Earlier this January, I made homemade chicken noodle soup for the first time.
It wasn’t a grand plan. While I was getting ready to the leave office on Monday, I decided to make a small list of grocery items to pick up on the way home. The list-making immediately lead to thoughts about dinner. I wanted to make something different, but simple.
With the sudden drop of temperatures with the arrival of January, I decided soup would be appropriate. But not just any soup – it had to be chicken noodle. What is winter without noodle soup?
And while there are many suitable household brands, nothing compares to homemade soup. I held onto this notion as I picked out each ingredient, hoping it wouldn’t be an inevitable waste of money.
I tried to keep my worries at bay, concentrating on what ingredients.
Chicken broth, gluten free noodles, chicken breasts, carrots, celery, oregano, oil, salt and pepper – I was ready.
As daunting as it all seemed, it was much easier than I anticipated.
I prepped the chicken first and got it into the oven. While that was baking, I was able to prep all of the veggies, with time to spare. I sauteed the celery, and chose to omit the onions. Once the chicken was ready, I had my first attempt at “shredding” the meat. I was relatively successful.
Homemade soup is the way to go, in my opinion. My dish made enough for multiple leftovers, which was half the point. The noodles grew bigger and bigger as they absorbed the broth. I did not mind this at all, it made things interesting.
While I usually avoid cooking with raw chicken as much as possible, this experience left a positive taste in my mouth. I look forward to making it again.
A few weeks prior to this soup venture, I had my sights set on chili. My mom volunteered to come to my place one afternoon and make it with me – an invaluable opportunity. I gathered as many ingredients as I could and she brought the rest, along with her recipe. She walked me through each step, boosting my confidence for future chili-making.
It was has taken me a bit to get my winter footing, and these winter recipes have helped tremendously.
