So, my luck in the kitchen hasn't been so great for the past little while. I was stuck in a rut doing a lot of repeats, and then when I tried experimenting with Mexican food, I found out that's one area I don't excel in yet. I'll leave the Mexican cooking to my boyfriend for now. Anyway, I was feeling kind of gross this morning, people are sick everywhere and I managed to catch a cold. I didn't have any soup, but I had the ingredients to make it myself.
So, I decided to try my hand at chicken noodle soup (I usually prefer making Udon soups or cream of <insert veggie here> soups). And it turned out pretty great. BTW, the below recipe was enough chicken soup for one person with a large appetite, or two people with smaller appetites. I can eat a lot, so I ended up eating it all :P.
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cut into very small pieces
3 cups of chicken stock*
1/2 cup of canned corn
1/2 cup asparagus, cut into small pieces
1.5 cups egg noodles**
2 Green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped***
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped (both my ginger and garlic come in a squeezable tube, and it's excellent)
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg to taste
Olive/vegetable oil (whatever you have handy, you don't need much)
*I used bouillon to make the stock, but you can use homemade stock or use the stuff that comes in a box. It's up to you.
**I guessed the amount of noodles, I just put in a handful and a few extra, and they're big noodles.
***I suggested the amount of ginger because a little goes a long way. It's a very strong flavor, and not many people like too much of it. I like my ginger in moderation, but if you're a fan of it, go ahead and add more to taste.
****I know I didn't put four stars next to anything, but this is just a general note. You can use any veggies you want/have handy to add. I just had some asparagus that was about to go south, and I like corn. A lot of people like carrots, peas, celery, or peppers in their chicken noodle soup. It's easy enough to add whatever veggies you want.
The first step is to saute the chicken, onion, ginger and garlic together, just until the chicken is mostly white on the outside. The chicken doesn't need to be cooked all the way through, it will finish cooking while the soup boils. Do this in the pot you'll be making the soup in, it makes less dishes. Don't use too much oil, just a tiny bit, to keep the chicken from sticking to the pot.
Next, add the broth, vegetables, salt and pepper, and nutmeg to the pot and stir. Bring the broth and everything to a boil, then add the noodles, and cook for however long it takes to cook the noodles to your liking.
And that's all there is to it. It's simple, and really good when you're sick. It's also less salty than canned soup, which is nice.
Now I have to go and study for my midterms. Yippee.
