10 minute Chicken Noodle Soup

We have a very busy weekend ahead of us so I wanted to prep some food for Justin in advance. Lately he's been searching through the cupboards and when I ask what he's looking for he says, "hmmmm soup?". I think he's had soup maybe 3x in his life and I haven't bought canned soup in years. He's such a goof!

I make this recipe in my small crockpot. If you have a large crockpot I'd double the recipe. I started the soup while Justin was eating breakfast and it was done by lunch. There was virtually no dishes and no time spent cooking. The crockpot does all the work. I maybe did 10 minutes of work... that's why I called the recipe 10 minute Chicken Noodle Soup...

*Place into your crockpot...
16oz low sodium chicken broth
10 baby carrots (sliced into disks)
1 large stalk of celery (sliced into disks)
1/4 small onion (optional)
3 boneless/skinless chicken breast tenders (you could use 1 lg breast, just cook it longer)
salt & pepper to taste (I also threw in a bay leaf, I like that flavor)

*Turn the crockpot to high and let it sit 2 hours.
*After 2 hours "fish" out your cooked chicken and shred it. Place it back into the broth.
*Add 1/2 C of small uncooked pasta to the soup. (I used Orzo)
*Stir & Cook on high for 1 more hour.

I got about 5-6 big cups of soup. It will depend on the size of the pasta and size of chicken tenderloins you use :)

BBQ nuggets

Every kid loves mashed potatoes! Every kid loves Mac & Cheese! Every kid loves milk!
Nope. Not mine. Justin doesn't really have "every kid" taste. That's why I decided to spice up his chicken nuggets! Also- it's so mom & dad could enjoy too. 3 ingredients... that's all! Plus these freeze, so well! I let them cool and threw the rest into a ziploc bag. The next day, 8 mins at 400*- perfect!

BBQ Chicken Nuggets
2 large chicken breast cut into chunks (or strips- you pick)
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 cup bread crumbs (once again used the ole' wheat roll into the food processor)

Preheat oven to 375. Dip chicken chunks in bread crumbs and then into bread crumbs. Place onto greased cooking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
*If you want a golden color to the nuggets, I suggest using an Olive Oil spray to mist the nuggets before they do into the oven.

Zucchini Bites

Zucchini is probably my favorite vegetable. I think you can do a million things with it. It's got a light, almost sweet flavor. We always plant it in our garden. For 1 99cent pack of seeds I'll probably get 20 zucchini, the size of Justin's leg! They're the best when they're picked small though. Then there are really no seeds to deal with. Once a small zucchini is peeled, the slices look just like apples, so Justin was more likely to try it. Yesterday was one of those weird day where you have a bunch of odd leftovers to use up. This was SOOO easy to make and it was a huge hit!

1/2 small zucchini, sliced about 1/2" thick
1 cup Bread Crumbs (1 toasted Wheat Hamburger bun thrown in Magic Bullet)
Garlic Salt (optional)
1 egg (beaten)
Olive Oil spray

I set up a little assembly line leading to the pan on the stove. A plate of the zucchini, then a bowl with beaten egg, a bowl of the bread crumbs (I added Garlic salt- seems to be Justin's fave)and finally a HEATED pan sprayed generously with Olive oil spray.

Dip the zucchini in the egg, then breading and then into the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes each side or until golden.

I cut the zucchini in half and let Justin go at them. He was a little tentative at 1st so I offered him 1 with "dip"/ketchup and it sealed the deal. Then he was so into eating them he didn't even dip another at all.

Popsicles

I know I've said it before but if you have kids you should definitely invest in a magic bullet food processor! They're less than $50 and I've used it at least a hundred times in the last 19 months, including making all fresh baby food.

Justin & I were in the dollar store and noticed those "make your own Popsicle" molds. When we got home I threw...

*1 small ripe banana
*6 big strawberries (chopped)
*1/4 cup Vanilla yogurt

...into the magic bullet. It made 6 Popsicles. Think about the numbers. It's about 15 cents for 1 banana, 50 cents for the strawberries and 30 cents for the yogurt. 95 cents! You couldn't get a box of popsicles for that, especially popsicles made with fresh fruit. They took a few hours to freeze but after his nap he had a delicious (tasted like the Edy's "creamy" fruit bars) and boy did he love them :)

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

To be honest, I'd never even heard of Shepherd's Pie until I met Jody. I make a pretty darn good shortcut version! If you served this with applesauce on the side it makes a great complete meal. As far as veggies go, I like to use the carrot,bean,pea, corn mix. It took a couple of tries to convince Justin that it would be yummy but once he got one bite in he started scarfing it down. I like to make a whole 9x13 pan so we can have lunch the next day too!



Ingredients
Ground Turkey (comes in 20oz package at Tops)
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted & drained
1 cup brown gravy (I use the McCormick low sodium packets- they're SO easy)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 cups Mashed Potatoes
I made mine out of russet potatoes, skim milk, lowfat sour cream and margarine
you can use your own recipe or instant if you'd like.
1/2 C Shredded Cheddar

Preheat oven to 400*
In a large skillet, cook onion on medium until it's soft. (This would be a good time to make your mashed potatoes)Add Garlic, cook 1 minute. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Stir in mixed vegetables. Season with salt & pepper. Turn off heat and stir in gravy until your meat/veg mix is well coated. Pour mix into 9x13 pyrex/glass dish. Spread mashed potatoes evenly on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and bake 5 more minutes. Let stand for at least 15 minutes.

Orzo with feta

I am really trying hard to get Justin to like pasta. It is such a cheap, easy, versatile food and one of Jody's favorites. I've baked Orzo (those little football shaped pasta) before and watched him eat it so I decided to invent a new little recipe. I LOVE feta cheese, a tiny bit gives a ton of flavor and I usually have it in my fridge for salads. Plus broc-ca (broccoli) is always a winner when I'm cooking for Justin. Next time I'm going to toss in some shredded chicken and see if he notices!

Note the funny shape of the pasta "patty"? I baked his lunch in these Wilton Halloween baking pans (Jack O Latern shaped) because they make perfect patties! Larger and more shallow than a cupcake tin :)

In a bowl mix;
1/2 C cooked orzo (you can boil it in broth for extra flavor, if you want)
1/3 C cooked broccoli, diced tiny.
1/2 an egg (save the other half for breakfast I guess)
1 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
a few shakes of salt & pepper

Pour into sprayed muffin tins and bake for 12-14 mins at 375

Spinach "meat"balls

Today's Lunch
Spinach "meat"balls
Large pear
banana yogurt

I feel like lunch should be easy but it's not. Justin hates pasta- so no spaghettios, no mac & cheese, no noodles/ravioli. Justin also doesn't really eat meat. Lunch is my biggest challenge.

I had some baby spinach in the fridge that I needed to use up so I started to search for recipes. People are doing some wacky stuff to spinach to make kids eat it. When I try a new recipe it has to be pretty simple, budget friendly or work with what I already have. These "meat"balls are a mish-mash of like 4 recipes I read. They turned out pretty cute- looking like little meatballs. When I put them in front of Justin he said, "oooh brocc-ca?" Sure! Sure honey, it's broccoli, eat up :) I kid you not- he cried for more when these were gone... I was in total shock! They were SO good. Filling and savory but super light.

Preheat your oven to 375.
*In a bowl mix together
1 C. cooked (and DRAINED)spinach (I steamed baby spinach- but frozen would work)
1 tbsp melted butter or marg.
1/4 C. Parmesean cheese
1/2 C. bread crumbs (wheat toast in food processor)
1 tsp Garlic salt
1 egg
*Drop onto cookie sheet (sprayed with Pam) by the tablespoon- or shape into balls with hands.
*Bake for 5 mins & flip. Bake 3-5 mins or until golden brown.

Carrot Cracker/Snacks

*Recipe Adapted from Weelicious.com

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Carrot, finely shredded
2 Tbsp Oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the first four ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Using your hands, add the carrots to the flour mixture coating the carrot pieces with flour.
4. Add the oil and work with your hands to bring the dough together.
5. Form the carrot parmesan dough into a flat rectangular disk and roll out 1/2 inch thick.
6. Using a knife, cut the dough into sticks, 2 inches long by 1/4 inch wide.
7. Bake on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

This recipe was alright. I mean, I made a half batch and to get the amount of shredded carrots barely took like 5 baby carrots- that's not much veggie in the snack. I am very lucky because Justin loves baby carrots plain, so these seemed like a lot of work. They tasted kind of like a cracker. I added garlic salt and also substituted 1/2 of the oil for water. They would make a great finger food :)

Broccoli Nuggets

(Recipe adapted from wholesomebabyfood.com)
16 oz package of frozen broccoli (florets if possible.)
1 cup of breadcrumbs (or 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1/2 cup baby cereal)
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
5-6 tablespoons of water or milk
5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
shakes of spices as you desire

Preheat oven to 375F
Thaw and drain broccoli (if using fresh, cleanse, cook then drain and chop)
Mix together remaining ingredients
Shape the mixture into nuggets, rolls or whatever takes your fancy.

Bake for 20-25 minutes on a lightly greased/oiled baking sheet.
Turn your broccoli-cheesies after 10 minutes of cooking time - these are done when golden and firm.


These are yummy. Justin totally loves them. I do however, make a few changes. I use fresh broccoli, steamed, instead of frozen. I add a hand full of shredded spinach. I also make the bread crumbs. (Throw a piece of wheat toast into the food processor- SO easy!)

*Clearly, I'm not photographer and these nuggets were already cut in half so they could be a lot cuter*

Budget Shopping

The post below got me thinking about how to cut costs from grocery bills. It's something I put A LOT of thought into. I know lots of women who say they don't have the time or they forget the coupons... it's so much easier than you'd think, I swear! I make breakfast, lunch & dinner for the 3 of us 99% of the time. We RARELY go out and if we order food, it's usually for a snack if we have company at night. My budget is $50 a week. That does not include paper products or diapers which I stock up on when they're on sale. Paper products/cleaning stuff is the easiest to get coupons for- they're always in the paper. (I haven't paid more than pennies for toothpaste or Magic Erasers in like a year.) I have like 250 diapers & 9 packages of (good brand)wipes in the closet- total cost... MAYBE $20, at maximum.
Here are 5 helpful tips
1.) Websites. It can be frustrating to check the paper and not see any "good" coupons. You have to dig a little. If there's a product you like, check their website, lots of them have coupons or will email them to you
2. email. If the website doesn't have coupons, go to the "contact us". Send them a short email saying how much you love the product and that your family could really use a few coupons. Write the email once- copy and paste it for several websites. This would take seriously 5 minutes. You will be amazed when you get literally dozens of coupons in the mail!
3. Coupons double!. I shop pretty much at Tops and Wegmans only. I'm always shocked to see how many people don't know that both store DOUBLE coupons under $1 automatically. AKA a .$75 coupon is really $1.50 off! Last week I got a few boxes of ronzoni pasta FREE because they were 2 for $3 and I have a few .75off coupons.
4. Clearance I LOVE clearance racks. Many times food manufacturers switch packaging or labeling and the item will go clearance. ALWAYS CHECK DATES but if it's something like a dry good- scoop it up. The absolute best is when you can find clearance items you have a coupon for!
5. Know a good price & buy, buy buy. Chicken Breasts were $4.29/lb at Wegmans for the "regular packs", club packs were $1.99/lb. I always buy the club packs and freeze them 2 breasts each in little freezer bags. When Tops put the Boneless/Skinless breast for $1.49 each summer I buy literally 10lbs at a time. On the flip side I'll see them on "sale" for $2.49 but know to just wait it out.

Ok, after I went back and read this it seems pretty dorky but if it helps just 1 person, ti's worth it :)

Fruity Pancake Bites

Aww crap, it's been a week! I promise to start updating this more often. We had an awesome memorial day, actually it was like a 4 day long picnic so I was barely in by my computer. I did however come up with a good use for some leftover fruit salad.

Here's a little fruit salad I made with peaches, bananas & strawberries.
Next to it is a batch of pancake batter I made. You could do it from a mix, if you like. I've tested about 10 from scratch recipes and Jody just LOVES this recipe --> http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fluffy-Pancakes-2/Detail.aspx
*Note- you may notice the 1st step (mixing milk w. vinegar) seems strange. It's how you make homemade buttermilk. It is SO much cheaper than buying it and you have no buttermilk leftovers expiring in the fridge.


Ok, so you heat a pan like you normally would for pancakes. Dip each piece of fruit into the batter and lay it in the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes and flip, cook other side.
Voila! They're cute, they're fruit and they make an awesome finger food!