French Onion Soup

I do not like french onion soup. 

I have found out that I LOVE french onion soup. 

Get this, no one else I live with likes it so I don't have to share!!! 
(insert happy dance here!)  

Here it is: 

I think that I left it in the broiler a little to long. :( 

OR I didn't add enough cheese to the top. 

Yes I think I will go with that. Not enough cheese!!

This is what you will need:

6 medium onions, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

5 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I used WildTree!)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

64 ounces of beef stock-low sodium (or 8 cubes) 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

french bread

Mozzarella cheese 

     (I know I know it's not what you use, it's what I had!!) 

I have been checking out other recipes and another girl put in beer! Now that's something I might have to do next time. 8-12 ounces. 

To cook: Use soup pot over medium heat, add onions, garlic, brown sugar, butter, balsamic and pepper. Mix until combined. Let it cook until the onions turn a caramel color, remember to stir occasionally. Add in the flour and stir until mixed again. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Add in the beef stock and bring to a boil. Now if you only have the cubes. Follow directions on the jar to make the stock. Turn the heat down and let it simmer. I will make this in the morning then let it simmer until lunch time. By then I can not handle it anymore and I have to eat it!! 

Before I do though I add the soup to a oven safe bowl cut up my french bread place that on top and add cheese! I turn my boiler on then on a cookie sheet I place my bowl. Keep your eye on it, the cheese on top will melt pretty quickly. 2-3 minutes. 

A Week of Valentine's

I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day. A day that if you have a guy in your life they are "made" to do something for you. I think that they should always do something nice for you. Although the longer that I am married I am understanding why so many other women love this day. I was watching a show yesterday and the host was telling a woman, a man does not "forget" Valentine's Day. He is just cheap. Now I am not saying Chris is cheap. He is just lacking in being creative with the money he has. So this year I started early. I sent him a link for free dates ideas and also a link to something I would love if he had the money. We will see if anything happens. 

So just because Valentine's Day isn't the greatest for myself that doesn't mean I can't have fun with the girls. I cut out little hearts and have been putting them up on their bedroom door with cute little sayings on them. We have spent time getting the cards ready for school. Avery has been working on writing her name. She has gotten pretty good at it. Although she spells it "Avert" lol. That "Y" is still a little hard for her! I have been crafting and I showed Whitney how to stitch the blanket stitch. She is making her boyfriend a present. It's an elephant out of old Valentine pj bottoms I had gotten her years ago. Tonight, Avery and I will put together the butterfly cards I made with Whitney when she was in preschool. 

I have been cooking a lot more lately. I found a recipe on Pinterest that showed carrots in the shape of hearts. So I HAD to do that. Turns out they are not as easy as I thought. Everyone still loved them though. This is what I made. 

Chicken Riddle Soup, 
from "Kids in the Kitchen" Cookbook from Pampered Chef. 

Cute right? :)

This is what you will need;

1 small onion

2 medium carrots

2 celery stalks

2 tablespoons snipped parsley

3/4 pound chicken

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 garlic clove

2 packages ramen-chicken flavor

5 cups water 

Cut onion, peel and cut carrots.(for the hearts, cut v-shape out of top then peel to shape into hearts) cut up celery, mince the garlic. I put all of this into a soup pot. I cooked them until they were softened. Then added the seasoning packets and the water. 

I cooked the chicken in a pan after cutting them into cubes. Once they were done I added them to the soup pot. Bring soup to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. 

Break noodles into small pieces, this part was fun!!! Add them to the soup, increase the heat to medium. Cook until the noodles are tender. 

Just before serving stir in the parsley. 

OK you may have noticed that I crossed out the parsley and the salt. I didn't have parsley and to tell you the truth. I wouldn't have added it if I did. My kids do not like green things floating around the soup. Add it if your kids are not weird like mine! Then I didn't add anymore salt. If you have ever had the ramen you know that it has enough salt in the seasoning packet. 

Thanks for letting me share! I hope this all make sense if not. Blame the lack of coffee!! OR just post a comment if you have any questions. 

Always and Forever,

Just Kim

I Made Dinner Tonight!!

I know there are people out there all the time making dinner every night for the family or yourself. I just have not felt like it. So I am doing the happy dance that I did do it. Well until Avery wouldn't eat the smallest piece of chicken ever! That story can be for later. Stay tuned!!! LOL. 

This is what I made. Creamy Bow-Tie Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli. YUMMY!! F.Y.I. Please read the whole blog post before making! 

Don't you just love my plates? 

They look so nice next to the broccoli. 

Here is what you need:

3 cups (8oz) bow-tie pasta(or the whole box)

4 cups broccoli florets, (I used half of a 10 oz bag)

3 Tbsp. Italian Dressing, (use what ever one is on sale!)

1.5 lbs. of Chicken, 

   (I do not like touching chicken so I got the tenders. 

    Then most of the cutting it done! Woot!)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of Hunt's four cheese pasta sauce, (.88@Walmart!! Hello!)

8 oz of Cream Cheese (yes you can used the low fat one, party pooper)

1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese

I cut up my chicken a couple of hours before dinner and put it in a dish with some of the salad dressing, then put it back in the refrigerator. 

COOK pasta as directed on the package. In the last three minutes throw in the broccoli. (This is where I take some of the pasta out before the broccoli and make buttered noodles for Avery)

While that is cooking start chicken. I heated my pan and put in a little of Wild Tree's Grape Seed Oil with the garlic. Once that looked good I scooped out the chicken and put it in the pan. It shouldn't take more then 10 minutes to cook. (Make sure it reaches, 160F)

While the pasta is cooking and the chicken is cooking put the pasta sauce in a sauce pan and put on the stove. Cube the cream cheese and throw that in with the sauce. (This is really something I do first just because it takes a little bit for the cheese to melt into the sauce)

Drain the pasta and broccoli. You can put this into a serving dish or save yourself dishes and use the pot you cooked it in. Don't forget the trivet for your table. Once the the chicken is cooked the sauce should be done. Bring everything to the table. Enjoy!!! 

Now in all reality I don't think that my hubby ate anything all day and this did not fill him. So salad as another side might be a good idea. You could add more chicken. I only used that amount because I have an Avery that doesn't eat the chicken. Nice segway huh? 

So little miss I don't eat chicken, "oh but you kind of do because you eat nuggets. Now I know you wouldn't if you only knew what was in them....well never mind! You like chicken!!"

I told her at the beginning of dinner that she had to try my chicken. Not even a whole chunk half of that. She said no, shocker right? So everyone is done with dinner, plates are cleared, lunches are made, dishes had been started. Whitney took a shower. Avery, she is still at the table, with the smallest piece of chicken ever! She screamed, she stomped, she "cried", she plotted. (Her plan was to wait until everyone was asleep then she was going to bed and still not eat the chicken!!) She finally ate it and then wanted more!! 

OH. MY. GOSH!!! 

I hope you like it, let me know if you have questions. Good luck if you have small people in your life!