The First Thing I Cooked as a Mrs.

Oh boy, peoples. Winter has arrived.

Over the span of approximately two weeks we experienced some lovely Fall weather, only to grab our jackets and scarves to brave the sudden onset of winter!

It's like they say -- If you don't like the weather in Mississippi, it's okay - it'll change in a few days anyway.

But you know what? I like it. I don't mind it one bit.

It's given me reason to bust out my warm comfy clothes (hellooooo stretchy pants and hoodies!), my favorite soup and comfort food recipes, and Bing Crosby's version of "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas."

I broke my own rule this year!!! I normally avoid Christmas music until Thanksgiving but this year --- nah! I'm taking a walk on the WILD SIDE and listening two weeks BEFORE!


Oooh....


But with the weather changing and whatnot, I thought this would be as good a time as any to tell you the story of the first thing I cooked for my husband after returning from our honeymoon:

Homemade Chicken Soup with Veggies

Not exactly what we planned, seeing as how we returned to 80-degree heat and boxes upon boxes of belongings to move into our place, but it worked.

You see, after a lovely honeymoon of things like this:

this...

and THIS...

...We both woke up in the wee hours of the morning feeling some kind of sick. The Plane Crud, as I have oh-so-lovingly deemed it.

"Juuuuicce!!!!"  The Mister said, unable to breathe through his nose and coughing up a storm. "I just need some juice!"

So off we went, at roughly 5:30 a.m., to the nearby grocery store to buy juice, popsicles, and medicine.

...only to find out it didn't open until 6 a.m.

But could we wait that long? Nope. When you're sick, you just need juice. PRONTO.

So we hit the road again, a few miles down the road to the WalMarts, which, mind you, is slightly creepy at that hour of the morning.

That's when it hit me. Somewhere in the depths of my messy box of recipe cards, I remembered there was a recipe for homemade chicken soup guaranteed to make any sick person feel better - the chef himself said so!

So about 45 minutes later, we loaded our car with WAY MORE bags than we planned (crazy WalMart curse!), and a few bottles of juice that we cracked open on the way home.

Sure, it would have been faster and cheaper to go with a can, but the over-achiever in me was NOT about to let the first thing I cooked for my new husband be a can of soup. That's for amateurs, right?

It's probably for people like us that day that were sick and just really needed soup -- and maybe I should have, but I'm not ashamed! Because truth be told, we both felt better by that evening.

And the soup was delicious. No joke.

So now that you know my little story, and now that you're feeling the first chills of the winter season, I present to you The Recipe...this homemade chicken soup sure to cure any cold you may have.

Or at least make it easier to deal with, anyway.

Even if you're not sick, it's definitely good for your tummy on cold nights. Don't be afraid to add more veggies than what the recipe calls for -- I usually eyeball it anyway. The more veggies, the better!

Just give yourself a good hour to prep/cook it, though. It's totally worth it.

...and don't forget the juice =)

Homemade Chicken Soup with Veggies

Serves 2-4 sick folks

Total time: About 1 hour
View original recipe here

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on size) - cooked and cut into chunks

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, plus one extra cup

3 red potatoes

1 cup milk (skim is best, but whole will work fine)

1/2 tbsp of EVOO

1-2 tbsp of garlic powder, depending on taste

2 whole carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

chopped onion or onion powder, to taste (I used about 1.5 tbsp)

1 tbsp basil

2 tbsp oregano

dash of cayenne pepper, to taste

dash of Tony's, to taste

Slice potatoes and place in a small sauce pan with chicken broth. Cook until potatoes are soft enough to mash, then remove potatoes. Stir and slightly mash potatoes in a bowl with milk (I left mine slightly chunky) and set aside.

In a separate, larger pot, place oil, garlic, onion, veggies, basil and oregano and cook until onions are translucent. If using onion powder, cook until celery and carrots are slightly soft. Add leftover chicken broth (from potatoes), stirring until thoroughly mixed. Let this mixture come to a boil, then add your milk and potato mixture. This will make the soup much thicker; if you prefer a more brothy soup, add the extra cup of broth. Let soup cook for 5-10 minutes, or until everything is evenly mixed and combined.

Add a dash of cayenne pepper and a little Tony's (helps with a stuffy nose!) and serve hot. Serve alone or over brown rice.