�One-Step� Chicken Noodle Soup � For When You�re Sick of Following Recipes

Or, just plain sick. Yes, I�m a little under the weather, but as they say, the show must go on, and that �show� ended up being me just throwing all my chicken noodle soup ingredients into a pot, crossing my fingers, and hoping for the best.

And while I know this method didn�t produce �the best� chicken noodle soup, I was amazed at how really good it was, and how remarkably close it was to a certain canned variety. I can�t give brand names, but it rhymes with Frogresso.

If you do decide to use this one-step approach, there are a few things you need to pay attention to. You�ll want to use a pasta or noodle that�s at least a large as the fusilli I used so it doesn�t completely break down; as well as, to be sure to dice/slice your veggies nice and thin, so they get tender relatively quickly.

I just used a knife, but I bet you have one of those vegetable slicers somewhere, and this would be the perfect operation to use it for. Above and beyond that, feel free to add in other �medicinal� ingredients, such as garlic, ginger, and hot chilies. But whether you embellish or not, or you�re sick, or feeling just fine, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 pound raw or cooked chicken meat (I used 2 cubed-up breasts)

1/2 cup dried fusilli pasta (corkscrew pasta)

1/3 finely minced onions

1 carrot, very thinly sliced

1 rib celery, thinly sliced

salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste

2 teaspoons ketchup

1 fresh thyme sprig, or pinch of dried thyme, optional

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley