" I've got a feelin..."

And let me tell you, it was NOT a good feeling. I woke up yesterday morning feeling like "something" wasn't right. My ear kinda hurt, my head kinda hurt, and my nose was stuffy. Great. Just what I needed. Regardless, I went off to work that evening. After coming home around midnight & relaxing a bit, I realized that the "something" I felt this morning had now traveled to my stomach. OH NO!!! Please don't let it be what I think it is...

The 24-hour stomach bug.

What is it about this darned "bug" that makes it only attack you when you're just about in a deep sleep? Almost there...sleepy sleepy...then BAM!! You wake up feeling like your insides are going to war. I don't know about you all, but for me, nothing is worse than being sick to your stomach. I'll take the sniffles and sneezes ANY day. So needless to say, I was up until 5am bargaining with the toilet Gods..."pleeeease, if you make my nausea disappear I swear I wont go to starbucks for 2 days. " Something like that. Well, I guess since it went away at 5am I had to keep my promise. No starbucks for me today. The thought of coffee alone made me gag.

So what do you think a girl should do when she's sick like this?? Beg her Mama to fix her homemade soup, of course!! And as any good Greek Mama would do, she agreed. In my opinion, Mom's homemade chicken noodle is THE ultimate comfort food. It heals the sick stomach, warms the cold soul, and creates world peace...well, i'm sure it could if the world ate it.

PLEASE make yourself homemade chicken noodle just once in your life. I promise you won't regret it. Here it goes...

Mama De Luxe's Chicken Noodle Soup

First, Mom defrosted 2 chicken breasts and placed in a large soup pot with a 2 stalks of celery (whole), 2 carrots (whole), and half an onion. Season with a good amount of S&P. Fill the pot with enough water to cover all these ingredients & Bring to a boil...let simmer for at least 30-40 minutes (or until the chicken is fully cooked-NO pink).
Next, chop up another stalk of celery, one more carrot, and the remaining 1/2 of onion. Place in a different soup pot with a little olive oil and saute for 2-3 minutes.


At this point, take the contents of soup pot #1 & strain them into soup pot#2 (shown above). The point of doing this is so that any impurities from the chicken (like fat or whatever) will not go into your soup bowl.
Into the broth mixture, add either 1/2 cup of your favorite broth or 1/2 tsp of chicken base/bouillon. Then, my favorite part, throw in the NOODLES! Here is the brand I prefer:

It's healthy, whole grain, AND has 6g of fiber + 8g of protein per serving! Can't beat that. Make sure you about 1.5-2 cups more water at this step. REMEMBER, the pasta expands and sucks up a lot of water so you want to be sure to keep all the contents of the pot covered...unless you want broth-less soup.

Ok, while the pasta is simmering away, dice up your chicken breasts. I also use the cooked celery and carrots because I just love the taste. Totally optional though. Right when your pasta is just about tender, stir in the chicken.

Guess what...WE'RE DONE!! You have just completed your homemade chicken noodle soup. And all in about an hour. What better than something totally homemade that you can keep for tomorrow as well? Perfection.

I hope you enjoy this. My stomach couldn't handle more than this bowl but hopefully tomorrow I'll be back in action & ready to tackle more of this warm bowl of comfort.

Come back tomorrow afternoon, readers. I have to show you two NEW drinks BFdeLuxe surprised me with today. Here's a clue- One is a wine (shocking) and the other is something I'm sipping on right now in my bed which is making my sour stomach feel soooo much better.

Goodnight, bloggers!! (and thanks Mom & Bf)...