Lots of protein, veggies and spices, excellent for when you're feeling sick.

Simple, easy recipe, very tolerant to making mistakes, and perfect for making soup with kids.

This feeds two adults and 1 pre-teen.

Best cooked with a little one.

If your son is tiny, let him watch and then give him free reign on shaking the spices in.

If your son is older, let me chop the veggies and the spices, while you make sure the meat is safe.

Step 1: Start Cooking the Chicken Breasts

Put two chicken breasts in the soup pot.

Add a couple of tablespoons of oil ( olive or canola ).

Add about a cup of water.

Cook on high (boil) with a lid (while this is cooking you can start on the next step of chopping veggies).

Keep an ear out, if you start to hear a sizzle then either turn down the burner, or add water.

(Vegetarian alternative: just put in a can of chickpeas, still awesome soup )

Step 2: Chop Veggies

Veggies are flexible, but the best combination are:

-potatoes (about a cup chopped, or whatever leftover potatoes in your fridge)

-carrots (about a cup)

-onion (small to medium onion )

-chopped baby spinach (lots, 2-3 large adult handfuls)

BIG CHUNKS!

If you are adding fresh potatoes, you can throw them in as soon as they are chopped (if you want your soup faster). You can also use leftover potatoes (chopped, mashed, it's all good).

If you add leftover mashed potatoes it will make the soup thicker and more heartier.

Step 3: Chop Up the Chicken in the Pot

By the time you are done chopping veggies your chicken will be about ready to chop up the chicken.

I just use a soup ladle, but you can use a knife in the pot, or a flipper.

I like big chunks.

If it's still looking uncooked after this, just put a lid and cook on high for another minute or two (don't worry, it will finish cooking faster when it's chopped up smaller ).

Step 4: Tomatoes

If you have fresh tomatoes, chop up and add about 3 normal tomatoes, or about 4-5 of the smaller roma tomatoes.

Or, you can just add a can of diced tomatoes (about 540 ml can / ~18 ounce can ). A little bigger or smaller can won't be a problem, use what you have.

Step 5: Add the Veggies

Put the veggies in.

Don't worry too much if you're getting near the top of the pot, the water volume will reduce as it simmers and boils off.

Step 6: Spice It Up

The more the better, all are optional, don't freak out if you're low, or missing.

But if you have them, put them all in! Soup is the best place to experiment with spices in your cupboard.

Here's what we use:

- a squirt or two of Sriracha sauce or Blairs death wing sauce (or insert your favorite hot sauce here)

- lots of Rosemary (couple tablespoons)

- thyme (couple tablespoons )

- dash or two of tumeric

- Basil ( couple tablespoons )

- Oregano ( about a tablespoon )

- few dashes of dill weed

- few dashes of cinnamon

- salt (about a teaspoon) . Kosher salt tastes better, but if all you have is table salt, use it.

- pepper (about a teaspoon).

Step 7: Boil for a Few Minutes, Then Simmer for a While

Make sure the lid is off the pot, *or* put it on but askew (if you don't want splashes).

Boil it for a few minutes ( 5-10 min )

Put the lid back on.

Then let it simmer (turn it on low), for a long time. The longer the better to fully infuse those spices.

I aim for about half an hour ( 30 min) of simmer time.

While it's simmering, do the occasional taste test, you'll be able to taste how the spices change the flavour as it cooks (just taste the broth portion). If you chickened out on spices on the previous step you can add more in anytime, don't worry.

"Minimum" time, just stick a fork in one of the potatoes, you'll be good. The smaller you chopped the potatoes the faster they'll cook.

"Maximum" time... really isn't one, but at about an hour of simmering the carrots and potatoes will start to fall apart, however the spices will really be merging. If you want a "hearty" soup let it simmer on the longer side.

Your chicken will have been cooked by now, don't worry about that.