I seem to always get a little off, in both body and mind, during the holidays, and I don’t think I’m the only one who suffers. Which is why this Mushroom Medley Chicken and Parsnip Noodle Soup is perfect for all of you who are catching your winter colds, still recovering from the excesses of Thanksgiving, or need chicken soup for the soul. It can also niftily be converted to a Turkey and Parsnip Noodle Soup to use up some of that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

JUMP TO RECIPE

So far the damage this year has been minimal. But I’ve been anxiously watching for ulcerative colitis flare signs and trying to adjust my diet to the changes. Nothing has shown up in the blood work but right now I feel like I’m doing damage control.

I’ve also made new goals for myself as a blogger. When my life gets busy with family and friends or my health suffers, my blog suffers. I don’t post regularly, heck, I don’t even log in. This Monday I realized I missed a lot of lovely comments from readers. Reading the comments made me so happy that people are responding to my recipes, photography, and design (which is the Kindred theme by the way). But I also felt terrible for neglecting both them and my blog.

I typically exist on a week by week schedule. Which is fine if I’m healthy and not particularly busy. But when I’m one or both, I either risk neglecting relationships and my health or neglecting the blog. So my goal is to build up a massive database for myself, making it possible for me to plan ahead. That way, when I am feeling ill or busy with family, I have something up my sleeve and a simple press of the blue “publish” button solves everything.

I spent this weekend working on three separate recipes. This Mushroom Medley Chicken and Parsnip Noodle Soup is one of them.

For me, it also serves as an example of what I need to do. I first made this almost a year ago, when I was recovering from a really bad ulcerative colitis flare that left me absolutely shattered. I made it when I wanted to graduate from broth and a very brief stint with baby food. Immediately, I thought “This is good, I should put it on the blog.” That was a year ago. I could have easily taken a picture and kept it for a rainy day.

So when I make things that are good, I’m going to take pictures. When I come up with something in my head, I’m going to make it and photograph it. Even when I already have something to post. Even when I have a lot of stuff to post.

But back to the Mushroom Medley Chicken and Parsnip Noodle Soup. The mushrooms provide the bulk of the flavor and meat of the recipe. In fact, I often don’t even put chicken in it. It can easily be made into a vegetarian dish (substitute the chicken stock with vegetable and the fish sauce with soy). I sauté the mushrooms in butter, garlic, chives, and fish sauce, creating creamy and flavorful bites of goodness. I highly suggest using a medley of different mushrooms outside the normal looking ones. Get weird. Get the ones that look a little scary. I buy an 8 ounce box of Mycopia’s Speciality Trio package which contains Velvet Pioppini, Forest Nameko, and Nebrodini Bianco. They are absolutely delicious and I don’t have to slice and dice them.

I serve saltine crackers on the side because they help settle my stomach. Plus, I like crumbling them in soups, duh. I hope that those of you suffering from less than perfect health right now soon feel better. I’m sending healing vibes your way, can you feel them?

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Mushroom Medley Chicken and Parsnip Noodle Soup

This Mushroom Medley Chicken and Parsnip Noodle Soup is perfect for recovering from the busy holiday season. Use leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or make it completely vegetarian for an extra healthy meal. 

Course Soups

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6

Author Megan Wells

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 large parsnips peeled and spiralized
• 1 cup small carrots peeled and cut into small coins
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup chives diced
• 8 ounces mixed mushrooms Like Velvet Pioppini, Forest Nameko, Nebrodini Bianco
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken stock and yogurt in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk until combined. The yogurt and stock won’t completely emulsify until it has simmered for a while.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan on medium heat. Once it is bubbling, add the garlic and cook for a minute, stirring often. Add the mushrooms, chives, and salt and pepper (to taste) and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are creamy. Add 1/4 cup fish sauce and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the spiralized parsnips and toss, cooking for a minute or so. Add to the saucepan with the chicken stock and yogurt along with the carrots and shredded chicken. Simmer until the carrots are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce, salt, and pepper.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is very changeable based on what I have in my fridge. Many times I don’t put any chicken in at all because I don’t want to cook or buy it if there are no leftovers in the fridge. This can easily be made into a vegetarian meal as well. Use (preferably homemade) vegetable stock and replace the fish sauce with soy sauce.

I always try to use homemade stocks because they make everything taste better. But the world is not perfect and sometimes you just have to buy it. Store-bought brands all differ in the amount of sodium they contain so keep this in mind when using the fish sauce (or soy sauce) and salt.