Chicken Noodle Soup!

So this past week, everyone in the house has been sick on some level. Sneezey, coughing, runny nose, stuffed up, fever, etc.. The perfect meal time cure for any sickness is SOUP! And what better than an all American favorite like chicken noodle?

I enjoy my chicken noodle with crackers (saltines, oyster crackers) - but it is also good served up all on it's own.... Mmmm soupy goodness!!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl each salt & pepper
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 Lb Vermicelli noodles
Roughly 5-6 C chicken broth (enough to cover)

Directions:

Heat your pan to a medium temperature and drizzle olive oil to coat the bottom of pan. Cook onions until translucent - about 5-10 mins.


Add chopped carrots and celery to cooked onion..

Cook for 10-15 mins or until carrots and celery are tender..


Add in your cooked chicken, also add salt & pepper..


Cover with chicken broth... and bring to a slight boil..



Cook the noodles in the broth. They soak up all the flavors in the soup pot. Noodles should be al dente.

All done!! Let cool and serve with crackers or as is. Wonderful for a cold day - or to soothe whatever ales you!

xoxo - Caitlin - Poeatery in Motion

So how do you all like the new header of the blog? In the spirit of the upcoming Valentine's day....any special plans yet for anyone?

In search of more breakfast items to make, I came across this recipe from a fellow blogger "A cup of Sweetness". This is a wonderful breakfast muffin that is not too sweet or over powering.

Now you all know I do not care for anything that has to do with yeast... this recipe is very user friendly and not complicated. I would like a little more lemon flavor in the batter, but everyone else that had one loved them, lol. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup sugar

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

FOR THE ICING

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend.

Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a tooth pick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them.

TO MAKE THE ICING: Put the confectioners sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 ½ tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon.



You can then drizzle lines of the icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely. Allow time to cool and enjoy!

I want to thank A Cup of Sweetness for the original post!

xoxo - Caitlin, Alpha & Omega of Poeatery in Motion

Creamy Chicken Carbonara

So if you would like an easy pasta dish that will be sure to please everyone at the table, then this is your dish! The creamy pasta sauce, chicken and bacon blend together so well! I personally would never imagine my life without bacon or chicken, lol.

Oh you know you want some! This is by far my favorite pasta recipe. But then again I do love pasta... it's the Italian in me ;-)

* 1 large chicken breast, diced
* 1 pound Penne Pasta
* 2 large egg yolks
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
* 6 ounces thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1/8-inch dice
* 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 1 cup of baby spinach, coarsely chopped
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (3 ounces), plus more for serving
* Freshly ground pepper


Directions:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until just al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, separate eggs into a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cream.


In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the bacon and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until crisp, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 1 minute.


Add spinach cook till wilted, then add diced up, cooked chicken and cook, 5 minutes.


Add the spaghetti to the skillet. Cook over low heat, tossing, until coated. Slowly add the reserved pasta cooking water, beaten egg yolks. Toss until coated with a creamy sauce, about 1 minute.


Add the 1 cup of Parmesan; season with pepper. Transfer to bowls and serve, passing extra Parmesan.


I hope you all enjoy! This is a hearty meal that everyone will love. I know my family sure does!

xoxoxo - Caitlin - Ingenious Poeatery in Motion creator

Nutella & Pear Pinwheel Scones

Alright folks - this recipe is relatively easy and I LOVE that it does not require messing with yeast! Yeast can be so temperamental sometimes.. Anyways, this recipe adds yummy nutella and delicious fresh pears to form a delectable breakfast or dessert!

• 3 cups of flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of milk powder
• A pinch of salt
• 3 oz of butter (roughly 6 TBL)
  
• ¼ cup of white sugar
• 2 oz of plain yogurt
  
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup of cream
• ¼ cup of milk
• ¾ cup of Nutella
  
• 1 large pear, peeled and grated

Preheat the oven to 410°F

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, milk powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients twice more to ensure they are well mixed. Mix butter in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Also add the sugar.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, cream and milk.

Mix together wet and dry ingredients lightly and quickly to make a soft dough, do not over mix or the scones may be tough.

On a lightly floured board or bench carefully roll out the dough to form a rectangle (or an oval in my case)

Spread the rectangle with a generous amount of Nutella and grate over the pear.

Taking up the edge closest to you gently roll the dough up to form a tight spiralled log.

Slice the log into 10 even portions and place on a baking tray leaving room for the scones to spread.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 410 F or until golden brown.


And there we have it! All done and chocolaty / gooey!

This is what "breakfasts" are made of!

xoxo - Yours in Crime - Caitlin

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Alright so this is a party FAVORITE! I have a few people who've said "oh I don't like spinach" but they turned into addicts for this dip. It is very cheesy and hearty as well, goes great with tortilla chips or pita chips.
So this recipe is for my pregnant friend Ali who just loves this dip and craves it. I actually made it for her baby shower today. :-P

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 oz. Frozen chopped spinach
2 - 14 oz cans Artichoke hearts
8 oz. light cream cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

First: drain and chop your artichoke hearts. Lay on a pan and salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes at 400 F.

Add olive oil to a large, shallow pan and set to medium heat. Saute spinach with minced garlic, until both are soft. Season lightly with salt and pepper.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Blend together cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, Parmesan, and sour cream with an electric mixer on medium speed, about half a minute.

Add cheese to mixture and blend well.


Add the spinach and artichokes to the cream cheese mixture, and blend with electric mixer on medium speed for about 15 seconds. Add salt and pepper.

Now bake at 375 F for 20 mins until brown and bubbly!

And voila! Hot & bubbly ready for consumption (after a few mins of cooling of course)



Nom nom! This is the good stuff!

Hope you all enjoy! Have a safe week and back to the grind!

xoxox - Almighty blog leader - Caitlin

Sugar Donut Muffins

So I have been looking for different ways to spice up breakfast every now and then. Eating from the taco truck ordering the same thing 5 days a week does get a little boring. Well these little donut muffins will definitely spice up your breakfast and they are very addicting! This is an easy recipe for a beginner baker, no yeast to mess with and it's just a matter of mixing and sticking them in the oven. Hope you enjoy!!

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking power
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons melted butter, for dipping
• 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon, for rolling

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tin with cooking spray. In a large bowl beat together sugar and egg until light and fluffy.

In small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

Pour into sugar/egg mixture and stir until well combined.

Add in vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Pour into muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 full.

Bake for about 15 minutes until tester comes out clean.

Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir together sugar and cinnamon in another small bowl. When the muffins are done allow to cool for a few minutes, until you are able to handle them easily. Dunk the tops of the muffins in the melted butter and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture.


All done! You can eat them hot or store in an air tight container to devour in the morning. I hope you enjoy them!

xoxo - your fearless leader - Caitlin