Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

I interrupt this normally crafty/decorating blog to ask an important question: Who likes Thai food? It is really one of my favorites-tied with Middle Eastern-I really can't decide which one I like best but I love the blend of flavors and spices of both.

So, I haven't posted a recipe in a while-I haven't been cooking too many things with the addition of our newborn two months ago. It's been all about survival here and what's quick and easy, but as he sleeps a little more during the night, I get a little more energy to do more myself.

So one rainy day I decided it was perfect to try out my Thai cookbook with an easy recipe-chicken noodle soup with a bang.  I'm not sure I'll ever go back to the old way of making it...

I promise this recipe is really simple-it was my first Thai recipe I've ever tried and now that I know what I'm doing I will try something a little more daring next time. I present to you Thai Chicken Noodle Soup:

So, I didn't actually add the kaffir lime leaves because I didn't make a special trip to an Asian food store-maybe next time? But the lemongrass and ginger paste were conveniently in my produce aisle-with a $1 off coupon next to it-making it really easy and cheap to add these ingredients.

I love my Pampered Chef cutting mats-you can just bend them and slide the food into the pan.

Here's another easy way to add fresh flavor to your foods: I found these mini cube trays of herbs at Costco by a brand called Dorot.

They are filled with tiny portions of either crushed garlic, parsley or cilantro = genius! 

I had frozen fresh ground herbs before, but never had tiny trays like these 20 sections of 1 teaspoon each.  I plan on refilling these trays with my own fresh herbs from my summer garden-I'm dreaming of fresh salsa and pesto...mmmm....

I discovered using chicken tenderloins speeds things up too, because they don't need to be tenderized or marinated and can be cut into cubes quickly. Where have you been all my life?

One of these days when I don't have toddlers hanging on me while I try to cook, I will make homemade broth from scratch. In the meantime, there's my favorite Better Than Bouillon quick option-no MSG, all natural goodness, easily stores in the fridge.

Yes, the weather's warming up, but it's still a great time to make soup, in my opinion. Add some ice cubes if you want. And guess what else? My whole family loved it (well, besides the newborn-but he will someday! ) It only took about 20 minutes to make. And I promise, it really wasn't a huge production=cooking success for this busy momma.  

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