In Honor of the Crapliness

Current mood: full
Nolan was feeling better today so he went to school. My bout with whatever odd stomach bug we had started later in the day and I slept from about four yesterday afternoon until this morning when it was time to get the hooligans up. I spent most of the day with my stomach feeling better, but overall feeling totally wiped out. I didn't realize it, but I think I was dehydrated. Last night when I was feeling crappy I called Travis to ask him to either pick up dinner on the way home or pick up something he could make because I felt so horrible. He did. I don't know what he made, but no one complained. I was comatose.
I cleaned during the morning and when this afternoon rolled around I was dreading cooking. I knew I had to because I cashed in the only-good-once-monthly husband meal card last night. So, what did I do? I ran to WalMart. I knew with as bad as I felt I needed to make something that would be relatively easy on my stomach, but quick. Hmmm, soup! It was a double ringer because it was kind of cold today and we might get a little snow tonight.
Here is what I made...
Olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot)
1 32 oz. bag of soup vegetables (the one I bought was potatoes, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, corn, green beans and okra)
1 store bought rotiserrie chicken with skin and bones removed, chopped into bite sized pieces
12 cups chicken broth (I used the boxed stuff, ran out of my own)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. oregano (dried)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. chicken bullion
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup instant rice
I heated up the pot with the olive oil in it, then added the veggies until just a few of them had a bit of color (to develop the flavor since this was going to be made quickly). While that cooked, I took the chicken off the bone, removed the skin and chopped it, then added it to the pot. After that I added the broth and then the seasonings. I brought everything up to a boil for about 10-15 minutes, turned off the heat, added the rice, put on the lid and let it sit while Nolan and I were at wrestling. I have a glass cooktop, so it retains heat for quite a while, especially when the pot stays on the same burner. By the time Travis got home at about 5:45 (about 45 min. after I left), the soup was great! All it took was a quick re-heat and we were ready for dinner as soon as showers were had.