February 20, 2012

     Today was Family Day.  My husband didn't get the day off, but the kids had a long weekend.  A four day weekend, actually.  It was beautiful weather, so the kids spent a good portion of it outside.  Here's the two youngest, crawling around in the snow, making up their own imaginary game.

     Yes, those are tire tracks across the yard.  It's been a gorgeous winter, so the kids were driving the quad around the yard a couple weekends ago.
     Sometimes it seems there are very few meals that please the whole family.  So when we find one, we eat it often.  And what could be more perfect for Family Day than a soup the whole family loves?


                                   Simple Vegetable Soup

     The ingredients are very simple - veggies and instant noodles.
     With 6 of us, I usually make a large pot.  I fill it about 2/3 full of water, then add all the veggies.  Chop all the veggies into bite size pieces: about 1/2 a bunch of bok choy, 2 heads of broccoli (peel and chop the stems too),  some carrots - I usually have the baby carrots, so a handful or two, chopped up.  Add 3 or 4 flavour packets from instant ramen noodles.
     Bring the pot to a boil and cook until the veggies are softened, but not mushy.  Break up the instant noodles, and add them to the soup when the veggies are about done.  The instant noodles only need a minute or two.
     Sometimes I add some chicken - chop up chicken breast in bite size pieces, fry in the large pot, with a little bit of oil, and the soup flavouring, then add the water and veggies.
     It's also very good with shrimp - add once veggies are almost done, before adding noodles.  Unfortunately, two in this house are allergic to shrimp, so it's a very rare treat for the rest of us!
     Of course, you could also use a good chicken or veggie broth instead of the instant noodle flavour packets, but the instant noodles and flavour please kids and the simplicity pleases me.