Happy New Year!

We're already two weeks into the new year and I'm just now getting my New Year blog post up, but hey, we still have 50 more weeks of this year, so that's really not that bad, huh?

I'm the type of person who makes resolutions every single year.  Shoot, I make resolutions every week!  I thrive off of new beginnings because I desire a clean slate and a fresh start over and over and over again.  And I see nothing wrong with this.  His mercies are new every morning and I can claim them over and over (and over and over and over) again.  Praise God!

So, what resolutions did I make this year?

• To stop drinking soda (or at least stop being addicted to it),
• To stop being addicted to sweets, desserts, sugary foods, etc.,
• To eat cleaner and healthier, and
• To blog more (most likely about food).

Do you notice a trend?  It's no secret that food is at the forefront of my thoughts and plays a huge part in my everyday life.  Of course, we need food to survive, but I have developed some seriously bad habits and attitudes when it comes to food.  I want to get back to eating for sustenance and I want to get serious about what I put into my body.  To be really honest, it all stemmed from my stance on vaccines.  As I've thought more about refusing to put harmful substances in my body, I've been more convicted about the food substances I'm putting in my body every day.  1 Corinthians 6:19 says, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"  I really feel that I am doing my family a disservice if I don't make a commitment to eating healthier.  Being an example to my child(ren) has been the strongest motivation I've ever had!

Now, when it comes to blogging more, it sort of ties in with what I talked about above in that I want to share some of my new ideas and recipes with all of you.  But also, I thoroughly enjoy baking/cooking and I really enjoy blogging so why not blog about the things I cook and bake?  So, for my very first cooking post, I am going to tell you how I make turkey noodle soup.

The first time I made turkey noodle soup was right after Thanksgiving of 2013.  We had a lot of leftover turkey and I did not want to eat a bunch of turkey sandwiches or make turkey hash.  So, I looked on Pinterest, of course, and found a very simple recipe for turkey noodle soup.  We made it a handful of times last winter and tweaked it each time.  This was my first time making it this winter and I had to remind myself of ingredients and portions because I tend to repeatedly make the mistake of not writing down my recipes.  It's also been a collaborative effort between me and The Bean so I don't always remember his contribution.  Anyhow, let's cut to the chase.

Turkey Noodle Soup 

First, gather your ingredients.  You will need the following:

• 4 carrots
• 1 medium onion (I used yellow)
• 2 ribs celery
• Olive oil, or oil/butter of choice (not pictured)
• 5 cups turkey stock (or chicken or vegetable stock/broth)*
• 1 cup water (not pictured)
• 2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles (I use whole wheat "egg" noodles)
• 2 cups chopped, cooked turkey
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (more or less to taste)
• thyme (not pictured) and/or any other spices you want to include (suggestions: marjoram, basil, bay leaves, parsley, poultry seasoning, etc.)

*I used bouillon cubes instead of turkey stock.  I find it easier to have them on hand.  Just follow the directions on the package.

Then, prep your veggies.  I like to chop everything pretty small.

Heat oil/butter on the stovetop in a sauté pan.  Add carrots, celery and onion and cook until slightly softened, about 4 minutes.  

Place stock, water, turkey, vegetables, pepper and spices in a large saucepan or stock pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer approximately 15 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Add noodles and continue cooking about 7 minutes until noodles are tender.  

Spoon into bowls and enjoy!  Yummy with grilled cheese (which I recommend using muenster cheese), crackers, or bread.  

*Please ignore the formatting on this post.  Blogger is being annoying and I don't have the energy to try and fix it.