You might ask what desk organizing and soup have in common? well, not really anything unless you make soup while you are organizing your desk which is what I began early this morning.
Yes, it is the new year and one thinks of better ways to get organized….but that is not the reason I am organizing my desk or why I am making soup!
You see, my dear readers…after my zero dark thirty quiet time this morning….I decided to make Lemon Chicken Soup for lunch, mostly because it was 48 degrees with a bit of wind…..and that is cold for Florida! Secondly, I had chicken thighs in my fridge that needed to be used. And thirdly, I had lemons and limes left over from a couple other recipes that I have been working on this past week. And lastly, I love soup!
The organizational part was unintentional….I had opened my desk drawer to seek my stapler that had gotten “lodged” in the back of my desk drawer. Have you ever had that happen or are you better organized than I?
I usually have a system for purging or cleaning out “things”! I set up separate piles of items I intend to keep, giveaway, and trash… but my desk looked like a dumping ground for things that obviously belonged elsewhere in my home and if you really think about it….who wants my half used office supplies? Soooooo I decided to change the name of my “piles” of stuff to items to keep, items to move where they belong and items to toss out (which is probably what I should have done when my little hands touched the items in the first place. After, I completed that task….I really didn’t have many items to put in my drawers! Imagine that?? I now have orderly drawers and my hair clips and pins and nail polish or where they belown. Whoopee! I am functional again.
I had a couple of drawer dividers that I inserted, but a silverware tray would work just as good. I now have a certain place for paper clips etc….all I have to do is always put everything back where it belongs. 🙂
Soooooo time for soup!
Below is the handy dandy printable for a very easy and quick, great tasting soup.
Steps are simple….cook the chicken, add the saute’d onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cut up the chicken and add to the broth along with the rice. Add the lemon and lime zest and juices. Add the veggies and seasonings and you Soup’s On!
Enjoy!
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 carton chicken broth
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, stripped from stems
- 2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on (I use thighs)
- 1 cup rice
- Zest of 2 lemons and 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Cook chicken in heavy pot in water to cover, about 10-15 minutes
- Meanwhile, saute onion, celery, carrots and garlic in butter until translucent
- Remove chicken and cut or shred when cool to the touch
- Add the cooked veggies to the broth in the heavy pot and add the rice, broth and thyme
- After chopping the chicken add it to the heavy pot along with the lemon and lime zest and juices Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Season with salt and pepper
- Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper if desired.
- Garnish with Lemon and lime wedges and serve with crackers, or buttery Ritz, for garnishing
Hi
I just googled “can travertine tile backsplashes be painted ?” Your blog came up and I’ve really enjoyed reading it. You sound a lot like me … I have lots of opinions:) , my friends call me over for questions about decorating and when I retired about 7 years ago I studied interior design and Feng shui. I love love love making our home special and enjoyable to be in and I’m trying to make smart choices so it’s also easier to keep clean 🙂
My husband and my first “project “ after I retired was to paint the outside of our house.
I realized my style and what I liked had changed and all it took was one sideboard that I found (and had to have) at a consignment shop.. and it snowballed from there. We’ve done many projects over the last 7 years (actually over the last 20 years, that we’ve lived here).
We are right now in the process of semi- redoing our kitchen. I would love your “opinions :)” on :
Did you consider having your cabinets painted or replacing the door and drawer fronts ?
What made you decide to replace them?
I want white cabinets too !!! Mine now are a light gold and my backsplash looks almost exactly like yours lol
Great job 👍👍👍👍
AND… by the way…we live in Naples …
Hi neighbor.
Thank you for your information !!! 💐
Candice
Hi Candice, it is good to know we are neighbors and I will be glad to give you what I have learned about re-doing our kitchen.
It is such a big undertaking and lots of time and money and planning.
First, we had honey colored cabinets and we left the lay out the same with the exception of removing a “garage” cabinet in the corner of the countertops. It had no door anyway and I wanted the extra counter space.
We removed all the doors and drawer fronts and ordered all white. We never considered painting the cabinets as ours were a thermafoil which is quite common in Florida….so painting was not an option.
We replaced the granite “tiles” on the countertops with slab granite for a more conducive surface for rolling out doughs, etc….and just better aesthetics.
We put new hardware on the doors and I lived with the travertine tile backsplash for a couple years before I got the idea to try to paint it. It is holding up better than I expected and I have washed it down many times. People are surprised when I tell them I painted the tile.
I love the way the kitchen has turned out and my next project is to remove the popular Florida tile floor and replace it with bamboo or hardwood.
I would also like to replace the cooktop island granite with a white quartz-type surface for no other reason than there is a lot of black granite in the kitchen and I would like the contrast. Wish I would have done that we we replaced the granite 7 years ago. sigh! Hindsight is always 20-20. 🙂
You are right we do sound alike and I don’t know if you have seen my hutch that my husband made using a IKEA bookcase hack….love it!
Check it out here: https://www.meandmycaptain.com/?s=bookcase+hutch…and here: https://www.meandmycaptain.com/2017/12/ikea-hack-easy/, or just use the search bar on my blog page and type in ikea hack or bookcase hutch.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and for commenting.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Have a great and blessed day.