Famous Homemade Chicken Soup, Can I Have Another Bowl?

Shawn made it to his interview yesterday and then came home and collapsed into bed. I found him there when I got home hours later, curled up in his now-rumpled Interview Clothes. Interview Clothes that I had ironed the night before because that is what you do when you love someone, you iron their dress shirts and pants so they don't look homeless when they go on a job interview. It had nothing to do with the fact that I actually enjoy ironing (let's just keep that our little secret, shall we? I don't want Shawn finding out that I don't mind doing the one chore that he hates with a passion and promises endless backrubs and chocolate in order to get out of doing.)

Shawn has had an impressive array of Man Colds in the time I've known him (no really, click that link - you will pee your pants) but I've never seen him sick sick. He's got a fever that's actually backed by the thermometer and he's been acting a bit loopy. For example, earlier I was talking to Turtle about our little sister (the judgey one) and Shawn piped up that her name is the Hawaiian word for banshee. And then he giggled uncontrollably.  So yes, Shawn is sick. Sicker than I realized at 4am when I may or may not have told him to man up and let me sleep. 

In an effort to alleviate my guilt and prove that I do have the capacity to be sympathetic (just not at 4am!) I made Shawn some homemade chicken soup. It's surprisingly easy to make and it serves its purpose well - the person who makes the soup gets to feel like a rockstar and the person who eats the soup gets to feel loved. 

Put 4 cups cold water and 4 cups chicken stock in a large pot over medium-high heat. Chop up 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into smallish chunks and add to broth (I usually add the chicken to the broth before I turn the heat on to ensure that the chicken is cooking for the longest amount of time possible but I'm pretty crazy when it comes to cooking chicken. I consistently overcook my chicken because of my irrational fear of germs.) As the broth heats up, chop and add the following: 1 purple onion, diced finely. 2 carrots, chopped. 3 stalks celery, chopped. About an inch of fresh ginger root, grated (minced? I don't know what it's called.) Let the mixture come to a boil. When it's boiling rapidly, add about a cup and a half of uncooked egg noodles, about a cup of frozen pees and a few teaspoons of dried parsley flakes. Bring to a boil again, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes (or until noodles are cooked through and you're convinced the chicken is done.) For maximum brownie points, serve with crackers & cheese and lemon tea. 

And because I have no idea how to end this post: a picture of the puppies each chewing a bone instead of chewing each other. I call this picture Progress (even though you can totally tell from Stella's facial expression that she'd much rather be chowing down on Wolfgang's ear.)