Mediterranean Chicken Rice Bowl

Serious question: how do you parents get your kids to bed? It is 10:30 and the boys are still wide awake.  They’ve been laying in the dark for the past twoish hours.  But that doesn’t matter.  They are still rolling around, giggling, not closing their eyes.  Matt is currently being held hostage in the bedroom, sitting in the rocking chair waiting for the boys to finally fall asleep.  It doesn’t seem to matter what bedroom routine we have.  The boy are impervious to our tricks.

Ok, but beyond typically bedtime, I just haven’t been my normal self in the kitchen.  Guys, I’ve been in a funk lately.  No researching of new recipes.  No wandering around the grocery store looking for new food to incorporate into a recipe.  Not looking forward to trying new dishes. Not really sure why.  But then last week, I texted Matt before I left the office to put some rice on (because I refuse to cook my own rice).  I stopped at Trader Joe’s, walked around the store, and picked up chicken and tzatziki sauce. I didn’t have any particular recipe in mind.  But for the first time in a while, I was in the mood to experiment.

And I came up with this.  It isn’t anything too crazy or fancy.  But the boys eat it.  Matt really liked it. It was exactly what my soul needed. Perhaps this recipe will rejuvenate your meal rotation as well.

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Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Broth

I spent this spring on maternity leave.  Which meant I had all day to prep for dinner.  And for the first couple of weeks, I had sincere plans to make elaborate meals, fancy desserts, and snacks.  But then I didn’t. Because I have three kids. So sure, I may have had the time to tackle a multiple step recipe but yeah, I have three kids.  I have no hands. I am constantly breastfeeding.  Someone needs a glass of water or milk.  Someone is screaming that a toy is no longer in his grasp. While I may have all day to cook, life is anything but simple.  Dinner recipes need to be as uncomplicated as possible.

That’s where soup comes in.  The idea of tossing all the ingredients into a pot, letting it simmer (maybe checking on it periodically to stir, but maybe not)–yeah, I can handle that and breastfeed a baby while wiping a toddler’s butt (yeah, that happened. Sorry, Ellie!)

a substantially more relaxing nursing session.

And when making soup, why not stick with a classic: chicken noodle.  I am all for making as much of your recipe from scratch when you can–especially when it’s not super complicated.  Making your own chicken broth is stupid easy.  Literally, you throw full chicken in a pot of hot water. Leave the chicken in hot water.  Come back later and take out the chicken.  And wah lah, you have chicken broth.  Even with three young children, this is manageable.

So anytime we get a rotisserie chicken, there’s a good chance homemade chicken noodle soup is on the horizon.  Here’s some unsolicited advice that you do the same.

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