When the weathermen on the news told everyone we were expecting a blizzard, I didn't take them entirely seriously. One: Because Oklahoma weather is sporadic and the weathermen never really know what's going to happen so they guess. One day it's 90 degrees and the next it's 20 degrees. In the summer, it rains when there aren't any clouds and a beautiful day could turn into tornado weather in less than five minutes. Two: Because people here FREAK OUT when the news mentions "snow". All the schools were closed for the entire week before a single snowflake touched the ground (CJ's a teacher at a Christian school 30 minutes north of where we live now). So the chances of us experiencing a BLIZZARD after having 70 degree weather in JANUARY was sort of hard to believe.

This time, they were RIGHT! Last night we had a thunderstorm that shook our house and then the snow started pouring down. It hasn't stopped since and the snow drifts in our yard are at least 4 feet deep. When we let our dog, Hershey, outside this morning, we had to let him out in the front yard because the back door had 2 feet of snow piled against it. He made it a couple of hops until he disappeared in a drift so CJ put his snow gear on and went outside to get him. Last year we had a lot of ice and our electricity was out for a while so I started cooking! I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup, broccoli cheddar soup, and 'zuppe toscana'. I've never used measurements when it comes to soups and stews so I'll just tell you what I put in each of them. If you're stuck at home in a snow storm and feel like cooking some really great soups, you now have some simple recipes to use! You're welcome =)

Chicken Noodle Soup
First, I defrosted two chicken breasts and cooked them in the pot I was going to make the soup in. Then I chopped it up and poured in enough water to make the stock. I then added chopped celery, carrots, Italian seasoning (oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, and sage), 4 chicken bouillon cubes, salt and pepper to taste. Once the water began to boil, I added egg noodles. Once the noodles were soft it was ready to serve! If you have chicken thighs with the bone in them, make stock the old fashioned way and boil then simmer them in water for 4 hours to make the stock first then throw in the other ingredients. Add onions or mushrooms if you like and eat with french fried onions or saltine crackers. (I butter my crackers then set them in my bowl to get soggy and then eat them with a spoonful of soup. Probably not the healthiest but it tastes wonderful!)

Broccoli Cheddar Soup
I poured a couple cups of chopped broccoli into a pot then added milk and 1 cup (I'm guessing) of Velveeta cheese. After the cheese melted, I tasted the soup and it wasn't cheesy enough for me so I added some more cheese. Voilà!


Zuppe Toscana
I started by defrosting 1 lb. of sausage then cooked it in the pot. I then added chopped spinach, sliced potatoes (with the skin still on), a lot of milk, garlic powder, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, and salt to taste. One the label of the creole seasoning, it says the ingredients are "salt, red pepper, other spices and garlic" in case you have these ingredients and no creole seasoning. I've added butter before but didn't this time. Boil until the potatoes are soft then serve. Is it really a Tuscan soup? No, it tastes a lot like the zuppe toscana they serve at Olive Garden but they use kale instead of spinach.

I also baked a yellow cake and lathered chocolate frosting on top! After I enjoy each of these, it's back to cleaning as much of the house as possible and keeping Gabe (my 8.5 mo old) happy. Toodles!