Chicken Soup aka Nature’s Penicillin
For centuries mothers have known the healing benefits that chicken soup has on a cold or the flu. The medical community is finally coming around & recognizing that chicken soup really helps when you’re sick. I’m sure we can all agree that nobody feels like cooking when they’re sick. So, when you’re down with a cold or the flu, my quick & easy Chicken Soup will have you feeling better in no time!
Serves: 1
Ingredients
2 cups organic chicken broth
1/4 cup organic carrot, peeled & sliced thin (about 1/4″)
1/4 cup organic celery, sliced thin (about 1/4″)
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, peeled & finely chopped (this adds an immunity boost & extra flavor)
1/2 tsp dried parsley (or use 1 Tblsp fresh chopped parsley as a garnish)
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper, 1 to 2 pepper mill turns
1/2 cup Manichewitz Kluski egg noodles (see Tips# 1 & 2)
1/3 to 1/2 cup cooked chicken meat (see Tip# 3)
Optional for serving: garnish with some chopped scallion, thin lemon slices, fresh chopped parsley
Directions
1. In a 2 quart pot; add chicken broth, carrot, celery, ginger, parsley, salt & pepper. Bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Reduce heat to med-high & cook 2 minutes, partially covered.
2. Stir in noodles & continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
3. Stir in chicken & cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, till noodles are al dente. Lower heat to medium during the 7 minutes, if needed.
4. Remove from heat, leave partially covered & let cool 10 minutes.
5. Pour soup into a bowl & serve with or without garnishes. Best if eaten right away while still hot.
Tips & Suggestions
1. These noodles can be found in most supermarkets alongside other Kosher foods. You can, of course, use any type of noodles you like… adjusting the cooking time for the noodles if need be.
2. You can eliminate the noodles & replace them with 3/4 cup of another vegetable, such as fresh large bite-sized broccoli florets or other vegetable of your choice. Broccoli takes about the same time to cook as the noodles, so add them at the point you would’ve added the noodles. Other vegetables will take more or less time to cook, so you’ll have to figure out at what point to add them.
3. The only part of this recipe that takes a little time is pulling the chicken meat off the bones. When you’re sick, you really don’t feel like doing this step. What I like to do is buy a cooked rotisserie chicken (plain or lemon pepper) from the grocery store & let it cool to room temperature. Quarter the chicken for easier handling, remove & discard the skin. Then pull all the meat off the bones, trim off any gristle & fat, then pull/tear meat into bite-sized pieces. Divide meat into 1/3 to 1/2 cup increments & individually wrap the portions in plastic wrap. Place all the little bundles into a airtight container & freeze. This way, when you get sick, you’ll always have the prepared chicken meat on hand, defrost what you need & add to your soup!
