comfort food

we had 48 straight hours of snow here this week. i'm kind of a sunshine girl, so all of that dreariness put me in the mood for some comfort food. here's what comes to mind when i say comfort food:

• it's warm - there's no such thing as a cold comfort food.
• it's delicious - duh.
• it reminds me of home - comfort foods are often something my mom or grandma made.
• it feels good - texture, flavor, nutrition - its the perfect balance and when a ton of it is sitting in your belly it just feels good!

here's my version of something my mom used to make. my husband thought i was crazy the first time i made it - until he tasted it, of course! the chicken noodle soup is perfect and simple (and even better with homemade noodles if you want to go to the effort) and the mashed potatoes push it to that next level of comfort food fabulous!

also, if you still have a big bag of potatoes from the holidays like i do this is a great way to use some of them. it's also perfect if you ever have leftover mashed potatoes from a previous meal.

comforting chicken noodles over mashed potatoes

6+ servings

7 cups chicken broth (use 9-10 cups if you just want to eat soup with no potatoes)

1/2 a medium onion, chopped

1 heaping cup sliced carrots

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon pepper (+ more to taste)

1/4 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 4 pieces

4 cups uncooked egg noodles

4 cups fresh spinach, chopped (or use baby spinach)

1. bring broth to a boil. add onion, carrots, bay leaf, salt, pepper and raw chicken. turn down heat and simmer (you can let it boil hard if you're in a hurry, but if you let it simmer really low the chicken will be more tender).

2. when chicken is done, add noodles and pull chicken out to shred. add back to soup after shredding.

3. when noodles are almost done, add spinach and continue simmering until spinach is soft.

4. spread a few mashed potatoes (from here or your own recipe) into the bottom of your bowl, top with chicken noodles. enjoy!

what is your favorite comfort food?