Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Leftover Firsts

Even though I roasted a chicken instead of a turkey, we still have a bucket of leftover meat. I also had celery, herbs, onion, fennel stalks, and a partially used carton of chicken broth to use up, so I thought, "I'll have a go at homemade chicken noodle soup." I know, right? I've never made it before! All I've ever had was the Campbell's kind. I was living such a sheltered life. It was so easy to make, and I used up all leftover vegetables and herbs. I used about 2 c. low sodium chicken broth, and while it came to a boil, added chopped celery (about 3 ribs--I had to finish it off!), 1/4 c. chopped onion, a whole peeled clove of garlic, a 14 oz. can of sweet corn drained, a dash of cumin, fresh ground black pepper, some fennel seeds, and 2 leftover fennel stalks. (I kept them whole because I wanted to fish them out later. I don't think you're supposed to eat the stalks.) When it came to a boil, I added about 1 c. shredded/chopped chicken, and 1/2 c. whole wheat spiral pasta, reducing heat to medium, and throwing in a couple leaves of finely chopped sage. Really easy! Especially if you have leftover vegetables--you can almost throw anything in and it would be good. Obviously carrots are a chicken soup standard, I could even see somebody throwing in great northern beans (cannellini) in addition to or instead of the chicken. It would be good with a few chopped red potatoes, or even orzo in place of noodles. Lemongrass and curry could make an Asian rendition of the classic. What I love about cooking is you can try almost anything if you're adventurous, and whatever comes out is like a little piece of you.

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