Some days are like that, even in Australia

What do you do when you've had a bad day? Maybe you woke up at 6:45 and got halfway to an audition before you realized you'd left your headshot and resume at home. Maybe your grad school letter didn't arrive even though it was supposed to and when you called to ask about it, the office was closed. Maybe you had to mail off a check for several hundred dollars to the government because it was tax day. If all these things happened, there's really only one thing to do: make some old fashioned feel better soup.

Lazy-Ass Matzo Ball Soup

at least 2 cups chicken broth
leftover/rotisserie chicken
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 onion
dill
pepper
1 large matzo ball

It's called lazy-ass soup because of all the prepared ingredients like these:

But sometimes, you just don't have three hours of simmering time but you still want soup and canned soup is gross. Plus, buying prepared matzo balls stimulates the economy. Maybe. If you don't think about it too hard. Let's just move on.

1. Chop your veggies. If I wasn't in a crabby mood, I might have chopped them smaller (which actually I ended up regretting later), but I didn't.


2. Put them in a pot, cover them with the chicken broth and simmer until the veggies are soft (I left them in there for about 20 minutes, got hungry and skipped to the end. I kind of wished the veggies were softer (and hey, if I'd cut them smaller, they probably would be by now) but oh well).

I should probably clean my stove. Hmm.

3. This is where you use your prepared chicken. I bought a "simple rotisserie chicken" from Whole Foods. If I'd bought it from my neighborhood grocery store in Queens, it would have been 4 dollars less, but I wasn't in Queens, I was in Whole Foods and that's how it goes.


Don't get the "herb" or "bbq" kind - those will add weird flavors to your soup. But maybe you're into that.

Tear off a bit of the chicken (I used one breast) and shred it with your hands.


4. Dump it in with the veggies. Throw the matzo ball in there too (I got my matzo ball from Zabar's, remember? If you don't, look here). Add some dill and pepper to taste. You can use fresh dill if you have some, but I didn't and I wouldn't expect you to either.


5. Leave it simmering a few more minutes (you can cover it, that helps) until the matzo ball is heated through.

6. Pour it all into one bowl because your boyfriend is working late (again. And every other night for the next week. Gah). Eat it on a tv tray while you watch Dreamgirls on DVD and think about how even though you're crabby, at least you're not having Jamie Foxx's illegitimate child and being upstaged by Beyonce even though you're way more talented than she is.


There's not much broth left. Whoops. It's more of a "stoup" as Rachael Ray would say. If you add more broth, that won't happen to you. But it still tastes good, so you don't really have to worry too much. Enjoy!