recipes

Cheap Luxury Handbagmade chicken soup recipe

 in Entertaining  tagged cathys original recipes / home / lifestyle / recipes / soups by


Looking for leftover chicken recipe ideas which are family friendly? Then you found one idea! This is a homemade chicken soup recipe I made up myself one day while brainstorming what to make for dinner with leftover chicken.

When I cook, I always have to make sure it is something both my husband, and my kids, will enjoy. My husband likes spicy food; and my kids? Well, not so much. So I designed this soup to have a little bit of kick to it, without turning off my kids. It worked!

The prep time for my homemade chicken soup recipe takes about half an hour. This includes chopping up chicken, and carrots; which is what takes the most time. If you are running short on time, you can always chop the chicken and carrots ahead of time. This way, all you have to do it toss everything in the pot and cook.

Cheap Luxury Handbagmade Chicken Soup recipe with macaroni: (Makes about 12 bowls)

  • 1 lb. dry macaroni (my favorite is Barilla Elbows)
  • 12 cups of chicken broth. (if using cans, this is about 6 cans)
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika (this can get spicy fast-season to taste, you may only need a half teaspoon)
  • 1 garlic glove minced
  • 1/4 cup sliced onions
  • Dollop of olive oil
  • 1 full pre-cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast. Cubed (I always use leftovers)
  • 1/2 package of frozen peas or 1 1/2 cup fresh peas
  • 3 chopped carrots
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook everything together in a large pot except for the Parmesan; which should be placed on the table for everyone to serve themselves. It may take about 20 minutes for the pasta to soften; but start checking at ten minutes. Stove-top heat varies. Once the pasta is soft, the soup is ready to serve since the chicken is pre-cooked.

After putting the soup into bowls and serving your family, top with grated Parmesan cheese. Yummy!!!

I use two teaspoons of Parmesan, my husband uses one, and my daughters use three. My son eats the soup without the cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese to your liking.

There you have it! My homemade chicken soup recipe made with leftover chicken. I hope you enjoy it. The weather is so cold right now, this is a great meal, or starter, for a cold day.

Still  building your kitchen tool collection? Here are a few kitchen essentials you may need for this recipe; and these tools will come in handy multiple times per week while cooking!


Sliced baked potatoes recipe

 in Entertaining  tagged cathys original recipes / holiday recipes / home / lifestyle / recipes / side dishes by

how to serve sliced baked potatoessliced baked potatoes
This is a sliced basked potato recipe I created myself. I found myself always serving mashed potatoes or baked potatoes as a side dish at dinner, so I decided to create a new potato recipe in order to mix things up at mealtime.

My kids are ages 12, 10, and 8; and they really enjoy these sliced baked potatoes. If you have kids, chances are, they will enjoy them too! I hope you love the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

how to make sliced baked potatoes

Sliced Baked Potatoes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 2 potatoes
  • 1 stick of butter
  • Olive Oil
  • Basil
  • Oregano
  • Salt
  • Paprika
  • Garlic

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees with the stick of butter inside the baker in the oven. When the oven reaches about 200 degrees, remove the baker while wearing an oven mitt, and CAREFULLY slice up the butter stick, and then place the pats around the inside of the baker.

Slice uncooked, peeled potatoes about 1/4 inch thick. Spread out the potato slices in the baker on top of the melted butter. I use a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish similar to this one, but anything similar will work fine.

After the potatoes are evenly distributed in the baker, spray olive oil on top of all the potato slices. If you don’t have an olive oil sprayer, you can find the one I own online here. It is amazing, and very handy! You can also find a less expensive sprayer online here.

Season to taste. Sprinkle basil, oregano, garlic, salt, and paprika over the tops of the potato slices. I use about a tablespoon of each; with the exception of the salt. I only use a few dashes of salt. You can delete any one of these seasonings you don’t like. If you have kids who don’t like mild spice, delete the paprika. If you want to kick things up a notch, try adding Cayenne Pepper; seasoned to taste.

sliced baked potato recipe

*Shown with Paprika on the left, no Paprika on the right.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Some of the smaller pieces will start to get crispy, and the larger ones will be soft. I prefer the crispy pieces, and my kids prefer the soft ones. So this is a plus!

potato side dish idea

I hope you enjoy my baked sliced potato recipe. My kids really enjoy it, so I’m happy to share it!

This is a great side dish with steak, salmon, chicken, or anything you like to serve with potatoes! Enjoy!

Happy entertaining!

XOXO

Cathy

Things you might need to make this recipe:

party side dish idea

Crisp Apple Donuts recipe

 in Entertaining  tagged desserts / holiday recipes / lifestyle / national apple month / recipes / sparkling ice by

how to make apple donuts how to make crisp apple donuts sparkling ice

Have you ever wondered how to make Crisp Apple Donuts? I have! So when Sparkling Ice shared this delicious recipe with me, I was thrilled to be able to share it with you too!

If you love donuts as much as I do, Crisp Apple donuts are a great way to not only enjoy yummy, homemade donuts, they are the perfect dessert for celebrating National Apple Month! Love that!

Below is a fabulous Crisp Apple Donut recipe which is perfect for the fall season, the holiday season, and anytime you feel like having a yummy, homemade donut! This delicious Crisp Apple Donut recipe uses Crisp Apple Sparkling Ice, which gives the donuts a yummy, apple flavor and essence. Love that!

You can learn more about Sparkling Ice flavored sparkling waters online at SparklingIce.com. Sparkling Ice can be found in-store at Target.

Scroll down for all the details about this Crisp Apple Donuts recipe which is perfect for the Christmas season!
crisp apple donuts recipe

Crisp AppleDonuts

Yield – 12 donuts plus holes

Cook Time:  10 minutes

Inactive Time: 3 hours or overnight

Ingredients:

For The Donuts:

  • 1 cup Crisp Apple Sparkling Ice
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • ½ cup Splenda Sugar Blend
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup whole milk
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

For The Cinnamon Sugar:

  • 1½ cups Splenda Sugar Blend
  • ½ cup ground cinnamon

Directions:

Part 1:  Making the donut dough

  1. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together, on medium high speed for approximately 5 minutes.
  2. Add eggs one at a time until combined.  Slowly pour in the milk and half of the Sparkling Ice to the mixing bowl.
  3. With the mixer on slow speed add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until just combined. The dough should look shaggy.
  4. Slowly pour in the remaining amount of Sparkling Ice on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Part 2:  Dough storage

  1. Tear 2 pieces of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet.
  2. Line the first piece of parchment on a clean baking sheet and heavily dust with flour.
  3. Turn out the dough onto the floured parchment and press evenly till its about 3/4 inch thick.  (If the dough seems too sticky flour your hands before pressing.)
  4. Lightly flour the top of the dough and place the second piece of parchment over the dough.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Part 3:  Frying donuts

  1. In a deep frying pan, heat enough oil to come up 2 inches from the bottom to 375 degrees using a candy thermometer.
  2. Gently peel the top piece of parchment off the dough.
  3. Using a floured donut cutter, punch out dough and place in hot oil.
  4. Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes or until light brown.  Adjust the heat if needed.  Scoop on paper towel lined baking tray.

Part 4:  Finishing donuts

  1. Combine cinnamon and Splenda in a large bowl.
  2. While the donuts are still warm, toss with cinnamon and Splenda mixture until evenly coated.
  3. Serve warm.

There you have it! A yummy Crisp Apple Donut recipe using Sparkling Ice which is perfect for entertaining this holiday season. I hope you love these donuts as much as I do!

Tools you may need for making donuts:

*Crisp Apple Donuts recipe created by Sparkling Ice. Reprinted with permission.

apple donut recipe