The good news and the bad news.

Bad news.  Thing 1 is sick.  Headaches, weakness, scratchy throat, congestion, fatigue, cold shivers.  It all adds up to one thing.  The flu is in my house.  Whoopee.  Thank goodness there is also tea, Emergen-C and Theraflu too!  Oh, and Lysol, bleach, Clorox, hand-sanitizer and LOTS of soap!!  One of the best things for flu – besides rest and plenty of fluids – is chicken noodle soup.  Okay, now does chicken noodle soup REALLY have healing powers?  There are a few interesting articles out there that say yes – if you want to read them, here they are:  Does Chicken Soup have Healing Powers?;  The Healing Powers of Chicken Soup ; Science Finally Shows What Grandma Knew All Along .  Speaking from personal experience, chicken soup always makes me feel better – I think they may be right!  And, even sipping chicken BROTH can do the trick sometimes!  Seriously!  Of course, homemade chicken soup, made with love by a mother (or father – don’t want to discount the dad chefs out there!) taking care of her family, always wins.

Now, you know I had to come across a recipe for chicken soup in all my recipe browsing.  Of course I did!  A few, as a matter of fact - I had to narrow it down to one.  Tough job but it had to be done.  And, bonus, the recipe I chose sounded really delicious and looked very easy to make.  (Cooking Light magazine, either 2005 or 2006)  Okay, I’ll be honest here – I do have a penchant for recipes, especially soups, stews and chilis that take some time to cook.  I did find some recipes for 20-30 minute soups but, in my own opinion, there’s not enough time to put good flavor and the necessary love into a soup there.  So, I chose the one that required a little more time.  But, the time was not “busywork” and was definitely worth it.  The time was mostly roasting the vegetables and simmering the soup.  Wait, roasting the vegetables?  I know!  Sounds so interesting, doesn’t it?!  THAT’S why I selected the recipe.  I love slow-roasted veggies!  So yummy and sweet and flavorful!  (except for mushrooms – ick – this recipe called for them, feel free to use them, I left them out – cook’s prerogative – I love cook’s prerogative!)

Good news!  This soup turned out to be possibly the most fabulous chicken noodle soup I have ever made.  I may never try another recipe to replace it.  I don’t know if it was roasting the vegetables or what but the flavor was HUGE, not overly salty (I HATE salty soups!) and the vegetables and chicken were the perfect texture.  I’m actually looking forward to having soup tomorrow for lunch and I can see me doing a double recipe in the future (up to the noodle step) and freezing some for future dinners.  This soup, people, is a major keeper.  I’m totally excited about sharing this recipe with you and having the opportunity to make it again!  Hopefully, the medicinal properties will kick in and Thing 1 will be on the mend. J

Here’s the recipe.  Stay away from the flu.  Happy cooking, eating and drinking! 

Beautiful veggies! (pre-roast)

simmering

YUM!

Roasted Vegetable-Rosemary Chicken Soup

1 cup (1-inch) cubed carrot

1 cup (1-inch) cubed onion

1 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms

1 cup (1-inch) pieces celery

1 cup (1-inch) pieces red bell pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup water

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

¼ teaspoon salt

4 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into ½-inch pieces

2 cups uncooked whole wheat rotini pasta

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; drizzle with olive oil, and toss well to coat.  Arrange vegetable mixture in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan lined with foil.  Bake for 50 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.

3.  Combine water and next 5 ingredients (through chicken) in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.  Add roasted vegetables; simmer 30 minutes.  Bring soup to a boil.  Add pasta; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Calories 176 (25% from fat); Fat 4.8g (sat 0.8g, mono 3g, poly 0.7g); Protein 17.9g; Carb 15.5g; Fiber 2.3g; Cholesterol 33mg; Iron 1.5mg; Sodium 450mg; Calcium 45mg