Comfort Food: Soup

A stomach flu bug hit hard Saturday night...meaning the Brick covered our obligations for Worship Team at church. As he pointed out, it wouldn't have been pretty for me to be throwing up onstage -- and sharing whatever this/was with everyone else.
     So I stayed home. Warm blankets, warmer snoozing dogs and a hot cup of coffee with a chunk of leftover-from-Christmas cranberry bread.
     What a relief.

     Still felt iffy at supper, so I made my favorite 'sick' dish:

POTATO SOUP

Chop 1-2 potatoes per person, plus half of a small onion. (Or a tablespoon of dried onion.) Barely cover in water -- cook on high until potatoes are almost mushy. (About 20 min.) Add a pat of butter, then just enough milk to cover. Salt and pepper heavily.

That's it. 

Something about the potato/butter/milk mixture soothes and fills your stomach, without stressing it out further. Try it the next time you're wet, cold or just not feeling well. Don't forget the pepper, either.

The lovely thing about this peasant dish is that it can be added to for a heartier version: a handful of chopped bacon or bratwurst; chopped carrot and/or celery; leftover vegetables -- a tablespoon of sour cream stirred in right at the end, or a handful of grated cheese thrown on top. Serve with bread, crackers or biscuits, and you've got a filling meal for very little cost.
     Loaded baked potato soup, a variation on this, is good too.

Sprinkle with parsley, if you want to get fancy

Sometimes you're not even up to chopping potatoes. In that case, my go-to is Campbell's Chicken Noodle. This was luxury food, growing up -- my dad ate so much macaroni & cheese in the Army, as well as chicken noodle soup, that he refused to eat it at home. We had it as a treat whenever he was out of town -- which wasn't much.

A can of Campbell's, with an egg or two stirred in -- easy bliss. Add chopped tomatoes, green chilies and a sprinkle of minced cilantro on top just before serving, and you've got Mexican chicken noodle. Or skip all the extra, and stir a tablespoon of salsa into each bowl just before you serve it. (Sour cream on top is good, too.)

Then go back to bed -- or those warm, snoozing dogs. You've earned the rest.

(This post also ran on my other blog, Holiday Goodies.)