Mmm Mmm Good!

Oops! So it's been a while since my last post. I figured I would slowly let this slip away as nursing school progressed this semester, but I will still make some time to sit down and post when I'm able. Life is crazy as usual, but thankfully I'm able to maintain some kind of balance between school, work, and marriage.

Nursing friends will appreciate the following. Squeamish friends should skip to the bottom of post for a great recipe....

Second clinical, overall, was MUCH better than the first. Minus one mishap. In the room with my patient, there was another patient with COPD. For you non-medical people, all you need to know for the rest of the story is that this causes you to cough A LOT....and it's a productive cough (yuck already). So this patient with COPD (we'll call him Mr. Makesmetossmycookies for HIPPAs sake) calls me over to help him. I happily oblige. Upon reaching Mr. Makesmetoosmycookies bedside, he hands me a cup and asks me to get rid of it because "I'm done with it." It was early in the morning and the patients had just had breakfast, and it was the glass that *initially* contained OJ. Thinking it was leftover OJ, I grab the cup (bare handed) to toss in trash.

If only it had been OJ.

Turns out, Mr. Makesmetossmycookies had been coughing up gunk into the cup. After this shocking realization, I had approximately .05 seconds to make it to the bathroom and toss my cookies. Thankfully, Mr. Makesmetossmycookies was blissfully unaware he made me toss my cookies, so no awkward moment for him.  YUCK. Had I been mentally prepared to see his lung gunk in the cup, I think I would have held it together fine. But going into the task believing it was harmless OJ only to find out that it was much more sinister was more than my already nervous stomach could take.

Now that I've officially grossed you out, lets talk food!

Not surprisingly, I haven't had much time to cook until last night. I made homemade chicken noodle soup. It just felt right since it's starting to feel like fall(ish), and it was super easy and delicious! Here we go:

2 cartons of chicken stock (I use low sodium)
6-8 medium chicken tenderloins, cut in 1/2 cubes
2 scallions diced finely
1 clove garlic diced finely
15ish baby carrots, cut into bite-sized rounds
1tbs butter
a few dashes of soy sauce (it sounds weird, but it really makes a great broth)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot on medium heat, melt 1 tbs of butter and saute chopped scallions and garlic until translucent. Let it brown just a little bit, then add the stock and carrots. Once boiling (medium/low heat), add cubed chicken and a few dashes of soy sauce. Let simmer for about 1 hour on low heat. Viola! Add salt and pepper to taste.

AND...if you're crazy broke like us, it is super cheap and there are plenty of leftovers to eat for a few days!

Until next time, "Happy fall, y'all!" (cue ridiculous Paula Deen accent)