Nothing is better for the sniffles...

This is a great chicken noodle soup recipe--simple, hearty, and healthy. I've been under the weather lately, and a big batch of this has been my staple this last week. It speeds things up to use an already cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket deli.


Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock, recipe follows
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Directions
Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Thankful

We went to Potters Creek Park, on the north side of Canyon Lake, and camped out for Thanksgiving. Best camping trip yet!

Happy First Anniversary!

Dave suprised me by planning a trip to Fredricksburg, TX, a happy little German tourist town about a two hours northwest of SA to celebrate our first anniversary.  We stayed at the DelForge Place, a B&B house that was built in 1898! It was a beautiful drive out, and I didn't know where we were going until we exited the freeway. We walked around and visited the Fredricksburg shops--I browsed all I wanted, and Dave patiently went into every artsy fartsy shop that I happened to veer off into. :)  We had dinner outside at a cute little Mexican Restaurant, went to the Rockbox variety show (where we were the youngest people in the audience), and then we soaked in a pimpin' hot tub.  We woke up to a delicious breakfast of peaches and homemade buttery biscuits, and then drank a cup of coffee on the porch swing. Ahhhh!  Dave even drove home a different route that was full of green hills and happy wildflowers.  AND Now he's doing laundry!  It was a wonderful weekend.  Am I a lucky woman or what?!