Guess what, kids?! I’m a homeowner!!

In the last 5ish years, between the GS and myself we have inhabited 12 different residences, ranging in distance between 15 minutes apart and 6+ hours apart. They also ranged in quality, safety level, and cleanliness.

We started looking at houses a few weeks before we got engaged and looked at A LOT before we found “the one.”

We closed last Monday (holy signatures) and decided we were too excited to wait to move in, so we rented a U-Haul and moved the majority of our stuff in last Tuesday.

I’m sure you’re thinking… movers? Why, no. Of course not.

Every time one of us moves we say “next time we’re hiring movers.” But the thing about buying a house is that you pretty much empty your bank account to do it, so we were trying to save every penny in this process.

I have this old steel drawer that I found at Second Chance that I keep plants in. It’s pretty cool but has very sharp edges, so I was trying to be careful to step around it while moving things out of the U-Haul. Unfortunately I have the patience of a 3 year old and scraped my leg against it pretty bad.

One trip to Patient First, four stitches and a tetanus shot later, I was back in action. I told the GS to put the drawer outside in the corner. He said it is irrational to punish an inanimate object. Guess where it is?

I’m pretty excited that this is the first real meal I’ve made in my new kitchen which I adore and will share more photos of when I have it a little more decorated. It’s my first soup of the fall season and it’s a keeper.

Lemon Chicken Soup

4 chicken breasts

2 boxes chicken stock

1 onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bag baby spinach

1 box whole wheat couscous

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup feta cheese

1 tbs dried oregano

1 tbs garlic powder

salt & pepper

Season the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place in a crockpot and add about 1/4 cup of chicken stock and 2-3 tbs of lemon juice. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, turning once if you can. If you don’t have time for this step you can use a rotisserie chicken, I just liked the extra lemony flavor for this particular soup. This is also just a foolproof (albeit time consuming) way to do shredded chicken for any recipe.

Saute the onion in a little olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Add the garlic, remaining lemon juice (another 2-3 tablespoons) and chicken stock. This can simmer on low for however long you need it to- it’s just going to give the broth a little more flavor.

In a separate pot, cook the couscous according to package directions (mine only took 5 minutes). Add the chicken and spinach to the soup pot, stirring occasionally until the spinach is fully wilted.

Place the lemon slices on a sheet pan and broil for a few minutes until slightly caramelized. Add the couscous to a bowl and spoon the soup over it. Garnish with lemon slices and feta cheese.

This is a soup that gets even better as leftovers. I added the rest of the couscous and the remaining lemon slices to the pot and it continued to get more flavorful over the next two days. It feels light and healthy but it’s also packed with good stuff.

Perfect for all of your runny nosed, sore throat, gaping 6-inch wound in the left shin fall days.