Comfort Food

J and I are fighting sore throats this week. And when you've got a sore throat, you usually just have a general feeling of crappiness (I believe that is the medical term for it). I actually went to the post office in sweat pants.

Oh no you din't. Oh yes I did.

I don't often crave chicken noodle soup - it isn't packed with flavor and just isn't something I eat very much. But it's a cool, windy day and I've got a feeling of crappiness. :) So, chicken noodle soup and muffins out of the freezer - I told you they'd come in handy! - are what's for dinner tonight.

I adapted this recipe from a couple different recipes that I found, based on what I had and what sounded good. That's the great thing about it - you can wing it. No pun intended.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 chicken breasts

2 medium carrots, cut into circles

3 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, diced

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 tsp chicken bouillon granules

2 peeled cloves of garlic, pierced with a toothpick

2 chicken breasts

2 cups egg noodles, uncooked

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder and rosemary. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let it rest while you prepare the rest of the soup. Combine carrots, onion, celery, chicken broth and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

Dice the cooked chicken and add it, and the uncooked noodles, to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium and cook for another 7-10 minutes, or until the noodles are done.

Take out the garlic and sprinkle in the dried parsley.

I pulled out some frozen Ricotta Cheese with Basil & Rosemary Muffins and some Sun-Dried Tomato Corn Muffins with Cumin.

Sun-Dried Tomato Corn Muffins with Cumin

dry ingredients
1 1/2 cup unbleached white flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

wet ingredients

1 cup tomato juice

1 cup buttermilk

1 tbl olive oil

1 tbl honey

1 large egg

tomato mixture

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tsp whole cumin seeds (I put in a dash of cumin powder instead)

2 tbl fresh basil, chopped finely

Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with the boiling water and let soak for 20 minutes, then drain the water. Chop the tomatoes into pea sized bites. Place in a medium bowl along with the cumin seeds and basil.

Preheat oven to 400. Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients in a medium bowl and add the tomato mixture to the wet ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients mixture and stir just until mixed. Do not overstir.

Spoon the batter into a greased or papered muffin tin. Fill each cup to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool the muffins at least 10 minutes before removing from the tin. Makes 11-12 muffins.