Soup Saves the Day

I don’t think I would rank today in my top 10 happiest days for the past month.  It wasn’t a horrible day, don’t get me wrong.  But any school day sandwiched between a snow day and the weekend is, by its very nature, not going to be the most pleasant of experiences.  Students were twitchy and teachers were cranky.  Everyone was tired and chilled to the bone.  Buses got stuck and were late and walkers came in mostly wet from their feet to their knees. 

But, stuck right in the middle of this day was a homemade lunch shared with one of my favorite people in the world.  It was my week to make Friday lunch.  But after all of the dreadful snow and the ridiculous episode with the people digging me out of the snow, I did not want to go to the grocery store for supplies.  When I called my co-worker last night and asked if I could just buy her lunch today instead of cooking, she offered to bring leftovers from her dinner – homemade chicken soup with homemade noodles.

Well, if having homemade chicken noodle soup with one of my favorite people in the world doesn’t make me happy on a cold, cranky Friday then I don’t know what will.  It was definitely the happiest part of my day and it warmed me enough to get through the rest of the school day.

How about you?  I’ve included a chicken noodle soup recipe for you below.  With all of that crazy snow outside tonight, maybe it will make you happy!  It's created by Alton Brown, of The Food Network, another person who makes me happy.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Good EatsEpisode: True Brew IV: Take Stock

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• Filed under: Pasta, Noodles, Poultry, Chicken, Poultry, 
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Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time:

30 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

7 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

4 1/2 cups soup

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken stock, home made or store bought
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 ounces dried egg noodles, cooked to al dente
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Lemon halves, for serving

Directions

Bring stock to boil for 2 minutes in a large, non-reactive stockpot with lid on, over high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add noodles and cook 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and add herbs and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with lemon halves and add squeeze of lemon juice if desired.