Food and Drink: Soup for the Sick

Well, I'm officially sick. Not just sniffles and coughs, but the type of sick that required a dreaded doctor's office visit and subsequent trip to the pharmacy. I haven't been sick in years, and it makes me regretfully realize how ungrateful I am for my daily health and strong immune system. I've vowed to change that.

Being sluggish, feverish and just all-around down has also made me contemplate mothers with multiple children, which I am not – how in the world do they manage the carpools, meetings and meals while feeling this way? Kudos to them! I can barely heat a cup of tea, much less think about this week's menu for my household.

As a kid, when illness hit, soups and juices were staples. I associate Campbell's chicken noodle and orange juice with feeling better to this day; but for the sake of this column, I've tried to be a bit more grown up about things.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is incredibly fast and easy to make, perfect if you're feeling under the weather. I chose to make it spicy, hoping it would clear my head; and since I assumed the crunchy tortilla strips and a sore throat would be an unwise combination, I omitted them.

What you'll need:

1 (15 oz.) can of diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz.) can of chicken broth

1 (15 oz.) can of black beans

1 (4 oz.) can of green chiles, drained

1 (15 oz.) can of corn

½ – 1 lb. of shredded chicken, cooked

1 c. brown rice, cooked

1 – 2 tsp. of Chipotle sauce

Chili powder

Cumin

Red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

I was lucky enough to have leftover smoked, shredded chicken in my refrigerator. If you don't and can't muster the energy to cook meat, break down and use a 10 oz. can of chunked chicken, drained. In a fairly deep saucepan, combine your chicken, broth and Chipotle sauce. Bring to a simmer and add chili powder and cumin – I used about ½ – 1 Tbsp. each. Add your tomatoes, black beans, chiles, corn and rice. Bring to a simmer and cook until all ingredients are heated through thoroughly. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

Typically, I would serve this with a dollop of guacamole and / or sour cream alongside crispy tortilla strips on top. Since dairy tends to congest and crispy threatens to worsen an already achy throat, I consumed it sans toppings.

I did, however, do some browsing and came across this one-pot chicken tortilla soup recipe. It's a bit more involved, but not too complicated. And this mock chicken tortilla soup from a mom blog I enjoy seems perfect for a sick day – a little more chopping than my throw-cans-together version, but still pretty darn easy. So if chicken noodle soup is your turn-to remedy when you're feeling icky, but you might like to try spicing things up a bit, attempt some of these quick and simple variations of its cousin.