LadyLee's Homemade Chicken Noodle SOUP!!

Last week?

Man, I was sick as a DOG!

Now it was bad enough that my chaffeur, I mean my carpool partner, the Infamous Hen-Dog, was off that day, which meant that I had to drive the five miles to work my ownself! (THE HORROR!)

I sat up and I realized my head was pounding. I was all sweaty and mucousy.

I almost pulled a Diva move. I almost picked up the phone and called in sick.

I felt HORRIBLE!

Uggggh.

I got myself together, though!

You know I have to go to work and represent (and make that money!LOL!)!

So I went to work.

Felt like dirt on the ground all day.

Around noon, I walked into my Supervisor Darth Sista T's office. She was sitting there tapping away on her keyboard, curiously peering at the LCD screen.

"Hey!" I yelled.

She looked at me like I was crazy!

"Yo, check it out. Look here. I'm sick as a dog right now, and I need some fresh air, something, cause ya'll got an Oldgirl couped up in this here place! I'm gonna walk down to the Publix on 8th street to get some juice. Look here now, if you don't see me in an hour, send someone to look for me, because I probably cold fell out in the middle of street or something!!"

She gave me the usual "LadyLee... GO AWAY, LEAVE ME ALONE!!" look. She rolled her eyes and went back to what she was doing. I think she thought I was talking trash as usual, but I was for real!

I warned her, fair and square. She better not try and write an Oldgirl up for being AWOL!!

So I left her office, and made the half mile trek to Publix...

The fresh air and the walk did me good. It helped to get out of the place...

I bought some ol' expensive orange juice:

$3.99 for one carton. I swear, Publix is HIGH for no reason at all. Goodness. I took it back to work and smashed it. I shoulda bought TWO cartons.

Oh well... It didn't matter. I was going back to that store after work.

Why?

Because I wanted some Chicken soup.

Now, one thing I can't stand: canned soup. That ish is NASTY. It better be VERY expensive high end canned soup before I even think about eating it. UGGH.

But um, I looked in the cabinet beneath my microwave, where we keeped the canned foods, and lo and behold, I find canned SOUP!



I'm not sure where this stuff came from. I am sure some of it is my sister Kentucky's soup, as she likes stuff that is quick to fix. I may have bought the creamed soup to add to a recipe. I don't remember.

All I know is that I don't eat it. And ALL of it is going in a bag and all of it is will be dumped into somebody's canned food drive barrel.

Poor Kentucky... Bet she's looking for her soup right now.

I like HOMEMADE soup. Especially Homemade chicken noodle soup...

So I went to the grocery store after work, and bought the ingredients. I remember being all sickly and frustrated. I got pissed off when I couldn't find the celery...

I saw it just before I had a hissy fit in the produce section... I almost dropped my basket and screamed...

WHERE the HECK is the CELERY!!!!!

One of the workers was kind enough to help me. (Good customer service... that's what I expect, especially since Publix is so freakin' high!)

I also saw some leeks, and bought those too. Never had them. All I know is that those white folks on Food Network cook with a lot of leeks. I don't see leeks in my hood, so I bought some.

Anyway, I went home and hooked up my soup.

So in the words of that old dude that use to play the guitar on In Living Color back in the day...

"Wrote a little recipe about it. Like to see it? Well here we go!"

LadyLee's Chicken Noodle Soup.

1 to 2 pounds of chicken parts (preferably thighs or drumsticks).
2 quarts of water
1 and 1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 and 1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup of bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of carrots, sliced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup of leeks, chopped (optional)
2 cups of dry spaghetti pasta, broken up
2 tspn pepper
1 tbspn of season salt

1. Wash your chicken parts and place them in a huge dutch boiler (you know, one of those big soup pots or the largest pot you have). Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 HOUR.

2. Cut up all your veggies.



3. Now your chicken should be just about done. But you know me, I like my chicken falling off the bone. So I um, keep it boiling!

After that chicken has been boiling for an hour, throw in your veggies. Make sure, that there is enough water in the pot to cover everything, as seen below.



4. Allow to boil for about 30 minutes. (Stop tripping. Go somewhere and look at TV or read a book. Don't just stand there watching it!) It should look a little something like this when it is done. The meat should be falling off the bones.

5. Add broken up spaghetti pasta to the pot and stir. Allow to cook an extra 10 minutes, or until the noodles are done.

6. Now you're ready to eat! Break out your favorite bowl and spoon up that soup, homie!

And don't forget the saltine crackers!!

I made a little over 3 quarts of soup... And I slurped on it for 2 days. 2 days later, I was feeling muuuuch better!

You can leave the leeks out... They taste like a cross between onions and celery. I don't see the point in using them. Plus they are expensive. That explains why my Mama never bought them. That was my first and last time using them. You can always add broccoli, green beans, etc... whatever tickles your fancy!!

My best friend LadyTee came over one day after work, and opened the fridge and saw I had a little soup left.

"Let me have that right there, Lee," she said, already grabbing the container.
"But Tee, that ain't enough to eat. That's just a tease! You can have some of that gumbo over to the left!"
"No, girl, I already got a quart." [She'd stop by to grab a quart of gumbo out of my freezer, as is her usual habit when I cook gumbo].
"Shut up, Lee! Give me a bowl! I'ma kill this little bit right here, Shawty!!"

I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and heated the few spoonfuls of soup left in the container.

I decided to entertain myself and piss her off at the same time by photographing her while she ate. She looks as if she wants to flip that spoon of soup in my face, so I make sure I am in a position to jump out of her way.



Hmm...

She likes to pick at and examine her food.

But she looks as if she wants to try out that soup!!!!

"Is it good, LadyTee??" I asked. I stood there snapping photos, anxioulsy awaiting her answer.

Why yes, LadyLee!!!

"It's delicious... and nutritious!!!!"

You see? Even LadyTee likes it!

(Humph. She likes everything I cook.)

So, um, don't eat anymore of the bootleg canned soup! Yikes! That ish is NASTY.

Be like LadyLee...

And make your own!!