The Best Day Off EVER

I had Wednesday off of school for Veterans' Day.  I was torn between wanting to hang out with friends and wanting to be productive.  This is always my dilemma.

Luckily for me, one of my favorite friends in the world, Natalie Dayton, knows me all too well, and she called with this proposition: "I want to hang out with you on your day off, but I know how you like to be productive...so why don't we get together and make a bunch of meals to freeze and use when we are busy and stressed?"  JACK POT!  Do I have amazing friends, or what?!

Natalie is an awesome cook, and she had read my rant earlier in the week about my inability to cook, so she picked three of her "easy meals" and taught me how to make them.  I went home with tupperwares and foil pans full of food.  I was one happy girl.

The best part of the day was being with my friends.  (Laney came too.)  Let's just say that giggling and chatting makes cooking a whole lot funner!  (Yes, I know that's not a real word.)

One of the recipes that we made is Natalie's divine chicken and wild rice soup.  I am obsessed with it. So before I stuck it in the freezer, I saved some in a little tupperware, just for me.  And all day at school today, I kept thinking about that delicious soup awaiting me at home for dinner.  The thought got me through the day.  When I got home at 7:00 p.m., I was definitely ready to chow.

The problem was...the tupperware was EMPTY in the sink.

Oh man, Ryan better be glad he wasn't at home.  I take my food very seriously, and I was beyond livid. I stomped around the house for ten minutes, thought about going to get myself some Wendys to punish him (no idea how that correlates), and ended up eating a bowl of lame Frosted Mini-Wheats instead.  Grrrrrrrrr.

So when I heard Ry walking in from his tennis match, before I even saw him, I shouted, "You are in big trouble, Mister!"

I felt kinda bad for yelling at him when he then pulled out a yellow rose that he had purchased for me.  He claims that this uncharacteristically romantic act was intended to be thoughtful, not propitiatory; but I think he knew that he would be in deep water for eating all of my precious Natalie Dayton soup.

Fortunately for him, we have a big tupperware in the freezer...just waiting to be thawed out next week!

Here's the recipe for anyone who wants it.  It is so yummy!  Just be sure to hide it well if you don't want it to be devoured by sneaky husbands.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

4 chicken breast halves or equivalent amount of tenders

1 box Long Grain and Wild Rice mix (Near East Brand is best, but Uncle Ben's is easier to find.)

2 cans chicken broth
4 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

Salt and pepper

-Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 of the poultry seasoning and salt.  Cook it in a tiny bit of olive oil over medium heat.  Cover to avoid drying out.

-At the same time, cook the rice according to the directions on the box.

-In a large pot, melt butter. Add chopped carrots and celery and pepper to taste, and sauté for about 10 minutes until tender. Add flour, cornstarch and the rest of the poultry seasoning, and whisk together quickly. 

-Add stock and milk, whisking quickly as you pour.   Cook over medium-low heat stirring often.

-When the chicken and rice are finished, cut chicken into bite-size pieces and add both to the soup. 


Thanks, Natalie, for a great day!