Chicken Cordon Blue Soup

It’s been a week. I’ve had the two littlest girls home all week because they’ve been sick. It’s some kind of viral nasty bug. They’ve had fevers, sore throats, runny nasty noses, and are extra tired. Luckily no flu! We really got some nervous feelings about this. We try to avoid the flu at all costs. In the youngest ones school, they have had a lot of kids out with the flu. I’ll take the viral thing any day at this point. Much less crazy than the nasty flu.

Our house is almost ready! We’ve been patiently waiting forever. I can’t wait to be able to get all my stuff out again to use. I miss my stuff. It’s funny you don’t realize how attached you are to your own space and own stuff until you don’t have it. I really can’t wait to get back to those things. I miss my dishes and cooking stuff. I miss my blankets and sheets and all my clothes. I can’t wait to see all my pretty stuff again. It feels like I’ve been waiting forever. I’m grateful that I have had a place to stay and not been couch surfing, but there’s nothing better than your own space. I can’t stress that enough….I’m feeling pretty happy. Six months later and we’re almost at the finish line.

2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded

1 lb of diced ham

3 tablespoons butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup heavy cream

32 oz chicken broth

6 oz shredded swiss cheese

1 teaspoon dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and cream cheese in a pot. Add chicken and ham. Add heavy cream and chicken broth. Melt in cheese and the rest of the other ingredients. 

Chicken Fajita Soup

What a day! We had a visitor this evening times 2. I thought I was going to be pretty screwed, because my mother in laws road was getting re-graveled and we had no idea it was going to happen. Both visitors  were scheduled for the same times….so needless to say I was feeling a little stressed by it. I decided I needed an easy meal and remembered I had seen a variation of this recipe floating on Facebook. I decided to make my own. I didn’t have time for a crockpot meal today. I bought a rotisserie chicken for it too! It really cut my time down.

Another story of what you’ve been missing from me. I’ve never done long term foster care before now. It’s been a new learning experience. One I  might add I’ve not loved. It might be just because I’m learning more…pretty much daily. Honestly, I’d love to see success stories. Reunification is so important. Sometimes it’s just not possible though. The kids are thought to miss out, but honestly they gain a whole family, so sometimes the loss isn’t such a bad thing for them. The truth is I hate abuse. I’ve realized through our fantastic worker that sometimes pain is gain. We have to get through the painful moments of our lives in order to get to happiness….but it sucks to watch. You know I’ve never felt more helpless or more out of control except the times I hold my babies and tell them it’s not their fault they aren’t seeing their parent(s). It’s also the most joyous and loving moments when they say you’re the best mom I ever had. Then the moments that make you laugh. My youngest has picked up this new little saying. Someone will say something and she’ll say “OOOOOH pleaseeeee”. It’s very exaggerated and OOOOH so funny. The other thing that is crazy is how you find new found illnesses or problems that arise due to their lack of medical care. I often wonder when sitting at the doctors office how many times my babies were sick, sick, sick and no one took them for medicine. Being a foster parent is painful. It’s rewarding too though. There are days I seriously wonder if one outweighs the other. It amazes me how the Guardian Ad Litem we have refuses to be of value to the social worker for our two kids. She’s kinda’ rogue honestly. She’s super sweet to my kids though….but I think she has a way that makes others feel they’ve been manipulated. This is a struggle we’ve recently had. She throws curve balls at every turn. I almost feel like she has ulterior  motives…I’d hope I’m wrong. I have decided that I don’t need to worry about this stuff though. I do what I’m supposed to do for my foster kids and that’s all I need to work on. I just hope in the end she fulfills her end.

1 rotisserie chicken deboned and cubed

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

15 oz tomato sauce

4 cups chicken broth

3-4 tablespoons taco seasoning (do a taste test after 3)

2 teaspoons garlic minced

Saute the onion and bell pepper. Add Garlic. Stir in all other ingredients and simmer. ENJOY!

Broccoli cheese soup

What a time.  Our house isn’t ready yet,  but they are saying that it’ll be ready now in February. Honestly,  it makes me so bummed.  I miss my stuff,  but it’s all packed up.

It’s getting cold here,  so I decided to make some nice yummy soup. All the kids loved  it. They ate several bowls.

Its really not a precise recipe,  I’ll do my best to give you what I used. Next time im going to use some onion!

Approximately 4 cups broccoli

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons garlic

2 cups Heavy cream

4 oz velveeta cheese

16 oz cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic in a pot. Add broccoli and chicken broth.  Make sure broccoli is covered.  Cook until broccoli is tender.  Add cream.  Melt in cheeses and add salt and pepper.

Yum!

Ham and Bean Soup

I woke up this morning and it went from 73 degree F yesterday to 40 degrees F today. Huge difference. I’ve been cold all day. I decided it’s a soup type day. I put some stuff in my bread machine to whip up some bread. Then I started my beans. I’ve pretty much decided I need some warm comfort food. I want to give you a few tips that you may or may not already know….First off. If you’re like me you may forget to put your beans in the water to sit for that 8 hours. If you do don’t worry, you can still do this. Here’s how:

First you want to put your beans in your stock pot and cover them in water (at least 2 inches above the beans). Put on high to bring to a rolling boil. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the head and cover. I usually let it sit for about 1 or 2 hours and it’s ready to go.

My next tip is adding salt. I encourage you not to add any salt in the beginning at all. Ham hocks can be salty sometimes. If you don’t use low sodium chicken broth you also have that salt content. You would want to let the soup be finished, taste it and then add your salt or it could be inedible. Enjoy this soup ya’ll!

1 1/2 cups dried great northern beans

4 meaty ham hocks

4 cups water

32 oz low sodium chicken broth

1 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups chopped carrot

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

Salt to taste

Separate beans to ensure no rocks or twigs, etc. Place into a bowl cover them with cool water. Check on them periodically so they have water in them always.  I let sit for at least 8 hours prior to cooking. Drain water. Place in a stockpot. Add ham hocks, water, celery, onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, pepper, and bay leaf to pot with beans. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer until ham hocks fall apart. Should be about 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and remove ham hocks from soup. Cut meat from bones and put into soup. Add salt as desired.