November 24, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all. May you have a blessed day with family and friends.

November 18, 2009

Crock pot chicken broth

Mmm! Does this ever make the house smell good! I make it in the crock pot so that I don't have to worry about watching something on the stove all day (because I will worry).

I start by adding veggies to the crock pot, including carrots, celery and onions. The first time that I made this broth, I had collected vegetable parts in the freezer for awhile, so it was quite the mix. Next, add the leftover chicken with bones that I roasted for dinner (or more likely picked up cooked because I was working late and husband was sick), and place it in the crock pot. Add salt, pepper, garlic cloves, and a splash of vinegar (supposed to bring out more of the good stuff from the bones). Add water to cover, which equals about 6 cups in my slow cooker.

Cook on high (low is probably fine) overnight. Let cool. Remove and discard vegetables. Remove meat from bones. The meat should literally fall off the bones, but make sure you get all the bones out. Cool in the refrigerator, and then freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions in the freezer. I store mine in freezer bags marked with the date and the amount, freezing them first on a cookie sheet so that the bags are flat and store easily.

Use as needed, for instance in some yummy homemade chicken noodle soup.

November 16, 2009

You know you're Catholic when...

I took Little One to a reading of Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas at Borders this weekend. The woman reading the book stopped periodically to ask the kids questions. One question had me making an automatic response in my head: "And who is St. Nick?" As the kids answered "Santa Claus!", I was thinking "Well, he was a 4th century bishop who is the patron saint of children and sailors...oh, you mean Santa Claus."

If I didn't realize before how much I have embraced my Catholic faith, I do now!

November 10, 2009

Unscheduled break

My lack of posts lately started as work related (darn that pesky job...oh, wait, it pays the bills - never mind), but moved into accident recovery and recovering from illness.

On All Saints Day, Little One fell mouth first onto the floor, losing her first tooth (about 4 years early) and needing several stitches on her lip and gum. Poor thing! She is better now, sans tooth, but that day was scary! Lots of blood and crying. We took her to an urgent care facility. I've only been to such a place one other time, and that was to get stitches for my husband. I've ended up sick each time, perhaps coincidently, but still!

I don't think I had the flu, but I never went to the doctor. I felt quite bad for a couple of days, and the lingering sneezing and stuffy head suggests cold, not flu.

Anyway, that's my story!