Different Chicken Noodle

When my son is feeling under the weather, I make him some homemade chicken noodle soup. It is such a healing natural remedy for colds, and I think it just makes you feel better by keeping your insides warm! Normally I like to use the typical onion, celery, and carrots, but I didn't have any celery on hand. So, I decided to make my own version using ingredients that I had. You can really use any kind of vegetables you like, and I'm sure it will taste delicious no matter what. I usually steam the chicken and vegetables first to soften them before I stick them in the broth with the noodles. When my son was younger, I would puree the chicken and vegetable mixture with a little bit of broth, then use it as a sauce over small pasta (elbows, wheels). It makes a great finger food! Nowadays, he is becoming more independent and likes to feed himself, so I just give it to him the same way we eat it! It is so much healthier this way without all the added sodium and preservatives that the canned versions have. The best part is my son LOVES it! :) Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed and cooked

6 oz whole wheat egg noodles

1 cup chopped broccoli florets, cooked

1 cup chopped carrots, cooked

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 tbsp minced garlic

3 cups water

3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp poultry seasoning

In a large pot, bring water and broth to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through, tender, and the flavors are combined. Serve hot, or at room temperature for toddlers. Makes about 6 cups. 

Different Chicken Noodle

Sock Mouse

See what happens when you give a girl an idea? I am going crazy with different sock animal ideas over here! In case you missed my previous post about Sock Animals... I have this book that is giving me ideas for all kinds of handmade, stuffed animals using socks or gloves. The idea for the mouse in the book used a grey mitten... the kind with the string attaching both mitten hands. So, they used one mitten and the string for the tail. I don't have a grey mitten, and I know I am certainly not going to find one anytime soon in AZ! So, I used a grey sock, some black fabric for the nose, pink fabric for the ears, and a hairband for the tail. Then, obviously black buttons for the eyes, and some white whiskers using thread...

Better view of the hairband tail...

My husband wanted it to be a mouse, but with fleas... as if it was carrying the bubonic plague! I told him that rats were the ones that spread it to humans... but, oh well! It's a mouse with fleas. I just made some black thread knots for the fleas... 

The cat approved of my design...

Sock Mouse

Peach Pancakes

Yum! I got some delicious juicy peaches the other day, and I wanted to do something different with them. I hadn't made pancakes in a while, and since it was Sunday, I thought it would be a great pancake morning! I made these yummy peach pancakes for my son. I added some flaxseed meal to this recipe for a boost of Omega-3! I was thinking of making a yummy peach syrup to go along with these, but my son was gobbling them up plain as usual, so I didn't feel the need to add more sugar.  You can serve these with some hot maple syrup if you like. :) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Arrowhead Mills Multigrain Pancake Mix

1 tbsp flaxseed meal

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp agave nectar

1 large peach, diced or pureed

Preheat a non-stick skillet or griddle to medium-high heat, and spray with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients except peaches until thoroughly combined and smooth. Add peaches and stir to distribute evenly through the batter. Pour batter into pancake rounds on the skillet and cook until bubbles start to form on the top of the pancake. Flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Serve plain or with syrup. Makes about 6 to 8 four-inch round pancakes. 

Peach Pancakes

Chocolate Overload Cookies

Oh, my goodness! These are so yummy! I've been dying to make some cookies for my husband and I, as a very belated birthday "sweet" (we didn't have cake this year). We've been putting it off, and finally today I decided to start some cookies. So last year for Christmas, I found this recipe from Food Network's website by Ellie Krieger for Triple Chocolate Cookies. Well, triple wasn't good enough for me, so I made some quadruple chocolate chip cookies for Christmas gifts. This time, I wanted to try something a little different. Yeah... quadruple wasn't good enough either. So, I added more chocolate! What is it called when you have five types of chocolate? Quintuple chocolate chip cookies? That just doesn't sound as good as Chocolate Overload! ;) If you think of a better name, let me know! Anyways, I guess white chocolate isn't technically chocolate, but since everyone calls it "chocolate", I count it as another type of chocolate in this recipe. I wasn't sure how these would taste since I had sooo much chocolate, but my husband and I tried them fresh from the oven yesterday and they were heavenly! Let me just say, you will definitely need a glass of milk along with these cookies! They are super rich! A great cookie for a Chocoholic! :) The recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies, but I didn't feel like having a big tin of cookies lying around, so...

later last night, I made pizookies. I just put the rest of the cookie dough in these mini-springform pans I have, and baked them a little longer than the smaller sized cookies (since they had been in the fridge for half the day, and they were also much bigger and thicker). Yes, they were absolutely delicious! I think it needs some chocolate sauce on top, though... ;)

So, here's the recipe, if you want to try it sometime. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)*

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate*

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*

1/3 cup white chocolate chips*

1/3 cup 60% bittersweet chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy. Mix in the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (gradually), and mix well. With a spoon or spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and mix well. Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes*. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool, or risk a mouth burn and eat them fresh from the oven! :)

*Note: I prefer the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet, 60% bittersweet, and white). You could substitute milk chocolate chips for the semi-sweet if you want more sweetness. For the chopped dark chocolate, I used the Endangered Species 72% Dark Chocolate bar with Espresso Beans (the one with the Tiger on the front). To bake the pizookies, press cookie dough evenly into the bottom of a mini-springform pan or other small, round baking pan, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. It should be crispy on the outside, but still gooey in the middle. Then, top with some yummy vanilla ice cream! 

Chocolate Overload Cookies

Another Tooth Fairy Pillow

I made this Tooth Fairy Pillow for my other niece that just turned 5 years old! She has actually already lost a couple of teeth, so I know she will be using this. If you missed my previous Tooth Fairy Pillow post, here's a little recap: When my sister and I were little, my mom made us small pillows (with a pocket for our teeth) to put under our big pillow for the tooth fairy. I previously made two pillows, (one that I liked, one I didn't) and I gave the one I liked to my other niece for her 5th birthday in April. 

So here's how you do it... 

Simple Version: Get whatever fabric you like, then cut it to the shape you want, twice (one for the front, one for the back). I think a simple square pillow is the easiest. Then get a different color fabric and cut in a small shape for a pocket. Sew on the pocket to the front side of the pillow fabric first. It's easier to do a square-shaped or triangle-shaped pocket here if you're new to sewing (like me). Once the pocket is sewed, place the front side of the pillow touching the back side of the pillow (so that it looks like it's inside-out). Line the pieces of fabric together so they're even, then sew around the outer edge (don't get too close to the edge of the fabric, leave a little extra space). Don't sew all the way around! Make sure to leave a small "gap" on your pillow edge so that you can turn the pillow right side out and stuff it later. Once you're done sewing, find your "gap" and carefully turn the pillow right side out and make sure all the corners are out and even. Then stuff the pillow with your stuffing. I used a polyester fiber fill in mine. Then slip-stitch your "gap" to complete!

Add-Ons: I added some little snips of lace fabric that I had in my scrap pile to the edges of the rectangle pillow. I just placed the lace fabric between the other pieces of fabric before I started sewing, lined them all up so that the lace was pointing inwards towards the pillow, then pinned the three fabrics together and sewed slowly... moving the pin as I sewed along the edge. When I got to my "gap" after stuffing the pillow, I hand-stitched the remaining snippet of lace to the other pieces of fabric, then closed the gap. I also added some ribbon "hooks" in the corners so the "Tooth Fairy" can grab the pillow easier. I sewed them while I was sewing the pillow together. I placed the ribbon hooks in the corners facing inwards towards the pillow, pinned it in place, then kept sewing around the pillow.  

On mine, I also added a story that I found about the Tooth Fairy online at the ToothFairyLand website. Click here for this super cute Tooth Fairy website! I also tied a small piece of paper to the pillow with some instructions on how to use it. :)

Have fun! 

Another Tooth Fairy Pillow