Welcome Spring!

Posted on April 10, 2018April 10, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I hope you all took time to thank our God for allowing His Son to die and rise again that we can be forgiven and be allowed to someday be in His presence. The Bunnies and the chocolate are so fun but I never want to lose sight of the reason for the celebration!

jesus

We had a fairly quiet Easter. My husband was working, as per usual on Sundays. My oldest was sleeping because she works nights. My youngest and her husband spent time in the afternoon with his Mom.

My middle daughter and my granddaughter and I went to church in the morning and then we went to our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. There is a great little cafe in the park across the street from us, Chomper Cafe. They put on a great egg hunt and had cookie painting. They even provided pies, lemonade, and coffee. The hot coffee was a big hit with the parents. BRRRR!!! North Idaho Easter is not your typical sunny spring day. Around here we pick out a parka to go with our Easter dress.

Easter signals Spring! I love spring. I love the fresh feeling and the clean smelling air. It is a sign of new beginnings and hope. It’s time to start fresh! It also means spring cleaning!! No groaning… I don’t want you to spend a week in sweats and rubber gloves slaving away.

570bc37441c099f88b8c703fbba7ef0f-spring-quotes-spring-renewal-quotes-e1507164654569-300x282

“Happiness spring – cleans the heart.” ~ Japanese Proverbs

seaon-of-rebirth

Here are 7 tips for spring cleaning without getting overwhelmed!!

Never do anything that will take you longer than 30 minutes at a time. If it is a huge project, break it down.
You can do more in 30 minutes that you think you can. Don’t over complicate it.
Wash all the bedding and hang it outside. The spring air is the best laundry freshener!
Buy a new shower curtain liner! Instantly makes the bathroom fresher.
Your dishwasher, it needs to be cleaned! Dump in a half a cup of bleach and run a full cycle or try a dishwasher cleaner.
When you clean your oven, put foil on the bottom that you can replace when it is dirty. (only if you have an electric oven) Self-cleaning is really hard on your oven so I try not to clean it too often. Cleaning the oven in the future will be a breeze!
Throw open the windows and let the spring air in! It will do wonders for your home and you!

Cheering-Spring-Quotes-for-Good-Mood-3

I have tried some really awesome new recipes in the last week that I am excited to share with you! I found an interesting twist on Chicken Pot Pie in my Taste of Home Magazine. Chicken Pot Pie is like the all time comfort food. It may be spring, but like I said, around here, it is still cold! I am going to use every little bit of this chilly spring to make comfort food before we are grilling and making salads in ninety-degree weather.

This “Chicken Pot Pie” is simple and almost rustic, you could say. It is open face instead of the traditional top crust. I think its simplicity is beautiful!

galette

The original recipe at Taste of Home can be found here.

Despite the cold, my brave oregano plant had plenty of new growth to offer up for this dish! I love being able to walk outside and cut my own fresh herbs.

herbs1

This is the link to my awesome recipe and menu planning program!

Here is my version of this fantastic recipe.

Chicken Potpie Galette with Cheddar-Thyme Crust Recipe

Servings 6

Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

1 1/4 cup 1-1/4 all-purpose flour

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

1/4 cup ice water

filling:

3 tablespoons butter

2 large carrots, sliced

1 celery rib, diced

1 small onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh oregano

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Yield: 6 servings

Directions

Combine flour, cheese, thyme, and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Shape into a disk; refrigerate 1 hour.
For filling, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion; cook and stir until slightly softened 5-7 minutes. Add garlic; cook, 2-3 minutes. Add frozen peas.
Whisk together broth, flour, salt, and pepper; slowly pour over vegetables, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Add cream. Stir in chicken and oregano.
Preheat oven to 400°. On a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll dough into a 12-in. circle. ( I found this to be tricky and needed an extra pair of hands to hold the parchment paper) Be sure to roll it quite thin. Transfer to a baking sheet. Spoon filling over pastry to within 2 in. of edge. Fold pastry edge over filling, pleating as you go, leaving center uncovered. Don’t worry about making it look fancy!
Bake on a lower oven rack until crust is golden brown and filling bubbly, 30-35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 6 servings.

Originally published as Chicken Potpie Galette in Taste of Home April/May 2018

Source: tasteofhome.com

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Cook’n is a next generation recipe app that makes it fun and easy to share favorite recipes.

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� DVO

cleaning, family, food, organizing, planning, Tips and Tricks

Tips for Trips

Posted on March 31, 2018August 23, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

We had a super busy weekend. Granddaughter Brooklyn had an Ice Skating Competition in Montana. It was a great excuse to have a weekend away! Sometimes you really need a three-day weekend to recharge. We got to stay in a pretty nice hotel, go swimming in the pool, sit in the hot tub and enjoy some good food as well as watch some amazing skaters!

Brooklyn did great! We are so very proud of her. Her dedication really shows. She is going to need a whole closet for her medals soon! She was pretty wiped out on the trip home. She worked hard!

Since we were in Missoula, we had to stop at Wheat Montana Farms & Bakery. I use their flour and oat cereal exclusively for my bread, baking, and granola. It’s great stuff!! I can’t purchase it in fifty-pound bags locally so whenever we are anywhere near Missoula we stop in and buy it there.

It had been quite a while since I had been away for a weekend but my inner checklist for what to do before leaving kicked in. Doing these few simple things before leaving not only gives you peace of mind while you are away but makes coming back so much easier!

*The day before you leave be sure you are caught up on laundry. You are going to have plenty when you get back.

*Plan what you are going to have for dinner the day you get back. You will have just spent money all weekend going out and the last thing you want to do is spend more money on pizza your first night home.

*The day you leave run the dishwasher and empty it. Don’t leave any dishes in the sink.

*Make sure there is nothing in the washer or the dyer. If there are clothes in the washer they will get sour and if there are clothes in the dryer they will be wrinkled.

*Tidy up and make the beds.

*Make sure the animals are taken care of.

*Close the blinds and turn down the thermostat.

*Turn off the lights, leaving one on.

*Lock the doors. Make sure someone else has a key in case of emergency.

I went through all these things before leaving for the long weekend. Our cats are used to us being away for a couple days a week in the summers and they are usually fine. This time, however, they must have been playing around the bathroom door while we were gone. One of the cats got shut in the bathroom. I don’t know how long he was in there but he sure let us hear about it when we got home! I still think his sister had something to do with it. Pretty sure I saw her grinning. I wouldn’t put it past her!

See what I mean? Evil looking, isn’t she?! Don’t let her fool you, she is straight up crazy!

I am going to leave you with my whole wheat bread recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Be sure to take a long weekend and recharge your batteries soon too!

Click here to get the awesome program I use for recipes and meal planning!
Wheat Bread

Serves:
14Yield:
1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup	Wheat Montana All-purpose white flour
1 cup	Wheat Montana Prairie Gold whole wheat flour
1/4 cup	multi-grain cereal or super grain blend of choice
1/4 cup	hemp hearts
1/4 cup	raw organic flax seed
1/4 cup	vital wheat gluten
1/3 cup	organic sugar or 1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup	instant potato flakes (NOT potato pearls)
1 tablespoon	instant yeast
2 tablespoons	instant dry milk powder
1 teaspoon	salt
1 1/4 cup	warm water
1 tablespoon	butter or olive oil
1 tablespoon	white vinegar
	butter for brushing on top

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Put warm water, butter, and vinegar in bread machine pan. Dump in dry ingredient on top. Start bread machine on “Dough” cycle. When done kneading and rising, work the dough a bit to get out air bubbles, shape into a loaf and put into greased/sprayed loaf pan. Heat oven to 375* and let the loaf rise to about double. Bake for 27 minutes, turn pan around and bake for 3 more minutes. Remove from oven and brush with butter. Let cool for 5 minutes and then turn out of loaf pan onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in a ziplock bag.

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Cook’n is a next generation recipe app that makes it fun and easy to share favorite recipes.

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Bread / Breads

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cleaning, food, organizing

Cheat Code for Life

Posted on March 9, 2018May 8, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

I did some fun studying this week. Yes, I said fun. I am weird like that. I love studying and learning new things or learning more about something I am interested in. I am fascinated by how our brains work, always have been. This week I dove into something I have studied a bit about before but wanted to learn more so I could share it with you!

study

The dictionary defines a Habit as an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until is has become almost involuntary. It is a simple form of learning. An automatic response acquired as a result of repetition. A habit does not require conscious attention.

We use habits every day. Every moment of every day! Good habits as well as bad habits. When was the last time you had to remember to breathe, or even how to tie your shoes? You just do it without thinking. It is a habit. I have a terrible habit of clenching my jaw. I have absolutely no idea I am doing it until my jaw hurts. It has become such a habit, a bad one, that it is unconscious.

My Self Cleaning House plan revolves around habits. Doing the same simple things, the same simple way, every single day until it becomes such habit that it seems your house cleans itself. It does not require conscious attention anymore. Sound good?!

In order to set that in motion, I think it is important to learn a bit more about habits and your brain and how you can control the habits you want to make or break. Lifehack right here!!!

brain with background

I am not the least bit nerdy or “science-y” so bear with me as I explain what I have learned about habit formation in my own words.

There are three different types of habits.

Motor habits: physical actions, posture, walking, standing, tying shoes, muscle memory type things.

Intellectual habits: psychological, observation, logical thinking, reasoning, common sense.

Character habits: related to emotion and feelings, trusting, honesty, friendliness, time management, work ethic, cleanliness, charitable, sympathetic.

Ok, that is sort of interesting but how do we form new habits or break old ones? How does this relate at all to having a self-cleaning house?

A habit, good or bad, can be broken down into three parts.

The cue
The behavior
The reward

Knowing that your brain works this way is almost like having a cheat code for life!

The cue. Let’s use something we all do, brushing our teeth. We get up, stumble to the bathroom and stand in front of the sink. That is our cue. We can do this still half asleep and usually do.

The behavior. We grab the toothbrush and toothpaste and start brushing. Our muscle memory even takes over here because we all know we brush our teeth the same way, every single time. Just ask your dentist.

The reward. Ahhhhhh… nothing like having fresh breath once again as you begin to feel human and slightly awake. A clean mouth is a wonderful feeling!

So in order to form a habit to begin to make a self-cleaning house we need to decide first of all what habit we want to cultivate. Let’s say cleaning your bathroom each morning. That is the behavior you want. The cue would be what you do just before this habit should be done. We are going to “attach” this new habit to an existing one making it far easier to achieve. In my case that would be finishing up my make up and washing my hands. As soon as I dry my hands I put my makeup under the sink and grab my cleaner. I take that hand towel and cleaner and give the mirror a swipe if it needs it, wipe down the sinks and countertops and get the toilet seat too. Toss the towel in the laundry. I just timed myself. I didn’t hurry and I cleaned the entire mirror. I have a large bathroom with two sinks. It took me 80 seconds. My smaller bathroom took 50 seconds!

The reward is a clean bathroom. Ok, I know it’s not like that great feeling when you brush your teeth or win an Olympic medal, but take the time to admire how great it looks! We usually don’t follow through with making habits because the reward isn’t great enough or instant. So pat yourself on the back, smile and know that you are one of few who are going to work this morning with a clean latrine! Anyone that stops by can use the potty without fear of the creepy crawling gunk and wash in a toothpaste drool free sink. You know what? Even if no one stops by, I get to use a clean fresh bathroom and so does my family. To me, that is pretty much an Olympic medal, or at least as close as I am going to get!

So, to recap.

Cue: Washing hands

Behavior in response or attached to that cue: Cleaning the bathroom in under 80 seconds

Reward: Olympic medal! Ok, it just feels that way. You have a beautiful clean bathroom to be proud of.

If you continue this ritual every day, yes, everyday, no weekends off, no “I don’t feel like it” days, no “it’s not fair I always have to do it” days, and no “I am in a hurry” days. (Remember the 80 Seconds?) you WILL develop a habit so strong and ingrained you couldn’t stop if you wanted to.

Some quick tips to make you more successful!

START! Be determined. As I always told my kids, “There is no try, Only do or do not.” I may or may not have made my kids hate Yoda.
Keep it up! Be consistent without interruption. Excuses will kill a habit formation instantly.
Have a positive environment. Help yourself to be successful. If you are cutting out junk food, having a cupboard of it will not be helpful. You know yourself best. How can you help yourself? Write yourself notes to stick on your mirror to remind you, Stay away from people who aren’t contributing to your success at your goal, etc.
Don’t quit! Even when you think you have established a habit, don’t stop.
Enjoy it! It is so important to take time to enjoy what you have accomplished by your new habit so the positive is reinforced in your brain and it will want to continue to practice the habit.

I hope you enjoyed that little study session! Now here is one of my family’s all-time favorites! Can you tell we like soup in the winter?!

pork cider stew3

Pork Cider Stew with Sage Dumplings

Serves:
6

Ingredients:

2	pounds pork cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup	flour
2 tablespoons	olive oil
2 cloves	garlic cloves, crushed
1	onion chopped
4 stalks	celery chopped
1 cup	baby carrot chopped
1	bulb fennel, thickly sliced and then chopped
1	apple cored and chopped
1 cup	apple cider plus more if needed
4 cups	chicken stock plus more if needed
2	dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon	finely chopped fresh sage leaves
	Dumplings:
2 cups	flour
1 tablespoon	baking powder
1 teaspoon	salt
1 cup	whole milk- yes, WHOLE milk
3 tablespoons	melted butter or oil
1 tablespoon	finely chopped fresh sage leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Place the pork on a plate and sprinkle with flour, then gently toss to coat. Heat half the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add one-third of the pork and cook, turning occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until brown all over. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat in 2 more batches with remaining pork.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, fennel and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes. Add the pork, apple and cider and bring to the boil. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves and 1 T of the chopped sage and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

Bake, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until pork is tender. Bake for a further 30 minutes (IF necessary!) or until pork is tender. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Remove from oven and place on stove. Add 1-2 more cups of chicken broth/cider to create enough liquid to cook dumplings. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Heat over medium high heat.

For the Dumplings: Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Microwave the milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture and the sage leaves into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.
Drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart (you should have about 18 dumplings). Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

Don’t forget to check out my all time favorite recipe and meal planning program here!

Source: taste.com.au

Cook’n is a next generation recipe app that makes it fun and easy to share favorite recipes.

Click here to get Cook’n (it’s free!)

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Cook’n is a next generation recipe app that makes it fun and easy to share favorite recipes.

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Soup / Soup

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cleaning, family, food

Welcome Home

Posted on February 28, 2018April 5, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

It is a beautiful snowy winter morning here in North Idaho. I love all the seasons! Each has its own beauty and uniqueness. About the time I am tired of one season the next is coming up. There is always something fun to do each season. We have had a lot of snow this winter which means I feel like baking!

winter

Today seemed like a good day to make granola. It is super simple, delicious and makes the house smell like you’ve been slaving over a hot stove baking all day! Not only that but it is much cheaper to make than store-bought and tastes better.

granola

There is something about smell that makes a house “feel” clean, cozy, welcoming. All the things that you want for your family and friends.

I spend a lot of time in my home and I want to feel like it loves me! I want my home to hug my family when they come home from work. I want your home to feel like that too!

You can’t always be making granola but you can do things to make your home feel welcoming when you come home after a long day. Have dinner in the crock pot, have your favorite beverage waiting for you in the fridge, have your favorite scent in the wax warmer. Think about your future self and how you will want to feel when you walk in the front door. It can be very simple things that take only a moment. If you know it will be dark out when you return, leave the porch light on and the light over the clean kitchen sink. There is something about having a light on for you that makes you feel loved. Treat yourself (your future self) and your family the way you treat your guests. Put your favorite book by your chair. Set your coffee pot to start automatically in the morning and put your husband’s favorite coffee mug next to the pot. Have a warm fleece throw on the couch to cozy up in.

Cuisinart DCC-1100BK 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Black

Sherpa Flannel Fleece reversible blanket

Make yourself and your family feel like they are walking into a retreat and a refuge from the world when they arrive home. You get beat up all day, your home should be your safe place, your peaceful sanctuary. A home is more than a place to hang your hat. Your home is where you can be restored. You and your family deserve that! Your home is yours and it should love you back!

I would love to hear how you make your house a welcoming warm place to be for you and your family!
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Here is my granola recipe!

Granola

Different flavor combination ideas, or come up with your own!
Pecan pie: pecans, honey, brown sugar, vanilla
Hawaiian: macadamia nuts, honey, vanilla, coconut
Pumpkin: Pumpkin pie spice, rum extract, walnuts

3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup sweetener : honey or maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup coconut opt

1 cup raisins opt

1 teaspoon spice of any kind cinnamon opt

1 frothy beaten egg white

Mix oats, nuts, salt, and spices into a large bowl.
Add honey, brown sugar, oil, and beaten egg white
Mix well.
Spread out on a large baking sheet on parchment paper
Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Give it a stir and return it to the oven for 10-15 more minutes watching to be sure it doesn’t get too dark.
Stop when the granola looks toasty brown and smells incredible.
Let the granola cool completely in the pan without stirring, then break up and store in an airtight container.
Click here to get the awesome program I use for recipes and meal planning!

Cook’n is a next generation recipe app that makes it fun and easy to share favorite recipes.

Click here to get Cook’n (it’s free!)

Get Cook’n

Cook’n is a next generation recipe app that makes it fun and easy to share favorite recipes.

Click here to get Cook’n (it’s free!)

Get Cook’n

� DVO

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food, planning

Menu planning

Posted on February 21, 2018August 17, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

Sunday is usually my “prep for the weekday”. My husband works Sundays so I have time to myself to get things prepared for dinners, our lunches for the week, start on laundry, make sure uniforms are clean and ready and gear up for daycare for the coming week. The whole family comes to dinner on Sundays too, so it’s a busy day!

This last Sunday was especially busy! Granddaughter Brooklyn had an ice skating show Sunday afternoon.

Isn’t she just the cutest Tinkerbell you’ve ever seen?! They are not very clear pictures. The plexiglass at the rink is pretty beat up from hockey! You can see that she is quite good though! Especially for six years old! We are all so proud of her! She has a competition coming up in March in Montana. She will be practicing hard for that.

The Ice Show went longer than I had anticipated Sunday evening so I was really glad I had put a roast in the crockpot for pulled pork “Frito Burritos” as Brooklyn calls them.

My pork roast was a bit small so I put a small beef roast in another little crock pot. (I have three! I don’t feel you can have too many crock pots!) I put some beef broth over both roasts and a bit of salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin and turned them on low for the day. I put some rice in my rice cooker (An invaluable appliance!) and turned that on before leaving the house.

If you don’t already have a rice cooker, click on this one to check it out on Amazon!

When we all met back at the house for dinner the roasts were ready and so was the rice. My girls helped cut up some olives and tomato while I warmed up some black beans and refried beans and shredded the roasts. We got out the hot sauce, sour cream, jalapenos and the FRITOS! We wrapped all that up in giant burrito size tortillas. YUM! I wanted to get pictures but it was gone too fast!

Menu planning is vital for a well-run house. It is important for your budget, your health and for your sanity! When you plan ahead you can avoid having to eat out. I didn’t know that the ice show would go so long but I knew I wouldn’t be home to prepare something so I used my crockpot. Had I not planned ahead we probably would have had to order pizza. That would definitely not be good for the pocket-book.

After a long day at work, no one wants to try to figure out what to make for dinner or run to the store at 5:30. The drive-thru seems like a good option at the time but your health and weight will pay for that.

To save money, be healthy and have peaceful evenings, take a few minutes out of every week to plan a menu.

Take stock of what is in your freezer and pantry. Try to use things you have first. Check out your grocery store’s ads. Buy meat when it is on sale. My grocery store’s ads come out every Wednesday so that is the day I make my menu for the next week, Sunday-Saturday.

Look at your calendar, what do you have going on? Do you need to plan a crock pot dinner? Is everyone going to be eating together? Is there a night it’s just you and you can have leftovers?

Check the weather for the week. I am very much a “what do I feel like eating today” sort of person so weather is something that I look at when I make a menu. If it is raining and cold I am not going to want a salad for dinner. I am going to want soup and I know this about me, so I plan for it.

I use an awesome tool for menu planning. I have been using a computer program, Cook’n for all my recipes for a very long time and I absolutely love it! You can import recipes with a click of the mouse and drag and drop them into your week or month’s menus. I highly recommend the program. They also have an app for Android and IOS that is super convenient! The company has been around since the early nineties and has only gotten better over time. Their support is great too! I seriously couldn’t live without this!

It makes menu planning fun! Please check them out here:

http://www.dvo.com/index.php?CID=blondie

Whatever you use, whether it be a computer program, App or a pad and pencil, just use it! Plan! It will save time and money and it will give you and your family peaceful dinners together. Take a few minutes so that you can spend more time doing what you love with who you love.

Here is a link to the Neato Frito Over-Stuffed Burritos that we had for dinner on Sunday! Check it out! They were amazing!

foodiewithfamily.com/neato-frito-overstuffed-burritos

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cleaning

Morning Habits

Posted on February 13, 2018February 13, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

What did you do this weekend? This is what we did! In our neck of the woods this is what we enjoy doing with our free time. Making a lot of noise in the woods in the freezing cold. Seriously though, it was a blast! My granddaughter got to shoot the .22 rifle she got for Christmas for the first time. It took a lot of coaxing and a bit of bribery to get her to take the first shot. After that she kept begging for more ammo, which she so charmingly calls “gunlets”!

My husband and daughter got to shoot their brand new AR’s and then every other gun they own as well.

After spending the day in the woods we came home to warm up. I love coming home to a clean home that welcomes us! Earlier that morning, before we headed off to brunch and shooting we took a few short minutes to do our morning habits that ensured we would be returning to a clean and comfy house later that day. We won’t talk about the mud my hubby drug in on his boots when we got home …..

Morning habits are key to a Self Cleaning House!

*Make your bed when your feet hit the floor.

*Clean the bathroom before you leave it. Nothing major, just wipe the counter, sink and mirror and toilet seat.

*Empty the dishwasher and put any dishes in it.

*Take the trash out of necessary

Ten minutes tops to be able to come home to a clean house!

We were cold when we got back and hubby had started to feel a bit under the weather. I decided to make my homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner. I made mention while I was making it that I don’t have a recipe. I just have it in my head. This makes my girls crazy. So I have been challenged by them to write my recipe for chicken noodle soup and share it with you! I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons	butter
1/2	large onion diced
3 cloves	minced garlic
2	carrots sliced
4 ribs	celery sliced
2 teaspoons	dried basil
1	bay leaf
1 teaspoon	salt
1/4 teaspoon	black pepper
6-8 cups	chicken broth
1 1/2 pound	rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast
8 ounces	good quality wide egg noodles

Directions:

In large Dutch oven melt butter. Sauté onion, garlic, carrots, celery, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper until vegetables are softened. Add 4 cups of the chicken broth and bring to boil. Add noodles and chicken and reduce heat to medium. Stir often, add more chicken broth as necessary. Turn off as soon as noodles are cooked.

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