Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

I got this yummy recipe off of the WW App on my iPhone. I don't subscribe online, but you can access several recipes every week. Check it out!

I am a bit delayed in this post because I was traveling to see family this weekend. My Mom Mom passed away in January and we had her memorial this weekend. My grandfather is also very sick, so I visited him as well. Please excuse my boggled mind!

Onto to cooking!

You'll need:
2 tsp salted butter
1 large uncooked onion(s), finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp table salt, divided
64 oz reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 oz uncooked pasta, small shape such as ditalini (about 1 cup)
10 oz frozen mixed vegetables, such as peas, carrots, corn and green beans
15 oz canned tomatoes, petite cut, rinsed and drained
6 oz cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast(s), chopped
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup(s) chives, fresh, chopped (optional)

Missing from picture is lemon juice (I think that's it). You'll have to pardon my airheadedness, it was a long weekend! 

I didn't have any cooked chicken in the fridge, so I had to cook some up. 

While you are cooking the chicken, dice up your onion pretty finely. I still haven't figured out the best way to cut up an onion. 

In a large pot, melt 2 tsp of butter. In the picture you'll see 2 tbs because I had a blonde moment! I was thinking that it was nice to have all that butter in a WW recipe! But I was wrong!

Just so you know, I did take out some of the butter! I didn't cheat! Add your onions and stir them off and on for 10 minutes. Also, add 1/2 tsp of salt!

Increase the heat and add your broth! Bring to a boil. 

While you are waiting for that to boil, drain and rinse your tomatoes. 

Once your broth is boiling, stir in the pasta. I just used some left over Orzo pasta I had in the pantry. You can use anything you'd like, but I'd use a smaller pasta. 

Add your frozen veggies. 

And the tomaters (as I like to call 'em). 

Boil that until the pasta is cooked 7-10 minutes. 

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Not in any particular order. I started with the chicken. 

Cheese!

Chives/Green onions! You know I love these!

Last 2 tsp of salt. 

Lemon...

Lastly, pepper!

Enjoy!

Makes 8 servings!

Points Plus = 4

I have no idea how many calories because I never did the points plus.....anyone know?

My Mom Mom loved to cook, and I think she'd be proud of my little cooking adventures. 

I don't have any great photos of her on my computer, but this was the beautiful cake we had made for her memorial. 

I miss you Mom Mom. 

Road Trip!

I had the joy of going on a mini-road trip with my bestie yesterday!

I've been looking forward to this all week. My best friend and I just have a blast together on road trips! We've been friends for almost 14 years....that seems crazy to me! Just about half my life now!

Anyway, besides spending the day with her, I was super excited to be going to the book signing for The Pioneer Woman! She's partly inspired me to start this blog.

We were a little crazy. My day started at 6am because we had to drive 2ish hours to go get our tickets for a place in the line.

It was well worth it though :)

Ree was super nice! I asked her if her cheeks were hurting from smiling so much. She said that her face naturally had a "smile" and that it helped with not letting her face droop! Not that she has any worries in that area!

We also got to stick our toes in the sand, so that was a plus! We had some extra time in between getting our ticket and the book signing.

Of course I had to go home and make a recipe from her new cook book! But I couldn't get my hubby to try it. I guess I have a lot of years to try to get him to open his mind about different tastes.

Enchiladas

I can't wait to eat this weeks lunch!

I'll get right to it- Easy Enchiladas!

You'll need:
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 pd Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 red pepper
6 or 7 scallions
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup canned stewed tomatoes (oops, I just realized I made a 'mistake')
3/4 cup black beans
3/4 cup chick peas
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
4 flour tortillas
1/2 shredded monterey jack cheese

First thing you need to do is take the casing off of the sausages. 

Next, chop up your red bell pepper!

And your green peppers (scallions). I used 7...the recipe said to use 6....but I just love 'em so much!

Start heating up your 2 tsp of canola oil in a pan. 

While that is heating up, rinse your 3/4 cup black beans and 3/4 cup chick peas. 

 Once the canola oil is heated up, add your sausage and start separating it with a large spoon or whatever you have hanging around.

Add your peppers and scallions.

Heat that up for about 6-8 minutes.

Then add your chili pepper.

Add cumin. Let that simmer for about another minute.

After that minute, add your chick peas and black beans.

Then your stewed tomatoes. I didn't read carefully and I added the whole can, not 1 cup. And I realized I needed to cut them up a bit after I added them. Don't make that mistake.

And your white pepper comes last!

Let it simmer for about 5 minutes. You will probably need to reduce the heat a bit. It smells yummy!

Start spreading the mixture over your tortillas.

Be sure to spray your baking dish first. You'll need a 2 quart baking dish. Put them in seam side down.

Lastly, add your 1/2 cup of cheese on top!

Bake 'em for 30-35 minutes. I only needed 30 minutes.

I had some left over filling. I'll keep it to the side and add some cheese on top for later.

Don't they look scrumptious?!

I can't wait to dig in!

4 points (old school) per serving (4)
Or 404 calories.

Enjoy!

Things I like...

The hubby and I will be celebrating our 1 year of marriage in a few months! 

Wow! Time flies!

I've been thinking about getting some jewelry with our initials and/or the initial of our last name. 

I'm pretty sure I've settled on this necklace from "unity" Etsy Shop

But I also like some others...

I like Sheri Stombaugh's Etsy Shop with this initial ring. 

I like "Prolifiquejewelry's" Etsy Shop for this gold necklace. 

There were a bunch of others. But I think these were my top choices. 

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the first necklace at some point. I'd also like to get the ring. But I'm not sure the hubby would like me getting both.....

Which one do you like the best?

Part 2

I've been afraid of recipes that require me to broil something. But I gave it a-go.

The second part of my lunch this week is Honey-Mustard Pork Chops.

You'll need:
4 tsp honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tsp wine vinegar
4 pork chops

In a small sauce pan, heat up the honey until it's liquid like.

Then add your 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard.

And the tsp of wine vinegar. Once combined, let it cool.

Get a gallon sized baggie and pour the mixture over the pork chops. Let it marinade for 8 hours or over night. I cheated and only let it marinade for about 4 or 5 hours.

Now here is where it gets a little tricky. I don't have a broil pan. So, I put my pork chops on a cookie sheet hoping it would be ok.

If you have a broil pan, cook them for about 6-7 minutes on both sides (meaning, flip them once).

This is how the came out. They looked nice and yummy, but when I cut them I saw they weren't cooked. So my little experiment and my fear of broiling things got worse.

So, I decided to cook 'em up a bit on the stove top with a little olive oil.

I cooked them for about 10 more minutes. Flipping occasionally.

I won't show you all of them because I kept cutting them to see if they were cooked.

It just wasn't a pretty sight. But this one looked ok.

So, I failed.

Kind of.

We'll see how they taste tomorrow.

If you follow the regular recipe (not cooking them in olive oil):
It's 4 pts (old school)
Or 178 calories per serving (makes 4 servings)