Comfort with chicken and noodles

So I had a craving for chicken and dumplings over the weekend, but didn't have anything in the pantry to make biscuits. I did find whole wheat egg noodles, so I decided to make a thick and creamy chicken and noodle recipe using what I could find.

Again, it was another new recipe for me that I've never attempted to make before and this was another winning dish for me and the hubster.

I cut my 1 lb. of chicken tenderloins into small cubes and cooked them with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic until the chicken cooked all the way through. I added a can of cream of mushroom and a half cup of chicken broth to the meat. After simmering the meat for a few minutes, I added chopped onions, carrots and celery and two bay leaves.

I added cayenne pepper for some kick and about 1/4 cup of half-and-half to the mix to make it even creamier.

Instead of adding the egg noodles to the mix, I boiled them separately and spooned my chicken mixture over the egg noodles. I failed to capture a photo of the chicken and noodle finished product. Sorry about that folks, but please take my word ... this dish was magnificent for such a cold and dreary day. And I ended up using more veggies in my fridge that needed to be eaten!

Still on track

As I was contemplating what to pack in my husband's lunch for tomorrow, I came across three stalks of celery, two stalks of green onion and a carton and a half of eggs due to expire January 30 in my fridge.

A month ago, I would've ignored the expiration date until it was well past its prime, but today, I realized I needed to use up a majority of the eggs and I needed to do it soon.

When I came across the celery, the idea to pack him an egg salad sandwich popped into my head. I never made egg salad before today, and I have to say it came out pretty good for a first timer. (I ended up making myself a sandwich too!)

In the mix: chopped eggs, chopped celery, chopped green onions, Bertman's Stadium Mustard, light mayo, lemon juice, paprika, dried dill, ground red pepper and salt and pepper.

To finish my masterpiece, I used leftover whole wheat buns from sloppy joe night and I topped the egg salad with shredded cheese because we were out of sliced cheese. My husband needs cheese on everything he eats.

So another day has gone by where I didn't run to the store to pick up unnecessary ingredients for a meal. I scoured our fridge and pantry and used what we had on hand. Three weeks into the new year and I'm still on track with my New Year's resolution!

Disclaimer: I did run to the grocery store tonight to pick up items to make a salad. My girlfriends and I have weekly Thursday dinner dates and I was in charge of bringing the salad. I didn't have enough ingredients in my fridge to construct a salad for four, so I had to make a quick trip to the supermarket.

Wedding vendors

Several of my friends got engaged over the holidays and are now in full wedding planning mode. I figured there are a ton of newly-engaged couples out there in the beginning stages of wedding planning and thought I'd offer up a list of my vendors in case anyone is interested in checking them out.

I tried to be as cost efficient as possible when it came to spending money, since we paid for nearly 90 percent of all wedding costs. Our parents helped out a lot, but the bulk of the cost was left up to us.

I originally wanted an outdoor ceremony, but changed my mind since Cleveland weather can be quite unpredictable. I started researching churches and probably visited more than half a dozen in Cleveland. What I quickly came to realize is that churches can be pretty pricey if you're not a member. We ended up finding one in Tremont that we fell in love with. It's not located in the heart of Tremont, but it's not too far out and is definitely worth visiting if you're trying to keep costs down.

                    Immanuel Lutheran Church, 2928 Scranton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113

We wanted to have our reception in a place that was close to downtown and allowed us to bring in our own caterer. We found a great spot in the Gordon Square Arts District that also was home to several art galleries. If you like an industrial look, you should consider checking out this space.

                               78th Street Studios, 1300 W. 78th St., Cleveland, OH 44102

Want to customize your own menu? Or do you have a certain food budget you need to stay within? These guys will work with you to make everything perfect on your wedding day.

                                                                  Dim and Den Sum

I'm not a huge cake or sweets fan, but for some reason, cupcakes have a special place in my heart. I decided to do a cupcake tower for the reception with a small cake topper and it turned out exactly the way I wanted it to! Plus, it saved me money on plates and utensils!

                             LaBella Cupcakes, 15208 Madison Ave., Lakewood, OH 44107

And if you like the photos I posted here, (other than the one I took of Dim and Den Sum) they are from the fabulous and talented Tom Forrest Photography. Tom, along with his second shooter Kevin, are both absolutely amazing and took the best pics of our wedding. They exceeded my expectations and I'm grateful to have such beautiful photos to keep for the rest of my life.

And, with that, I'll end this post with my favorite photo of the day.

Long time no hear from ...

Wow.

It's been nearly a year since my last post.

Time really does fly by, doesn't it?

Previous post aside, this is the perfect time to write my second post as it is discount-clearance time at nearly all retail shops.

Major department and retail stores are now slowly clearing out their winter apparel and accessories to make room for their spring line. In the past few weeks, I've picked up new winter hats, gloves, sweaters and shoes at nearly 75 percent off.

I do this every year as the season's change and stock up on the ending season's apparel and accessories to use for the following season.

I also take advantage of many store's annual sales (e.g. Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works) and purchase items that I know I'll have to buy in the future. 

I know I have several birthdays and three bachelorette parties coming up this year, so I took advantage of BBW and VS' semi-annual sales and purchased quality items for my brides-to-be and gal pals' upcoming birthdays.

One of my resolutions, (which I actually made in 2011 but want it to carry over this year) is to try and focus on needs and not wants. And with some new, major changes in my life, I really want to stick to this resolution to save some money and make myself feel more financially secure.

Another resolution I made to help save money is to try and not waste food in the house. That means using up all the meat, veggies and pantry items we have in the house instead of running to the grocery store every other day to pick up ingredients for dinner.

So far this week, (I know, I know, it's only Tuesday) I've used up items in our fridge and pantry that I purchased late last week to make dinner for me and the hubster. Let's see if I can continue doing it for the rest of the week. I have enough meat, veggies and staple pantry items to do it. 

What are some of the resolutions you made this year to try and save money?