Shaken Baken Blog

It's  December, and I feel like I've been fighting off a cold the whole month. The some days warm, some days cool temperatures are killing my sinuses and my immune system. First sign of a scratchy throat or runny nose keeps me running to the pantry for soup ingredients. Whatever I have is what goes in the pot. Chicken soup is one of the easiest soups to put together and you can use any type of pasta. As you can see here, all I had on hand was some Fusilli Bucati  pasta that I was saving for a cold salad. Guess what? It worked today. 2 Large Chicken Breast or 4 thin sliced 8 oz fusilli pasta (1/2 box) 6 cups water  48 oz container chicken broth 1 tsp. granulated turmeric (for color, flavor, and health properties) chopped scallions for garnish salt and pepper 2 chicken bouillon cubes Boil chicken breast in 4 cups water. Add 1 chicken bouillon cube to water. Season water with salt and pepper to taste. Remove ch...

It's  December, and I feel like I've been fighting off a cold the whole month. The some days warm, some days cool temperatures are killing my sinuses and my immune system. First sign of a scratchy throat or runny nose keeps me running to the pantry for soup ingredients. Whatever I have is what goes in the pot. Chicken soup is one of the easiest soups to put together and you can use any type of pasta. As you can see here, all I had on hand was some Fusilli Bucati  pasta that I was saving for a cold salad. Guess what? It worked today. 2 Large Chicken Breast or 4 thin sliced 8 oz fusilli pasta (1/2 box) 6 cups water  48 oz container chicken broth 1 tsp. granulated turmeric (for color, flavor, and health properties) chopped scallions for garnish salt and pepper 2 chicken bouillon cubes Boil chicken breast in 4 cups water. Add 1 chicken bouillon cube to water. Season water...

If you've been following the blog, you will know most of my posts are about comfort food.  Food that makes me extremely happy to indulge.  Well... I mean that's all food. But growing up in a big family, our meals were filling and made us say "mmmmmm"... One of my favorite family dinner staples  is a Hearty Pork Stew  or "Neck Bone Soup".  Filled with tender neck bones, potatoes, sweet corn and a hint of tomato. Another soup that could last for days if you make a big ol' pot like mine. All this flavor with minimal ingredients  that you can pretty much throw in together and let it cook down.   My mother and grandmother were not huge onions and garlic fans. (Craziness right?)  But there is so much flavor in the neck bone stock...you won't miss them. You can spice it up, add more herbs or use stew beef if you prefer. One more thing: Add cornbread and you are home! For an even heartier soup, serve over white rice...

If you've been following the blog, you will know most of my posts are about comfort food.  Food that makes me extremely happy to indulge.  Well... I mean that's all food. But growing up in a big family, our meals were filling and made us say "mmmmmm"... One of my favorite family dinner staples  is a Hearty Pork Stew  or "Neck Bone Soup".  Filled with tender neck bones, potatoes, sweet corn and a hint of tomato. Another soup that could last for days if you make a big ol' pot like mine. All this flavor with minimal ingredients  that you can pretty much throw in together and let it cook down.   My mother and grandmother were not huge onions and garlic fans. (Craziness right?)  But there is so much flavor in the neck bone stock...you won't miss them. You can spice it up, add more herbs or use stew beef if you prefer. One more thing: Add cornbread and you are home! For an even hear...