lynn in love with chicken soup

husband is feeling a little under the weather with all this traveling and interviewing. I was planning to make a chicken piccata last night, but plans got switched around. Poor thing was having chills in this hot weather.... so chicken went into hot chicken soup instead.

I don't know about you guys, but homemade chicken soup has just a way of hitting the spot when you're sick. Don'tcha think? The simple, warm and hearty flavors. Always feels like home.

I'm no chef: but here is my recipe for simple healthy chicken soup:

Ingredients
2-3 chicken breasts (with all the fat cut off please)
1 whole onion (I used 1/2 red, 1/2 yellow), cut into thin slices
5 cloves of garlic (or any kind of garlic substance), chopped
Mushrooms, sliced
Peas and/or carrots (I use frozen packages)
salt/garlic powder/pepper to taste

1. Take a pot and fill with water, enough water to make 4 large servings of soup. Bring to a boil.
2. Boil your chicken breasts through. Now you'll likely get more flavor if you use a whole chicken or any chicken with bones... but for us and for the sickly, I like the soup to have as little fat as possible. I just like the soup to taste as..clean..as possible. Not everyone's taste, I'm sure. Cooking the chicken will take, say, 20-30 minutes, just make sure it's cooked through.
3. Remove the chicken and set aside. I skim the top of my soup to remove any fat/debris.
4. Now cook the onions and garlic in your chicken broth. Add mushrooms halfway through. Add peas/carrots ten minutes to finish. Really you can add any of your own favorite vegetables... I think my MIL uses dates. Your soup will be somewhat bland if you use breasts. Add salt and garlic powder to taste. If you have enough onions and garlic, the soup will be compensated with their flavors.
5. The longer you let the soup simmer and cook, the more awesome it will be as all the flavors mesh with each other. I let mine cook for about an 50 minutes, and it was divine!
6. Meanwhile, I shred at least one of the chicken breasts into small pieces (you can use forks, but it's faster with your fingers)
7. Prior to serving, add your chicken. We like to eat our chicken soup with rice, but you can add whatever for filler... growing up, my mom loved putting mini star pasta in our soup.

So simple, but the end result is so hearty and so yummy. Definitely our kind of comfort food!