I raised my daughter on chicken soup. I know many mothers do, but she literally ate it every single day of most of her life. On Sunday nights I would make a big pot of soup that would be breakfast for her for the week. The dogs loved Sunday nights because they also loved chicken soup and they got to finish whatever was left of last week’s pot. Each day of school I would warm up her soup in a big green mug that she would eat on the way to school. She was never much for breakfast foods but she would eat her own shoes if I put them in a green cup and called them soup. She was, and is, a hyper sort with a fast metabolism and she gets mean when she’s hungry, so I had to figure something out for breakfast and soup was the solution.

One day when my daughter in the middle of 12th grade, I had to car pool three other kids to school. I had Shannon in the front passenger seat, and three kids in the back row of my SUV. I got in, put my key in the ignition, and the three kids in the back said, “Hey where’s our green soup cup?” I realized my daughter had told all of her friends about her breakfast soup and had to go back into the house to get soup for everyone.

I, like so many mothers, think of chicken soup as a way to bless loved ones. Feel sick? Chicken Soup. Bad day? Chicken Soup. There’s something tender in the making of it. It’s definitely a stanchion of Miss Maggs’ Love Kitchen.

Green Cup Chicken Soup

One whole chicken, cleaned inside and out.
One 32 oz box chicken broth.
One bullion cube.
Four carrots halved.
Two celery stalks halved longways then chopped.
Everything into an 8 quart pot with enough water to completely cover the chicken.
Cook on medium high until just before it bubbles, then simmer covered for one hour.
After an hour, take the chicken out and let it cool enough to touch.
Skim the fat off the top of the soup with a spoon.
Remove the chicken from the carcass, chop it up and add back into the pot.
Remove the halved carrots and chop them up and add back to the pot.
Add:
1 teaspoon of salt
One large or two medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped small
Two rosemary sprigs chopped
Four thyme sprigs chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 bag of 16 oz baby peas
Juice of one lemon (you’ll love how lemon brightens soup)

Simmer one hour.

In a separate pot, boil per the instructions one small handful of fine egg noodles for each cup of soup you will be eating today. Add to each soup serving.