Wednesday, October 5, 2011

{Simple} Chicken Noodle Soup for the Sick





Ready or NOT the dreaded cold and flu season is HERE! And if your Momma, Grammy or Aunties were anything like mine...it meant one thing. Well, two. Chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers. {Nasty salt water to gargle, a fizzy drink, warm baths, clean sheets and lots of cuddling, too!}

My momma would always get a whole chicken and let it sit in salt water and then boil it for the broth. She still insists that all the marrow from the bone is what a sick body needs, but personally, it has to be pretttttty bad for me to want a chicken bones swimming around in a graveyard of soup broth. And then there is the time involved, too. SO...here is a quick, kinda homemade version that lets the experts at Better Than Bouillon deal with the mess!

However, it is not going to take you much time to make your own Mirepoix blend:

Quick bonus food history lesson:

"In French cuisine, a Mirepoix ( /mɪərˈpwɑː/ meer-pwah; French pronunciation: [miʁpwa]) is a combination of onions, carrots, and celery (either common pascal celery or celeriac). Mirepoix, either raw, roasted or sautéed with butter, is the flavor base for a wide number of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces. The three ingredients are commonly referred to as aromatics.

Similar combinations of vegetables are known as (holy) trinity in Creole cooking, refogado in Portuguese, soffritto in Italian, sofrito in Spanish and Suppengrün (soup green(s)) in Germany." {Thank you WIKIPEDIA}

It doesn't always happen, but I like to keep veggie packages frozen in the freezer, so that they are easy to grab when someone is sick. {Trader Joe's carries them, too, but I figure a little bit of effort should be made!}

Take 1 large carrot, peel it and chop it. Add 1 large stalk of celery and chop it, too. Then take 1/2 of 1 medium yellow onion and chop it. That is it. No measuring and you have your very own homemade mirepoix blend. Easy Peasy!



Chicken Noodle Soup
Lisa Pearson

Take 1 package of prepared veggies out of the freezer {see above}

Saute the veggies until they are softened

Add 1 clove of minced garlic

You may add a few peppercorns or freshly ground pepper

Add 8 cups of water and 8 tsp. of Better Than Bouillon




Let the soup come to a boil and then add in 1/2 cup of Angel Hair pasta bits {these can be found near the Mexican food section at the grocery store.} They are a deal at 33 cents a package!}



Let the soup boil for about 2 minutes or until the noodles are soft.

**If you are taking the soup to somebody, ladle it into a canning jar and package the noodles separately. It will be easy for them to add the noodles as they are heating up the soup. Trust me, SOGGY noodles are NOT what the doctor ordered.

Do you know of someone in need of comfort?

Maybe there is someone needing you to be the one who reaches out to them...even if it something as simple as a jar of kinda homemade chicken noodle soup, saltines...and a fizzy drink!







Happy Wednesday, dear friends!


A sweet little box to go: I used a pastry box I had on hand for the soup in a jar, the saltines, cough drops and a few m&m for when my friend {a chocolate lover} starts to feel better. I lined the bottom of the box with burlap and glued a piece of craft paper to the lid. Using fabric scraps, I made a white rose posie and burlap for the leaves...the gift was tied with twine and a piece of fabric was stamped "THINKING OF YOU..." Using what I had on hand made this little gift inexpensive and special for my friend who has had a tough few weeks! Again...it is the little things that make a big difference!

...AND, if you are a vegetarian...no problem, we have you covered there, too.  This is DIVINE!!   It's my favorite!!

3 comments:

  1. I came over from freckled laundry. Very sweet post! Why have I never thought about freezing the veggies for my soups as a timesaver? Thanks!

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  2. Kelly...thank you. It took me forever to figure it out. I think I just got too lazy to pull out the few vegies and repeat the whole process! :} You are welcome!!!

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