This past weekend I felt it coming on… itchy throat, sneezing… yep, I’ve caught a cold. My first cold of 2013, lovely. I’m thankful it isn’t the terrible flu that is going around-but I still wish I didn’t have it. I have felt pretty bad, runny nose, then stuffed up nose. Sneezing my head off, blowing my honker day & night and now coughing up my lungs, it’s no fun.
I was feeling really crummy yesterday, then I saw a photo one of my friends from Texas had posted on her FB page. It was a picture of a nice steamy bowl of Caldo de Pollo… Chicken Soup! Yes! I knew what I was going to be making for dinner. I jumped in the shower, blew my nose one last time & headed to the store for the ingredients.
I love making Caldo de Pollo because it’s so easy. You basically throw all the ingredients in the pot and watch the magic happen. Here’s what I put in it:
Caldo de Pollo
6 chicken thighs (I removed the skin after they were done cooking)
celery, diced (about 10-12 stalks total)
8 oz container of sliced white mushrooms
1 entire head of cabbage, chopped up
1 bag mini peeled carrots (2 lbs)
1 onion, cut into 6 chunks
8 garlic cloves, sliced up
5 large potatoes, quartered
3 ears of corn, cut in half to make 6 small ears
I brought a pot of water to a boil, then added the chicken & corn. I let it cook for about 15-20 minutes, then added everything else, except the mushrooms. After about 30 minutes, I added the mushrooms. At the same time, I removed the chicken from the pot and took the skin off of it. I then cut it into bite size pieces and returned it to the pot. Salt to taste. I then let it simmer for about another hour until it was done. I used organic ingredients, with the exception of the potatoes and the mushrooms. (I also added 1/2 an oz of Menudo Mix that I had in the spice pantry, it contained dried oregano, onion, crushed chili and lemon peel. This is the first time I have added this to me caldo- totally optional, you can omit if you want).
I bought a loaf of garlic bread while I was at the store, so I put that on the stove, toasted it up real good and served it with the soup. My Caldo de Pollo was just what the doctor ordered! I ate mine piping hot (it will definitely clear out the sinuses, you’ve been warned!) and will be eating more of it tonight.
I hope you will make this soup, if you do I’d love to see pics of yours! Enjoy!
