Happy Pie Day!!

It is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and that means it's the day that I make pies. This year I only had three to get done, but one was apple which I have never done before.


I started with the pecan pie...


Then it was onto the apple. I spent the majority of the time peeling the apples and then I had the worries that it wouldn't all fit. But in the end it all seems as though it was for naught as it looks pretty yummy!


Then it was on to the old stand-by of the eggnog pie. Thank goodness it doesn't require any baking, but unwrapping those caramels sure is tedious.


Too bad that I won't be around to eat all of them as we're splitting the holiday with our families. I guess it just means that I'll have to make more pies later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Change in the air...

I know it's fall when three things happen. The fresh local apples show up at the grocery store and are incredibly crisp. Pumpkin recipes are everywhere online. And I have the urge to make chicken noodle soup. This last weekend I did two of those three.

There's just something about homemade chicken noodle soup. I don't know if it's the flavor of the broth, the big chunks of everything that's in there, or the distinct lack of saltiness that I usually find in the canned stuff. I do know that it makes the whole house smell AMAZING! I mean, when you have a chicken broth make that looks like this...

you know that it will taste the best.

Then there's everything else that goes into it. It's surprisingly easy.

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup
1 whole chicken
3 cans of chicken broth
2-3 cups of water (enough to cover it in the pot)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 whole bay leaves
cracked black pepper
pinch of salt
2 medium onions
1 lb carrots
1 stalk celery
24 ounce bag of thick egg noodles (I like the Kluski brand)

In a four quart stock pot, heat olive oil on medium high and then add the garlic. Once that has darkened slightly, place whole chicken on top of it breast side down until just browned. Flip the chicken so it's breast side up. (I also add a few chicken tenders or a couple of chicken breasts as I always have requests for more meat in recipes.) Let it brown for a minute or two and then add the chicken broth. If the meat is not covered, add enough water to just cover the chicken. Add sage, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, pepper and salt. Bring to slow boil and turn down heat and let it boil for an hour and a half.

While the chicken is boiling, cut up the onion, celery and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Don't make them too small or you'll made chicken mush instead of soup.
After the chicken has cooked, strain the broth through a colander and set the chicken aside to cool for a bit. Pour the broth back into the pot and add all of the vegetables. Again bring it to a slow boil and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
When the chicken has cooled enough to handle with your bare hands, remove the skin and shred it or cube it into one inch pieces. Add it back into the pot when the vegetables are just cooked. Let the whole thing simmer on the stove until you are ready to eat.
In a separate pot, boil the water to cook the egg noodles per the directions. Serve the soup over the noddles in each bowel.

Serves 6

I also made a chocolate chip pumpkin cake that always seems to go over well. Um!

Cleaning Out

The last couple of months I've been cleaning things out to make life better. I've been thinking often about how much stuff I have and how much I could do without and still maintain my happy quality of life. So I now have a general rule. Six months without use and it's time to evaluate if I really want to have it. One year and it's off to Goodwill or to be sold. It's only been two months and I still have way more than I will ever use, but at least I've started trying to figure out how not to waste my space, my time or my money.

A Little Treat

I found a recipe for a microwave chocolate cake not too long ago and was very sceptical about what it would taste like. But really, an individual(ish) size cake that would be ready to eat in less than ten minutes? I had to try it! I needed a little tweeking (the original was way too sweet) and so this is what I've come up with.

Quick Chocolate Cake
4 T all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
2 1/2 T cocoa powder
1/4 t baking powder
3 T milk (buttermilk works better)
3 T vegetable oil
1/4 t vanilla extract
1 egg
3 T mini-morsel chocolate chips (optional)
In large microwave-safe coffee mug (I found the wider the top the better) whisk all the dry ingredients together. Add the milk, oil, vanilla and egg and mix the batter until no lumps are left. Tap the cup on the counter a few times to get out the air bubbles. Pour the chocolate chips on the top of the mix but do not mix them in as they will work their way into batter.
Cook on HIGH for three (3) minutes in a 1000 watt microwave. Adjust the time or heat setting for your microwave strength. The cake will puff out the top of the cup as it cooks, but don't worry as it will fall back down when it's done cooking. Let the completed cake stand in the microwave for at least a minute before eating. Serve right in the mug!

This will real be good for two people, especially if you add a little ice cream. But let's be honest, who really wants to share chocolate cake?

Seeking Solace...

I used to be a firm believer that I just needed to get through things, now I am a proponent of ice cream. So here are my five favorite ice cream flavors for when I need to go to my happy place:

5. Edy's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. For someone who loves to bake, that this one makes an appearance shouldn't be surprising. This one seems to have just the right balance of vanilla ice cream, cookie dough and chocolate chips.

4. Bryer's Chocolate. It's simple. It's not too chocolatey. It's creamy. Why mess up a good thing?

3. Oberwies Mint Chocolate Chip. This is one of those super-premium brands that's superbly creamy and it's got real chips! Plus the fact that it's the awesome mint green makes it the ultimate mint chocolate chip go-to.

2. Ben and Jerry's Neapolitan Dynamite. This is one of those half and half pints for those of us who can't decide between Cherry Garcia and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Why choose when you can have both?

1. Oberwies Chocolate Peanut Butter. This has been my favorite flavor of ice cream since I was five years old. It's super smooth chocolate ice cream with real hard smooth peanut butter ribbons (and globs) through out. It is what man was meant to create when we first combined chocolate and peanut butter. And my cone is always gone too soon.

I know my list is rather chocolate heavy, but if I was doing doing a list that excluded chocolate it would be far longer than five. I'll just have to continue testing the product!

Long Time Coming...

So I need to think of something to say. I just really haven't had words to say what I've done in the last year.
Now all I've got to do is get through the latest move and I'll be happy. I just wish I had all my baking stuff in one place to get through the rough days!