Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup from scratch is comforting and very healthy.  For instance, not many people think about it, but bone broth (part of what you'll get when we boil the chicken) is probably the most healthy part about this!
For example:

• Bone broth contains valuable minerals in a form your body can easily absorb and use, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur chondroitin, glucosamine, and a variety of trace minerals
• The gelatin found in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid. It attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, thereby supporting proper digestion
• Bone broth also inhibits infection caused by cold and flu viruses, for example, and fights inflammation, courtesy of anti-inflammatory amino acids such as arginine
• Making your own bone broth is very cost effective, as you can make use of left over carcass bones that would otherwise be thrown away. And making your own broth is quite easy
• For the full story and information on bone broth, go here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/16/bone-broth-benefits.aspx

Now on to the recipe.

You'll need:

Large stock pot

One whole chicken

Celery  (4-5 large stalks)

Carrots  (5-6 large)

Onion (one large)

Your choice of noodles (This is something I do not make homemade and no one in the family agrees on thick or thin)

Celery seed  (1 tbsp)

Sea salt (really it just tastes better)

Fresh ground pepper

And I prefer using water from my purifier.

First you will take the giblets packet out of the inside of the chicken. Some won't have one, but just in case, you don't want to boil that paper with your chicken.  Then place the chicken in the stock pot, cover with water and boil.  This water becomes your broth, that is why I use filtered water.  You don't need to add anything else at this time.  You can actually boil the giblets with the chicken if you want, but they are done cooking after about 15 minutes and you will need to take them out.  

When the water starts a good rolling boil, turn the heat down to a high simmer.  You still want it to boil, but not so hard.  A 4 to 5 pound chicken will take about an hour to boil.  The meat will start to fall off the bones. and you will be able to see that it is done.  At this point turn the heat off and move the pot to a cool part of the stove.  You need it to cool off quite a while before you can handle the chicken.  You can sort of speed the process ONLY IF you have heavy duty tongs to get the hot chicken out of the pan.  The chicken is tricky at this point because it will fall apart.  You don't want to get burned.  I do put my chicken on a big serving platter to cool quicker.

When the chicken is cool and you can handle it, start to pick it apart.  I find it's just easier with your hands, but you can use a fork and scrape it off in big chunks.  Get all of the meat that you can, but obviously you are discarding the skin and bones. Cut large pieces into bite sized pieces.  Your chicken is done!

Double check the pot for skin that may have fallen off and fish that out.

While that chicken is cooling you can cut up your celery, onion and carrots.  Leave some of the leaves of the celery, it's a flavor you will miss if you don't.

One of the reasons that I take my chicken out to cool, is so that I can start boiling the vegetables right away. I go ahead and put the pot back on the heat and add the vegetables to cook and maybe a little water if it boiled down too much.  Don't worry the broth is very concentrated and adding water will not be a problem.

With my veggies boiling, I just add the chicken back in and the salt (to your preference) and celery seed. When the vegetables are tender, then I add the noodles.  Cook until the noodles are done.

Add pepper fresh to the bowl of soup that you are eating.  It can get bitter when cooked too long.

Really that's it!  I don't do exact measurements because it depends on your preferences of a lot of veggies or a little.  Salty or just a little salt. Homemade noodles, with a lot of flour on them still, will thicken your broth slightly and that is good too.   It really will turn out great no matter how much you throw in and it will be so healthy and good!

Enjoy!

Essential oil lotion for Eczema

I am making a lotion for my sweet granddaughter who is developing some small areas of eczema and wanted to share because it's a really good way to clear up those uncomfortable, itchy patches for your little one.

My own daughter had eczema when she was small until we discovered her food allergy, then presto! It was gone.  However, she does still have very dry skin and needs lots of help with moisture.

One of the best things for all skin types with these issues, but especially baby's, is pure shea butter.  This is a health food store buy for sure.  It must be 100%, nothing else in there, and preferably unrefined.  It's not cheap, but not like gold, but oh so worth it.  (Great for cradle cap.  Just massage it in, 100% not mixed with anything else.)

MY LOTION CONSISTS OF:

Coconut oil -  For skin it is a moisturizer, antibiotic, multivitamin/nutrient, nourishing, anti-aging, anti-wrinkle and anti-oxidant. It needs to be virgin and/or unrefined.  It's melting point is around 76 degrees, so it is solid at room temperature. So this lends well to a lotion.   I'm guessing on the amounts here, because I eye ball a lot, even in cooking.  It's how my grandmother did things and then I forget that someone else may need the exact amount (I'm NOT OCD, can you tell?)  So about 1/2 cup.

Cocoa nut butter - Again 100%.  Oddly $2 for the Queen Helen brand at Family Dollar.  Really.  This I know!  One 1 oz stick.

Olive oil - skin compatible, heavier oil for dry skin.  About 1/8 to 1/4 cup.

Grape seed oil - lighter, less greasy feel, lightens up the texture.     1/8 cup.

Vitamin E oil - 100%  Harder to find, a little more expensive but under $10 and so good for your skin. I use it every night.    Hmmm a good sized squirt? 1 tablespoons-ish.

Jojoba oil - Most like the skins natural oils in weight, very skin compatible and natural preservative.  Again, 1 tablespoons-ish.

Natural beeswax - Holds in moisture.  I would not add this to a lotion or mix for oily skin, but it a great protector for dry skin and helps the consistency of the lotion.  Just a smidgen.  Like a large marble size. 

Essential Oils of:

   3  Lavender -  anti-histamine for the itch; promotes healing.   I'm planning 12 drops 100% therapeutic grade essential oil.

   2  Bergamot -  analgesic, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic.   I'm planning 6 drops 100% therapeutic grade essential oil.  

   1  Chamomile - Because of the varied constituents, Roman Chamomile has a broad range of applications as reported by many aromatherapists. Those mentioned include allergies, burns, diarrhea, nausea, psoriasis, and sprains.  It is also great in baby preparations!  Very soothing, and can calm in distressed situations as well as for a high fever, earaches, teething, and to help with tummy aches.   I do not have this single oil on hand, but have a blend called Serenty that is mostly lavender based, but has chamomile in it as well.  I will use about 3 drops of that.  I'd use the same if it were the single oil.

3, 2, & 1 in amount.  Also when I mention an oil as skin compatible, it means that it will not clog the pores.

INSTRUCTIONS:   I'll leave the pictures for the end....

Shred the beeswax up and put it in a double boiler or in a glass oven safe bowl in a pan of hot water (I use a couple of mason jar rings to keep it off of the bottom of the pan.)  The beeswax takes the longest to melt so I get it going first.  Then shred in the cocoa butter. This is much easier to do than the beeswax and I just use a kitchen knife for both.

Next add the shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and grape seed oil.  I stir this until the beeswax is melted, take it off the heat and then add the jojoba oil and vitamin E oil and stir again.

At this point you cannot whip this into a lotion.  It's hot and will stay melted for a long time.  Stick it in the refrigerator and forget about it.  You can use the freezer to speed things up, but I was making a small batch here and it will freeze quick. It doesn't whip well this way either.  Don't ask how I know.

Anyway, after it's set up, start whipping just like you would heavy cream for whipped topping.  You'll be surprised how fluffy you can get this.  Add the essential oils after you have whipped for about 30 seconds.  Either turn your mixer down, or put them in the side so they don't splash out of the bowl.  When the consistency is as fluffy as you would like it, then just put it into a clean, wide mouth container and you are done!

The nice thing about small batches is that if the consistency is wrong or you don't like the smell, you don't have too much to use and you can try again.  For example, say it separates at a slighter higher room temperature.  You probably have too much (in amount) of liquid oils.  IE olive, grape seed, jojoba.  If it's too  stiff, then you probably have too much beeswax or possibly solid at room temperature ingredients, like cocoa butter.

Really though, only one time when I accidentally dumped in a bunch of olive oil, did I have a problem of my lotion seeming to melt.  It didn't separate too much, which I thought it would do, if it melted.  So I just used it up anyway.

Now the best way to use this is on damp skin after a bath or shower.  It will melt in your hand almost instantly.  This is pure lotion, no fillers.  Use a little and let the dampness of the skin help to spread it around without it being too heavy.

ENJOY and let me know if you try making your own batch!

NOTE: This batch was not as stiff and fluffy as I would have liked so I just put it in an amber lotion bottle.  :) 

PPS  Never assume anything.  I should have waited to put my lotion in a container. I thought it odd that it wasn't fluffy.  Well my kitchen must have been too warm, or I mixed too long and warmed the batch, because my lotion set up in the bottle and it may be a little hard to pump out.  It is a great batch though.  Smelled wonderful and feels great on the skin!

Valentines

For my local friends, I will be offering Valentines for your child's classmates.  Most pictures at this point are samples only.  They would say the same thing, but I have to do my own artwork.  Prices listed are for 24 pieces (unless otherwise stated) and all candy is provided by you.
Please contact me on Facebook or at raynaprettyman@hotmail.com.  Thank you!

These first seven samples would obviously require a photo of your child.  You can email me one (just have your child pose like the picture, most are best with a light background for the wording, but I can add a border and work around that if needed) or I can come take one for an extra $5 (Mt. Carmel area.) 

Picture cards are 50 cents a piece and are 4x6.

 

These would have real ribbon, this is my artwork, so no change and are just small 3 inch circles.  I can add your child's name on the back if you'd like.  These are good for adding to packages of candy or on pencils, etc.  $5

The 2 pictures above are my artwork and come together. Your child's name printed or left blank if you want them to write it in.

$10 for 24 postcard (4.25 x 5.5) sized Valentines.

Merry Christmas!

I tried to keep the Christmas "letter" short and sweet this year.

If you get an actual one in the mail,

it will be late and a miracle.

I hardly have anyone's physical addresses on file anymore.

Still, I do wish all our family and friends a

very Merry Christmas

and a Blessed New year!

Love, Rayna

BEHIND!

Wow I'm so behind on my blog.  I have actually created many items and some from my Pinterest boards, but I have been subbing a lot and I had this great idea to do a craft fair this year.  Yah maybe not so great.  I just knew I was going to have all this time to make stuff and I didn't have a lot of time.  But I had a little time and this past week that I planned to not sub and do the finishing touches, well I ended up sick in bed for 2 days and then my kids had doctor and dentist appointments.
Whoops, now I am rushing.
Also, I use these great essential oils and they can really help you when you get sick and even to not get sick in the first place.  However, if your kids get sick and you use all your oils to get them better quick (they were under the weather for maybe 2 days), then you have no oils to use when the next week you get what they had.  :P  I have been sick for a week!  I will never run out again.
So I hope you all get to go to the Christmas at the Old Courthouse craft fair tomorrow and Sunday, in downtown Evansville, Indiana.   I have gone before and it's great.  I have never sold before, I hope that turns out great as well!
Hope your holiday season is starting out right and hope to see you here again for more creative posts!

Hmmm Pinterest BucketList CheckOff

I love sweet potatoes, I love sweet potato chips.

So I found a pin and it looked good.  Just slice them real thin, spray with olive oil, spice it up, and bake.

I didn't re-consult the pin.

Don't ever try to do a sewing project and a new recipe at the same time....

She said right there, "You do want to watch the potatoes very carefully in the last minutes of baking to make sure they don’t burn. If some of the chips are browning faster than others, just remove them from the baking sheet and return the rest to the oven to finish baking. I accidentally burned a few myself, but they still tasted pretty darn good!"

I'm pretty sure mine were NOT "still .. pretty darn good!"  See that one missing?  That was the only edible one.  It was okay, but was probably suffering from smoke damage.

 This pan fared even worse.     :S

And this is the lovely bowl of sweet potato chips from the pin.  Wish I had some of those.

Well they won't all work out.   :)   Never know until you try!

Enjoy!

"Chevron" Purse- Pinterest BucketList Checkoff!

Well I've done another Pinterest pin.  Took about an hour.  That's less than I thought.

Here is the original.  The Chevron Clutch from SeeKateSew.  http://seekatesew.blogspot.com/2011/10/chevron-clutch-tutorial-pattern.html

Very cute, but I don't have any fabric like this.  Anyway really I wanted to use up some of the fabric that I have.  I ended up choosing to up-cycle an old curtain.  Yah that sounds weird, but it's a cool vintage fabric with a ruffle and I thought that would make a cute edge.  So below is the curtain.

Next I cut it out according to Kate's dimensions and since I have a fusible fabric that I am going to use as the liner, I pressed and top stitched the edge.   You can see the white fusible fabric laying under neath.

Next, I had black velcro and didn't think that would look too snazy, so I used a big snap.  Have to sew it on at this point so you don't have to see that on the inside.

Then I pressed the two pieces of fabric together.

I sewed a decorative button on the front, then the snap behind it.  At this point I also stitched the sides.

THAT WAS IT!  I'M DONE!  It's certainly "girly" as my husband would say.  :)  

I don't think I'll go for ruffles again, but I did it and now I know.  For up-cycling an old curtain.  It's not bad!

Enjoy your day and create something new.  Even if it's from something old, in fact, that's even better!