Halloween Weekend

What a fabulous weekend it was for us! Friday night we carved pumpkins with our friends up the street, watched The Ring (which they had never seen and still scares the crap out of me) and made delicious carameled apples.

Saturday morning, I was able to go with my dance students to watch the NYC Dance Alliance competition at the Salt Palace. I am always amazed at the talented dancers that Utah produces! My handsome sweets stayed home with Trav so I could run around erranding with my momma without the babe. What a good man. It's amazing what a day of not worrying about your child can do for you. We mommas need that every now and then and it's so easy to forget. Sat night, we went to the neighborhood Trunk Or Treat with our little crocodile... he sure looked cute!

Today we actually made it through all 3 hours of church (amazing for us with Trav) and have enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. I tried out a new chicken noodle soup recipe that was on the back of the frozen noodles I bought. We were actually thoroughly impressed! Here she is:

Reames Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

1 lb. cooked chicken (we used a rotisserie chicken from Costco)

12 cups chicken broth

1 pkg. Reames home style egg noodles (first time trying this brand, and thought they were just as good as the grandma noodles... these are frozen home style noodles so they taste sooo much better than regular dried egg noodles)

2 tsp dried parsley

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp black pepper

2 cups chopped onion

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups heavy cream or half and half

1 cube (8 Tbsp) butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sherry (optional)

Boil broth with bay leaves, add noodles and simmer for 20 minutes stirring often.

Add the herbs, pepper, onion, and veggies and simmer for approx 10 minutes or until veggies are cooked through.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet. Whisk in flour and cook 1-2 minutes.

Add cream to the soup, and return to a simmer. Add the flour mixture in slowly, and cook and stir until thickened (2 min).

Add chicken and sherry (if using). Stir to incorporate and heat through. Enjoy!

I did use the sherry and while it was delicious, I felt like I took away from the traditional chicken noodle soup flavor that I love. If you opt to add the sherry, I would suggest only using about 1/4 cup.

This recipe makes a TON of soup. It served our family, our neighbors who were sick and I froze 2 nights worth dinner in zip loc bags.

I also like to make my own chicken stock from the remains of the rotisserie chicken. You simply boil the remnants of the chicken (bones, skin, etc) with a bay leaf, peppercorns, and chunk of onion and let simmer for 15 min. Drain the broth and freeze for the next time you make soup!

How was your Halloween weekend?