Chicken Soup (and the latest scoop)

Let me tell you something.

Sometimes, there are days that I say to myself “Elise, today you will go for a run. And not a wimpy run, you will actually run all the way, and even on the hilly parts!”. And on most of those days, by the time I actually get home, exhausted, feeling a strong hankering for a spoonful (or two… or three) of Trader Joe’s cookie butter, I will say “no. nope. nope. nope. Sorry run, it’ll have to be tomorrow.”

So after days… weeks, (even months…) I hang my head in shame as I realize that I have not put on my good ol’ running shoes for far. too. long.

Let me tell you something else.
I also have days when I tell myself “Elise. Today, you will blog. You will photograph something delicious, you will edit the photos, you will write a whitty blog entry about it, and you will press the PUBLISH button. AND there won’t be ANY spelling errors!”
As you can imagine, these days are much like the days I tell myself to go for a run. fail. fail, Elise.

WELL. Not today, I say! Today, I went to work, got there 15 minutes early, did my very best, got home, went for a run (I even ran most of the hilly parts), and now I’m blogging.

So here I am.

Hi! I’ve missed you all dearly. Let me give you some to the deets on what’s been going on!
I’m busy

Life is busy. My life has left little time to spare. Here are some of the things that have been going on with me:

1. I moved out of my parents house (quite some time ago… yeesh!)
2. I have my very own apartment now! (AAAAH!)
3. I have been reunited with my kitty, Olive
4. I have been playing Canasta with some lovely new friends
5. I have been hanging out with my awesome, handsome, fantastic man-friend, Tyler
6. I have been going to work (duh)
7. I have been doing graphic design after hours (mostly as favors to family and friends)
8. I have been cooking… without my camera nearby. BAD Elise! BAD.
9. I have been cooking… with my camera too! (I’m stock-piling yummy photos)

Don’t believe me? Fine. Here’s proof:

Anywho- I’ve been listening to some podcasts lately, mostly the Joy the Baker Podcast. Joy the baker is a full-time food blogger. She writes in the blog, Joy the Baker (duh). Most of my baked goods now come from this website- she is very good.

Back on track, Elise. My point is that I’ve been listening to that podcast of hers, and it’s basically just a weekly chat with her friend Tracy from Shutterbean. From what I understand of it, Tracy has a day job, is married, has a small child… AND she blogs- and has a very successful blog at that. I’ve really come to admire bloggers like Joy and Tracy. Joy makes a living from blogging, and Tracy keeps up a totally kick-butt blog ON TOP of all of the other things she does! How is it, that a 22-year-old, unmarried, childless lady like me has SUCH a hard time blogging every once in a while (DANG IT!)?!?

So. There’s that.

Anyway, Olive seems to enjoy the situation. She tends to hang out on the top of my cushy chair (Tyler and I call it “the man chair”) while we cook/play cards/run around crazy.

So- horrah! There’s all of THAT for you! Now I’m sure you’re saying “alright Elise, enough with the babble, let’s get to the food”

and to that I say “okay okay! Fine. How about some chicken soup?”

Kaley-Carrotey Chicken Soup

You’ll need:
2 tsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large bunch of kale, stems taken out, shredded
32 oz. chicken broth
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

1. Put the oil in a large pot (or dutch oven) on medium/high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken, and place into the pot. Allow to brown on both sides and cook until it’s cooked through. Remove and allow to cool.
2. Add the carrots, onion, and sweet potato to the pot. Cook until potato is just getting tender.
3. Add the kale and stir. It should turn a brighter green color from the heat. Horrah! Add salt and pepper.
4. While the veggies continue to cook, cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the pot along with the broth, bay leaf, and more salt and pepper.
5. Allow to simmer until the veggies are lovely and tender, the kale has just a teensy bit of bite left, and your apartment is filled with the lovely smell of kaley-carrotey chicken soup.
6. Scoop yourself a bowl, grab a hunk of crusty bread if you’ve got it, and CHOW DOWN!

This will make you feel all warmy-happy inside. I promise.

Foodie Foodie!