If I added it all up, I must have eaten over 10,000 lbs of chicken soup in the last 2 years...maybe even more! When a woman gives birth, there is a Korean tradition to eat nothing else but just soup, specifically this Korean seaweed beef soup called Mee-yuk-gook. (Side note: Kayla, now 2.5 says, "Can I have yuck soup again, momma?" I think I'm messing her up with what "yuck" really means.)
After a whole week of nothing but that Mee-yuk-gook seaweed soup, I needed to figure something else out. I stopped eating soup and just ate whatever I could find around the house - mostlly quick sandwiches, takeout, etc. After a week of not eating soup, my milk (breastfeeding) was drying out!!! I wasn't producing enough. I was devastated and tried everything. Then, I realized that the old tradition actually makes sense! The more liquids you put into your body, the more it will produce. (We all know that already from the beer drinking days, right? The more beers, the more trips to the bathroom. Who knew it applied to breastfeeding, too! :) )
So, here comes my lifesaver chicken soup recipe that I made every single week! I made it throughout breastfeeding, throughout Kayla's toddler eating years (GREAT nutrition), and even now as I'm pregnant with my second. It is the simplest recipe EVER! Once you read it below, you'll think I'm crazy that it even has to be written, but I'm doing this for all of my friends who keep asking me to "WRITE IT DOWN!".
This literally takes me less than 20 minutes to prep from start to finish. Kayla likes to even watch me chop everything. She eats a carrot as we talk about each veggie name, color, & flavor. It's a GREAT teaching time for your kids. When you let it boil, I serve the family another dinner or give Kayla her bath, etc. It's a GREAT recipe to get other things done while it cooks.
"Lifesaver Chicken Soup"
Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground chicken/turkey
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 large onion
2 Tbsp garlic
16 oz mini carrots
whole celery bunch
4 red potatoes
2 broccoli heads
1 ear of corn, cut OR drained can of sweet corn
2 32. oz Chicken stock containers (I prefer organic free range)
2 cubes of chicken buillion
Optional: mushrooms, whatever veggies you like!, hot pepper flakes for zing
1. Heat a LARGE pot. Drizzle olive oil to nicely coat the bottom. Brown the turkey. Season turkey with salt & pepper. (very important to season while it browns to really get the flavor IN the turkey.)
2. Add chopped onions and garlic.
3. As that sautes, chop and dump all the other ingredients. Chop the broccoli very finely, so it's not chunky, but just swims throughout the soup (works wonders for toddlers).
4. Season the chopped veggies in pot with salt & pepper. (don't overdo the salt at this point!) Stir and just get everything sizzling.
5. Put the heat on high. Add the 2 32oz containers of chicken stock. Fill the rest of the pot to close to the top with water. Add the 2 cubes of buillion. Stir and let it boil!! After it boils for about 15 minutes, turn the heat down, put the lid on, and let it soft boil until the potatoes are done. Usually can be served in 30 minutes if that is tonight's dinner.
Isn't that simple!?! Kayla and her toddler friends LOVE this and it's SO healthy. No need for canned MSG-filled soups. It's so simple to make from scratch. I give her a bowl and put Tabasco sauce in mine. Great to customize for each person in the family! ENJOY! Let me know how it turns out for you! :)