It's that time of year...

It's that time of year when everyone gets sick! 

I'm under the weather with everyone else... 

That's when I'm glad I have this basket stocked with potatoes and onions:

 

Because then I can make chicken soup!

I chopped up half an onion and two stalks of celery and cooked them in a little olive oil over medium heat until the onions were translucent.

 

Then I added a couple potatoes, chopped in fairly small pieces. 

You could use noodles instead if you want! 

The Amish noodles sold at Fareway are fan-freaking-tastic! 

But i didn't feel up for going to the store... ergo, I cook with what's in kitchen :)

Added pepper...

and  2 cans of chicken broth...

and some spices I thought sounded good: basil and parsley

I let those cook a bit (hot but not boiling) until the potatoes were about halfway done. 

Meanwhile I chopped some chicken. I had the chicken in the freezer, and great way to thaw it fast is to plop it in a bowl and fill it with room temp water, let it soak a bit, and then empty it and fill it with warm water. Should be thawed in 10-20 minutes!

Added the chicken to the soup and then covered it and let it simmer until the chicken was done.

Don't let it simmer to long or the chicken will get tough. If you add the chicken at the right time, the potatoes and the chicken will be done at about the same time. Err on the side of having over-cooked potatoes rather than overcooked chicken.

Eat with a leftover bagel and a good book! 

I'm reading 'Phantases' by George MacDonald--best author of all time! My favorite book by him is 'Lilith' tied with 'Malcolm' (aka "The Fisherman's Lady" and sequel "The Marquis' Secret'). He also wrote wonderful children's books like 'The Light Princess' (confession: I cried reading this one), and 'The Day Boy and the Night Girl.' So good.

Stay healthy!