Chicken Noodle Soup

Let me start off by saying that I know that I already posted a soup like recipe this week, but soup is delicious. A few weeks ago our oven broke so I was extremely limited when it came to cooking. One night I made chicken noodle soup; I just threw things into a pot and didn’t measure anything. I wasn’t planning on making soup again until we made a whole chicken so that I could use the leftovers in the soup. However, yesterday my husband wasn’t feeling well so I went to the chicken and started on chicken noodle soup. It’s the perfect food to have when you’re sick, isn’t it? So, if you’re feeling sick or just want some comfort food this is the perfect recipe for you.

What You’ll Need….

3 Chicken Breasts (Or leftovers from a whole roasted chicken.)

½ lb. Pasta. (Or half of a homemade pasta recipe.) [Recipe included below.]

6 Cups Chicken Broth (Low Sodium)

6 Cups Water

½ - ¾ Cup Carrots (Chopped) [2 Large carrots or 4 small carrots.]

½ - ¾ Cup Celery (Chopped) [2-3 Stalks of celery.]

½ - ¾ Cup Onions (Chopped) [About ¼ of a large onion.]

1 ½ Cups Mushrooms (Chopped) [Two handfuls of mushrooms.]

1 Cup Corn

½ Teaspoon Dried Parsley

½ Teaspoon Dried Oregano

½ Teaspoon Dried Basil

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

¾ Teaspoon Salt (Sea Salt works great, but regular table salt works just as well.)

Homemade pasta…

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

¼ Teaspoon Salt

½ Cup Water (This could be more or less depending on the temperature and humidity outside.)

If you choose to make the pasta yourself combine the flour, salt, and water in a mixing bowl. Once the dough is partly combined knead it until it comes into a smooth ball. Allow the dough to rest for at least 15 minutes. 

Now, for the soup… If you are using frozen chicken breasts instead of leftovers from a whole chicken cook the chicken fully and set it off to the side to cool so that you can work with it later. I find that the easiest way to cook the chicken is to place the three chicken breasts in a skillet that is lightly coated with olive oil. Brown the chicken on both sides on the stove-top before place it into an oven that has been pre-heated to 400 degrees. Once the chicken is cooked completely remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool. It should take about 25 minutes for the chicken to cook.

Once you have cooked the chicken and made the pasta dough, if you choose to that is, pour the chicken broth and water into a stock pot and bring the liquid to a simmer. This should take about 10-15. You can use the time that it takes for the broth to come to simmer to chop the vegetables. Small pieces for the carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms work best because of the short cook time for this soup. 

Once the broth comes to a boil add the carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms. Let the soup cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add this point, if you made your own pasta, you can roll the dough out. Roll the dough out on a floured surface. You can cut the dough into any shape you like, but I like to cut it into small rectangles.

After you have left the soup cook for 15-20 minutes add the chicken, pasta, corn, and spices. Stir thoroughly so that the spices are evenly distributed. Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes so that the noodles and corn have time to cook.   

Let the soup cool for a few minutes before serving. You can serve it right away, but you’ll probably end up with a burnt tongue. Serve the soup by itself or with crackers, saltines are the best.

Once the soup as cooled completely serve the leftovers in airtight containers. This makes a lot of soup, so there will be leftovers.

Enjoy!