Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Well, Hello!


Guess who I think I just saw? Let me tell you, it's been ages since he showed his face around here. I was beginning to think he was mad at us about something. Did you guess who? Yes indeed, it was Mr. Sun! I just saw him. At least I think I did. Lately, it's only been that weepy Miss Spring Rain who's been showing up. Now, it's not that I have anything against her, as I know she has her good points, as everyone does, but she's been making somewhat of a pest of herself. You know what I mean: some people don't know when enough is enough. And it's one thing when Spring Rain drops her sweet little showers of blessings on us, but for the past few days she's been, well now, how can I say this? She's been pouring it on, I'd say. Also, unfortunately, when she hangs around for the number of days that we've been seeing her, she tends to let Mr. Gloomy and Miss Down in the Dumps slip in and hang around too.

Hopefully, Mr. Sun is making a gallant attempt to chase these folks away this afternoon. I really do think I'm seeing him. Even though those folks who think they're prophets are telling us that the aforementioned lady is determined to return this evening, I'll wait and see if she does make a comeback. So what if she does? One thing we all need to remember around here is that if she comes, or if Mr. Sun stays, or whoever makes an appearance in the coming days, the dear Lord sent them, meaning we should welcome them and ask Him to chase away that other guy and gal who often show up with the weepy lady.

The other day, when Miss SR was having quite a day, Neesie asked me about this soup that our pastor's wife had made last week, a soup which we all loved. I checked it out with Wendy (pastor's wife) and checked online and realized that this Chicken Shaker Soup, while great for company, was much too rich for our family to have on a regular day. So I went searching for a recipe that I could "adjust" to my liking, that is cut down fat and calories, and sure enough, I found one. I made it on Monday and absolutely love it! I thought I'd do my good deed for the day and pass it on to you. I'll give you the ingredients for my version and then give you a link to the original recipe, for any folks who'd rather not make the changes I did. And another tip: make it plenty ahead of time because it's much better after it sits awhile. We liked it even better for yesterday's lunch than we did for Monday's dinner. And you HAVE to have homemade bread with it!

Bev's making it today, but we enjoyed it so much better when Miss Spring Rain was around!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Tablespoon butter; 1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (breast)
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted (Healthy Choice)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (Healthy Choice)
5 cups chicken broth
1 scant teaspoon of poultry seasoning (or sage)
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas,carrots, green beans & corn)
1/2 cup evaporated whole milk, undiluted
1 cup evaporated skim milk, undiluted
4 oz. whole wheat linguine, broken into thirds (cook first if you want)

In a large pot, melt butter and oil and saute celery and onions until tender. Add the parsley, broth, soups, chicken, and seasonings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer for approx. 20 minutes. [Next time I may simmer longer on low.] Add the frozen veggies, cover and simmer for ten more minutes. Stir in the milk and cooked noodles. [I would say you could put the pasta uncooked into the soup and add milks when the pasta gets done. May try that next time.]
Heat through after adding milk and serve. [They say salt to taste, but I didn't need any salt. I used Goya bouillon to make the broth-two packets for five cups- and it was just right.] ENJOY!


The link to the recipe I used: About.com Southern Food

Uh-oh, while I was typing this Mr. Sun took off again. Is he showing his face where you are today?

11 comments:

LisaShaw said...

Soup sounds delicious! Enjoy your day.

Blessings to you.

Brenda said...

Now don't shoot me because,after all, you did ask!
Not a cloud in sight! YIPPEE! I'm so loving seeing the new green buds.
Chin up! The rain has to stop some time, right?

Susan said...

What a cute post, Maxine, and thanks for the recipe. Sounds good I'll have to give it a try.

We've had 11 straight days of rain, today the sun is shining just a tad and no rain, BUT that rain is suppost to return tomorrow and begin hanging around again. On thing for sure, we know the Sun is still shining and best of all our SON never quits shining on us!
Susan

Beverly said...

Ok - the soup was DELICIOUS! And I made whole wheat bread machine rolls with it - yummmmmm! We all adored the soup and will definitely make it a regular, especially in the colder weather.

Mr. Sun made a brief appearance. We hope to see him again soon.

Denise said...

There is NOTHING like fresh bread with homemade soup..... NOW I have to leave your blog as I am on a juice diet and I am having a BREAD ATTACK!


Hugs............

Debra said...

It's been raining cats and dogs here too. But I know that warm, sunny days are just ahead. Being the South, hot sunny days will probably be more like it. But that's ok for me, I like it warm.

~Blessings~

sparrow's song said...

Yes, He is the God who brings the rain and the sun into our lives with all His purposes interwoven. I thought for a bit to build an ark the way the rain is so persistent here along the east coast. If I know anything about myself, is that when the sun comes and stays for several days I will begin to long for the rain once again. How fickle we are!

Your soup sounds so delicious. Did you make the bread to go with it?

Maxine said...

To answer your question, Sparrow, I made the bread in the bread machine. I use one-half unbleached and one-half whole wheat flour. Comes out nice. I'm thinking that making biscuits or muffins would work too when you want to do a quick bread.

As an update, the sun didn't really make a full fledged appearance and last night we had thunderstorms and hard downpours again. This morning it's overcast and a little drizzly. I'm sure Mr. Sun will return eventually, when he's good and ready.

Linda said...

It would be just fine with us if you could send that rain to us, and we'll send you all the sunshine you want! :-)
It has been like July here for the past few days - temperatures in the mid-nineties. Just a little too much sunshine right now. We desperately need more rain.
We will just trust the Lord to send it in His time.
The soup sounds really good - just not until things cool off a bit here :-)

... said...

i enjoyed your description of the weather. mr. sun has been hanging out here for the past week. it's been very nice after getting so much late season snow.

maybe because we get so many sunny days, but i enjoy when it's colder and rainy. it's good for spending the day reading and eating yummy soup =)

Barbara said...

This was such a fun and creative way to write about the weather.

The soup looks good.

Anything by Elizabeth Goudge is a blessing. Lover her writing.