Acadian Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the wonderful soup I put together for lunch, today.  It's very similar to an Acadian Chicken Fricot but it has noodles instead of potatoes.  Simple as that. It is really easy and quick to make and tastes wonderful. I hope you enjoy it as much as Dave and I did. 


Jeanne's Acadian Chicken Noodle Soup


1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 tablespoons margarine
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salted onions (optional, this is an Acadian staple item)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (if not using salted onions)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 skinless chicken thighs 
1 cup uncooked ditali pasta (or other small pasta)


Melt margarine in a large saucepan.  Add diced onions and carrots and saute until onions start to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the water, salted onions (or salt), chicken and thyme to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium and let simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. At this point, remove the chicken pieces and set aside to cool a bit. Add pasta to the broth mixture and let cook for 7-9 minutes (7 for al dente and 9 for well done).  At this point, separate the chicken into bite-size pieces and return it to the saucepan. Cook until chicken is heated through. Serve immediately. 


Makes 4 small servings or 2 large servings.

Delicious Oat Pancakes

With tomorrow being Shrove Tuesday, I thought I'd jump back on the blog band wagon and share this most delicious, tried and true recipe with everyone. While visiting my cousin Dorene near Boston one summer, she cooked up these pancakes for us one morning. The memory of that morning will last a lifetime, but the pancakes went pretty fast. :) I have made these pancakes many times, both for just Dave and myself and also for company. This is the original recipe. The only changes I make is that I used whole wheat flour and, instead of sugar, I sometimes use Splenda. Also, I only use about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. They are so good!  They're very easy to make and you'll want to make them often. 


Oat Pancakes


1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt 
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice 


Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.  Combine eggs, milk, oil and lemon juice and pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. At this point, I let it sit for about 5 minutes or so. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased, hot griddle.  Turn when bubbles form on top of the pancakes.  Cook until second side is golden brown. 


Makes 6 servings (2 pancakes per serving).