Macaroni Soup

It has always been a challenge for me to find something healthy but tasty enough for my little girl to have for her meal.  Because of this, I try to experiment with recipes so that I don't have to make a separate dish just for her. I actually learned this from the book my SIL gave me, that I can make one simple dish and play it up for the adults.

Homemade chicken stock

Since becoming hooked on Food Network again, I wanted to go back to basic -- use homemade chicken stock. I use this for my soup's base and just added a few things to make it really good.

For the adults meal, I added italian sausages to add an oomph! I like how the simple creamy macaroni soup stood out because of the meat added.

Italian sausages

To add variety to the soup, I thought of adding vegetables like mushrooms, carrots and corn. I love the earthy and woodsy taste of the mushrooms in the dish.

Fresh button mushrooms

I paired my bowl of steaming macaroni soup with a warm slice of baguette. I actually didn't finish one slice because the soup was filling enough.

Thursday Tinola :)

Last Thursday, we had Tinola for dinner. My daughter loves soup and noodles. Since she had noodles the previous days, I wanted her to have rice and soup this time. I think she needs to have more variety in her diet because all she wants to eat are those that are easy to swallow. She's too lazy to chew her food! Oh well. But there are times she loves eating chicken and fish. :) I guess I'd have to introduce different kinds of dishes every now and then.

Anyway, back to Tinola. :) I actually don't like this dish when I was younger. You see, I had a bad experience when I was in college. Not that it's traumatic but I just had a hard time letting go. Haha To make the long story short, when I got home from school, our helpers didn't expect I'd go home for lunch that day so they let the manikurista (manicurist) eat my share. Grrr. I know it's shallow but still. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pc (about 2in), peeled and sliced
• 1 whole chicken, chopped into serving pieces
• 1 unripe papaya (green skin) or chayote, peeled and cut into bite-size
• 1 cube chicken bullion
• 4-5 cups water
• salt and pepper to taste
• fish sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Clean the chicken by washing the pieces and pat them dry to avoid contamination. Set aside.
2. Using a large deep pot, heat the oil over medium fire. Saute onion and garlic then add ginger. Add chicken then season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour water into the pot. Mix in the bullion and wait until it fully dissolved with the soup. Adjust taste with fish sauce according to your preference. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add papaya and let it cook for 5-7 minutes. Check if chicken is thoroughly cooked, the meat should be white and NOT pink.
5. Add chili leaves and turn off the heat. Let it stand for about 2-3 minutes with the cover on. Serve hot with rice.

Let's eat!