A Cold, Snowy Sunday in Texas

Snowy days in Plano are very rare, especially on Sunday afternoons. The day started with a torrential downpour of rain early this morning. The temperature on my way to work out at 7:30 was 39 degrees. An hour later, the temp had dropped to 36 degrees. A trip to the grocery store was on the agenda after breakfast and a quick shower to stock up for the week. The rain continued, changing to snow as I drove home from the grocery store, fully stocked for the week.

I made an Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner which was perfect. I put a whole chicken, simply seasoned with salt and pepper in the oven to roast at 450 degrees for an hour. I allowed it to cool enough to remove the skin and remove the meat from the bones.

Meanwhile, I brought some chicken broth with sliced celery, carrot, and leeks to a boil, and simmered for about 5 minutes. I added the roasted chicken pieces and the juices from the roasting pan and simmered for another 5 minutes. Next some egg noodles were added to the simmering broth, I covered the pot and removed it from the heat and allowed it to sit for 15 minutes. I tested the noodles for doneness by tasting one and they were perfect. The soup was garnished with chopped parsley before serving.

The soup was served with a side of Avocado-Tomato Melts. I broiled split English muffin halves until golden brown. These were topped with slices of fresh avocado and fresh tomatoes and seasoned with salt and pepper. They then got a sprinkling of grated Farmer's cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese before going back under the broiler to melt the cheese.

This was the perfect meal for a cold, snowy day!