Homemade Chicken Soup and Eggplant Parmesan

As most of you know I've been battling this cold that seems to be lingering! I have had it since last Tuesday night. It is getting really old now! Yesterday I thought I would make some homemade chicken soup to get rid of the cold once and for all! I love homemade chicken soup-it just reminds me of when I was little and my Mom or Grandma would make some for me when I wasn't feeling my best. The smell of the chicken soup filled the house along with the beer bread I was baking too! John and I had it for dinner last night and I had it for lunch today. Hopefully it will make this cold go away!


Here is the soup in the beginning before simmering it on the stove. I chop up celery, onions, carrots, the leaves from the celery, parlsey, garlic power, ground salt and pepper. First I boil the chicken breasts and then take them out when they are cooked all the way through. Then I put all the chopped veggies in. When they have simmered and become tender, that is when I put the chicken (which I have ripped or cut into small chunks) back into the soup pot. I then add angel hair pasta or spaghetti noodles (breaking the pasta into three sections). When the pasta is tender I turn the pot off and let sit until dinner.

Recipe for Beer Bread:

3 cups self-rising flour
3 tblsps. sugar
1 12 oz. bottle or can of beer (any kind)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the above ingredients together (by hand) and put in a greased loaf pan. Let rise for 15 mins. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 1 hour. About half way through cooking take a pastry brush and brush on some soft butter. Also do this right before you take it out of the oven. It is so easy and so good!!


Here is the completed soup and a piece of the beer bread. Just a note the beer bread usually isn't this dark in color. I only had 1 can of Guiness Stout in the house so it made the bread brown.



I also made Eggplant Parmesan yesterday. My boss had given me 2 eggplants from his garden, so I made Eggplant Parm for our dinner tonight. It was so nice to come home and not have to cook!