Debbie Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup

My kids have had a cold all week, so I decided to try my hand a chicken noodle soup to ease their "suffering" and offer some TLC.

It was really yummy!

Here is my recipe:

4 chicken breasts
6 potatoes cubed
1 bag of frozen carrots
1 bag of frozen green beans
1/2 onion chopped
1-2 cups of elbow macaroni
1/2 tbsp of oil
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp pepper
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp of chicken bouillon powder (I found some at the Dollar Tree, and seriously I use it every time I make a chicken dish. It's also good in black bean soup).
1 cup chicken stock

Combine the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chicken bouillon powder, onions, chicken and potatoes in the slow cooker on high for 5 hours. Add enough water and/or chicken stock until all the ingredients are covered.  Add the carrots, green beans and macaroni an hour before serving. (I cooked the macaroni separate on the stove before adding.)

We ate our soup with scratch made "drop" biscuits.

Yum!

What's Cookin' at the Campbell's

The bad news is: I went over my grocery budget last week.
The good news is: It all evens out. Because I bought such a HUGE ham (I got caught up in the excitement of cooking Easter dinner for extended family), I will not need to go to the grocery store this week.

And this will be a short cooking week for me because we are going to North Carolina for the weekend. Dear Husband is presenting a paper at ISCA (International Society for Christian Apologetics). His paper is entitled "The Concept of God and the Problem of Evil".  So proud to see his name on the ISCA Meeting Schedule!

 The kids and I will be hanging out at the hotel pool! (Tune in next week to find out how I entertain two little ones in a hotel for a weekend!) We will end the week with a wonderful visit with my dear friend Karen, her husband and precious new baby girl! So exciting!!

So here is my attempt to use up 10lbs of ham in 3 days! :)
Monday: Leftovers from Easter dinner.  Ham, baked beans, corn, cucumbers and tomatoes and rolls
Tuesday:  Ham and swiss casserole from allrecipes.com (Caedmon will simply have ham and noodles with Mrs. Dash)
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner! Scrambled eggs with ham, green peppers, onions and tomatoes, bacon and biscuits.
Thursday-Sunday:  Ham sandwiches?  Haha!  In all seriousness, we are planning to eat cheap by taking bread, peanut butter (I found peanut-free peanut butter for Caed!), fruit cups, apples for lunches and not quite sure about dinners yet. 

I hope I can find a sale on chicken next week! :)

Biscuits

Caedmon is a picky eater...and since there is very little he can actually eat due to allergies, I'm always thrilled to have a fall back food that he almost always will eat. My biscuits are one such food.  It makes me feel good that my little boy, loves my biscuits! :) (Note: note the healthiest of choices...so I do try to limit him!)

3 cups of Martha White flour (I used to use Greater Value...but recently tried MW and there REALLY is a difference!)
4 tablespoons of shortening
water

Preheat oven to 425.

Pour 1/8 cup of canola oil into the biscuit pan.

Mix ingredients, I simply "eye" the amount of water. Add until doughy consistency. 
Lay out a mat or wax paper and coat with flour. Kneed dough until mixed well. Flatten and sprinkle flour on top.
Using round cookie cutter, cut biscuits out of dough.
Use the oil in the pan to coat both sides of biscuit.
Bake biscuits for 22 mins.
Broil on high for 1 1/2 minutes to brown tops of biscuits. (time may vary depending upon your oven.)

Serve with dairy free butter, apple butter, or honey.

Chicken Stir Fry with Rice

Courtesy of Kim Weatherford

1 lb chicken, cubed
3 eggs
1-2 cups of whole grain rice
1small  bag of mixed frozen veggies (we've used stir-fry mix with green beans, broccoli, etc or peas, corn and carrots are good too!)

Begin cooking rice in a pot according to package directions. (I add dairy free butter and a touch of salt).
Lightly coat the skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Saute chicken until cooked through. Add veggies and continue to saute until chicken is browned and veggies are cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.

Scramble eggs then add chicken and vegggies. Once rice is cooked, add rice.

Top with favorite seasoning or soy sauce or both!

Taco Rice Skillet Recipe

Courtesy of Jeannie Elkins

1 lb hamburger
Chopped onion (however much you want. I use 1 med. onion)
1 Envelope taco seasoning
1Can diced tomatoes (drain most of the juice off)
1 Cup instant white rice
1 Cup water

Brown burger and onion. Drain. Add rice, water, tomatoes and taco seasoning. Stir, cover, simmer on med-low for about 15 min stirring a couple of times until all liquid is absorbed. Serve with tostio chips or use as a filler for taco salads or soft tacos

Variations:
-top with shredded cheese
-sour cream
-add a small can of mexi-corn

This is one of our family's favorites!!

Note for Dairy Free Living: Taco Seasoning contains milk, as does the cheese and sour cream (obviously). When making this dish, I brown the burger and onions, add tomatoes, corn, rice and water, then simmer for 10 minutes and pull out a serving for Caedmon.  Then I add seasoning and cheese and more water if needed. Top with sour cream! YUM!!