What Kinda Soup You Got To Have....

What seems like 50 million years ago, My friend Amy and I were looking for somewhere to order food from. We wanted soup and so I called up the restaurant and for some reason said, "What kinda soup ya got to have?" Instead of "What kind of soup do you have today?" Ever since then it has been a major joke when it comes to soup. 

Soup is honestly one of my favorite foods, not just in the winter months but in the summer, spring, any time day- I love it! I will chose a restaurant for dinner based on what kind of soup they have. And if there is free bread with it, Done Deal. And one of my all time favorites is Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup. Side of amazeballs Olive Garden Breadsticks- heaven! I used this recipe here. I would defiantly suggest using fresh spinach- not frozen. It will turn your whole soup green. I would also suggest using store bought gnocchi, and I used a rotisserie chicken for the chicken making it easier. I also grated the carrots instead of dicing because I suck at dicing carrots.

Second favorite soup- Lobster Bisque. By far amazing and my favorite. And for a girl who used to hate seafood. It has changed my life. Well this winter has been hard on us and I found myself hitting up our local Mariano's for their amazing lobster soup. So good and hot! With the nasty cold weather it was nice to find something comforting and warm like that. So I said "Self, I can do that" I searched Pinterest for a soup that would not cost a million dollars and found one. And it was for the crockpot, get outta here!! CrockPot Lobster Bisque - it changed my life. And was so easy. I did make some changes though. I only did two lobster tails, because they be expensive! And it turned out great! And at the end I added a can of cream corn, and it was amazing. It made it creamier and who doesn't love corn?


So I have been watching Top Chef Boston, and it has inspired me to not only want to rent a cabin on Cape Cod for the rest of my life, but it has also inspired me to love East Coast food. I told the Hubby the other day I want to take a trip to the East Coast and do nothing but eat Lobster Rolls, and eat CHOWDAH! So the hunt was on for a semi-cheap seafood soup. I found this awesome Shrimp and Corn Chowder recipe that was sooooo delicious, we ate it up so fast I didn't get to take a picture. Bacon, Shrimp, Corn- what more could you ask for? And the best part was it literally took me 30 minutes to make. The paprika gave it a nice kick and a deep flavor that was awesome! Side note- the beginning of this recipe starts off where you cook up the chopped bacon. I found that if you freeze bacon, and use a really sharp knife to chop it off and cook it in a cold pan, not preheated! This will help make the bacon nice and crispy! 
 
And last but not least, the easiest soup I have ever made in my life. I actually got it from the tuna website- which I hate tuna but this chowder is amazing.Charlie's Corn Chowdah is super easy, and the children ate it up like crazy!!  Pair it with some grilled cheese sandwiches and it's a super easy dinner.

The nice thing with soup is that it could be anything from a nice snack, a hearty lunch, a light dinner or even a midnight snack. And all of these recipes make a lot of soup, leftovers can be frozen or I even put individual servings in Tupperware containers in the fridge- for easy reheating.
Happy Soup Eating!!!

Easiest Chicken Marsala of My Life

I have a friend, Kathy, who bless her heart has 5 kids. She's an amazing cook, mother, cleaner, and always has great tips. Not to mention, a great Medical Assistant, which is how we met. She always has great recipes, cleaning tips and exercise tips. And she loves Jon Bon Jovi, which makes her golden in my book. One day she recommended this Marsala Cooking Wine and the Chicken Marsala recipe from the back of the bottle. I tried to find it in the grocery store, and was unsuccessful. Mostly because I think wine, I think liquor aisle but it's actually not alcoholic. Kathy was so adamant about me trying this recipe that she picked up a bottle for me, and I was hooked. I eventually figured out where it was in the store. I usually find it near the vinegar or the salad dressings and you can get a bottle for less than $3. And you only need 3/4 cup for one recipe, so it lasts quite a while. This recipe is actually the one from the back of the bottle, however Kathy and I have made several little tweaks for it to work best for our families. 

I start off with some butter melted in a pan, and add a package of sliced mushrooms. Super easy....Brown up the mushrooms and once they are brown, remove from the pan and I put them in the Tupperware container I am going to use for leftovers= less dishes. While the shrooms are browning up. I take thin sliced Chicken Breast or Tenderloins, and lightly coat them in flour. I actually had the munchkin in the kitchen with me this weekend, so this was her job. It was great, she got to learn how to work with raw chicken and the importance of washing her hands when touching raw meat- parenting win. Granted there was flour everywhere and she complained of the flour clumping up on her fingers, but she had fun.

So once the mushrooms are browned and removed, I put a little bit more butter and throw the chicken in the pan. I usually end up having to do batches because all the chicken won't fit in the pan. The original recipe says to let it cook for 4 min per side, but it usually takes me longer. Most likely because unlike the original recipe, I don't pound my chicken down. Because.....Ain't nobody got time for that. Once the chicken is browned up and happy looking, take it out of the pan, throw the mushrooms back in, add in the 3/4 cup - 1 cup Marsala Cooking Wine, little bit of water, some parsley and rosemary. The original recipe says fresh herbs....uh dried spices work just fine. I usually let that cook down for about 5-7 minutes and then pour the sauce over the chicken breasts.  I have made this with mashed potatoes on the side, which is nice because then the sauce soaks into the potatoes and it's heaven. You can also do egg noodles or in my case, I had no time and used some Lipton Parmesan Noodles.

Sorry- was starving- Had to take a bite!

You can get the Original Recipe Here.

Easy Chicken Marsala 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

flour

4 Tbsp. butter, divided

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine

water

dash of parsley

dash of rosemary 


Dredge chicken lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat 5-7 minutes and pour over chicken.

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings - See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.nJfinQjf.dpuf

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional) - See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf

Veal or Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional)

Directions

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition

Per serving, with chicken: 330 calories, 28g protein, 10g carb, 15g fat (8g sat. fat), 105mg chol, 430mg sodium, 0g fiber

- See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf

Veal or Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional)

Directions

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition

Per serving, with chicken: 330 calories, 28g protein, 10g carb, 15g fat (8g sat. fat), 105mg chol, 430mg sodium, 0g fiber

- See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf

Veal or Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional)

Directions

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition

Per serving, with chicken: 330 calories, 28g protein, 10g carb, 15g fat (8g sat. fat), 105mg chol, 430mg sodium, 0g fiber

- See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf

So I decided to start a blog...

So I decided to start a blog:

Why? Who the hell knows? I juggle many many many things in my life and I feel like I should always have some type of project to do. What better than a blog?? Everyone on Pinterest has one? And I am like the Pinterest Queen. Planning recipes, dream houses, vacations, craft projects, home decor.....only problem is I have no money to do all these things!! LOL

However, my New Year's Resolution was to be more organized in 2015. And Pinterest has helped me do this. And I have learned that meal prep, meal planning, and freezer meals have saved my life! HELL YES! Between working 40 hours a week, and Nursing School, and raising a 6 year old, and a 16 year old, and a husband....I need a lot of saving!

So I found some really great articles on Pinterest about Freezer Meals and I came across this....12-easy-freezer-meals-2-hours. It was a life saver! I was able to put together 9 different crockpot meals in about an hour. However, I had to make some alterations because the Hubby hates chicken. :(

I put the ingredients in the Gallon Sized Freezer bags and I wrote on the bags how long to cook on high and low and wrote what the recipe was in the bag- totally helped! And I have come to the conclusion, that you can pretty much freeze any type of crockpot meal.

So from the dinner category I moved to Breakfast! My daughter, Olivia brings her breakfast to eat at school in the morning. (Because her crazy mother has to be at work at 7 am!)  So I have to pack her a breakfast every morning. Long story short- the mom in me started to feel bad when she was eating Pop Tarts loaded with sugar every morning. So I decided to switch it up. I made her pancakes! I made an entire box of pancakes (following the directions on the box) let them cool completely (so they don't stick together when they are freezing) and stacked them in a gallon sized freezer bag.

1. The kid loves pancakes.
2. Super cheap- box of pancake mix cost me about $1.78 and made tons of pancakes.
3. It literally takes me two minutes in the morning to grab some pancakes out of the freezer bag, pop it in container for transport to school and microwave it . 

I found this great pin on pinterest about basically doing the same with french toast and making your own French Toast Sticks. Awesome idea! 

So while we are talking about breakfast, the hubby brings breakfast every morning on the way to work. Sometimes I am a good productive wife, and I make a bunch of different things for him to grab-n-go. Other times, the lady at the Starbucks drive thru takes care of him. Well, I got my shit together and made him some Mexican Breakfast Bowls. 

I originally got the idea from a pin for Breakfast Bowls. However, the hubby loves the spice! So I made the country potatoes and added some more yumminess!

I put the potatoes in the bottom of the bowl, added some chorizo that I cooked up, jarred salsa, shredded mexican cheese, and scrambled eggs....HOLLA! You got a breakfast bowl!! I used an entire carton of eggs, which isn't bad because I made 6 bowls aka 2 per bowl. I used a thing of chorizo, which isn't bad because when you break it up and cook it- there's not that much. 

I'm sure you could freeze these but he ate them up so quick, they stayed in the fridge.
It was a nice change for him from the Starbucks Drive Thru, and the Breakfast Burritos that I normally make and freeze for him. I will post those later :)
I think that is good for the blogging now.