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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

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I know I have mentioned, on more than one occasion, my love for chicken noodle soup. Homemade chicken noodle soup. There is nothing out there like it. The best kind of soup. The best kind of combination of chicken, veggies, and noodles. The best kind of lunch.

And the great thing about it? E loves it too. LOVES. So naturally, I make it at least once every 2 weeks. At least. And when I make it? It's a large pot full. Large. Enough to last us a couple of days, plus I freeze it for later. Win, win.

Ingredients needed: {Fills 3/4 of a 3.5 gallon pot}

2 tablespoons of butter
2 medium size onion, peeled and chopped
8-12 carrots {I like carrots, so often times I use even more}, peeled and cut in small pieces {I like to pre-cook this}
1 stalk of celery {I like to pre-cook this with the carrots}
3-4 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces {cooked... I boil mine in water} 
1 package of egg noodles {cooked}
2 49.5oz containers of chicken broth {or if you want low sodium, I like to just use 1 container, then fill the other one with just water}
2 tablespoons of dried parsely
2 teaspoons dried basil
2-3 bay leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put butter in the 3.5 gallon pot. Once melted, put in the onion. After a couple of minutes, and the onion has been browned, go ahead and add the rest of your veggies {I like to precook my carrots and celery, so that they are already softened prior to placing them in the large pot... but you can do either or}

2. Now add your chicken broth. You can either add both large cans, or I substituted mine with just 1 large can and then I fill that can with water {less sodium for the kiddo}.  Sometimes I may go ahead and add another half a can of water, depending on how much of the chicken and veggies I use.

3. If you have pre-cooked your veggies, then you can now put in your cooked noodles and cooked chicken. If you have not, then cook on medium until the veggies are softened. Once softened, add your chicken and noodles {again, preferably cooked}. For the noodles, sometimes I use the whole package, sometimes 3/4 of a package.... just depends on how much you have of the other ingredients, and how "soupy" you like your soup. Either way, you can't go wrong.

4. Add your parsley, basil, bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste. {I don't add the salt, because again, I don't want added salt. I do however add a little salt to my bowl later on. So if you have kiddos, you can use that as an option. Obviously, E, can't tell the difference! And I've tried it myself... and as a salt lover, gotta say, it wasn't too bad. But mama loves her salt}

5. Change your heat to the lowest setting, cover with lid, and let simmer. I like to let it simmer for 3 hours. However, I have done as low as 30 minutes, and it's been just as good! Make sure to take out the bay leaves, do not eat them :)

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This makes, I kid you not 20+ servings. We freeze a lot of it, and it makes for an easy lunch in the future!

We make this soup about once every two weeks... it's seriously a HUGE hit.

ENJOY!
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