There are days when cooking nutritious foods seems impossible. Between my food allergy, migraines and bipolar, the thought of doing anything more than microwaving a hot dog is overwhelming. But I do my best to cook my own food when I can and I get a lot of satisfaction out of making something new that tastes good. I’ve been feeling queasy the last few days, not real sure why and I really wanted soup to help my stomach. Sure I could have opened a can of Campbells’, nothing wrong with that, but I really wanted to make soup from scratch, like my grandmother does.
I should preface this section by saying I’m a lousy cook. I can make a few good meals, and that’s it. I’m also not a nutritionist so sometimes the things I eat are less than healthy (see above referenced hot dog). My grandmother worked for 40 years as a sous chef, and sadly I did not inherit her skills. But I am adventurous, so I decided to give making my own soup a shot. Here’s the ingredient list of what I used:
1 quart sized box of chicken stock (Rachael Ray brand- gluten and MSG free)
10 oz of diced chicken breast
approx 5 oz spinach-egg noodles (gluten free)
2 bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
a few sprigs of dried parsley (grown right here at the farmstead)
I started by pouring stock into a large pot and added in the chicken, bay leaf, parsley, bouillon cubes and pepper. I cooked the noodles separately in their own pot. I let the soup simmer covered for about 30 minutes and then added in the noodles. I let the soup with noodles simmer for about another 10 min. To make up for condensation during cooking, I added in another cup of water.You can add in more salt or pepper to taste, but keep in mind between the stock and the bouillon cubes, you already have a hefty amount of sodium. Also note that I did not use carrots, celery or onions, which of course you can do. I just don’t care for cooked carrots or celery and I was out of onions. You also don’t have to use nearly as much chicken or noodles, but I prefer a heartier soup so it is more of a meal. I imagine adding some gluten free flour would thicken the soup a touch more.
Pardon my pepper mess
One other important note: as I said before, I am not a nutritionist. I assume if you follow any kind of gluten-free, vegan, paleo diet, you already read labels. Just because something states it’s gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s calorie, fat, sodium or bad stuff-free. I was really happy the soup tasted quite good. The spinach egg noodles are a little squishy for my liking, so maybe I won’t cook them separately before adding to the broth. But it did sure boost my confidence knowing I’d made something good by winging it.
Do you have any recipes you created by winging it/being creative? If so, share them with us!!
Filed under: gluten free Tagged: domestic, farmstead grown, gluten-free, homemade, recipe 
