Can't argue with this!

Chicken and Rice Soup

This soup is one that my green thumb is especially proud of. I made a chicken dinner for my sister's family last Sunday and managed to really stretch that bird far! I made the chicken in the crock pot with some onions and carrots. We had a nice healthy meal together and I was left with a decent amount of chicken leftovers as well as a carcass to make broth.

Those bones with scraps of meat stuck to it is definitely something that would be trashed in most households. I really do not understand why though. Maybe I've convinced myself that going green is the way to go (it surely is!). When I tell people how I save my scraps of veggies in the freezer or my unwillingness to trash a bird carcass, they look at me like I have 3 heads. "What is wrong with this chick?" they must be wondering. "Why would she go through so much trouble when there are perfectly good packaged broths at the supermarket." Now, I don't judge, but I do wonder what makes these people try to argue or brush off my choices as an invalid way of life. While I do not bring it to their attention, I often wonder how a person can complain about lack of money or how unhappy they are with their body weight, when they are unwilling to take some small steps to fix the problem. My choices that get scoffed are actually made with a lot of thought behind them. I know the lifestyle that I try to live is a bit unconventional to modern day society. How dare I spend an extra 20 minutes making broth instead of running to the food store? That is just too much work! I often wonder why some people cannot see how far the benefits of a little extra work can stretch.

By making my own broth:

1. I am able to make use of every penny that I already spent. Meat and fresh vegetables are usually the most expensive items at the market, but are the most beneficial compared to packaged items. As a single mother, my dollars need to stretch as far as they can go. I cannot, in good conscious, throw out something that can be used again. 100% of my broths are created with leftovers and  veggie scraps from previous meals that would have normally been tossed down the garbage disposal. Chicken and vegetable broth is basically free to me!
2. I reduce the amount of preservatives and sodium. Even the low sodium choices still contain sodium and preservatives. If it cannot go bad, it is no good. Think of how long that broth had to sit on a shelf and then realize what had to be put into it to make that possible. When you use those packaged "goods", you are then putting all that stay fresh crap into your system. Who knows how long it will sit in your body and all the possible ways it could alter your natural chemical balance. Honestly, I do not swear off packaged goods completely, but I do my best to keep it to a minimum.
3. I help save the planet. We have all heard the statement, "Reduce, reuse, recycle". We know what each word means, but most people don't know that to be most effective in reducing your carbon footprint, this statement should be followed in order. First, you should reduce the amount of packaging you use. By reducing your intake of packaging materials, less gets sent to landfills or needs to be recycled. While recycling is great, it requires energy and fuel to do. By not purchasing store bought broth and storing my own in reusable containers (reuse glass jars of packaged products you have already purchased), I minimize the amount of waste produced in my home. 

Wow, this blog post is going to be longer than I had expected. I am really not a writer, but once I get started on a subject, sometimes I cannot stop. So basically, I used my carcass to make homemade broth. Monday morning before work I put the chicken carcass, the chicken neck, and some veggie scraps from my frozen broth bag into the crock pot. I then added two bay leaves and filled it with cold water. I read somewhere that cold water helps to better extract the vitamins before cooking them. While I have no idea if this claim is true, it doesn't hurt to start with cold water, so why not? I set my crock pot on low and went to work. Coming home to the aroma of brewing broth is fabulous! When I came home, I sifted all the bones and veggies out of the broth and then refrigerated it overnight. Once it has been cooled, you can scoop off the fat that settles on top and you have a nice healthy broth.

Usually I store my homemade broth in 2 cup portions and freeze them for later use. Since I had so much leftover chicken, I decided to make soup. We have had a pretty mild winter so far, but I think we are finally getting into the cold cold weather. What is better than some homemade chicken soup when you just cannot seem to get warm?

The night before,  I cooked up some brown rice to have with dinner and saved the leftovers to use with the soup.  This chicken soup is another crock pot meal that cooked while I worked, so I prepped everything in the night before. I diced up some carrots and celery, added a bag of frozen corn, shredded my leftover chicken, and then added some of the leftover onions from the original chicken dinner. All these items got tossed in the crock pot with 2 bay leaves and then refrigerated. Come morning, all I had to do was add broth, stir, and set to low. The rice was added once I got home from work. I don't have exact measurements for this soup, but with soup, you don't need them. Just add ingredients until you think it looks good. I think I used 3 stalks of celery, 5 carrots, a bag of corn, and approximately 12 cups of broth. Just make sure if you are adding rice into the soup towards the end of the cooking process, use more broth than seems necessary.

This soup was wonderful to have on hand this week, since we wound up with our first snow of the season. It did need a little salt and pepper. I don't like to add too much salt while cooking, figuring it can always be added at the end if needed. Sophia did really good eating this soup! She has never liked celery, but she loved it in the soup. She assumed the green things were peppers and ate all of them first. I did not inform her that they were in fact celery until they were all gone from her dish. She was amazed that she just ate something that she did not like! This is why I always put food on her plate and require her to try at least one bite every time we eat. Her tastes change daily, so sometimes figuring out what she will like is impossible. One thing she ALWAYS likes is bread. Good thing I made the choice to outlaw white bread in my home. Her favorite thing to do when we have soup is to dip a piece of bread into the broth. For some reason, she will eat her crust this way but not when it is a sandwich. Children are funny little people! Keeping up with her quirks is next to impossible, but always fun.

Apple Nachos

Never guess where I found this recipe?? Pinterest strikes again! I am seriously addicted to this website, but for a good cause. I have been getting most of my new recipes I want to try from there, plus some sweet craft and DIY ideas as well. Anything I do, even if it is not cooking, I plan to share on here. I'm a well rounded domesticated single mommy!

One tip before we get into the apples: Whenever you use a jar of salsa, pickles, spaghetti sauce, or anything that comes in a similar glass jar - wash and save the jar. Whenever you use a can of pineapples, save the juice in your saved glass jar and refrigerate. You could even save the can from the pineapples to bake miniature cakes or breads in and literally have no waste from the whole ordeal! Being green excites me! The pineapple juice can be used for many different applications. You can add it to rice to give it a sweet flavor and pair that with ham or teriyaki chicken, for instance. Today I used mine to slow down the browning process for my sliced apples. I have read some people like to use 7-up or lemon juice to do this. Lemon juice could work, but I am opposed to using 7-up. Who wants to use unhealthy soda on their crisp healthy fruit? Surely not me! I am already knocking the health food points down by using caramel and chocolate, so there is just no room in this mix for soda!

• apples, the amount will vary according to how large of a dish you are using and how many people you are feeding.
• melted peanut butter
• chocolate syrup
• caramel sauce
• raisins, a small snack box should do
• pineapple or lemon juice

Slice up your apples, leaving the skin on. Using a paper towel or paintbrush, lightly coat your apples with either pineapple or lemon juice. Coat completely but do not drench. You do not want soggy apples! Drizzle your peanut butter, chocolate, and caramel generously over the apples, then top with some raisins.

You have complete freedom with this recipe. Get creative! Alternate chocolate chips for syrup. Top apples with honey and almonds. Maybe do s'mores apples with chocolate syrup and marshmallow. You can do anything your heart desires. Some of the toppings might not be the healthiest, but putting them on top of apples instead of ice cream, cake, or pie is way better for you.

These were made for a ladies poker night and everyone raved over them. I will be doing another batch for Friday. It is my mothers birthday and she specially requested them. The only problem with this dish is it cannot be made ahead of time. Id say your window of not brown apples is about 3 hours. So if you are making them for a function, start slicing up your apples about 20 minutes before you plan to head out the door.

Santa Fe Rolls with Avacado Dipping Sauce

Here we go, slacker here! I am posting my Meatless Monday meal on Thursday. Ugh, I'm so bad! I have been so excited to share this recipe too! The original recipe that I based it on was found through Pinterest (surprise, surprise), here. I find so many recipes on Pinterest. If you are not already a member of that site, you need to be! Especially if you have any interest in being a Suzie-homemaker. It is filled with so many ideas for recipes, crafts, home interior, fashion...you name it, its on there! Warning: browsing and pinning can be quite addictive. It is an invite only website, so if you would like to join, comment with your email address and I will invite you!

As I create my Pinterest recipes, I need to remove them from my Yummy board, so I am able to find the ones I still need to make more easily. Each recipe that I post on this blog have been getting pinned, as well as some of my older ones. I am hoping to create more traffic to my blog and get some new readers. I welcome anyone reading this or any other posts to leave comments regarding your ideas, opinions, or experiences. Comments are great! I do not get nearly enough comments!

As with most of the recipes I try, I modified the original recipe. This really wasn't the plan, but as I went along gathering my ingredients, it just kind of happened that way. First, I had some mozzarella on hand so why would I go buy a different kind of cheese. Second, I didn't see any green onions in the store so I substituted for a regular sweet onion. Third, I completely forgot to buy spinach and as I was assembling the rolls at 9pm Sunday night, there was no way I was running out to get some. Make do with what you have!

For the egg rolls:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 onion, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package of egg roll or wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 425F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
In a large bowl mix together corn, beans, cheese, onions, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Using a small spoon, scoop a small amount of filling onto the wrapper. Starting at a corner, carefully start to roll the wrapper. When it’s slightly rolled, tuck in the two side and continue rolling to the last point. Lay on baking sheet with the open flap portion of the roll on the bottom. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling, placing them slightly apart on the baking sheet.
Lightly spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes.

For avocado ranch:
3/8 cup mayonnaise
3/8 cup sour cream
3 Tbs milk with a dash of lemon juice (substitute for 3 Tbsp buttermilk, let sit 5 minutes before using)
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/3 onion
1/4 tsp salt
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Use immediately

As I have never made anything like this, I was so nervous as to how it would turn out. Let me tell you! After my first bite, I actually said OUT LOUD, "WOW, I made this?" The amount of onion in the filling mixture was a bit nerve racking when mixing it. I thought they would wind up being too oniony, especially since I did not saute them before putting them in the filling. Not at all! They do not taste too oniony, but DO NOT let that fool you! These babies will give you some kickin' breath. Have some gum for dessert! You will need it.
I brought some of these rolls to work for lunch on Tuesday. As a leftover, they were still pretty tasty, but lost some of the appeal. The roll no longer had that satisfying crunch once it was microwaved. I would suggest reheating these in an oven or toaster oven to try to keep the crunch. OR, only bake as many as you will eat in one sitting and freeze the rest. The original recipe states the uncooked rolls will freeze well, though I have not tried this myself yet.

The avocado dipping sauce was just as fabulous as the rolls. It tastes so light and airy. This was the first time I have ever cooked with avocado. I actually had to google how to cut one. Not as hard as it looks.

Sophia did so good with these rolls! She ate her entire dinner! I had some leftover brown rice, so I lightly sauteed some diced tomato and green peppers with a little garlic powder and mixed that into the rice. I will definitely be making these rolls again. They also got me interested in experimenting with some new types of rolls. I will be doing some variations off of this recipe and then maybe some completely new ones. Pinterest is definitely full of enough ideas to keep me busy!

Chicken in a White Wine Reduction Sauce

Let me start off by saying, the recipe I found for this sauce must have been posted online as some sort or joke! I doubled the recipe and I still wound up with only 1/4 cup of sauce! The fact that someone actually posted a recipe yielding such little results amazes me. Usually I have to split a recipe in half so we don't waste the leftovers. This was just ridiculous. I am going to post the doubled recipe I made, but remember that it still makes very little sauce. If you have to feed more than two people, you will have to double or even triple this recipe.

• Chicken breasts
• 2 ounces white wine (use a shot glass to measure)
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter*
• 1 tsp lemon juice*
• 1 clove minced garlic*

*optional, used for flavoring

Heat olive oil at a very high heat. Sear chicken for 3 minutes per side. Depending on thickness of chicken, finish cooking by baking at 350. Using same pan the chicken was seared in, add garlic* and cook on medium heat until fragrant. Add wine, stock, and lemon juice* and continue to cook on medium heat until reduced. A spatula will create a clean trail when dragged across the bottom of the pan when the sauce is finished. Whisk in a tbsp of butter* then serve over chicken.

The butter, lemon juice, and garlic are all optional. I only used garlic and the sauce came out amazing. The small amount was actually plenty for my little chicken breasts that I cooked, but I would recommend making a larger batch if feeding more than two people. Since the "reduction" part of the sauce is made by evaporation of liquids, a larger amount will stretch out the cooking time.

I served this with some mixed string beans and brown rice that I cooked in chicken broth. This made for a very satisfying and healthy meal.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Trying to find the balance of full time work and full time mom is hard! Especially when there is no help of a spouse to chip in. Luckily I do have great support from my family with Sophia, but on a daily basis it is just me and her. I don't think I have ever had as much trouble squeezing everything I need to do into an evening as I do now. Probably because back when I was working full time, I was not as concerned on trying to live a healthy and fit lifestyle. Now, I know that this sounds like a new years resolution "Be fit and healthy", but it is actually something I have been working on since the week of Thanksgiving. I have always been concerned with trying to eat healthy and natural as much as possible, but now the game has been stepped up with getting into the routine of exercising at least 4 or 5 times a week...here we go, I'm off topic and rambling! My new years resolution is to reduce, reuse, recycle more. I will save and reuse glass and plastic packaging as much as possible and therefore reduce the amount of waste materials I even bring into my home. This resolution will save the earth and potentially my wallet!

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent!

Now I know this isn't food, but I did make it in the kitchen. I figured I could start branching out and sharing all the fun home economics type stuff I do around my house as well.

The recipe I originally found used an entire box of both Borax and Washing Soda, but then mentioned there were problems with the mix hardening over time. I figured I would cut the recipe in half to prevent as much hardening as possible, since it would get used faster AND I could use some of the same ingredients to make homemade laundry detergent. (Total fail! I made this at the same time that I made the dishwasher detergent and after sitting for two days, it gellified to the point that I could not even pour it out of the jug. I plan to work on this a few times to try to get it right.)

• 4 cups Arm and Hammer washing soda
• 5 cups Borax
• enough powder lemonade mix to make 12 quarts lemonade*
• 1 1/2 cup Epsom salt
• Lemi-shine

* I don't know what the exact measurement of lemonade would be. My container had a measuring line to make 2 quarts at a time so I did that 6 times. The original recipe said to use unsweetened lemonade mix, but I accidentally bought regular. I was scared my dishes were going to come out sticky, but not at all.

Mix all ingredients, except the Lemi-Shine, together and store in a large container. Use a tablespoon of detergent in the soap compartment of your dishwasher. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Lemi-Shine into the bottom of dishwasher before each load. The Lemi-Shine really works wonders with this detergent (and its all natural!)


I was so amazed at how shiny and beautiful my dishes came out!! They were actually much nicer than they have been coming out with store bought detergent.

Get ready for some math....
The ingredients to make this wound up being approximately $12. I only made half the recipe, so this batch cost me about $6. (actually less since I bought a 3lb bag of Epsom salt and did not use all the lemonade that I bought.) The container I bought holds 17 cups and is 3/4 of the way through. So lets just say I made 12 3/4 cups of detergent. There are 16 Tbsp in 1 cup. Lose you yet? Keep reading, you might want to hold onto your hat.... This batch of detergent SHOULD last me 204 loads of dishes, which turns out to less than 3 cents a load. HOLY CRAP!!! I will probably never buy store bought dishwasher detergent again!!! It is way cheaper and does a better job. Way worth it!!




***2/16/2012 recipe update: I am no longer completely thrilled with my dishwasher detergent. The website with the recipe was not lying when it said it will get hard. It is hard as a rock and I need to scrape at it to use it. There is so much left, so that is what I will do until I run out, but I will definitely look for better homemade options when the time comes for a refill.



Chrissy Balls

Even though I am mostly Italian, I have never made meatballs. Growing up, I can remember multiple occasions that my (non-Italian) mother had meatballs baking in the oven. I am pretty sure she received the recipe from her mother-in-law who was one of the best Italian cooks around. I never particularly liked my mothers meatballs, because they were made with diced up pieces of onion and green peppers. No child likes chunks of onions and peppers in anything. Maybe I would like them now that I am older and my tastes have developed a bit. I cannot recall the last time my mother has made her meatballs, but maybe she will try them again for me after reading this post!

This recipe for meatballs was given to me by my sister. I would have never even thought to make meatballs containing steak sauce. Her husband loves these balls, so I figured I would give them a shot.

• one pound ground meat
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 handfuls breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp steak sauce
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together ingredients and form small to medium sized balls. Put balls in a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake while covered for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 8 to 10 minutes. Place balls in sauce and serve with pasta.


The aroma that filled my apartment while these balls were cooking was amazing! I did leave out the onion powder, only because I didn't have any on-hand. I need to go get some of that stuff!! Unless I find a new meatball recipe that really peaks my interest, this will be my go-to recipe from now on. At some point, I probably will attempt making them with ground turkey to keep them on the healthy side.


I hope you don't think I have given up on Meatless Monday, since I have been a slacker with posting! I combined two of my earlier posts into one healthy delicious meal. I roasted a spaghetti squash and then topped it with the last of my lentil sauce that I had frozen. Very filling and very delicious!!! I even brought some to work with me for lunch. I am becoming a huge fan of spaghetti squash. I will be attempting to top it with lots of different sauces as a carb/pasta substitute. Sophia even liked it with the lentil sauce.