Cookin' and Cheatin'

I'm such a slacker, aren't I? I'm down to posting once a month...Boo on that.

Tried something new today--the Pumpkin Smash Smoothie at Jamba Juice. If you like pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin ice cream, or just things that are orange, you gotta try it out. Excellent!

In other news, I'm a cheater at making "Homemade" Chicken Noodle Soup. But cheating tasted really, really good. And resulted in a really hearty, full-of-stuff soup. Here's the recipe (Which is long because I can't shut up and make it simple):

Jen's Cheatin' Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Bag Bearcreek Chicken Noodle Soup Mix(I think it's called Bearcreek, it's the bag with the green border)
1 or more chicken breasts
Stalk of celery
1/4 cup or less of diced onion
Egg noodles--About 2 cups
1 cup or more chopped baby carrots
Chicken bouillon (powder works best)

So, to start this off, go dig through your kitchen cabinets to find a respectable-sized pot. It should be able to fit it over your head. Assuming you don't have an extraordinarily large head. If that's the case, test your pot out on a random stranger. I'm sure they'll appreciate it. Especially if you bang the pot with spoons while it's on their head...

I'm digressing, as usual! You will also need a small Pyrex dish or other pan. It doesn't need to be too big, because you're only putting your chicken and carrots in this dish. After you've got those two ingredients mingling, you can sprinkle on your favorite poultry seasoning or whatever. Mix up a cup or two of chicken stock from your bouillon (1 cup hot water+1 tbsp bouillon) and pour it over the chicken, then pop the whole thing in the oven at 350 for, oh, I don't know 30-40 minutes. You just need to make sure everything gets cooked and nice and juicy and yummy.

So while the chicken is in the sauna, dice up your celery and onion and throw them in a small skillet with a little butter. Saute till the onions start to get a little clear, then stick the pan somewhere out of the way. Preferably where you won't burn yourself on it. Because that would not be fun. For you at least. Roommates and family members tend to think it quite hilarious.

Go and chill awhile while you're waiting on the chicken. Watch an episode of The Office or somethin'. When the chicken is done, pull it out, let it cool, then dice it up in bite-size chunks. While you're waiting on it to cool, find that head-sized pot again and fill it with eight cups of water and put it on high heat till it boils. Dump in your diced chicken, the carrots and leftover stock that you cooked the chicken in, the celery and onions, and the soup mix. Let it all boil together for about 3-4 minutes, then dump in as many egg noodles as you want. Boil together for 6-10 minutes, or until everything is tender. The noodles from the soup mix take a little longer to cook, so make sure you check them, the egg noodles, and the dried veggies that were in the soup mix.

That's it! You're done!YAY!

And yes, I am avoiding doing my homework :)