28 Nov Spicy Chicken Soup

In early November we welcomed our second child. A little girl named Savannah.

Now, if you are a summer farmer’s market shopper you might be thinking, “Hey wait… weren’t you guys due in October?”

Yes. Yes, we were.

October 16 was the first due date discussed. Then, it was the 23rd. Then, the 30th. And then… she finally arrived on November 2. I was nearly 42 weeks- a little strange these days.

Fortunately, I felt pretty good physically and she was totally worth the wait. But, it didn’t stop me from pulling out all the stops to try to get her to come throughout those final weeks.

There are plenty of old wives tales like eating dates and lots of walking. All this did was make me sick of Larabars and the neighbors kids say, “Hey! There goes that pregnant lady again!”

Eating spicy food is also a “trick” that many swear by and one I could get behind. I like spicy food so I didn’t hesitate.  I whipped up spicy wings, added more crushed red pepper than normal to our pasta and pizza sauce, and, as it got colder, made this spicy chicken soup.

I make this often throughout the winter, especially when one of us is fighting a cold to try to knock it out of us so I figured it was worth a shot.

It’s a lot like a typical chicken noodle soup, just a little more amped up with jalapeño and crushed red pepper flakes. I use whatever cut of chicken like breast or pieces picked off leg quarters or a whole chicken.

The verdict?

It didn’t send me into labor.

But, that was okay because it meant we were home to enjoy all the left overs!

For this recipe, make chicken stock from chicken frames and use any cut of chicken such as leg quarters or whole chickens available at Bent Arrow Acres or on Market Wagon.