Justin woke this morning and said he felt like having chicken soup. So, we made chicken soup.
Hearty Chicken Soup Recipe
To make the chicken soup broth:
1 cut up whole chicken
4-5 carrots, cut in half
4-5 celery stalks, cut in half
1 onion, cut in half
1/2 bag of frozen leeks from Trader Joes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add water to cover.
In a large stock pot, add a cut up whole chicken. (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 breasts, and 2 wings) We used a free-range chicken that we got from Honored Prairie. Add the veggies and covered with fresh, cold water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally to make sure things do not burn.
Strain the broth into a large container. Separate the chicken and shred. Skim the fat from the broth as it rises to the top. (This can be frozen and saved for a later date.)
To make the chicken soup:
2 tbsp olive oil
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 celery stalks, diced – make sure you use the pretty ones that have the leaves, too…they taste yummy!
1/2 bag of frozen leeks from Trader Joes (use the other half of the bag you had left over from making the broth)
1 onion, diced
shredded chicken
all of the delicious broth you made
3/4 cup wild rice (or brown, or use a mixture of both)
salt and pepper to taste
In the stock pot, add 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the carrots (diced), celery (diced), leeks, shredded chicken, 3/4 cup rice, and then the broth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally to make sure things aren’t sticking to the bottom.
Enjoy!
My little superhero turned five! We celebrated as a family on his day, and then invited three friends over for a (small) Superhero Birthday Party. Three very sweet and special five year olds came to celebrate my little man’s day!
We started with the superhero’s decorating their Superhero Gift Bags. I had previously made their shields with their initials on a word document, then printed them out on a color printer, and glued them to white paper lunch bags. Each child got a small box of crayons, which they used to decorate. I forgot the stickers…
Their gift bags were used to collect the goodies they found on the Superhero Scavenger Hunt! My husband came up with pretty cute clues for the scavenger hunt. At each stop they found sweet treats to fill their bags!
I added Superhero Cupcake toppers and food labels from printables I found HERE.
Just do a Google search, and you will find lots of Superhero stuff out there!
Scavenger Hunt
Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
1. Find your Super Hero Uniform located in the Dining Room, put your uniform on and proceed to step 2.
2. Find the location of the first prize; it is located in the “dungeon”. Be careful, it can be very dark in this location.
3. Next, find your second prize where the boy wearing the blue cape sleeps. Remember to only take 1 prize each.
4. After that, go to the spot in the house where meals are made to collect your next prize you’ll be amazed.
5. Locate your next prize in the machines that keep your clothes clean.
6. Next, find your prize near a source of heat and light, careful, don’t get burned!
7. Find your next prize in the place where Mater and Lightening McQueen would go to dream!
8. After you have located Lightening and Maters’ bedroom, find your next prize where guests would go to rest.
9. You are almost there, just 2 steps left, go to a spot where toys sleep best!
10. What a great job you have done, you’ve found the prizes, go to the kitchen for cupcakes and surprises!
Their first stop was where they found their packages with their individual uniforms: A No-Sew Superhero Cape! Each cape was made from polyester fleece (a 1/2 yard of fleece will make two capes). For this party, I made four capes, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 red, and 1 yellow.
A No-Sew Superhero Cape!
1. First fold your half yard of fabric in half (length of fabric should be about 23 inches, and the width should be about 18 inches, depending on the size of the children (or adults).
Then cut using this pattern:
Then cut felt pieces for the decoration you want for the back. This is what I did…
2. Trace a round plate on a piece of pre-cut felt.
3. Cut four different colors of felt.
4. Cut out 4 lightning designs out of yellow felt.
5. Cut out the letters. I did not use a template for this, because I could not trace on black felt (did not have chalk). You could easily use a stencil for this, or trace right from a computer screen (just lay the felt up to the screen and trace with chalk).
6. Use fuse-able webbing on the back of each shape you want to attach to the cape. Follow the instructions of whatever you brand you use. For the brand I had, I just traced each shape and then laid the rough side down on the wrong side of the fabric felt and ironed it on. I then just peeled the paper off the pieces, and layered them on the backs of the fleece capes and ironed.
7. Once everything had fused sufficiently, I then added iron Velcro to the tabs.
No sew and pretty easy. I made four capes in about 2 hours.
I wrapped them in packages made from paper grocery bags, and added their names to the front.
After the Superhero Scavenger Hunt, they then had Superhero Drinks, Superhero Snacks, made Superhero Pita Pizzas, and Superhero Cupcakes with Superhero Sundae Bar…
And for the Superhero Pita Pizzas, I used this BASIC recipe:
1 Round Pita
1 tbsp. of spaghetti sauce (or pizza sauce, whatever you prefer)
Various toppings (we used shredded cheese and mini-pepperonis)
Once toppings are on the pizza, pop them on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes.
…and they were Superhero Easy and Fun, because they could make their own!
For desert, we had cupcakes (which I store bought…I know slacker) and sundaes. The ice cream was pre-dipped in small clear cups and then we had the toppings for them to make their own.
Be Well!
We got the best snow last night and a supposed “blizzard” two days ago. Last night, after dinner, it started snowing and the flakes were the size of silver dollars, and beautiful. After a day of fort building, Justin took us on a snowy Indiana drive so I could photograph some of my favorite Indiana places to share with you all! I hope you all enjoy the sights…
I even had my crew with me…
Be Well,
Indiana isn’t really known for its fine dining. Actually, Indianapolis has a pretty strong reputation for being the chain restaurant capital of the country. Anyone living here knows exactly what I’m talking about. After moving from Chicago, it was quite an adjustment for the both of us. But, if you dig a little deeper, we think you will find some pretty amazing places to eat.
Justin and I have lived in the suburbs of Indianapolis for about nine years, now. Our current neighborhood is kind of out in the country, but close enough to the things you need on a regular basis like groceries and gas stations. There are plenty of kids for “The Kid” to play with, and we have a neighborhood pool for summer swimming. Our neighborhood has block parties for the Fourth of July, Halloween, and adult parties for Christmas, New Years, and St. Patrick’s day. It’s a good place to be. We often say that we’ve hit the lottery.
Recently, we’ve been on a mission to find restaurants that support local farmers, serve real and tasty food, and are not chain restaurants in Indianapolis. We’ve found a few we would like to share with you. Some that we’re sure you’ve frequented, but we’re hoping there a few here in this series that may open up a new experience for you.
To kick off our favorite “Not a Chain” restaurant in Indiana feature series is Traders Point Creamery’s The Loft Restaurant and Dairy Bar. Located in Zionsville, Indiana, which is about 20 minutes from downtown, 10 minutes from Carmel, and 5 minutes from downtown Zionsville.
The owners of TPC, Jane and Fritz, “started the farm to reconnect farmers and consumers by producing the most healthful products possible, educating the community about farming and nutrition, and by promoting a community of local food and sustainable farming.”
TPC offers delicious organic and grass-fed delights such as their divine cheese plates which include their creamy Framage Blanc, Herb, and Spicy, and their gouda/cheddar with crostini, grapes, and apple slices.
They offer a great lunch menu, and a Sunday brunch, as well as delicious dinner offerings. Honestly, we love TPC for dinner when we want to be treated with something special. The Loft Restaurant’s décor is rustic, with simple and casual touches such as Ball jar drinking glasses and glass milk jug flower vases. And at this time of year, they have a beautiful white pine Christmas tree decorated with white and colored lights, and red ribbons, which stands by the “Dairy Bar” overlooking their cheese room.
What did we have?
We of course started with the cheese plate. I had a glass of Tiamo Pinot Grigio organic wine. Justin had a glass of his favorite beer;Three Floyds Gumballhead from Munster, IN.
I had a grass-fed Filet Mignon cooked perfectly to medium with roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli. Justin had the same, but his filets were split and then smothered in a whiskey peppercorn cream sauce and a béarnaise sauce, with sides of roasted root veggies. Both meals were simple, tasted like real food, and were delicious. Sorry…we don’t have food pictures, we were too busy stuffing our faces!
We topped off our dinner with servings of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, while live music played in the background. It was a perfect meal.
If you get a chance, and are ever near Zionsville, I would recommend The Loft. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Tip: Wear your boots…it’s a real working farm, and real working farms are muddy.
Be Well,
Disclosure: We paid for our entire meal and got nothing from TPC for this review. We are fans of the restaurant, and just want to share with our readers {A Charming Nest}’s opinion.
We’re officially on vacation. Two weeks of nothing besides family, fun, and festivities (F3).
Wishing you all the happiest of holidays and the healthiest of new years, and hoping you all have the time to enjoy the greatest gifts of all: each other.
Be Well,
As I sit here, tonight, I realize that it’s unlike any other Sunday I’ve experienced. Although, I’ve done the usual stuff. Made dinner for my family. Graded papers. Looked over the tests my students took on Friday. Agonized over the ones that didn’t do so well. How am I going to fit “re-teaching” in this week? I’ve got a few that need it, and we’re out on break on Friday. I’ve graded my college students’ last papers and submitted their final grades. Answered a few emails. But I’ve realized, I’m just going through the motions.
Why is it so different tonight? My heart is broken. You see, for all you who aren’t educators, I want you to know what we (teachers) really do. Yes, we grade papers. And of course, we teach kids. But we also talk to them. We laugh with them. And mostly; we worry. About the kid who is crying in the hall. Who said what? Who was mean? About the kid who doesn’t turn in his work…ever. Why? Who is at home helping him? All kids need help. About the stories they tell us; the good and bad. The list goes on and on.
We teachers share our lives. And it’s all consuming. For most teachers, it’s not just what we do, it’s who we are.
During my first year teaching, I had a rough day, and I wanted to go home and never come back. Standing at the copy machine with my head in my hands, and tears in my eyes, a wise mentor teacher said to me, “Those kids who demand your attention the most, need your attention the most.” She was right.
So, tonight I’m reflecting. And I’ve been very emotional. I haven’t watched one news report. We’ve kept the TV off and we’ve listened to Christmas music. “The kid” has been reading, making books, coloring, and I’ve loved watching him. He gets his little Ikea table and chair, brings it to the family room and pulls his workbooks out and says, “Teach me, mama.” It makes me smile.
I don’t know how to handle things at times, and I just try to make good decisions and do the right thing. Most of the time. And with this, I’ve had a hard time wrapping my mind around it all. Actually, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Maybe it’s because I’m a teacher. Or because there isn’t a day that I don’t think about things like this. I’m just not very strong, I think. I keep telling myself, that this isn’t really about me. It’s really about them. The kids.
So, I’ve got two goals for my school day, tomorrow:
1. To keep my shit together.
2. To make sure every kid knows I love and care about them.
It won’t be unlike any other day, just a little more difficult than usual. And with that, I do know this about my fellow colleagues. We love your kids. We think your kids are great. We feel it is an honor to be their teacher, as we know we have become an extension of your family. When they are with us, they are in our care and we take it very seriously. We will protect them the best we can and try to keep them from danger. Your child’s safety is our first priority and it trumps everything else.
We now have 26 angels. And they, along with their families and the people of Newtown, are in my prayers.
Love each other. Hold each other. Lift each other up. Give your kids an extra squeeze. I hope you all are finding peace.
Be Well,
