Happy accident

The accident was 1/2 tsp of cardamom. Everyone loved it! It has been said and it bears repeating, sharing is caring:

You will need:

• a big pot and a spatula
• olive oil
• half a stick of butter
• chopped medium white onion
• chopped garlic (3-4 cloves) or 2 tsp of pre-chopped garlic (the ones in a jar)
• chopped celery (4-5 stalks)
• chopped mild chorizo (1/2 or a full u-shaped piece)
• a pack of Italian chicken strips (the ready-to-eat kind for salads), you could opt for boiled chicken breast strips
• chicken broth powder (or chicken broth, your volume of choice)
• other seasoning like ground pepper or ginger powder or in my case, I accidentally put cardamom powder because it had a similar packaging to my stored ginger powder (tasted great, though)
• water and/or chicken broth
• 150-200g of egg noodles (your choice of shape) or pasta noodles

Directions:

• heat olive oil then add stick of butter; let the butter melt
• sauté onion, garlic, celery, and carrots at the same time; no need to fully wilt just cook enough to infuse
• at this point, you can season it with chicken powder and whatever seasoning you like; if you’re going to use chicken broth you might want to adjust the seasoning 
• add chorizo, mix a bit, cover the pan for about 3-5 minutes
• add chicken strips, maybe cook with the rest of the ingredients for another 3-5 minutes (this is technically cooked already)
• add either chicken broth and/or water until everything is fully submerged and you have more than enough water for the noodles (note that the noodles will expand and the boiling process will evaporate part of the liquid so you may need to take that into account)
• wait until the liquid boils
• add the noodles and continue to stir until cooked 
• taste the broth and season if appropriate 
• turn off heat
• serve!

I made this up and you can modify as you see fit. I think the onion-celery-carrot trifecta is supposed to be the base of many soups so it should be foolproof. This dish is really soothing and you’ll need a napkin to wipe your sweat or blow your nose. 😄 The warmth and steam will surely clear some congestion. LOL. Cheers!