carrots

Tender bites of chicken, with chunks of carrots, celery, and onions, surrounded by fluffy egg noodles, swimming in a rich and flavorful broth. Healthy and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup is hearty, filling and nutritious. It’s the perfect thing to fill your tummy, and warm you up on a freezing cold night.

A belated Happy New Year to you!!! What a crazy year 2014 was! I’m just glad that last year is behind us, and I’m looking forward to everything that 2015 has in store. I hope you’ve had an excellent start to the new year so far!

The last two weeks have sure been busy around here. Besides the normal day-to-day routine of work, errands, laundry, cooking, fun, etc., we’ve also had a few other adventures. We had a very fun (and quiet) New Year’s Eve celebration at home. William loved going to a friend’s bowling birthday party last Sunday. He’s starting to become quite the bowler, and is especially good at Wii bowling. (Today he bowled over 200!) Andrew and I had a wonderful and super relaxing date night out on Friday night. We went to Crispelli’s, and enjoyed amazing brick oven pizza. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to have a night just to focus on each other.

This week was also the one year anniversary of my first post on Elizabeth’s Home! It seems like yesterday that Andrew and I were hard at work trying to get Elizabeth’s Home up and running. I can’t believe we’ve been posting for a whole year! We celebrated last night by popping a special bottle of Santa Margarita wine.

We first tasted this wine when we were in Santa Margarita, Italy on our honeymoon. Ever since then this wine has become a very special and sentimental favorite for us. Here are two pictures of Santa Margarita from our honeymoon.

I’m so thankful for Andrew and all that he does for this blog! I am also thankful for you, my wonderful and loyal followers! I am honored that you keep coming back to read about our lives, and to share in the enjoyment of our favorite recipes. I’m so excited to share many more memories and fun recipes with you in 2015!

Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks:

After all of the delicious and filling holiday goodies, here’s a great recipe to help lighten up your new year’s resolutions. There is just something so wonderful about a nice warm bowl of soup. This soup is EASY to make and comes together pretty fast. I love the depth of the flavors, with the juicy chicken and tender veggies. It is just sooo yummy! Another plus is that it even freezes well, too! This was one of my many recipes that I made a triple batch of right before Charlie was born. It’s always nice to have a stash of homemade chicken soup on hand whenever you might need it!

Sometimes I use organic chicken broth or stock with this soup, but lately my favorite thing has been Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base-Reduced Sodium. It’s super easy to keep around, and it basically lasts forever in the fridge. It’s especially great if your recipe only calls for a cup or two of chicken broth, but I’ve also been using it with this soup and we’ve been loving it!

As the temperature continues to drop, and you’re searching for that good-for-you comfort meal, this Healthy and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup is just what you need! This soup makes the perfect meal for many occasions. Comforting on a chilly night, nourishing during sickness, or just delicious anytime. I love to serve it with a green salad and crusty french bread or crackers.

Healthy and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 quarts all-natural chicken broth or stock (reduced-sodium)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 teaspoons dried parsley (or 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley added after cooking)
1 bay leaf
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed (1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups wide egg noodles
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and salt. Stir together and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then cover and cook until veggies are slightly softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the broth, thyme, dried parsley (if using), and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the chicken and stir in the noodles, and continue cooking over medium-high heat until pasta is cooked, about 8 to 10 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper to taste, and add fresh parsley if using.

Notes

To cook the chicken: Place raw chicken breasts in a medium sauce pan and add water to just cover. Add 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder to the water. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until chicken is just cooked through. Carefully remove chicken from pan and set aside on a plate to cool. When cool enough to handle, shred or cube chicken.

To freeze: Cook soup as instructed and omit noodles. After freezing, reheat soup and add dry noodles when simmering, and cook until noodles are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

http://elizabethshome.com/healthy-and-easy-chicken-noodle-soup/

Feel free to check out my first version of this Quick Chicken Noodle Soup on my old blog. 🙂

Carrots, oat flour, and spices baked together and topped with a lightly sweetened cream cheese frosting. These Good For You Mini Carrot Cakes are the perfect non-guilty way to end your Easter dinner, or are a great dessert or snack any day of the week.

I can’t believe Easter is only two weeks away! There is something so festive about carrot cake on Easter. I mean, bunnies, carrots, cake, it’s a winner! So, I figured I would take a crack at trying to create a recipe for a carrot cake that was actually healthy, and that could pass as the “real thing”. I am happy to report: mission accomplished! I mean, it’s about time that the one dessert that actually sounds healthy, finally lives up to its name.

The boys and I created these little mini delights the other day when the weather was terrible, and instead of rushing out of the house, I declared it “cooking lesson” time! Both boys grabbed their kitchen stools and their little whisks and spatulas, and stood eagerly at the counter. We added our ingredients and stirred everything together, then baked our first test cake. Once it was done, and cool enough to bite into, we quickly cut into it, and tested away. We tasted it, and decided to add a touch more syrup and a tiny bit more cinnamon, and by the second test batch, it was unanimous. They were perfect! We baked the rest of the little cakes, and could hardly wait until they were done. We each devoured more than our share, and thankfully managed to save a few for Andrew when he got home. Andrew immediately gave these his stamp of approval, and we all agreed that these little carrot cakes would be on the menu for our Easter dessert!

This weekend Andrew was playing around with our little home photo studio and decided to snap a few pictures of the boys. Even though they’re still in their jammies, this has to be one of our new favorite pictures (ever) of these two!

(Stay tuned next week for our Easter photo shoot of the boys and our 32 week maternity pictures!) 🙂

In the meantime, get a jump start on your Easter menu with these Good For You Mini Carrot Cakes. Packed with a delightful little dose of fruits and veggies, sweetness and spice, and finished off with a little bit of sweet cream cheese icing. These will definitely make a happy ending to any meal 🙂

Good For You Mini Carrot Cakes

Serving Size: 26 mini-cakes

Good For You Mini Carrot Cakes

Ingredients

Carrot Cakes:

2 cups oat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
10 medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup warm water
8 large egg whites (1 cup whites)
1 cup natural applesauce
3/4 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots (medium grate)
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Frosting:

8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese (softened)
2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:

26 pecan halves
1/4 cup grated carrot

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, stir together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg, and set aside.
In a blender or food processor, puree dates with 1/4 cup warm water. Add to blender: egg whites, apple sauce, yogurt, syrup, oil, and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Pour blended ingredients into a large bowl, and whisk in dry ingredients. Then fold in the carrots and toasted pecans.
Spoon batter into a mini-cake pan or regular sized muffin pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each one about 2/3 of the way full, and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
While cakes are cooling, prepare frosting: in a small bowl, whisk the cream cheese, syrup and vanilla together until smooth. (Makes enough frosting for about 20 mini-cakes)
Once cool, slice each cake in half, (so you have a top and bottom), and place a small amount of frosting in the middle of each cake, and then replace the top pieces. Using another small amount of frosting, lightly frost the top of each cake. Garnish cakes with one pecan half and tiny amount of freshly grated carrot. Serve and enjoy!

http://elizabethshome.com/good-for-you-mini-carrot-cakes/