Feeling a wee bit under the weather? I recently was. So in looking for comfort food to make, and wanting something both simple and flavorful, this one came up in an Internet search and looked to fit the bill. My wee changes/tweaks are in italics as usual below:

My finished product!

Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Averie Cooks.

Yield: about 12 cups, Prep Time: 5 minutes, Cook Time: about 30 minutes, Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
• 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
• 1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 64 ounces (8 cups) low-sodium chicken broth (I used regular salt strength as there is nothing worse than a bland soup.)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme. (Next time I will just use my dried thyme as there was a lot of leftover fresh in the bunch I bought from Ralph’s.)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste (Next time will only use 1/2 teaspoon, it was a bit too peppery for my family.)
• 12 ounces wide egg noodles – or your favorite noodles or pasta.
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken – use store bought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet. (Rotisserie not ready when I went shopping at 9am. I asked the deli for their roasted chicken to be cut into thick slices for me and the little bit of seasoning on the side added to the soup’s flavor.)
• 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional (left it out due to tummy ache, didn’t miss it.)
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
2. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and sauté for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
3. Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. (I cooked the garlic with the veggies – loved how the house smelled!)
4. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender.
5. Add the egg noodles and boil mixture for about 10 minutes, or until noodles are soft and cooked through. At any time while making the soup, if the overall liquid level is lower than you like and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water is okay. At the end you will adjust the salt level. (Had to add at least 2 cups of water here, and she was right, didn’t make a difference to the soup’s flavor.)
6. Add the chicken, parsley, optional lemon juice (brightens up the flavor), and boil 1 to 2 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through. Taste soup and add salt to taste. I added about 1 tablespoon but this will vary based on how salty the brand of chicken broth used is, how salty the rotisserie chicken is, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, herbs, etc.), remove the bay leaves, and serve immediately. Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. (I’ve got mine in the freezer and literally can’t wait for a family member to be ill or the skies to open up with tons of rain while we stay inside, warm and slurping this delicious soup.)

Trekking through Williams Sonoma with my daughter resulted in the purchase of the above-mentioned packaged Peanut Sauce and Noodles. The instructions on how to cook each are below:

However I chose to dice up the chicken and let it marinade to serve over the noodles. That seemed to go well. The house smelled yummy while the chicken simmered in the sauce. The last 15-20 minutes I added some packaged broccoli slaw while the noodles cooked. The noodles, another however, didn’t “cook” with the “lukewarm water” at all.  My daughter tasted the chicken and deemed it too spicy to eat anyway. I tossed it all together in a bowl, sealed it up and then went out and got pizza for my hungry family.

The next day I tried the dish. After two minutes in my microwave the dish was spicy but pretty darn good.

We love a good chili at our house. This time I wanted to get all the prep done and let it sit in a crock pot all day for two reasons: I wanted most of the clean up out of the way early and I wanted my house to smell good for several hours. Found this recipe by Christine Gallary from Chowhound. Got a pic of the final product, though my final product didn’t have sour cream and shredded cheese on it like my hubby’s did.

Ingredients

Instructions

Yes, I know, this doesn’t have lamb which a shepherd would have used in his pie. This recipe, in fact, is for people looking for comfort food, and by people I mean my daughter. Found on Facebook:

Shepherd’s Pie

Courtesy Melanie Atwood Brackey, SCV Foodies.

An inside slice of my final product – voted yumworthy!

1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey, left over rotisserie chicken, ground pork, really any meat you like).

1 cup diced onion.

Brown those together, drain any fat.

Sometimes I add a clove or so of minced garlic to this mixture, and always S & P.

In a large bowl combine 1 can cream of chicken soup with 2-3 cups mixed veggies of your choice. (I always use frozen mixed veggies, combo of corn, peas, carrots and green beans.)

Mix in the meat/onion mixture. If I didn’t add fresh garlic to the meat mixture, I add @1-2 tsp of garlic powder and combine all together.

Next I take a package of refrigerated fresh mashed potatoes from the deli section at the grocery store. Heat for @1/2 the total time on package directions. I mix in 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese until blended together.

Place the meat/soup/veggie mixture in the bottom of semi large casserole dish. Depends how thick you want the bottom layer. Mine was similar in size to a 9×13.

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top.

Top the potatoes with another 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. (Or a cheese blend works well, too).

Bake at 375 for @20-25 minutes.

This Nutella Cheesecake recipe so reminded me of the no-bake cheesecakes my mom made when we were kids. Except I have a Nutella/chocolate loving husband so hence, the new generation gets this. My changes are in italics and strike throughs as usual below.

Before I popped it into the fridge overnight!

RECIPE:

Ingredients-
Crust:
24 Oreo cookies (Or buy a pre-made Oreo cookie pie crust – I did!)
1/3 cup melted mutter

Filling:
1 jar (13oz) Nutella
8 oz cream cheese (softened/left out at room temp for an hour.)
8 oz whipped topping or whipped cream (Cool Whip did the trick.)

Decoration (or skip it) :
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Shavings

1. Crush cookies and mix with melted butter. Spread mixture over pie pan. Refrigerate crust while making filling. (Use store bought Oreo cookie pie tin.)
2. Mix Nutella, cream cheese, and whipped topping until smooth. (There will be small little bumps in your mix, no matter how long you use your mixer, trust me.) Spread mixture over pie crust.
3. Decorate the pie then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The pie can also be served frozen. (Refrigerate overnight and freeze an hour or so before serving as it will soften fast if left out.)

Facebook video from Tasty: https://www.facebook.com/buzzfeedtasty/videos/1685837318335577/?pnref=story

Eve Bushman has been reading, writing, taking coursework and tasting wine for over 20 years.  She has obtained a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, has been the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and recently served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits that may be answered in a future column. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com