Chicken Soup for the Soul and Our Colds!

With the exception of Tyler, we all have colds right now. Being sick is the worst! Our noses are stuffed and our eyes are red and watery. We are sniffing, coughing, sneezing. and barely breathing. There are tissues everywhere. NyQuil and DayQuil have become our best friends. OK, I may be exaggerating a tad but you get my drift. But seriously, the absolute worst part about being sick is not being able to taste delicious foods and drinks. As soon as I started getting sick the first thing I said to Dave was "Darn, I think I'm getting a cold...now my wine isn't going to taste the same!" He laughed and said "Did you just hear yourself?" Hey, what can I say...I love my wine!

Growing up my mom would always make us Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup or Chicken with Stars (that was my fav) when we were sick. She would also make us toast and tea. Oh, and I can't forget the ginger ale. For what ever reason they always magically made me feel better. A fond food impression for sure! Every once in a while when my boys are sick I will open a can of Campbell's soup to make them feel better too. But tonight I am making my homemade Chicken Noodle Soup to soothe our colds.  I actually make this soup a lot, whether we are sick or not.  This is one of those recipes that I have been making for years and everyone LOVES it. And it's a soup that's good for the soul. One benefit of the boys getting older is having them help me out in the kitchen. Tyler helped me shred the rotisserie chicken for the soup. He really enjoys helping out, especially if it means eating along the way!  Salud to Chicken Soup for the soul and for our colds!"

Tyler shredding the chicken

Tyler sneaking a taste

Ingredients:

10 cups chicken stock
1 rotisserie chicken, diced
4 carrots sliced into pieces
4 celery stalks, diced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups small macaroni
salt n pepper
grated parmesan cheese

In a large soup pot add 2 tb of olive oil and heat on medium.  Add the celery and carrots for 10 minutes.  Add chicken stock, diced chicken and can of tomatoes.  Add salt n pepper to taste. Bring stock to a boil for 3 minutes. Turn heat to medium and let cook until until vegetables are tender.  Add macaroni until it's cooked through. Plate in soup bowls and add parm cheese and freshly grated pepper.


Food Impressions:

Andrea (me): The boys ditched me and my soup to go to ETS (Elmwood Taco and Subs) despite being sick! I have four words for them... NO SOUP FOR YOU! 

Dave: If you have a wicked food craving for tacos you just have to go for it! 

The best part is finding the wishbone!!!