Recipe of the Week: Alphabet Pasta Tomato Soup

Thought the Eden Organic Vegetable Alphabets looked fun and yummy, so we decided to try them out.  I used the recipe on the back of the box to make this tomato soup.  You can also find the recipe here.  Here is the slightly modified to fit my fridge/pantry version of the soup!

Alphabet Pasta Tomato Soup


1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup carrots, diced

1/3 cup celery, diced

1 1/2  vegetable broth

2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes 

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Sea Salt, or to taste

1/2 cup Eden Organic Vegetable Alphabets

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according the package, rinse, drain, set aside.
2. Heat the oil in medium soup pot.  Saute the onions and garlic for 2 minutes.
3. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add the basil, oregano, black pepper, sea salt, and tomatoes. Mix, cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
5. Puree 1/2 of the tomato/vegetable mixture and pour back into soup pot.
6. Mix in the pasta and simmer 1 to 2 minutes until pasta is warm.  

Soup was very yummy, unfortunately, I'm not really a tomato based soup fan, and found out neither is my toddler.  But my husband loved it.  Now just have to send him to work everyday this week with his container of alphabet soup so we don't waste it all! :) This recipe makes a lot of soup so I will probably freeze some! Would go great with a grilled cheese sandwich! 

Also,  The recipe with the noodles also calls for soy, which I didn't add. That would probably add a little bit creamier texture to the soup. 

"Giantly" disappointed

We grocery shop at Giant in Exeter regularly, mostly because they were the closest grocery store (besides Wal-mart) that I could find when we moved here.  So since then we continue to shop there.  They have a nice organic section, and produce is USUALLY pretty good.  The store is new, large, and always clean! And I usually earn a ridiculous amount of gas rewards points each month.

There is also a Giant in Lionville, next to our My Gym class.  So this week instead of driving 30 minutes home from My Gym and another 20 minutes to a different Giant, I decided to stop at the Giant in Lionville to grab a few produce items and somethings for dinner.  I can honestly say almost every produce item I picked up to buy was not fresh.  The lettuce was brown, strawberries just about on their last day, and blueberries moldy.  The store is also so much smaller than the Giant we normally shop at, they didn't have a few of the items I was looking for.  One thing they did have going for them was their customer service was great at checkout.

But overall I left very disappointed....Anyone have suggestions for a great grocery shopping experience where I can get everything in one place??

Leftovers anyone??

Oh wait, there aren't any!!! So apparently dinner was pretty good tonight, and both the hubby and I were definitely looking for leftovers! Next time I will remember to double the recipe!

Broccoli Chicken Divan

1 lb. chopped fresh broccoli

1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast

1 can condensed cream of celery soup

1/3 cup milk

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2. Steam broccoli for 5 minutes or until tender

3. Place cooked broccoli in a 9 inch pie plate.  Top with the chicken.  In a bowl, mix the soup and milk, and pour over the chicken.  Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese.  Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs, and sprinkle over the cheese.  

4.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly brown.  

Guess it was good! 

Here is a link to the recipe I modified slightly.  I also added some spices to the chicken and soup! Broccoli Chicken Divan

3 Day Sale at Pottery Barn Kids!

Best Sellers Weekend Sale: Save 20% on the Kendall Furniture Collection at Pottery Barn Kids! 3 Days ONLY!

• Dressers
• Nightstands
• Beds
• Bunkbeds
• Crib 
• And more....

We just so happen to be looking to furnish another Nursery! The crib is not convertible to a bed which is the only downfall for us! But if your looking to upgrade to a full or twin bed, or just need a new bedroom set, this set looks nice! 

Check it out at on their Website!

Disney On Ice: Dare to Dream VALPAK SPECIAL!!!

Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.  Show dates are Dec 22-Jan 1.  (Coupon is only valid on certain tickets, and only on shows from dec 26th-dec 30th, and only for a limited time)

Get tickets for $15, EVEN LOWER LEVEL!!! Use the code: VALPAK before picking your tickets!

Comcast  click on this link to purchase tickets!

Disney on Ice click here to find out more info about the show!

Found this ValPak coupon in the mail this month! Decided these tickets would make a great Xmas gift! Hope she enjoys it!

Recipe of the week: Chicken Noodle Soup

My husband's fire company had a Chicken BBQ during the snowstorm Halloween weekend.  We had purchased tickets for friends and family who ended up not making it to the BBQ, so we ended up with ALOT of extra chicken.  Didn't want it to go to waste as we are not great at eating leftovers, so I decided to make some chicken noodle soup, thankfully we have a gas stove! Here is the recipe that I used.

Ingredients: 

1 tbls. butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth

1 can vegetable broth

1 lb. chopped cooked chicken breast

2 cups coooked noodles (egg noodles recommended, but I didn't have those) 

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup cut green beans
1 baked potato (would have used more if I had them)

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

The result of cutting apart the chicken!

Directions:

1. In large pot over medium heat, melt butter.  Cook onion, green beans, and carrots until tender, 5 minutes.  

2.Pour in chicken and vegetable broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.  

I used slightly more of all ingredients to make a larger batch of soup because I had ALOT of chicken.  Turned out great, husband loved it! The chicken had a smoked flavor to it from the BBQ which I am not a fan of, so I didn't love it as much.  But it was a great way to use up leftovers from the fridge! Here is a link to the recipe that I used, but modified slightly.  

14 weeks and counting!

Well, we've arrived at the 2nd trimester! It's been a long few weeks of exhaustion, nausea, and really busy schedules! I'm still wondering how with my last pregnancy, I drove an hour each way to work, taught thirty 10 year olds all day, and still felt great through the whole pregnancy! Now all I have to do is chase after a 2 year old and find myself nodding off during storytime before her nap!

I spent a few weeks feeling nauseous and not being able to eat, and then feeling nauseous because I didn't eat anything! But now at 14 weeks, I am starting to feel a little better, eating more, and have a little more energy.

However, week 13 also brought a whole new challenge with it! I have been having some severe hip pain to the point where I can't stand, walk, or roll over. We see the chiropractor regularly and it has been helpful with sciatica, but not so much with the hip pain. He helps me with muscle stretches and I have been doing them on my own at home. My nighttime routine now includes ice on my hip and lots of stretches. I just ordered a lumbar support belt which hopefully might bring some relief. Was not expecting this kind of pain this early in the pregnancy. Anyone have this problem and have any advice, I am up for trying anything???

With that said I am also "growing" much quicker than I did with my first pregnancy, so that might have something to do with it! Here is a belly comparison!

14 weeks pregnant, pregnancy 2,  11/9/2011

16 weeks pregnant, pregnancy 1, 3/23/2009

A day out in Chester County!

My girlfriend was kind enough to share some great kids activities in Chester County with me today! Here is a little bit of info if your looking for free, fun, fall entertainment in the area!

We started at Springton Manor Farm in Glenmoore.  They didn't have to many animals out because their Fall season ended on October 28th, but we were still able to see sheep, goats, horses, and cows up close! It is a beautiful park and was a beautiful day! Many families were taking advantage of the great fall foliage and getting some photos done!














We then made our way into Downingtown to play at Kerr Park. What a great park for all ages! It was a day off of school for most kids so it was pretty packed, but the kids had a good time and got out lots of energy!

Since I also learned that THERE IS A Wegman's in Downingtown, I of course had to stop there on my way home and pick up so amazing food! Oh how I wish we lived closer!!!! Wegman's, I miss you!

And to top off the day, baby girl fell asleep in the car, and is still sleeping so Mommy has some time to sit down and rest her feet for a few minutes! Woo hoo!

My BFF gets married!

My best friend got married on Saturday in a beautiful ceremony and reception at her parents house! I was honored to be her matron of honor and my baby girl was so excited to be a flower girl! Had such a blast at the wedding and so happy for the newlyweds!

Daddy and the cute little flower girl

My little family! 

My gorgeous BFF and her Daddy

Check out Michael Cali's Blog  for more amazing photos of their wedding day!!!

It's Electric!

And we finally have it at our house!!!!! Sorry for the hiatus in blogging! We have been without power for 8 days! We finally got power back Saturday night and I am so so thankful!  We are so lucky that we had a generator so we were able to save all the food in BOTH our freezers and be warm and somewhat comfortable at home for the week.  We did have to splurge on a new generator after we realized the old one stopped running our heat and spent one night in the cold and dark.  There are a few things I have learned from this experience!

1. I could actually live without my microwave and not having it actually made me cook healthier food!
2. We all have way to much clothing! I had already been behind on laundry and we still had plenty of cute outfits to wear for the whole week and beyond! (since I am still catching up)
3.  My child and I will survive without showers everyday! I had been completely on a shower every day schedule, until we couldn't shower at all and realized we survived and were not completely filthy! Might be on the shower every other day schedule from now on!
4. We live on the wrong end of the neighborhood! (The other 1/2 of our street got power back after a day or 2!!!)
5. Our local fire company has many dedicated volunteers that deserve to be recognized more often!

Soooo thankful for the hardworking people who got the power back to us.  I know they spent alot of time away from their families and without sleep to get our power back.  I am still amazed at the devastation caused by the storms in our area.  Thankfully our property only lost a few small trees, but it wasn't the same for all our neighbors! God bless everyone who is working hard to get things back to normal!

Hubby working hard on the clean up