chicken soup is good for the soul

as i think ive mentioned before, i used to be strangely terrified of making soup.
for some reason i thought it was a really hard thing to do.

i couldnt have been more wrong...soup is actually one of the easiest, hard to mess up things you could cook.

throw stuff in a pot and let it bubble.

ok maybe theres a little bit more to it than that, but not much.

so two of the things i said i wanted to do this week were 1)attach emorys bumper ties to the bumpers and 2)make homemade chicken noodle soup. i only accomplished one.

here is the recipe! ;)
{i actually did my normal eyeballing-while-cooking but remembered to throw it in measuring cup so i could record it! a small step in the right direction...}

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP FOR THE SOUL

• 3 chicken breasts poked generously with fork {i do this so it will cook faster} drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with s&p, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, baked at 350 until done {~15 min}, then chopped into small pieces
• half onion, diced
• 2 c sliced carrots {i cut ends off whole carrots, then sliced them in half longways, then sliced pieces}
• 2 c chopped celery and celery leaves {just cut bad ends off, sliced longways to make several thinner pieces, then chopped}
• olive oil
• 2 32oz cartons + 2 14oz cans less sodium chicken broth
• 1 c water
• 2 7oz cans sliced mushrooms, drained {could also use fresh mushrooms but this is what i had}
• 1 pkg egg noodles {i dont remember how much i used! i think the bag was 12-16oz or so...}
• 1/3 c chopped parsley

1. bake chicken as instructed above, chop into small pieces and set aside {could also just boil chicken, but this method definitely gave it more flavor}
2. heat olive oil over medium high heat in large dutch oven
3. add onions, celery and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally {add fresh mushrooms here if using}
4. add chicken broth and water, bring to a boil
5. reduce heat and let simmer
6. add mushrooms and chopped chicken
7. season with s&p, oregano, thyme, garlic powder {might have used sauteed minced garlic if i had any}, as usual i seasoned generously.  i would definitely season generously {but not too much salt, you can always add that to taste at the table}
8. add egg noodles and cook for 6-8 more minutes {you might need to add more water - depends on how much liquid the noodles absorb...i cooked mine in the chicken broth but then realized it needed some more liquid so i added that 1c water, and then added a little more water to the tupperware before i froze the leftovers}
9. stir in chopped parsley and serve with garlic bread

serves probably 8 {enough to feed two, save some in refrigerator, and freeze more for later}
fab-u-lous.


this little monkey actually ate some


while this one was asleep



only after snuggling with her brother {and his extremely chapped FACE...how DO you keep them from licking their lips...}


who was taking a break from drawing his family {top L clockwise: mommy, daddy, emory, bennett}


after a wonderful lunch of grilled cheese and applesauce

{dont worry i made him another one...}

and a morning of playdough-ing

"look mommy i made an airplane and those are his perpellers"


its supposed to be a high in the forties tomorrow, and bennett insists he is swimming when we get to the beach.  i might let him put his feet in and THEN tell me what he thinks he wants to do. :)

have a fabulously HEALTHY and warm weekend!