Emma’s Fantabulous Blog

1. I’m sick. Somehow I managed to escape Devon’s two plagues, only to come down with a cold of my very own… Yeay!.. (sarcasm abounds)

2. I’m thinking about re-entering the workforce and have decided to apply for a paid position at PAWS. It would be working in the Wildlife Receptions and Admissions. So I’d be manning the phone, telling the public that called in to not feed bears or try to pet cougars, ect… and dealing with animal intake when the public brings in injured or orphaned wildlife.

I’m excited about having a job again… But kinda nervous as I’ve never written a resume or had a job that required one… Not to mention the 4 year gap in my work history… But it seems that this job would be great for me… It’s customer service related, which I think I’m pretty good with, but I still get to deal with some animals.  I believe its only 4 days a week and it’s a seasonal position (march-sept), meaning that I’ll still be able to move back to Boston in the fall.

For the moment though, I’m focused on a cup of Throat Coat Tea (best medicine EVER for a sore throat) and some Nyquil.

Beware of this Magic Eraser

Originally uploaded by Catnip Intoxicating

I’ve been on a cleaning spree recently. (It feels and smells like spring here after all.)

and OMG! I love these thingies. They’re totally addictive…. Magic erasers are this little white sponges, that you get a bit damp and then scrub away at all of the annoying dirty marks in your house that normal cleaning can’t get rid of. They make cleaning super fun… Or maybe it’s just me.

I’ve used them to get rid of spots that I thought were white paint on my wooden cabinets… dirty lines in the creases of linoleum… hard stuck on grime in bathrooms, and tons of other stuff. In addition these have even made scratches on my kitchen counter disappear… almost magically.

But yeah. I love these. Pick them up from almost any grocery store. They cost about $4 for a pack of two sponges.

It’s cold and flu season. My poor husband with an apparently beaten down immune system has had 2 nasty colds within 3 weeks. So I realized that it was definitely time to pull out my super awesome homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe again. I though you guys might appreciate a new recipe to add to your collection… Or at least compare it to your own version of this classic home remedy.

For me, homemade chicken soup is all about making your own stock if you have the time… I dunno what it is. Maybe it tastes better, or has more cold-fighting properties, but it’s possible that I just love it because it always makes my entire house smell amazing. Now if you’re in a rush or just not in a super patient mood, feel free to use cans or cartons of premade chicken broth from the store.

Homemade Chicken Stock Ingredients:

- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 cups or 4 quarts of water
- 8 Chicken thighs & 1 Chicken Breast, halved (w/bones & skin)
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 tsp. dried parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp. salt
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 ½ tsp. black pepper

Soup Ingredients:

- Chicken stock
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- ¾ to 1 package of Egg Noodles
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- Hot pepper sauce, (ex. Tabasco)
- Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. To Make Stock: Lightly sauté onions and garlic in butter for about 2 minutes. Add water and chicken and bring to a boil. Skim off froth. Add carrots, celery, dried parsley, bay leaves, salt, thyme and pepper. Reduce heat to low/medium and simmer, partially covered for about 1 hour, or until juices run clear when meat is pierced.

2. Remove all solids (chicken, veggies, bay leaves, etc…) from the broth with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Separate bones, fat and skin from chicken. Pick apart or chop the good chicken meat and throw it back into the stock. Discard cooked veggies and leftover chicken parts.

3. To Make Soup: Add fresh onion, carrots and celery to stock & chicken. Cover pot and cook over medium/high for about 8 minutes.

4. Add noodles and cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until noodles and veggies are tender. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

5. When dishing out bowls season to your liking with hot pepper sauce (It sounds kinda weird but I highly recommend it! Even Devon, the “anti-condiment of any kind” man thinks that the soup tastes way better with Tobasco. Also for all my sickly homeboys & girls, it helps clear you up if you’re congested.) Top bowls with some fresh parsley and serve!

6. Eat your super awesome Homemade Chicken Soup and relish in the fact that you’re enjoying a cold remedy that tastes way better than that nasty green Nyquil. ☺

Pingu: Robby the Snowboarder

I first stumbled across this show (Pingu) in Canada last week. Apparently it’s a Swiss show that generally has 5 minute episodes.. It totally cracks me up… It’s centered around the adventures of a young penguin named Pingu and his family and friends. The show features a nonsense language, but its easy to figure out the gist of what’s going on…

But yeah. The show totally amused me in 5 minute increments. Check it out, and lemme know what you think!

Go Pats!

I’ll be watching the superbowl. Mostly for the delicious spread of food that always accompanies watching the game at my parent’s house and for the new commercials that always air during the game… Oh.. and I suppose I have some hometown team pride.

Go Pats!