Chicken Tortellini Soup

I came across this recipe online, I can't remember where to give credit, which is sad cuz this is AWESOME!!!  The whole fam loved this one.  Give it a try, and let me know if you do!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 large chicken Breasts
1 large onion
2-3 stalks celery chopped
2-3 carrots chopped
1 clove garlic mined
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. sage
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 c. beef broth
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 small pkg. tortellini
grated parmesan

Saute chicken pieces in olive oil and brown. Add celery, onions, and carrots. Cook till soft. Return chicken to pan; add garlic, spices, tomatoes, broths, and tomato sauce. Simmer 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook tortellini in boiling water. Rinse and drain. Add tortellini to soup. Cook 3-5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Makes 6-8 large servings.

More kids say and a recipe

So...my boy is truly a boy.  The other day Teeny Bopper was blowing bubbles for the boys and one bubble popped near her collarbone.  Dr. D took note of that and commented, "haha That one popped on your good things!"  She was like, "Good things?"  He said, "You know, your moobs".  And then he whispered "boobs", in case she didn't get it.
She got it.
Oh, boy.  Raising boys is going to be fun!!  :)

Anyway, here is a recipe that everyone really liked!!  I can't say how sick I am of hearing "I don't like that!" or "I don't want that!" at dinner almost every stinking day lately!  Ugh  I wanted to make tuna casserole and didn't want to use canned cream soup.  So I googled and found this one.  I modified it a little bit and voila!  Here it is:
Ingredients:
16 oz. egg noodles                                  2 cups milk
4 T butter                                               2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 T flour                                                 2 cans tuna, drained
2 t salt (opt. to taste)

Cook noodles al dente.  Drain.
For the sauce, combine flour, butter and salt.  Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined.  Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens.   Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and well blended. Stir in tuna and noodles.
Serves our family of 8 just fine.

That's it!  Super creamy and you will never want to use canned cream soup again.

Food stuff

I have been taking a lot of great nutrition classes lately.  I feel the need to be more healthy, and especially to lost weight in order to be healthier.  I decided to post random nutrition tips here on my blog, in order to remind myself of what I am learning, and to share info.  You know how you always learn more when you try explaining to others?  It helps cement the info into my own head.  
Becoming educated is one thing, applying what you learn is completely another.  Yah, that is definitely the part I struggle with.  :)  So if I am posting things here, it will give me some accountability.  Hopefully.  :)

So, here is a tip for today:

Kale Chips. A great way to get more dark green veggies and satisfy cravings for salty snacks, like potato chips.  These are so easy, cheap, and kids usually love them!


Ingredients:
1-2 big bunches kale, leaves chopped to chip sized pieces
         **you don't want any of the stem, just the leaves
1 tablespoon oil, preferably olive
salt, to taste, and any other seasoning blend you would like to use (or not)
you can also add 1 T apple cider vinegar if you like, but this is not necessary

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Spread kale onto baking sheet. Pour the apple cider vinegar, oil, salt and seasoning onto kale. Mix to coat all pieces.
         **give the leaves a nice rub with your fingers to get the oil all over them. season lightly with salt (as the leaves dehydrate, they'll shrink, so the chips will taste much saltier than when they go in).


3. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy.
         ** Lay leaves flat on a baking sheet; don't overlap them, but they can be close to one another. Bake until they're dried, crisp and crackly with no chewiness left.  In any event, be sure not to bake them for too long, lest they brown and get too intense.

Try them!  And let me know what you think.  :)

Honey Brownies

This is the recipe we have used a couple of times for brownies.  They are made with honey instead of sugar, and they are so delicious! 

HONEY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
(2000 Huron County Fair Blue Ribbon Winner)

1 cup softened butter
½ tsp. Salt
1 ½ cups honey
1 cup flour
3 eggs beaten
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa
Beat the butter with mixer until creamy. Slowly add honey, mixing constantly. Add the eggs, vanilla and salt. Add the cocoa. Add the flour. Add the nuts. Make sure it is mixed completely. Pour batter into greased 9x13x2 inch. deep pan and bake at 350* for 30 to 35 minutes.

The perfect combination

These two little ingredients here:

Are magical together.  Really.  I would actually suggest frozen peas over canned for health and flavor, but we were out of money, out of time and this is what I had.  Even with these, the most delicious side dish was born!
I combined 2 cans of heated peas with half of this Boursin cheese.  Just stir and the cheese melts right in.  Boursin is an herbed cream cheese, which is delicious on so many things.  Let me know if you try this!  Yum...