Hello People!
My world, like everyone else’s, has been nuts-o. 2013 ended with lots of change and 2014 has begun with too much loss and a scattered schedule. Having said that it’s f-ing 2014. More than 20 days into in, in fact and I have yet to blog.
You may notice that these pictures (in particular the lighting) are much different. That is because I’ve moved! Yay! For fun, I am now renting in east Nashville for a while and therefore the kitchen isn’t exactly what my old one was but I’m just ever thankful for a big kitchen to cook in.
To regain order-what do you say we start off with a delicious version of an old staple? Chicken Noodle Soup. It’s been frigidly cold here and this soup really hit the spot. I served it up with this grilled cheese and everyone was pleased.
Start out with chopped carrots, celery and green onion.
After you saute the veggies, add the seasonings.
I have no idea how I came up with this recipe. It was half researched half a combination of recipes. So I don’t really feel the need to give credit anywhere. However, the secret to this recipe was taking half the veggies out and blending the rest with an immersion blender. I don’t know where this came from, but they deserve credit-so if whoever did this is reading. Tell me it was you!
Here are me and my boobs and a bunch of tiny birds, ladling out half of the vegetables.
After the veggies are all blended, add the chicken and veggies that were maintained.
Add the ditalini and simmer until the pasta is done. You could really use any short pasta but it wouldn’t be as fun to say.
This soup is so hearty and doesn’t even compare to the canned stuff.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, shredded/pulled
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
6 cups chicken broth (plus more if needed)(obviously boiling a chicken and making your own broth is an option, should you have time)
1 1/2 cups ditallini (uncooked) pasta
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
salt
pepper
6 dashes of Louisiana hot sauce
the juice of half a lemon
instructions:
saute carrots, celery and green onion in a large dutch oven or stock pot until tender, about 5 minutes. add garlic, parsley, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 10 twists of pepper. cook one minute more.
add chicken broth and simmer on low for 15 minutes.
using a slotted spoon, remove 1/2 of vegetables and set aside. blend remaining broth and veggies with an immersion blender. if you don’t have an immersion blender, blend the veggies you removed with some of the broth, in a standing blender.
add veggies back to the pot along with the shredded chicken. bring to a simmer and add ditalini. when the ditalini is al dente, about 8 minutes, taste the soup. if too much of the broth has evaporated, you may want to add a little more to your liking. add salt and pepper to taste as well as the lemon juice and hot sauce.
The Hungry Apple 