A few weeks back my husband was away on training. He came back with a head cold.

He ended up passing it to Lil' C, who then passed it to me. Gotta love that, right!?

I had made chicken stock the day before he came home, so he made a batch of chicken soup right away.

Then, when I began to get sick, and his batch was pretty much donzo, I ended up making another batch.

We literally ate chicken soup for 2 weeks straight.

He makes his a little differently. I add in more veggies! :)

Chicken soup really is the perfect remedy for a cold. And it always reminds of my mother's comfort when I was sick as a kid.

Ah, the positive "comfort" side of food. One of my favorite topics to talk about. :)

I mean, really, think about all positive comfort you feel when you see or think about a food your parents made you for as a kid.

I bet, if they asked you, "What would you like me to make when you come visit?" you'd have a few dishes to give them right away, right?

I just love that about food. Don't you?

OK! So, chicken soup! We've all had it one time or another, right? ;)

What I love about this version is that it's SO easy to make...the only time consuming part is dicing up the veggies. But those veggies make this soup...MMMMM...MMMMMM....GOOOOD!

In my opinion, if they weren't in there, it just wouldn't taste as good (now, ask my husband and he'll tell you another opinion...ha!).

All I did was dice up onion, carrots, celery, parsnips, red potatoes, kale, parsley and leftover cooked chicken. Minced some garlic. Boiled it all in chicken stock. Added the pasta and some other condiment goodies: butter, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and voila...Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup.

Deeeeeeeelish!!

So if you're looking for some warm comfort in the form of soup, this one is it!

And, I'm telling ya...once you make your own, it's VERY hard to go back to the canned version. (But, I do use canned soups as well b/c being a mama to a tot - you just gotta use canned sometimes...if you know what I mean. ;) )

:: What's your favorite comforting soup or food? I'd love to try it! ::

{life IS deliciously comforting}

Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients
5 cups of chicken stock (or water)
Chicken thighs, cooked or uncooked and chopped (I used 3 to 4...depends on their size. You can use breast meat, or whatever you'd like)
3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 to 4 carrots, diced (I like a lot...you can use 2 if you'd like less)
3 to 4 celery, diced (same as carrots, use 2 if you'd less)
2 to 3 parsnips, diced
2 small red potatoes, diced 1 bunch of kale, chopped (or other dark leafy green of choice)
1/4 cup of uncooked pasta (I used quinoa swirls. You can use rice instead, too)
1/4 cup parsley
2 teaspoons, sea salt
1 teaspoon, pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons, butter
1 to 2 tablespoons, cinnamon

Directions

1. Dice all veggies (garlic, onion, carrots, celery, red potatoes, kale, parsley) and chicken. Set aside garlic, parsley and kale.
2. Add broth, onion, carrots, celery, red potatoes and chicken, if uncooked and salt to a pot and boil. Once boiled, cover, reduce flame and let simmer for 20 minutes.
3. After 20 minutes, add uncooked pasta. Continue to simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Add garlic, parsley and kale. Let simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
5. Once done, add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter (I always add some healthy fats to my soups so I can absorb the fabulous nutrients better!) and cinnamon (I always add cinnamon ever since I had chicken soup from Whole Foods when I was studying nutrition in NYC. I never found the actual recipe, but I fell in love. It reminded me of Thanksgiving! Try it if you'd like!).
6. Place soup ever in your favorite serving dish.
7. Turn off all distractions, sit down by yourself or with your family, take a few deep breaths, say how much gratitude you have for your food, your family, your life and dig in, slowly and savor the deliciousness!

Recipe adapted from Andrea Beaman