Purple Soup

If you'll recall, I mentioned in my last post that Brandon and I hadn't bought groceries in like a month.

Well, that all changed!

What didn't change: I have no clue where to begin when it comes to menu planning. I'm a solid cook, so I feel comfortable doing more than boiling pasta and heating up some meat sauce. I like following recipes. I think they're fun (Yay instructions!). Still, with so.many.options out there, I get lost. I set all interesting information aside as soon as the next appealing recipe title comes along.

Long story short, me and Brandon's menu planning went something like me asking Brandon what he wanted for dinner, him not being hungry at the time thus not having any idea, me mulling over options and finally freaking out at the sight of the kitchen because I still had no clue what kind of protein or side we were in the mood for that night.

After finding some wonderful Pinsperation, I got to work picking recipes I really wanted to try as well as finding healthy recipes for more everyday use. Brandon and I are pretty picky (he's pickier though) so we're not going to jump in on a recipe that calls green beans. We hate green beans. But he and I had decided we need to eat real food with vegetables and nutrients and...stuff. So with a shopping list in hand and all of my reusable bags, we went to the stores to get food. When it came time to buy the carrots, I noticed a bunch -- literally, a bunch -- of randomly colored carrots. I'd seen purple carrots somewhere before and thought they were really cool, so I convinced Brandon to let me buy them.

Score!

I tell you all of this because I finally cooked with the large purple carrot two weeks ago. Brandon and I have been under the weather (him more than me) and I got the urge to make homemade chicken soup. I found this recipe for chicken and veggie soup from the blog The Detoxinista, but made a few changes as Brandon and I hate green beans with a passion. You know, in case me saying it above didn't let you know how much we hate them.

I did not chop this time. It was still yummy.

Accidental Purple Soup

What I used:

2 large carrots, chopped

3 large celery stalks, chopped

4 chicken thighs (or breasts), cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tablespoon of butter

1/2 cup of chopped onion

2 spoonfuls or 2 cloves of minced garlic

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, plus more for taste

black pepper to taste

5-6 cups of water to cover

What I did:

1. Chopped my carrots, celery and onion. Cut up your defrosted chicken into bite-sized chunks.
2. I melted the butter over medium heat. Added in the two spoonfuls of minced garlic from a jar, onion and chicken and cooked for about 5 minutes.
3. Added the carrots, celery, thyme leaves and enough water to cover the vegetables (6 cups was great for me). Brought everything to a boil, then simmered over low heat for 20 minutes.

Tadaa! So easy. And it's so, so yummy. The best part: you can totally double the recipe and should still have room in your large stockpot. I think a doubling is in order for the next time I make this.

Purple soup a'brewin

In case you're wondering why I called this "Purple Soup," the purple carrot I chopped up turned my broth and chicken purple! No biggie, though. Brandon and I loved it because the taste is truly epic. Also, I'm digging the name "Purple Soup."

♥ A