Spooooky Chicken Noodle Soup

The start of school is amazing! You get to dress your kids up in adorable school uniforms, send them away from you for the entire day to be educated by someone else, & enjoy all sorts of productivity, like doubling the time for laundry, grocery shopping without whining or stopping for the free cookie (ok, I kinda miss that one, since she shares), & not finding a new mess as soon as you finish cleaning one. Ahhh, it’s the simple things in mom life, am I right? I’m not sure exactly when I became so uncool, as to get amped up about being able to deep clean my bathrooms. Was it the 2nd kid, maybe when the 1st became a toddler, or heck, maybe I’ve been fooling myself & I flew way past cool the day I saw two pink lines in a Puerto Rican resort bathroom? I don’t know, but I do know waving see ya later to those sweet little faces in oversized backpacks is pretty awesome. It means wheels on the bus is getting popped from the player, so momma can play some unedited tunes as loud as I want, roll the windows down, & feel 23 & cool again…well at least until I reach home & steam cleaning my carpets knocks me back to washed up status. Oh, & how about the school pick up?! Getting ready for school, you would think I was severing a limb if you heard the dramatics of hair brushing, or that I demanded she eat dog food, when in reality the tantrum was over organic avocado toast. But roll up to the school at 3pm, & it’s like I’m the coolest thing since iPhones, ya’ll. She sprints over the moment she sees me with the biggest smile on her face to hug me as tight as she can. It’s just amazing. But here’s what’s not amazing about back to school…the germs.

Yup, sending them to school is basically sending those little immune systems off to war, so get ready for the runny noses, sore throats, & viruses. I didn’t know much about this beginning school year junk for the first few years, since she was home with me, but when she started the two day a week 3yr old program last August, the O’shag family didn’t see a day without some sort of sickness til May (just in time for allergies). That’s right, she barely had a cough until she was three, but now that she’s in school, our poor little guy has seen just about everything in his 16 months of life. Although this school year is going a little smoother, we weren’t able to escape the new year crud altogether. Nope, we’ve all been down & out with a nasty cold that is taking its sweet time to leave us. Which leads me today’s post. Listen, canned soup was tolerable in college, but just doesn’t make the cut as adults. We have higher standards now, not to mention growing children who need the healthiest options we can get them, especially since we know they’ll eat all the crap we did when they get to college. Enter-spooky soup! It’s wicked fast, insanely good, kid friendly, & chalk full of veggies & fluids-it’s just what the doctor ordered to kick the ailments. I hear you mom, moaning the last thing you want to do is cook when you feel like death yourself. I hear you, because I’m with you girl! But this recipe is so super simple, & even let’s you cheat with an organic pre-cooked rotisserie chicken! That’s right, I grab the original flavor from publix, & you can even get the pre chopped carrots for one less thing to do!

But Here’s the fun Part…

..Spooky pasta! I found these at homegoods, but I’ve gotten them from TJMaxx & World Market on plenty occasion too! They are only a dollar or two more than regular pasta, & I promise your kids will gobble it up just because they’re fun. I mean, even at 30, pumpkins & bats in my soup make me kinda happy. I thought the fun would be lost on the 1yr old, but even he looked at the bright orange noodle on his tray & said “ummmin” which is Colton speak for pumpkin. So, turn up your boring, & somewhat time-consuming bowl of comfort for a super fast, simple bowl of spooky fun with my recipe below

Also, make sure you don’t pull a Heather & miss a chicken bone. Luckily, Matt got that bite, so even though he won’t stop with the “it really is scary soup” jokes, I’m still glad it wasn’t one of the kids. Oh, & make some extra to freeze & pull out Halloween night for a meal your kids will actually eat, before stuffing 27 reeses in their face. If you just don’t have it in you to suit up for that battle, stick with your costume, let them eat whatever junk they want, give yourself some grace & slip some extra kale in the next nights dinner. After all, is one night really detrimental to their health? I think not, & now you’ve got a freezer supply of comfort for the next cold. No one said you can’t eat bats & pumpkins in January, right?

I also recommend picking up some nice, crispy French bread to dip in it. I, of course, forgot the bread on my grocery run, so I just hit some Cuban sandwich bread with a little butter, salt, pepper & course ground garlic & popped it in the oven for a few mins. Luckily, I did have a perfect fall wine on hand to pair it with though. The Gallivant chardonnay is full of flavor- buttery, vanilla goodness. It’s opulent & plush with aromas of yellow apple, vanilla & baking spices, & flavors of baked pear & brioche on a medium-bodied frame with a bright finish. At $25, this wine will not disappoint. Get it here! If you accessed the blog from Instagram, please search me, Heather O’Shaughnessy, as your consultant when you get to the S&C link :)

Ingredients:

·        1 organic rotisserie chicken (I used Publix’s original)

·        2 cups chopped organic celery

·        2 cups chopped organic carrots

·        1 1/2 chopped large yellow onion

·        5 tbsp Butter

·        1 tbs poultry seasoning & 1 tbs course ground garlic w/parsley

·        112 oz organic chicken broth

·        12 oz bag of spooky noodles

·        1/3 cup corn starch

·        1/4 cup water

·        1 ½ tbs fresh or dried parsley

·        Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.      Place carrots, celery, onions, butter, poultry seasoning, & garlic in large stock pot on medium high heat to sauté veggies (5-10 mins)

2.      Place whole chicken on top of the vegetables & pour broth over top. Bring to a boil, & then reduce heat to low salt & pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3.      Meanwhile, mix cornstarch & water until starch is completely dissolved. When 30 minutes is up, remove chicken from soup & pour cornstarch mixture into the broth slowly while stirring. Once it’s mixed well, stir in your fun noodles letting them cook 6-8 minutes or until tender.

4.      While the noodles cook, remove meat from chicken bone, chopping in small chunks. Add meat back to pot when noodles are tender, mix well.

5.      Sprinkle with parsley & parmesan cheese

6.      Listen to the praise from your sweet family as they gobble up every last bite of their spoooooky soup. It’s scary how easy it is to impress them.