I've been under the weather, as is my way every wintery season, and am currently making the same soup for the second time this month.
Sopa de Fideo
1 bag 7 oz-ish fideo (the little thin short noodles)
tomatoes or as I prefer to just buy a 14.5 oz can of stewed tomats, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped - just the leafy part
small handful garlic, halved
1 onion, sliced
chicken broth - however much makes a decent pot size
oil, I prefer olive oil - enough to coat the pasta well
salt, pepper, spices - I like to use Goya brand adobo with cumin, a dash of Lawry's, and crushed red pepper but you can taste it as you can and adjust to your liking
Throw the broth, tomatoes, garlic into a pot and bring it to a light/medium light boil *
Fry the noodles in a pan with the oil until they are nice and browned. More brown is preferable to less brown and some should be fairly dark.
Toss the onion in the pan while it's still somewhat early in the browning process, they don't need to be fully cooked through but I like the texture of lightly frying them before putting them in the pot
Dump that in the broth you have going, stir, and add cilantro
Let that cook for a bit and then you're done
*I like to punch it up a little bit and add a little extra chicken bullion (Better than Bullion is my go to here) and sliced fresh jalapeno
Also made some shrimp recipe that I got from my mom, one of few dishes that she ever taught me to make. If you hate how my usual recipes are somewhat directionless then you're really in for a treat here.
shkrimps, whatever you prefer but I go for the cooked, peeled, deveined, tail on but raw and all the same works great if you can find it
kalamata olives chopped with some juice
garlic crushed or chopped
lemon juice
parsley dried or fresh
crushed red pepper
an Italian spice blend
white wine
butter
optional sun dried tomats finely chopped
optional chunk of crusty bread
Everything but the shrimp and parsley (and bread if you are using it) into the pot and bring to a light boil and reduce heat a little
Taste the broth and adjust portions to your liking (sorry but this is how almost all recipes go back home)
Once you have that then toss in the shrimp and sprinkle with parlsey and cover. This cooks quick so you probably want to constantly monitor it. I think this kind of thing is somewhat obvious but my wife is the queen of walking away from the stove for way too long.
You'll want to give it at least one good stir but may need more depending on how much shrimp you tossed in there and the size of your pot
Went the shrimp start curling up then take it off the heat and give it one last stir and toss more parsley on top give it a moment with the lid on and then serve.