Half-Eaten Bowls of Chicken Soup, and The Wonders of a Deep Freeze

All week, various members of our family have battled a stomach bug of some sort.  It has hit us in different ways, at different times, but it's really all the same - nasty.  When I think of food, the only thing that sounds like it could remotely be good, is soup, and preferably a pretty mild version of chicken noodle.  Thankfully, yesterday I had everything in my freezer ready to make a stomach soothing version, and though most of us only got half a bowl down, at least it was something, and at least it wasn't from a can, or Chick-Fil-A.  Thank you, deep freeze.
About three years ago, my husband decided that if he was going to ask me to join him in entertaining/hosting/hospitality adventures constantly, he would need to make it very easy for me as the keeper of the house and kitchen.  Smart.  :)  So, we purchased a deep freezer from Sams, put it in the basement, and have never looked back.  Last week, it was full to overflowing with bags of cupcakes in preparation for his surprise graduation party (more on that later), and the week before that I had spent the better part of a day after grocery shopping, preparing bags and containers of food, which represent quick dinners in the midst of homework, piano practice, and play-dough fun after school, not to mention showers & chores!  Here's a quick run down of what I filled the freezer with, plus my super easy chicken noodle soup recipe:

 Roasted tomatoes I bought on sale at Homeland, (see this post) - can you tell by the pan that I kinda forgot about them in the oven?  No matter - better flavor!  ;)

 I took advantage of the $1.99lb sale on organic roasting chickens Whole Foods had that week, and purchased 4.  Two I used for dinner that night, as it was a very special occasion - we were sending Dad off to defend the thesis he'd been writing for the past year!  (My first time to ever roast chicken!).  The other two chickens I shredded after boiling them for about an hour, and strained the broth to save for soup and other things...

 Here's one pan of shredded chicken.  I froze it for about an hour, then scraped it into a large zipper bag to save in the freezer for soup, casserole, and maybe even chicken salad sometime soon!

 Okay, you're right, this fruit didn't go into the freezer, but I did take the time to wrap it in tissue before I put it in the drawer in the fridge.  Your fruit will last longer if it isn't touching each other, and since most of this fruit was to be used over the next two weeks, and some for even longer down the road, I didn't want to take any chances with it!

 That day we had tacos for lunch, which I made with some of the hamburger meat I was cooking with chopped onion to freeze.  There was leftover seasoned meat, so I quickly made and wrapped up some soft tacos to freeze for lunchboxes later on.  The rest of the cooked meat, I left unseasoned (except for the onion), and froze just like the chicken, on trays for awhile, and then in bags.  That meat can be used for tacos, spaghetti, pizza, or something else later on.

 I typically buy a half gallon of buttermilk when I'm doing a big shopping trip, to use for pancakes or desserts, but even though I love it, I don't go through it very quickly.  I froze three cups for later use, so none would go bad!

Crest had begun their annual anniversary sale when I was there, so they had some of their meat marked down.  I bought two large packages of pork chops, because one of my girls loves breaded pork chops!  I went ahead and breaded them according to my favorite recipe from Cooks Illustrated, with flour and dijon and egg whites, and toasted bread crumbs and garlic, and flash froze these as well - before I put them in bags for the freezer.  Two meals plus leftovers for lunches!

Along with these, I have sandwich bread, frozen veggies and blueberries in the freezer, and even cheese I bought on sale, to save for a pizza night later in the month.

The recipe for chicken soup, from the top of my head:
4-5 cups of thawed chicken broth (I use the microwave, and my handy "defrost soup" button!)
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2-3 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t rosemary
2 bay leaves
leaves from celery stalks
Set on high heat, and cover for 20 minutes.
Broth should be boiling, so add the following:
2 cups chopped chicken, from the freezer
2 cups frozen corn
about 1/2 cup macaroni noodles, or whatever other noodle you have on hand
Cover pot and bring to boil in about 5 minutes, then turn down heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes longer, or until ready to eat!

DIY: Make Time for Reading!

I really like the movie Julie & Julia.  A lot.  And I really like cooking, though I really haven't attempted to even crack open the two volume set of Mastering the Art of French Cooking  my husband gave me for Christmas, much to his lament.  I have however, read the book he gave me with those volumes, My Life in France, by Julia Child.
Now, if you happened to have liked the movie and you thought it would be fun to read the book by Julie Powell, and you were perhaps a bit disappointed by it as I was....allow me to assure you now that Julia Child's book is wonderful.  Well worth your time, the book will allow your love of the movie to only grow deeper.  Scenes from the movie are taken directly from this book, and even if you haven't seen the movie and loved it (yet!), your appreciation for Julia Child will be what it wasn't before.  She dedicated her life to teaching Americans how to cook and appreciate French food, and that is not an exaggeration.  I had no idea how much went into the creating of these cookbooks, nor how significant they have 
been - seminal work this was, without a doubt.  Here are a few great quotes:  
after already spending several years working 40 hour weeks on the cookbook, Julia reflects on her uncertainties, "But American supermarkets were also full of products labeled 'gourmet' that were not:  instant cake mixes, TV dinners, frozen vegetables, canned mushrooms, fish sticks, Jell-O salads, marshmallows, spray-can whipped cream, and other horrible glop.  This gave me pause.  Would there be a place in the USA for a book like ours?  Were we hopelessly out of step with the times?"
"But then we looked at each other and repeated a favorite phrase from our diplomatic days: 'Remember, No one's more important than people!'  In other words, friendship is the most important thing - not career or housework, or one's fatigue -  and it needs to be tended and nurtured."  I think I'll write that one up and pin it to the wall.
After detailing her trial and error approach to french bread, Julia writes, "We had created the first successful recipe ever for making French bread - the long, crunchy, yeasty, golden loaf that is like no other bread in texture and flavor - with American flour in a home oven.  What a triumph!"
Throughout the book, Julia shares with wit and wisdom, her trials with co-authors, her love for her husband, the trials of having a dad she didn't see eye to eye with on anything, and the  uncertainty over her husband's work they both struggled with...this book is about far more than cooking or writing a cookbook.  In the spirit of Kathleen Kelly I say, "Read it.  I know you'll love it." 


all quotes taken from My Life in France, by Julia Child.

Tomatoes!

Sunflower Market had Roma tomatoes on sale this week, so while I was shopping for this week's menu, I picked up a few for next week - we'll have chicken tortilla soup!  Knowing they were in the fridge, I decided that I would go ahead and prepare them ahead of time, to make at least one dinner a little faster next week.  When I opened the drawer to get them...I found a box of cherry tomatoes, too!  A few weeks ago at a church dinner, there was a vegetable tray that had gone unopened, and whoever was in charge that evening, offered it to our table.  I was the only one who wanted it (the tray was huge and even I didn't know how I would fit it in my fridge!), so my kids had raw broccoli and baby carrots in their lunches for the next week, and I used lots of cherry tomatoes in omelets and on bruschetta, but there was still a big box left.  These were about to see their last day, 

so I rescued them out of the fridge, cut them up, and tossed them in the oven to roast along with the Romas.

 Here's the prep - cut in half, and drizzle with olive oil.

 Roasted at 400 for about 35 minutes, they come out with split skins looking shriveled and a little browned, and the smell is delightful...

 I scraped them into a blender, adding oregano and basil to the cherries,

and now I have the makings of some pretty easy soup base and pizza sauce!  Not to mention the fact that I rescued from sure death, an entire box of sweet little innocent cherry tomatoes!