You know when you had a very long day, and your body aches, and all you want is to plop on the couch and watch bad TV?

Today is one of those days. And I decided to break the spell with my new obsession: home made chicken soup. It’s silly how easy it is to make and how comforting it is.

Now here’s the trick when I don’t have a ton of time… but still want home made food: I buy pre-chopped onions, carrots and celery. Yes, it is a little bit more expensive, but sometimes you are allowed to treat yourself with a little bit of aid compliments of our good friend WholeFoods. Well, not that complimentary.

Another trick is to always have fresh basil at home. Instead of cooking with it, I like adding it at the very end, for a fresh taste.

So here we go:

On a big stock pot, cover the bottom with some nice olive oil. Once heated (not burnt!) add chopped onions, carrots and celery. Once transparent, add chicken stock (I usually make this one Sunday afternoon and store it in my freezer, or you can buy it at the store). Let it boil and add a few chicken thighs. Salt, pepper, and let it simmer at low heat for at least 30 to 45 minutes.

At that point, fish the pieces of chicken, and shred them on a plate. Return to the pot and add macaroni noodles. I personally choose gluten-free noodles made with quinoa flour. Those take about 8-10 minutes to cook.

To serve, I top each bowl with shredded cheese (today I have a mozzarella mix, or other days I’d grate some parmigiano) and fresh basil.

And since it is one of those nights… I’m pairing this delicious bowl of soup with a nice Pinot Noir I’ve been waiting to open since last week.