I’ve been in bed for a week. Count it. Seven days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours. Six hundred four thousand and eight hundred seconds.

Remember the old Nyquil commercials?

NyQuil. The nighttime sniffling sneezing, coughing, aching, aching, stuffy head, fever, so-you-can-rest medicine.

I remember watching that miserable guy coughing, sneezing and looking pretty grim. I began to feel grim after watching him.

My husband is wonderful about taking good care of me.  He’s a godsend when I’m ill, and despite being busy at work he always takes time to cook up some deliciously healthy soups. I’ve never been a big “soup person” but I love his. Yum.

He doesn’t like to strictly follow any recipes, often improvising ingredients based on how he thinks the finished product will taste. I trust him. He knows a lot about eating healthy and staying fit. I’m proud and jealous that he’s the same weight he was when we first met. And while I’m downing my daily medications, he only has to take a multivitamin.

He’s my health guru.

Since it’s holiday time, and also cold and flu season, I thought I’d offer you my husband’s quick and easy chicken soup recipe that he made for me twice this week.  It’s easy to make, and absolutely delicious and nutritious.

My grandmother would have been proud to know that I married a man who makes chicken soup almost as well as she did. Shh, don’t tell him I said that.

Quick Chicken Soup for Two

1 boned chicken breast (with skin)

4 cups water or 3 cups water and 1-cup low sodium organic chicken broth

1 small chopped onion

3 sliced carrots

1 sliced celery stalk

1-½ cups chopped kale or Swiss chard

Pasta (any type, but he prefers capellini), 3 – 4 ounces

Sea salt and white pepper, to taste

1 clove fresh minced garlic

Fresh chopped ginger, to taste

Olive oil

Optional: chopped mushrooms, zucchini, white beans

Directions: In a small pot heat onions, celery and carrots in olive oil for 3-4 minutes to soften. Add salt, pepper, liquid, and chicken (completely cover chicken with liquid) and bring to boil. Maintain boil on low heat for approximately 20 minutes. Remove chicken and add remaining ingredients, then continue a low boil for 8 minutes. Cut chicken into pieces and return to soup. Continue low boil until chicken is cooked. Serve.