no longer pink. Remove from heat and set aside.
Place celery, onions, carrots, and mushrooms into a large pot. Add just enough broth to cover. Cover and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the remaining broth, spices, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and add orzo. Cook until pasta is tender and then stir in chicken. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is heated through.
Serves 6
Notes: I often add a handful of chopped spinach at the end when adding the chicken. Will probably need to add more broth to leftover soup as pasta soaks up the moisture.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Chatham ... Remembering Summer
I'm sitting here listening to Christmas music but thinking about some of the "firsts" Dave and I have experienced in the past year.
One of those "firsts" was Cape Cod. I've always wanted to go there. There's just something about even hearing the name -- Cape Cod -- that kind of draws you there. Without ever having experienced it I could envision small little villages with boats in the harbor and beautiful little houses with flowers.
One of our first adventures was to drive to Chatham (pronounced Chat (like hat) um ... not Chath-um like we originally thought). We left the pups with Kim Kraft and went for a day.
I was doing internet searches on my phone (no easy task) to see what there actually was to do there once we arrived. I found a link to a Harbor Seal Tour and we called and made a reservation.
First we stopped in Chatham and found a place to park (not easy on such a beautiful summer day!) and wandered over to The Captain's Table for lunch. Yummy -- and a very sweet, quaint, New Englandy-kind-of-place. Just what we were looking for.
After we wandered around a little bit (little did we know that we had only scratched the surface of Chatham, something I found out when I went back a few weeks later with my brother Dan and Renee!) we went in search of the fishing pier where we were to go for our Harbor Seal Tour with Captain Dave Murdoch.
First time luck? What a wonderful experience.
The water was beautiful, there were only two other people on the boat with us (Robin and Tom from California who were just so much fun!) and the good Captain had stories to tell, information to share, and a great sense of what we'd like to see. There were seals everywhere. We saw them swimming, diving, and bottling (sleeping in the water with their snouts sticking up.) We learned about the cottages on the sand bar that had no electric or running water and were on a 99 year lease. If anything happened to them (like during a storm) they could not be rebuilt.
We saw the Chatham light house, learned about how the shore had eroded, and a little bit about the fishing industry on the Cape. We talked real estate, great whites, and about life on the Cape in both winter and summer. What a day of pure bliss.
After our tour we drove around the town a bit more and then headed back to the mainland. We took the scenic route this time (Rt 6A) and ended up in Scituate for dinner at Phins. This is the same area that my parents came years before and stayed while my dad took a carving class.
Our first experience on the Cape was delightful. We returned a few more times over the summer (I went to Chatham with Dan and Renee and then later we all went to Provincetown for a whale watch ... another incredible experience!)
Just a few pictures from the day to remember ...
One of those "firsts" was Cape Cod. I've always wanted to go there. There's just something about even hearing the name -- Cape Cod -- that kind of draws you there. Without ever having experienced it I could envision small little villages with boats in the harbor and beautiful little houses with flowers.
One of our first adventures was to drive to Chatham (pronounced Chat (like hat) um ... not Chath-um like we originally thought). We left the pups with Kim Kraft and went for a day.
I was doing internet searches on my phone (no easy task) to see what there actually was to do there once we arrived. I found a link to a Harbor Seal Tour and we called and made a reservation.
First we stopped in Chatham and found a place to park (not easy on such a beautiful summer day!) and wandered over to The Captain's Table for lunch. Yummy -- and a very sweet, quaint, New Englandy-kind-of-place. Just what we were looking for.
After we wandered around a little bit (little did we know that we had only scratched the surface of Chatham, something I found out when I went back a few weeks later with my brother Dan and Renee!) we went in search of the fishing pier where we were to go for our Harbor Seal Tour with Captain Dave Murdoch.
First time luck? What a wonderful experience.
The water was beautiful, there were only two other people on the boat with us (Robin and Tom from California who were just so much fun!) and the good Captain had stories to tell, information to share, and a great sense of what we'd like to see. There were seals everywhere. We saw them swimming, diving, and bottling (sleeping in the water with their snouts sticking up.) We learned about the cottages on the sand bar that had no electric or running water and were on a 99 year lease. If anything happened to them (like during a storm) they could not be rebuilt.
We saw the Chatham light house, learned about how the shore had eroded, and a little bit about the fishing industry on the Cape. We talked real estate, great whites, and about life on the Cape in both winter and summer. What a day of pure bliss.
After our tour we drove around the town a bit more and then headed back to the mainland. We took the scenic route this time (Rt 6A) and ended up in Scituate for dinner at Phins. This is the same area that my parents came years before and stayed while my dad took a carving class.
Our first experience on the Cape was delightful. We returned a few more times over the summer (I went to Chatham with Dan and Renee and then later we all went to Provincetown for a whale watch ... another incredible experience!)
Just a few pictures from the day to remember ...
Saturday, November 27, 2010
A Different Thanksgiving ...
With a year full of changes, why should having a non-traditional kind of Thanksgiving be any different?
Dave and I longed for the peace and relaxation of a quiet Thanksgiving here in Holden. Josh and Jess had been up to visit a week or so ago and we had a nice turkey dinner with them while they were here. It was kind of our "Thanksgiving With Family" ...
We knew that on the actual day Daniel and Meghan would be busy with their own celebration in Georgia, Josh and Jessica would be with her family, and we figured Bree would maybe get together with her Grandma or something.
As it drew closer we decided that we really were having trouble knowing that Bree, Grandma, and Mo would be alone for Thanksgiving. Soooo -- we decided to let Wegmans do our cooking and ordered a complete Thanksgiving dinner from them. This was a first for us!
Dave and I packed up and were in the car by about 7 a.m. -- the dinner was ordered with plans for Bree to pick it up about noon. She was going to bring it to Grandma's and get things started while we made the drive in. We were blessed with light traffic and fantastic weather. We arrived with plenty of time for me to go and visit with Mo while Dave and Bree got dinner prep underway.
As for the dinner? It was ok. The turkey was great, the mashed potatoes were pretty good, stuffing was fair and the rest was nothing to write home about. But it was nice to be able to spend the day with family ... that was the real blessing.
Friday we were up early and out the door to spend a little extra time with Bree and then headed to The Arlington to have lunch with Patty and Steve (so nice ...) We headed back to Grandma's house where Josh and William were waiting to see us. William was adorable and told us Grandma's house "was not a good place to run around." I was able to give the hat I've been making him a try to see if the size is right (it is!) when we took a quick trip to the bedroom to sneak in a little "jumping on the bed" time.
We packed up and headed out around 5:00 ... we had originally planned to stay til Saturday but the thought of sleeping in our own bed and having a full weekend to enjoy was too hard to pass up (not to mention we were worried sick about the pipes in the house since we'd turned the heat off when we left -- what were we thinking?) We were blessed with very light traffic and made great time. We arrived to a house that was 47 degrees inside and had apparently lost power while we were gone (but it was back on ...)
It was great to sleep in a nice toasty bed with flannel sheets (and a pillow top!) and to wake up at "home" ...
Dave and I longed for the peace and relaxation of a quiet Thanksgiving here in Holden. Josh and Jess had been up to visit a week or so ago and we had a nice turkey dinner with them while they were here. It was kind of our "Thanksgiving With Family" ...
We knew that on the actual day Daniel and Meghan would be busy with their own celebration in Georgia, Josh and Jessica would be with her family, and we figured Bree would maybe get together with her Grandma or something.
As it drew closer we decided that we really were having trouble knowing that Bree, Grandma, and Mo would be alone for Thanksgiving. Soooo -- we decided to let Wegmans do our cooking and ordered a complete Thanksgiving dinner from them. This was a first for us!
Dave and I packed up and were in the car by about 7 a.m. -- the dinner was ordered with plans for Bree to pick it up about noon. She was going to bring it to Grandma's and get things started while we made the drive in. We were blessed with light traffic and fantastic weather. We arrived with plenty of time for me to go and visit with Mo while Dave and Bree got dinner prep underway.
As for the dinner? It was ok. The turkey was great, the mashed potatoes were pretty good, stuffing was fair and the rest was nothing to write home about. But it was nice to be able to spend the day with family ... that was the real blessing.
Friday we were up early and out the door to spend a little extra time with Bree and then headed to The Arlington to have lunch with Patty and Steve (so nice ...) We headed back to Grandma's house where Josh and William were waiting to see us. William was adorable and told us Grandma's house "was not a good place to run around." I was able to give the hat I've been making him a try to see if the size is right (it is!) when we took a quick trip to the bedroom to sneak in a little "jumping on the bed" time.
We packed up and headed out around 5:00 ... we had originally planned to stay til Saturday but the thought of sleeping in our own bed and having a full weekend to enjoy was too hard to pass up (not to mention we were worried sick about the pipes in the house since we'd turned the heat off when we left -- what were we thinking?) We were blessed with very light traffic and made great time. We arrived to a house that was 47 degrees inside and had apparently lost power while we were gone (but it was back on ...)
It was great to sleep in a nice toasty bed with flannel sheets (and a pillow top!) and to wake up at "home" ...
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Mom's Stuffing
One of the things I've been wanting to do is start getting all the family recipes recorded in one place and this seems like a good time to start.
One of my very favorite recipes is MoMo's Stuffing recipe. It's the only stuffing I've really ever had ... and I can't imagine that another could ever really compare.
The story behind the stuffing is that mom got the recipe from her good friend Ruthie Kern back when they all lived on Britton Road. I'm guessing that would be the early 1950's. The recipe was originally attributed to Ruthie's Grandma Colgrove (her mother Elsie's mom.) Since Ruthie would be in her 80's now, I'm guessing that puts this recipe about 120 + years old. I remember my mom telling me that back when Great-Grandma Colgrove (as I called her) made this recipe, they had to not only make the bread but also the crackers from scratch in order to make it. Making stuffing was a lot of work!
Anyway, here is the recipe.
Mom's Turkey Stuffing
Single batch (enough for small turkey):
1 loaf fresh Bread
1 stack Saltine Crackers
1 medium Onion
2 cups Milk
2 sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
2 Eggs
To Double (enough for large turkey):
1 ¾ loaves fresh Bread
2 stacks Saltine Crackers
1 large Onion
3 cups Milk
2 ½ sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
3 Eggs
Cube bread (using an electric knife really speeds this up!) and crumble crackers. Chop onion. Mix together in large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, heat milk and margarine over low heat in saucepan until margarine is melted and milk is hot. Pour over bread mixture and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sage to taste.
Beat the eggs until fluffy and fold in. If too soupy, add more crackers. If too dry, add another egg. Salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff turkey. If baking stuffing separately, place in greased casserole and cover. Bake at 325 for about one hour.
One of my very favorite recipes is MoMo's Stuffing recipe. It's the only stuffing I've really ever had ... and I can't imagine that another could ever really compare.
The story behind the stuffing is that mom got the recipe from her good friend Ruthie Kern back when they all lived on Britton Road. I'm guessing that would be the early 1950's. The recipe was originally attributed to Ruthie's Grandma Colgrove (her mother Elsie's mom.) Since Ruthie would be in her 80's now, I'm guessing that puts this recipe about 120 + years old. I remember my mom telling me that back when Great-Grandma Colgrove (as I called her) made this recipe, they had to not only make the bread but also the crackers from scratch in order to make it. Making stuffing was a lot of work!
Anyway, here is the recipe.
Mom's Turkey Stuffing
Single batch (enough for small turkey):
1 loaf fresh Bread
1 stack Saltine Crackers
1 medium Onion
2 cups Milk
2 sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
2 Eggs
To Double (enough for large turkey):
1 ¾ loaves fresh Bread
2 stacks Saltine Crackers
1 large Onion
3 cups Milk
2 ½ sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
3 Eggs
Cube bread (using an electric knife really speeds this up!) and crumble crackers. Chop onion. Mix together in large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, heat milk and margarine over low heat in saucepan until margarine is melted and milk is hot. Pour over bread mixture and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sage to taste.
Beat the eggs until fluffy and fold in. If too soupy, add more crackers. If too dry, add another egg. Salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff turkey. If baking stuffing separately, place in greased casserole and cover. Bake at 325 for about one hour.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
No Spaces At The Mall ...
You know how the verse goes "but there was no room for them at the Inn ..."? Yesterday we drove up to Burlington Mall just for the fun of it. We wanted to take in the mall decorations BEFORE Christmas shopping mania hit.
Silly us. It's already begun. Hard to believe that there's a tough economy out there when we honestly could NOT find a place to park. Nothing. Nada. We waited for several minutes in the aisle (in a face off with someone else doing the same thing) after a guy came out and got in his car. However, he never left. (We suspect he was a mall worker on a lunch break who was escaping from the madness.)
We finally gave up figuring that even if we did manage to make it into the mall, all the restaurants would be mobbed and lunch would be a very long wait. We headed over to the Barnes & Noble across the street.
Let me just say that the Burlington Barnes & Noble does NOT have enough parking spots. I was told by a bookseller inside that it's the largest bookstore in New England (and they do NOT have a train table in their children's department -- what's up with that????) and we just got lucky with a spot.
Of course there were no seats in the Cafe either so getting a coffee/tea and cookie was not an option. After browsing for a bit we decided we were both very hungry and decided to try to find a place on the way home for what was now going to be dinner.
Hard to find places to eat when you're on the highway. We started talking about what was available on Route 9 because we wanted to stop in the new Price Chopper and pick up some groceries.
When we arrived at the Price Chopper there was (again) not a space to be had. Police men were directing traffic in and out of the parking lot and we decided this just wasn't our day.
As we headed back out onto Route 9 (we seriously HATE Route 9) we decided that Holden's Wong Dynasty and the Big Y were looking better and better.
With growling tummies we arrived at Wong Dynasty and got a GREAT parking spot and had one of the best meals we've ever had there. The LoMein was perfect, my Orange Chicken was beyond yummy, and Dave's Kung Pao Delight was, well, delightful.
A quick trip to Big Y got us the milk, bread, and snacks necessary for a relaxing evening. It was so sweet to get home to the pups.
We watched Sideways (a recent Netflix pick that we both liked) and put our feet up. The day didn't go as planned but it was sure fun spending it together!
Silly us. It's already begun. Hard to believe that there's a tough economy out there when we honestly could NOT find a place to park. Nothing. Nada. We waited for several minutes in the aisle (in a face off with someone else doing the same thing) after a guy came out and got in his car. However, he never left. (We suspect he was a mall worker on a lunch break who was escaping from the madness.)
We finally gave up figuring that even if we did manage to make it into the mall, all the restaurants would be mobbed and lunch would be a very long wait. We headed over to the Barnes & Noble across the street.
Let me just say that the Burlington Barnes & Noble does NOT have enough parking spots. I was told by a bookseller inside that it's the largest bookstore in New England (and they do NOT have a train table in their children's department -- what's up with that????) and we just got lucky with a spot.
Of course there were no seats in the Cafe either so getting a coffee/tea and cookie was not an option. After browsing for a bit we decided we were both very hungry and decided to try to find a place on the way home for what was now going to be dinner.
Hard to find places to eat when you're on the highway. We started talking about what was available on Route 9 because we wanted to stop in the new Price Chopper and pick up some groceries.
When we arrived at the Price Chopper there was (again) not a space to be had. Police men were directing traffic in and out of the parking lot and we decided this just wasn't our day.
As we headed back out onto Route 9 (we seriously HATE Route 9) we decided that Holden's Wong Dynasty and the Big Y were looking better and better.
With growling tummies we arrived at Wong Dynasty and got a GREAT parking spot and had one of the best meals we've ever had there. The LoMein was perfect, my Orange Chicken was beyond yummy, and Dave's Kung Pao Delight was, well, delightful.
A quick trip to Big Y got us the milk, bread, and snacks necessary for a relaxing evening. It was so sweet to get home to the pups.
We watched Sideways (a recent Netflix pick that we both liked) and put our feet up. The day didn't go as planned but it was sure fun spending it together!
Monday, November 01, 2010
Way Too Long ...
Just looking at the dates between the last entry and the most current one makes me cringe ... could it really be four months have passed since my last post?
It upsets me that I haven't blogged more since we've had so much fun since July (seriously -- nothing posted about our cruise to Alaska?!!!) and we've done so much exploring (with pictures to prove it!)
Truth is, I've had a little trouble with Blogger (well, actually a LOT of trouble) trying to work with the old and new editor software they provide. It's created a lot of frustration and I've spent more time than I'd care to admit trying to work through it. I finally resorted to using the old editor once again which is not without a whole bunch of glitches. And not much fun.
However, I really want to get these posts up and record what we've been doing before we get so backlogged that I forget details and too much gets left out.
So -- I'm going to try once again to work through the problems. If worse comes to worse, I may just have to switch to another blogging format.
Here's to keeping my fingers crossed for success (and lots of help in the support forums!)
It upsets me that I haven't blogged more since we've had so much fun since July (seriously -- nothing posted about our cruise to Alaska?!!!) and we've done so much exploring (with pictures to prove it!)
Truth is, I've had a little trouble with Blogger (well, actually a LOT of trouble) trying to work with the old and new editor software they provide. It's created a lot of frustration and I've spent more time than I'd care to admit trying to work through it. I finally resorted to using the old editor once again which is not without a whole bunch of glitches. And not much fun.
However, I really want to get these posts up and record what we've been doing before we get so backlogged that I forget details and too much gets left out.
So -- I'm going to try once again to work through the problems. If worse comes to worse, I may just have to switch to another blogging format.
Here's to keeping my fingers crossed for success (and lots of help in the support forums!)
William ... The Garden Gnome
It's so hard to be living so far away when you know that there is fun being had in your former stomping grounds.
Case in point -- Trunk or Treat.
There isn't much we would have enjoyed more than to have been there to see William enjoying the bounce house (which I understand was his absolute favorite thing to do!) the games, and the trunk or treating that took place yesterday at Orchard Community Church (a.k.a. Latta Road Baptist Church where we used to attend when living in Rochester.) But ... that just wasn't to be.
Luckily, Bree was there with camera in hand to snap a few pictures for us to enjoy. Apparently the majority of the bounce house pictures were mostly a blur that resembled a little gnome jumping through the air ... the better pictures (meaning in-focus!) came when William was convinced the playground was lots of fun too.
Here's a few pictures of our little Garden Gnome. Gosh, it brings back memories of when the kids were little and they watched David The Gnome on TV ...
Case in point -- Trunk or Treat.
There isn't much we would have enjoyed more than to have been there to see William enjoying the bounce house (which I understand was his absolute favorite thing to do!) the games, and the trunk or treating that took place yesterday at Orchard Community Church (a.k.a. Latta Road Baptist Church where we used to attend when living in Rochester.) But ... that just wasn't to be.
Luckily, Bree was there with camera in hand to snap a few pictures for us to enjoy. Apparently the majority of the bounce house pictures were mostly a blur that resembled a little gnome jumping through the air ... the better pictures (meaning in-focus!) came when William was convinced the playground was lots of fun too.
Here's a few pictures of our little Garden Gnome. Gosh, it brings back memories of when the kids were little and they watched David The Gnome on TV ...
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