by Kathy Hamman Miller

Another home remedy of Grandma’s, besides the soup, was “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” This saying used to make us smile because we loved apples.

Which brings me to a really good tasting side for this soup. My kids loved a grilled cheese sandwich with fresh thin cut apple slices put in between two slices of the cheese that were used for the sandwich. This will make “your” kids smile! It works best with a crisp apple.

Soup Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter or oil

1 lb of sliced carrots about 4 cups

1/2 cup celery chopped

1/2 sweet onion chopped

10 cups chicken broth

4 large chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

2 chicken bouillon cube

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley leaves, adding some more if you’d like to top off the bowls when serving

2 cups gemelli pasta

Remember the chicken broth and bouillon cubes have salt in it so season the soup accordingly

Directions:

In a large stock pot, heat up the butter/oil over medium heat. Sauté chicken until browned and cooked through remove from pot, saving for later, add the chopped sweet onion, carrots, and celery to the meat drippings in the soup pot, pouring in a touch of the chicken broth to help work up the meat flavors from the bottom and to help keep the veggies moist.

Cook for about 10 minutes or until they are softened. Add in the remaining broth and the bouillon cubes into the stock pot.

Stir together, along with the fresh parsley on medium high heat, cover and cook until vegetables are just under done to your liking.

Add in the pasta and the browned chicken and cook for 10 minutes more or until the pasta is tender stirring occasionally. Ladle into shallow bowls and sprinkle with the remaining fresh parsley.

Serve and enjoy!