Chicken Noddle Soup

Originally this was supposed to be chicken and rice, but after inspecting my cupboard the box of rice I knew I had turned up empty. Ain't that the way things go? So, luckily, I was able to finish off 2 almost empty boxes of noodles instead. Now making my pantry SUPER empty. Can you tell I'm putting off shopping day? There is little in life I dread more than taking 2 kids to the supermarket when they are already tired, hungry and getting their 2nd wind for the day. Noooo thanks. So because I have little to eat in the house I was struggling for lunch ideas. Fortunately it was a pretty cold morning today and I could whip out some fall/winter recipes, woot woot. The chicken I pulled out frozen from the freezer, the celery I had growing in the yard, and the sweet potatoes were the last veggie left in the drawer, which luckily is all you really need!

Here's the celery I got from the garden. I used the whole bunch because the stalks are still a little thin.

Oh yes, I had half an onion in the fridge as well, so I threw that in. So I cut up the celery and even used some of the leaves, then cut up the sweet potatoes and onion. I threw in some garlic too, about 2 cloves.

Next, I took some cooked some chicken and shredded it with forks. I used two breasts that were boiled in water for about 20mins. Throw this into a big pot with the veggies and rice or pasta and cover with water. Then I threw in 3 chicken bouillon cubes and added 1 tsp of red pepper flakes. You can add herbs like bay leaf and thyme, but these are also on my shopping list so I had none. I let this simmer for about 1 hr.

Here it is! I made some fresh bread to go along with it. It was a nice homemade surprise for Matt when he got home from lunch :)

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, 2 cups pasta or 1 cup rice, 1 sweet potato, 1 celery bunch, 3 chicken boullion cubes, 2 cloves garlic, water, herbs (optional), red pepper flakes (optional)



Other soups you may enjoy:
Corn Chowder
Marseille Bouillabaisse
Chicken Noodle Soup (Other variation) 

Corn Chowder

Mmm! My mom and I used to love finding any excuse to drive down to Mimi's Cafe for a bowl of this soup! Sometimes we would just order it to go and save it for later! Once my mom found out its actually a pretty recipe, I wanted to finally try it for myself!

1. Chop up 6 tablespoons worth of onion and ¾ cups worth of celery.

2. 1/4 cup of butter, place this in a large pot and use to sautee the onions and celery for about 5mins.

3. Chop and measure out 2 cups potatoes.

4. Add to the celery and onions; the potatoes, 3 cups frozen corn kernels, and 2 ½ cups hot water.

5. Add to that 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt and a dash of pepper (it calls for white pepper, but ive never been able to find it here!)...Its important the water covers everything, if need be, add some more. Cover and let cook about 30mins (until potatoes are done).

6. Whisk together 3 tablespoons flour with 1 cup half and half. Add to pot. Once the potatoes are done add in the rest of the half and half.

7. Allow everything to simmer for about 15mins (says the recipe, but it took me about 45mins. I actually had to drop by a freinds and leave the hubs in charge of checking on it!). It will eventually turn into a creamy, "chowdery" thickness!

♥ I actually have no picture of the final result because like I said I wasnt here, and the next day the leftovers were gone before noon! SO GOOD! Ill update this once I make this again...which will be soon! ♥

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup!

I found this recipe online but made some modifications. A quick way to get my sickies feeling better in no time!

1. Pour about 2 cups of uncooked noodles (any kind would do) into boiling salted water and cook until done.

2. Cook up 2 chicken breasts in a couple teaspoons of olive oil until completely done. (I added pepper because everything tastes better when you add pepper!)

3. Add about a half cup of each of your favorite chopped veggies. (Because this recipe is soup, I used some veggies that were over ripe so they didnt go to waste. ;) I used celery, carrots, broccoli and tomatoes.

4. Mix the chopped veggies in with chicken broth (use as much as you need to balance out between how many noodles and veggies you are using. The recipe says 12 but I probably used half as much. I like my soup thicker though.) Add salt and pepper (taste test it before adding salt because some chicken broths can be really salty already!) Let it cook until veggies are soft.

5. Mix separately 1/3 cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Mix. And slowly add to soup.

6. Add in chicken and noodles to veggies and let it simmer until its all nice and soupy! (Noodles will futher expand but still be yummy)

7. Serve hot and with lots of love!

♥ I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how good this was ♥