Soup for the Sick

While friends and acquaintances seemed to have been dropping like flies, succumbing to various winter-time illnesses, I had been patting myself on the back because my family had remained relatively healthy during this season.

Of course...as soon as I remarked at how well we'd been doing health-wise...BAM! We were hit with the most ridiculous, life-sucking virus ever. It started with my son, who came down with a fever that lasted five days. At times the poor boy heated up as high as 104 degrees and we were treated to fever induced babbling that included gems like "No! The TV goes over there. I need my jelly and peanut butter sandwich. Where's the dog?" (for the record...we don't have a dog).

On day two or three (really, they started to blend together after a while) I fell prey as well, running a fever as we both started getting horribly congested. However, I was lucid enough to get it together to make some chicken soup, which helped see us through the next few days. We had that soup for lunch and dinner, and it was pretty much the only thing either of us really had an appetite for.

This is a standard chicken soup that is hard to mess up and only takes an afternoon of your time. So easy to prepare, you can make it while battling the ick.

Take an entire chicken and cut into parts (I went one step easier and used a pre-cut chicken...any little extras help when sick). Put in a large pot and fill until covered with water. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer for about half an hour.

Skim any fat off the top and add the veggies. I added onions, carrots and celery.

Bring back to a simmer, cover and cook for another half an hour. Add some salt, pepper and fresh parsley and simmer for another twenty minutes. Take out the chicken, shred it, then place it back in.

I also made a few maztah balls to go in the soup...perfection!