Chicken Noodletastic “Soup”

Well I finally went to the doctor last week (that sentence originally said yesterday, but when do I ever post a timely entry?). Guess what? I have a sinus infection, duh. I got some meds and here we are on Monday and I feel like a million bucks compared to last week. I came home from the doctor and decided to tackle my soup recipe that I had decided on earlier in the week. I learned one major thing this week: follow. the. directions. While the dish tasted really good still, I wouldn’t exactly call it soup. I based my soup off of this recipe from Food Network, with some slight changes. I didn’t use any celery in my soup. Celery is just ok to me. It doesn’t have much flavor and I really don’t like cooked celery. It’s just mushy nothingness. I didn’t think I’d miss it and I was right. I also didn’t have any fresh thyme, just used some dried and it still tasted delicious!

I also learned the difference between chicken stock and chicken broth. Since I’ve been feeling crummy for the better part of two weeks now, I decided to take the easy route and buy chicken stock from the store instead of making my own. Chicken stock is made from the bones of a chicken and chicken broth comes from the meat. Chicken stock also has a fuller, richer flavor (you’re welcome!). I used 2 quarts of chicken stock in the soup. What I didn’t do was use 8 oz. of noodles. Here’s where I need to learn to follow directions. My bag of noodles was 16 oz. instead of 8 oz. I didn’t really pay attention to what I bought (I blame the plague). I dumped the whole bag into the pot and immediately panicked as they took over my soup. I tried to fish as many noodles out as I could, but it was still very noodle heavy. After Evan and I both had a bowl, there was essentially no liquid left to the soup…it kind of looks like stroganoff, oops. I think if I add another box of stock, it’ll be okay though.

 

Chicken Noodletastic Soup

2 tbsp EVOO

½ large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium carrots, chopped

4 fresh thyme sprigs (if you can find them)

1 bay leaf

2 qts. Chicken stock

8 oz. wide egg noodles

3 cooked boneless/skinless chicken breasts, shredded

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Coating a large soup pot with the EVOO, sauté the onion, garlic, carrots, bay leaf, and thyme. When they’re starting to soften up, add your chicken stock and let it cook for about 5 or 6 minutes. Then add your noodles (remember, 8 ounces!). Cook for a few minutes, and then finally add your chicken and let it warm. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pretty simple recipe, really. I’m really picky about meat in soups (why I don’t like most canned soups), so I used the boneless/skinless breasts. Makes a huge difference.

 

Pandas love chicken noodle soup.

I’m brainstorming ideas for a recipe this week, I’m thinking of baking something, maybe a dessert. I’m not sure what I want to tackle yet. Anyone have any suggestions? It’ll likely happen tomorrow since it’s my day off and I can actually get some daylight cooking photos, hooray!!